Description
Yves Beck 100 points www.yvesbeck.wine
Dégusté le 09.12.2020 par Yves Beck
37% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc
Superbe bouquet brillant de complexité affichant de nombreuses facettes. Ainsi, il révèle des nuances florales et épicées avec des parfums de violettes et de poivre noir suivis de notes fruitées telles que myrtilles, framboises et cerises, respectivement beaucoup de fraîcheur. Très belle trame tannique en bouche où le vin se distingue par la finesse de ses tannins et la race de sa structure. Que de fraîcheur, de vigueur et d’énergie. On pourrait parler d’une délicatesse ou même d’une délicaresse en phase avec la puissance tannique. La touche juteuse en devient salvatrice ; communément avec la vivacité de l’acidité et les tannins puissants mais polis (ils sont bien élevés !) il en résulte une symbiose exceptionnelle et une persistance fruitée interminable de la finale, où l’on retrouve les notes de cerises qui appuient et souligne la finesse aromatique. C’est un très grand Figeac. 2026-2058
Jean-Marc Quarin 97 www.quarin.com
Ma meilleure note donnée à ce cru en primeur. Couleur sombre et pourpre. Nez intense, fin, fruité, mûr, suave, épicé et pourtant frais. Moelleux à l’attaque, ultra fondant au développement, très, très aromatique et accompagné d’un gras fin que je ne lui ai jamais connu à cet âge, ce vin très hédoniste (c’est nouveau) caresse le palais. A son esthétique habituelle s’ajoute une finale suave, noble et fraîche. C’est très bon. L’assemblage entre 37 % de merlot, 30 % de cabernet franc et 33 % de cabernet sauvignon lui donne un équilibre très heureux. A noter qu’en 2018, la part de cabernet sauvignon a baissé (cépage très tannique) et celle du cabernet franc a monté (cépage plus aromatique). Degré d’alcool : 14° (moyenne) – pH : 3,7 (moyenne).
Lisa Perrotti-Brown 97-99 points www.erobertparker.com
The 2018 Figeac is composed of 37% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc, harvested September 17 to October 12 with a 3.7 pH and 14% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it charges out of the gate with vivacious black and red cherries, cassis, warm plums and wild blueberries scents plus fragrant hints of violets, star anise, tilled soil and forest floor with wafts of Ceylon tea and chocolate box. Full-bodied and jam-packed with energetic, crunchy black and blue fruits, it has a rock-solid, firm, grainy frame and loads of bright, refreshing sparks lifting the dense layers on the very long, savory finish. Wow—the Cabernet really makes itself known this vintage, and it is good. The signature of this wine is so clear, so defined, that this is a Bordeaux wine without peers. In my view, this is the finest Figeac ever produced.
Jane Anson 98 points www.decanter.com (at Bordeaux, 04 Apr 2019)
Back to a more traditional blend after last year’s frost impact, Figeac has done a wonderful job of harnessing the opulence of the vintage while maintaining freshness. This is extremely focussed and precise, with a silky texture and inky depths, developing complexity as the flavours unfurl. These are big tannins but they steal up on you, doing that subtle creep that’s such a marker of the vintage. Powerful, utterly gorgeous and clearly a wine that will age well, this is equal to the estate’s excellent 2016.
Harvest ran from 17 September to 12 October, giving a 39hl/ha yield (with 70% organic farming, 30% bio-control). 65% of the crop went into the grand vin. 3.7pH. Drinking Window 2027 – 2042
Jeb Dunnuck 97-99 points www.jebdunnuck.com
Tasting like a hypothetical blend of the 2015 and 2016, the 2018 Château Figeac offers that rare mix of elegance and sexiness that makes it the most Médoc-like wine from the Right Bank. Checking in as a blend of 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc that will spend 19 months in new oak, made from 75% of the total production, it offers a saturated purple color as well as incredible notes of liquid violets, exotic flowers, crème de cassis, and spice box. Full-bodied, multi-dimensional, flawlessly balanced, and with awesome purity of fruit, it’s going to flirt with perfection in 4-5 years and keep for 3-4 decades or more. Hats off to director Frédéric Faye for another viscerally thrilling wine that’s up with the crème de la crème of the vintage.
Antonio Galloni 96-99 points www.vinous.com
The 2018 Figeac is simply magnificent. A regal, soaring wine with tremendous vertical lift and nuance, the 2018 is marvelously complete from the very first taste. All the elements fall into place effortlessly. Medium in body and refined, the 2018 is vibrant, with fine tannins and, frankly, quite a bit more freshness than I expected to see given the very dry, sunny summer. Rose petal, mint, lavender and spice add nuance to a core of red/purplish fruit. Harvest started on September 17 and finished on October 12. Yields were 39 hectoliters per hectare, just shy of the historical average of 42/32. While mildew pressure was an issue, it was the dry October winds and their dehydrating effect on the last Cabernets that impacted yields most. Like so many of his colleagues, Technical Director Frederic Faye and his team opted for gentler vinifications with no SO2 at crush, lower temperatures in fermentation and smaller pumpovers. The 2018 Figeac is brilliant. That’s all there is to it. The blend is 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc. Tasted three times.