Château Figeac, the Saint-Emilion diamond

Brilliant owners 

Nestled in the heart of the Saint-Émilion appellation, this emblematic estate embodies excellence and the French art of living. Its origins date back to Gallo-Roman times, when the Figeacus family gave the estate its name in the 2nd century. Traces of this heritage can still be seen in the architectural features of the pretty building (low windows). At the time, the building was a large Gallo-Roman villa, which became a seigniory in the Middle Ages and later gave way to the present Château. A noble house in the 15th century and a local landmark for several decades, it passed from family to family, with Raymond de Cazes as its owner. This influential lord had the Château built in 1586, after it had been burnt down during the Wars of Religion, in an attractive Renaissance style.

The Carles family went on to establish the estate's nobility, raising its profile thanks to a keen sense of commerce, and building the Château's characteristically elegant façade. André Villepigue and his wife Henriette de Chèvremont, Thierry Manoncourt's grandparents, finally acquired the property in 1892, never to relinquish it and passing it down from generation to generation. Under the guidance of their friend and brilliant agricultural engineer Albert Macquin, he helped them for 10 years to restructure the vineyard, re-equip the estate with more modern winemaking facilities and pay particular attention to biodiversity, notably with the planting of new plant species in the estate park.

Born in 1917, visionary Thierry Manoncourt moved to Figeac in 1947 "for a year". Now an agricultural engineer, he wanted to help his parents make the transition, but soon realized the property's potential and eventually devoted his entire life to it. An agricultural engineer from father to son, they never stopped working on the terroir, the quality of the vines and mastering the winemaking process to gradually build up the famous "Figeac style". They devoted their energy and passion to improving the vineyard and modernizing winemaking techniques, propelling Château Figeac to the top of the appellation's list of great names. Château Figeac became 1er Grand Cru Classé B in 1955. The arrival of Frédéric Faye as Managing Director in 2002 continues the Grand Cru's tradition of innovation, technical precision and excellence. In 2022, Château Figeac managed to slip to the top of the Saint-Emilion wine rankings, being promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé A de Saint-Émilion, alongside Château Pavie.

The Figeac style  

The estate comprises 14 hectares of parkland designed to preserve biodiversity and an overall natural balance, and over 40 hectares of vines. Figeac is one of the largest estates in the region, bordering Pomerol, and located just three kilometers west of the town of Saint-Emilion, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its grape varieties are rather original and well-balanced for the Right Bank: Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. This is highly atypical for a Libourne appellation, and more akin to that of the Médoc, where Cabernet dominates. Château Figeac is also renowned for its exceptional terroir. Thanks to its 3 gravelly hilltops, water flows particularly well and the vineyard enjoys ideal exposure. This gives Château Figeac wines their distinctive character and remarkable elegance. With high-quality sandy gravels, such as those found in its prestigious neighbor Cheval Blanc, and a microclimate conducive to grape ripeness, its viticultural potential is exceptional. This is reflected in its wine, which is unmistakably its own.

Its unique blend gives it a racy allure, with tannins of rare elegance that shine particularly brightly in warm vintages. It evolves divinely and leaves itself to be desired, becoming more taut in youth and more complex with age. Its older vintages retain their poise, incredible power and infinite length on the palate. Its soft notes of undergrowth, leather and mocha reveal themselves with each passing vintage, particularly in the highly successful 2009 and 2010 vintages. Each bottle of Château Figeac is the fruit of a heritage handed down from generation to generation, imbued with love, passion and respect for the land. Today, Château Figeac is managed by the third generation of the Manoncourt family. This family continuity testifies to this winegrowing dynasty's commitment to preserving traditional values, while integrating sustainable, environmentally-friendly viticultural practices.

The 2022 vintage is also shaping up to be remarkable, and our experts (Corentin Raynaud, our wine purchasing and châteaux relations manager, and Aymeric de Clouet, a wine expert attached to the Paris Court of Appeal) were lucky enough to taste Château Figeac wines en primeur. Château Figeac 2022 is even one of our 2022 primeurs favorites, and the tasting notes are full of praise. What's more, at U'Wine we're particularly fond of this Grand Cru and regularly taste it at our tasting evenings.