As ever with Figeac, this will benefit from longer ageing than most because of the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in the blend. These give distinction, freshness and length to the flavour but also tannin, which needs time to soften. A wine that grows in the glass. (SP)

This is a superb example of the vintage that fully demonstrates that the vintage was every bit as fine in St. Émilion as it was in Pomerol, and those who missed in the former commune did so due to their own methodology, rather than any inherent limitations in the vintage. The 2012 Figeac is comprised of a blend of forty percent each merlot and cabernet sauvignon (those who would rip out the cabernet sauvignon here are simply out of their minds- and there are dozens of folks in Bordeaux that would immediately do so if they had control of this great estate- as this is one of the defining elements of Figeac that sets it apart and above from its neighbors!) and twenty percent cabernet franc. As has been the case since the 1970 vintage, the wine was raised in one hundred percent new wood. The bouquet is deep, complex, pure and utterly classic, jumping from the glass in a refined mix of black cherries, dark berries, Cuban cigars, a lovely base of gravelly soil tones, a touch of violet and a very well done base of new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and beautifully structured, with a rock solid core, good acidity, refined, suave tannins (predominantly from the cabernet sauvignon one would expect) and excellent length and grip on the focused and superb finish.

The 2012 Figeac is really beginning to come into its own and entering a sweet spot. This is the best I've had. Now more open on the nose, it has a wonderful bouquet with black fruit, cedar and blood orange, perhaps still with a patina of new oak to be fully assimilated. The palate is very pure and well-defined, linear and "strict" in a Médoc manner, whereas previous bottles have more of a peacock's tail. This just makes it more enticing. (NM)