A beautifully mature Saint-Émilion from this singular Cabernet-driven estate, the 1988 Figeac reveals remarkable elegance and finesse. Aromas of dark berries, cigar ash, graphite, and subtle smoke unfold with air, leading to a medium-bodied palate of graceful depth and balance. The tannins are fully resolved, lending a silky texture to the wine’s long, savory finish. Harmonious, refined, and quietly powerful, this vintage captures Figeac’s timeless style — structure and freshness seamlessly interwoven with aged complexity.

The Wine Advocate | RP 93
Published: Dec 21, 2023
Drink: 2008-2038

The 1988 Figeac is a beautiful wine that exhibits unusual charm and elegance for this sometimes somewhat firm, lean vintage. Unwinding in the glass with a deep bouquet of dark berries, cigar ash, pencil shavings and smoke, it's medium-bodied, with terrific intensity of flavor without weight, melted tannins and a long, sapid finish, fleshing out with an hour or two in a decanter to deliver even more texture and mid-palate volume. Its suave, seamless, beautifully balanced profile lends itself to drinking today.

Chateau-figeac.com

Château-Figeac owes its distinctive character to the unique combination of Gunzian gravel outcrops and clay subsoil, several microclimates and the mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot planted in the vineyard. This unusual blend, with its majority two-thirds Cabernet, gives the wine both structure and refinement, freshness and smoothness. Since the early years of the present century the wine has become more approachable in its youth, offering a more caressing mouthfeel, without losing its incomparable uprightness over the years.

Château-Figeac has always been acknowledged as one of the top Bordeaux wines with the best ageing potential, gaining a highly flavourful and succulent complexity over the years. It can be enjoyed just as much in its youth as after several decades.
First to be appreciated is the colour, with deep shades of crimson that recall Tyrian purple. On the nose, the wildly appealing Merlot notes of its youth give way to striking depth that is balm to the soul of all Cabernet lovers.
Its aromas reflect the lightness of the soil, expressed in a highly subtle, ethereal bouquet in which notes of peony, infused fruit and graphite demonstrate bright vitality. The two-thirds of Cabernet in the blend quite literally sculpt the body, strengthening the grip from the mid-palate and rolling out a long, taut and vibrant backbone with very pure mineral notes on the finish. The whole is perfectly enfolded in lush, satin tannins in the style of the highest of high fashion. With time, the wine develops flavours of tobacco-leaf with hints of black truffle, while retaining incomparable freshness of fruit. A glimpse of perfection…

Its ability to age for decades is quite exceptional, revealing an inimitable and complex bouquet as the years go by.