Château Figeac

The château

Figeac is 54 hectares in one holding on the western gravel, next to Cheval Blanc. It was the largest of the first growths of Saint-Émilion in 1893, when Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, gave it 52 hectares, 42 of them in vine. Through the 19th century pieces broke away and made names of their own: La Tour-Figeac from vines Corbière bought in 1879, La Tour-du-Pin-Figeac, carved out of Château Figeac, and more Figeacs lower down the lists. That is why the name turns up all over this corner of the appellation.

Henriette de Chèremont and André Villepigue bought the estate in 1892, and the family, the Manoncourts, holds it still. The man who made modern Figeac was Thierry Manoncourt, who arrived in 1947 and fixed the planting at equal thirds of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, planting Cabernet Sauvignon on the Right Bank in quantities nobody else would. It gives Figeac a structure closer to the Médoc than to its Merlot neighbors. Ranked Premier Grand Cru Classé B in the first classification of 1955, Figeac was raised to Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the list of September 8, 2022, one of 2 estates at that rank with Pavie. Frédéric Faye has been managing director since 2013, with Romain Jean-Pierre as technical director; Michel Rolland consulted from 2013 until his death in March 2026.

The vines stand on 3 outcrops of Günz gravel, flint and quartz about 7 meters deep at 39 meters of altitude, over blue clay: 275,000 vines on nearly 41 planted hectares, the oldest Merlot dating from 1921. Nearly one quarter of the estate is woods and water, a wildlife reserve since 2013. The winery rebuilt in 2020 and 2021 works by gravity, with 40 steel and 8 oak vats for plot by plot vinification. Château-Figeac runs to about 120,000 bottles a year; Petit-Figeac, the second wine, to about 40,000, under that name since the 2012 vintage and as Grange Neuve de Figeac from 1945 before it.

The 2009, which I tasted in October and again in December 2025, has the richness of that warm year, but carried by Cabernet: structure and freshness, pleasure now and a long life ahead, the energy unmistakably Figeac. The 2024, which I tasted in April 2025, came from a year in which Figeac cut its production by 60% to keep only its best grapes, and it was one of the winners of the vintage: pure fruit, strong character and intense aromatics, a wine that will be ready to drink early. Tasting the 2025 from barrel in April 2026, I found clarity of fruit and a precise picture of the plateau, with the balance between Cabernet Franc and Merlot particularly well judged. Even the second wine repays attention: the Petit-Figeac 2016, opened in March 2026, was a strong wine, with power and complexity.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, on the western gravel beside Cheval Blanc

Classification

Premier Grand Cru Classé B from 1955; Premier Grand Cru Classé A in 2022; Michelin Guide, 3 grapes (2026)

Owners

The Manoncourt family, since 1892

Direction

Frédéric Faye, managing director, since 2013; Romain Jean-Pierre, technical director

Vineyard

54 hectares in one holding, nearly 41 planted; 275,000 vines; vines 35 years old on average

Soil

3 outcrops of Günz gravel, about 7 meters deep, over blue clay Terroir of Saint-Émilion →

Grapes

Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, one third each

Cellar

Gravity winery of 2020 to 2021; 40 steel and 8 oak vats; plot by plot

Production

About 120,000 bottles of Château-Figeac and 40,000 of Petit-Figeac

Wines

Château-Figeac; Petit-Figeac

In history

The largest of the first growths of Saint-Émilion in 1893, at 52 hectares