Château La Grave Figeac

The château

La Grave Figeac sits where Saint-Émilion meets Pomerol, with Château Cheval Blanc and Château Figeac for neighbors on this side and Château La Conseillante just across the line. It is an old name split into small pieces: Édouard Féret’s Saint-Émilion et ses vins of 1908 has La Grave-Figeac among the second growths of the Graves of Saint-Émilion, shared by 3 small proprietors, Pierre Bouchon, Pierre Biais and Jean Dupuy, each with his own parcel under the same name, and Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, in the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, still have the same 3 in 1922. Caroline and Laurent Clauzel took the estate over in 2005 to make a wine of pleasure.

The 7 hectares lie on sand and gravel over an iron-rich subsoil, warm, free-draining soil, poor enough to send the roots deep. They are certified organic and Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms), planted 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, with vines 45 years old on average. The Clauzels thin the bunches and strip leaves, pick by hand plot by plot and variety by variety, and sort on tables; the wine ages in 3 equal parts, in concrete vats, in new barrels and in other vessels, and there are about 33,000 bottles a year. Not in the classification, it carries the Saint-Émilion Grand Cru appellation.

The estate flies under the radar, which is exactly why a bottle can be such a satisfying discovery. The 2020, which I tasted in January 2026, leans on freshness and line more than on weight: dark cherry, graphite and a light floral note, polished tannins and a savory finish. Still young, already expressive, it is the kind of Saint-Émilion that rewards attention rather than demanding it.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, on the Pomerol line

Classification

No classification; not in the list of 2022

Owners

Caroline and Laurent Clauzel, since 2005

Vineyard

7 hectares; vines 45 years old on average

Soil

Sand and gravel over an iron-rich subsoil Terroir of Saint-Émilion →

Grapes

Merlot 65%, Cabernet Franc 35%

Farming

Certified organic; Haute Valeur Environnementale

Cellar

Picked by hand, by plot and variety, sorted on tables; aged in 3 equal parts, concrete, new barrels and other vessels

Production

About 33,000 bottles a year

The neighbors

Cheval Blanc and Figeac; La Conseillante, across the line in Pomerol

In history

A second growth of the Graves of Saint-Émilion, shared by 3 proprietors, in 1908 and 1922