Château Figeac

Chateau Figeac represents a prestigious Bordeaux winery that has contributed to writing the history of Saint-Émilion, a renowned winegrowing area located on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Although the estate's origins go back as far as Ancient Rome, Chateau Figeac was officially founded in 1892 when the property was purchased by Henri de Chevremont. From 1947, under the management of Thierry Manoncourt, an agricultural engineer and descendant of Henri, the winery was consecrated in the Olympus of the Saint-Émilion appellation. Together with Chateau Pavie, Chateau Figeac belongs to the list of Premier Grand Cru Classé 'A', the highest level of quality established by the classification of Saint-Émilion wines, first drawn up in 1955 and updated every 10 years or so, as opposed to the famous 1855 classification of Bordeaux wines, which has remained largely unchanged.
The 41 hectares of vines owned by Chateau Figeac are bordered by centuries-old oak and hawthorn trees that are the basis of the area's remarkable biodiversity, which is also favoured by the presence of sparrows, blackbirds and rare bat species. In this environmental context, on soils rich in gravel that are more similar to those of the Médoc than to the rest of the Saint-Émilion area, the estate grows the traditional varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The Cabernets represent no less than 70% of the ampelographic platform of Chateau Figeac, which is in contrast to the dominance of Merlot that characterises most of the Saint-Émilion cellars. The vines have an average age of 35 years and are trained according to a sustainable agronomic vision. After manual harvesting, the grapes are vinified in the traditional manner and the mass is aged between 15 and 18 months in entirely new oak barrels.
Precisely because of the preponderant presence of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in the final blend, the wines of Chateau Figeac have many characteristics in common with their Médoc 'cousins', with whom they share qualities such as elegance and powerful structure. In addition to the iconic Chateau Figeac St. Émilion, the winery produces a second wine: Petit-Figeac, which is more accessible than its 'big brother'.