On Friday, June 5, James tasted the Chateau Figeac 2019 barrel sample over Zoom with winemaker Frederic Faye. James has been tasting with Faye for years. Figeac is one of Bordeaux’s oldest wineries, dating back to the second century when a Gallo-Roman villa was built on the estate. The Manoncourt family has owned Figeac for more than 125 years. Its unique soil is quite gravelly (compared to the usual clay), and its blends have more cabernet sauvignon than most others in the region. While Figeac isn’t technically a premier grand cru classe A, its wines are always some of the best of the vintage.

Watch highlights of the tasting session below and hear Faye compare the 2019 and 2018 vintages and reveal that their new cabernet franc is one of the best they have made in 10 years. He says the Chateau Figeac 2019 is a new reference for them.

This is part of an extensive en primeur tasting campaign being conducted by James, which has already covered 1,000 wines, with more to come. The reports are listed below:

Bordeaux en primeur first report: A potentially challenging vintage
Bordeaux en primeur second report: 1,000 notes and scores
Pricing report: Pontet-Canet’s decision to slash its prices