| Region of Production: | Saint-Émilion AOP |
| Winery Location: | Saint-Émilion |
| Year Established: | 2nd century |
| Classification: | Premier Grand Cru Classé B |
Vineyard Holdings
40 ha
- 35% Cabernet Franc
- 35% Cabernet Sauvignon
- 30% Merlot
Top Wines Produced & Inaugural Vintages
- Château Figeac, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru: Grand vin. 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc (2015 vintage). Fermented in stainless steel and conical, open-top wood vats. Aged for 14 to 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels.
- Petit Figeac, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru: Second wine. Assembled from declassified lots. Inaugural vintage 2012.
- La Grange Neuve de Figeac, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru: Former name of second wine. Inaugural vintage 1945.
Average Total Production
- 180,000 bottles
Summary
In the second century, the Gallo-Roman Figeacus family built a villa on the Château Figeac property and gave it their name. Vines have been cultivated there ever since, and vestiges of buildings from the ancient, medieval, and Renaissance eras remain on the property. One of five noble houses of Saint-Émilion by the Renaissance, Figeac changed hands from the Lescours family (who also owned Ausone) to the Cazes family (who built the château) to the Carles family through marriage in the 1600s. In the years leading up to the French Revolution, Elie de Carles and his predecessors expanded Figeac to 200 hectares. That land has since fractured, now making up portions of other famous estates, including Cheval Blanc and La Conseillante. In 1892, when Figeac was sold to its present owners, the Chevremont (today Manoncourt) family, the property was just 37 hectares.
In 1947, Thierry Manoncourt took full control of his family’s estate after graduating with a degree in agricultural engineering. Eight years later, Figeac was classified as premier grand cru classé B. Manoncourt instituted several notable changes. While still a student, in 1945, he vinified a second wine for Figeac, making it the first major estate in the Right Bank to do so. Manoncourt was also the first to employ temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation tanks in 1971. He passed away in 2010, leaving the estate in the hands of his wife and daughter. Frédéric Faye manages Figeac today, while Michel Rolland consults.
Style & Vinification Techniques
Three gravelly ridges traverse the Figeac vineyard, with little clay subsoil, a departure from the limestone beds of most of Saint-Émilion’s top properties. The unique geology of Figeac encouraged Manoncourt to increase plantings of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, whose dominance in the blend, unique in Saint-Émilion, defines much of the grand vin’s character. The wine ferments by parcel in a combination of stainless steel and conical, open-top wood vats. Malolactic fermentation proceeds in entirely new French oak barriques, followed by 14 to 18 months of aging.
Producer Website: Château Figeac