Impossible to resist the 2009 Figeac, with its tight cassis fruits that widen and soften to creamy damson halfway through the palate, the whole thing still bursting with fresh acidities and life at 14 years old. Opulent but with definition and complexity. Liquorice, slate, smoked earth, grilled herbs, baking spices, so good. Harvest September 22 to October 19, 40hl/h yield, 100% new oak. Drink 2023 - 2048
Tasted June 2023 - Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux

Right up there with the best of the Right Bank, this opens with a punnet of blackberry and creamy damson fruits, all in balance, finessed but confident and juicy, cocoa bean, espresso, cumin and black pepper spice, hard to fault and extremely easy to recommend. Harvest September 22 to October 19, 40hl/h yield, 100% new oak. As an aside, this was leading up to the 2012 classification, and wines like this explain why they were so confident that they were going to get the nod to Premier Grand Cru Classé A (in the end they had to wait 10 more years).

Even in this super-ripe vintage Figeac retains its usual red bell pepper aroma (from the cabernet sauvignon grape) and that adds a light touch to the opulent fruit cake and spice character. The full fine tannins beautifully support the rich palate and make the finish very long and plush. A great 2009! Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019) - Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com, March 2019

The colour remains deep and shows no sign of evolution. The nose, too, remains youthful, but it's broad and fleshy, with generous blackberry fruit. Plump and rounded, it's more forward than 2010, reflecting the vintage, but it's also very concentrated. The tannins are firm so the wine has great structure, if not the freshness and energy of the 2010. Long.

The medium garnet colored 2009 Figeac features a very pretty perfume of rose hip tea, lilacs and cinnamon stick over a core of red and black currant preserves plus hints of dried herbs and sweaty saddles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers bags of savory fruit layers with plenty of floral sparks, framed by rounded tannins, finishing on a earthy note.

This is one of those wines that prove the old adage about patience being a virtue. Over the years this gem has steadily improved, adding weight, sensuality, and complexity. Medium-bodied, with an edge to the nose over the palate, you enjoy a wealth of a myriad of silky, creamy-textured red, and dark red fruits on the palate and in the finish. I like how this is showing today. Drink from 2022-2042. Tasted Sept 2022

The 2009 Figeac is a gorgeous wine that is really coming into its own. It has quite a precocious bouquet with wild strawberry, blood orange, fig jam, marmalade and gravelly aromas courtesy of the Cabernets. There is real depth on what is quite lush aromatics. The palate is beautifully balanced, very pure with a velvet texture, plenty of ripe red fruit, white pepper, clove, blood orange and kirsch notes, building wonderful towards a powerful yet controlled finish. This is drinking supremely well now, but it will cruise at high altitude for a number of years. Tasted at the château. Dec 2021

(a very moderate 13.5% alcohol for the vintage): Red-ruby. Aromas of redcurrant and plum are complicated by gravel, tobacco, wild herbs and cedar. Lush, suave and seamless, with noteworthy energy and a restrained sweetness to the fine-grained flavors of red fruits, tobacco and herbs. Insinuating tobacco and cedar notes perfume the mouth as the wine opens in the glass. Very firm wine, finishing with noble, edge-free tannins, lingering spiciness and sneaky length. Quite ripe for Figeac but without any excesses.

Deep ruby-red with purple tinges. Very spicy, complex nose hints at blackcurrant, rose, Christmas cake and raisin, with black pepper and minty fresh herbs providing lift. Then juicy and moderately dense in the mouth, with good energy but modest flesh to the red fruit, mineral and bitter chocolate flavors. Finishes very fresh and light on its feet, with firm, slightly dry tannins and a note of licorice.

Magnum. Mid crimson. A really nice left-right-bank wine (ie halfway between Merlot-dominated and Cabernet-dominated). Such structure and freshness! Long, complex, beautifully balanced and gorgeous. (JR)