1966 Château Figeac

Enticing waves of forest floor, campfire, saffran, tobacco, grilled mushroom and leather, with beautiful melted tannins cradling softened loganberry fruits, this is built for sharing. Seamless, full of estate signature, astonishing really to find the Figeac character imprinted so strongly over this many decades. At the time Thierry Manoncourt was unhappy with the vintage, concerned that it hadn't fully finished its malolactic (there was no temperature control in the cellar), and so didn't release it. What that means today is that there is quite a bit of it left at the château, recorked in 2017 and topped up with the same vintage. Tasted ex-château, just brought out from the cellars where it has been held ever since bottling.

The 1966 Figeac is showing modest bricking on the rim. The nose has loosened up since I last encountered this vintage, brambly red fruit mingles with loamy, almost peaty around, cigar humidor and light touches of Earl Grey tea. It is slightly more herbaceous than previous bottles. The palate is well balanced, foursquare, drier than say, the 1964, yet fresh and unapologetic in terms of its classicism. Yes, I do think there is more dryness on the finish than a few years ago, yet this Figeac is still offering a lot of pleasure. Served blind at lunch at the château and also at the Berlin vertical.