Figeac

History

Figeac is one of the oldest estates in Saint-Émilion, with records of viticulture on the property stretching back to the Roman period. The estate takes its name from the Figeac family, who held the land during the medieval era. By the eighteenth century the property was considerably larger than it is today, and several neighboring estates, including Cheval Blanc, were carved out of the original Figeac holdings over successive generations.

For most of the twentieth century, Figeac was the domain of Thierry Manoncourt, who became one of the defining figures in the appellation. Manoncourt took control after World War II and ran the estate for decades, establishing its distinctive high-Cabernet house style at a time when most Saint-Émilion producers were moving decisively toward Merlot dominance. He resisted that shift deliberately, and the wines became an outlier in the appellation, closer in structure to a Pomerol or even a Left Bank blend than to most of its neighbors.

Manoncourt died in 2010. The estate subsequently passed through a period of transition, and in 2014 the Fourcade family, led by Eric Fourcade, acquired a controlling interest. The new owners invested significantly in the cellars and vineyard management. The results were noticed quickly by critics, and in the 2022 revision of the Saint-Émilion classification, Figeac was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé A, joining Ausone, Cheval Blanc, Angélus, and Pavie at the top of the hierarchy.

Vineyards

The estate sits on the Pomerol border at the northwestern edge of Saint-Émilion, an area sometimes called the graves of Saint-Émilion for its deep gravel and sandy soils. These are materially different from the limestone plateau and clay-limestone slopes that characterize much of the appellation. The gravel drains quickly and warms early, conditions that suit Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon far better than the clay-rich soils elsewhere in Saint-Émilion.

Figeac's vineyard covers roughly 54 hectares. The encépagement is unusually balanced among the three major Bordeaux varieties, with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot each accounting for roughly one-third of plantings. This is exceptional in an appellation where Merlot overwhelmingly dominates. The vines are old by regional standards, contributing to naturally low yields.

The estate has moved toward organic and biodynamic practices in recent years, and has pursued HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale) certification, though the precise current status of full certification should be verified with the estate directly.

Winemaking

Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled vats, with the winemaking team conducting plot-by-plot vinification to preserve the identity of individual parcels through the blending process. The grand vin, simply labeled Figeac, is aged in French oak barriques, with a proportion of new oak that has historically been moderate by Bordeaux premier cru standards, preserving fruit clarity over oak extraction.

The second wine, Petit Figeac, draws on younger vines and declassified lots and offers an accessible early entry point into the estate's style. It follows the same high-Cabernet philosophy as the grand vin, which gives it more structure than most Saint-Émilion second wines.

The signature of Figeac across vintages is its firm tannic architecture balanced by aromatic lift and red-fruit character, a profile that reads as distinctly cooler and more mineral than the plush, Merlot-forward norm in Saint-Émilion. The wines generally reward patience and are often underestimated young.