Chateau La Tour Figeac 2018

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 La Tour Figeac bursts from the glass with bold notes of baked blackberries, stewed plums and boysenberries, plus hints of tilled soil, pencil lead and spice cake. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a thirst-quenching line of freshness with soft tannins and bags of black fruits, finishing with a peppery kick.

Juicy, with fresh and forward blackberry and black currant coulis flavors that stretch out nicely, while licorice snap, bramble and apple wood accents fill in through the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2028. 3,500 cases made.

Flexed and silky tannins keep hold of firm dark fruits. Appealing gourmet touches, with clear coffee grounds and grilled cedar. A good-quality estate with high levels of Cabernet Franc, owned by Otto Rettenmaier, using 50% new oak for the ageing.

Plum and blackberry aromas with violets and crushed stones. It’s full-bodied with really fine tannins and a creamy, refined texture. Needs two or three years to come together. Drink after 2023.

Silky, sexy, fresh and vibrant, with a great core of elegantly textured fruit. The wine is aromatic, refined, with a beautiful sense of purity, long and full of character. It’s showing much better in bottle than in barrel, which is always something you want to see.

Dark ruby garnet, ochre reflections, broader lightening on the rim. Tobacco on the nose with fine noble wood, dark berry fruit, black cherry and notes of cedar. Medium body, hints of ripe plum, integrated tannins, mineral and fresh on the finish. Good ageing potential.

Kunz barrel sample 19: fruity, fresh, and powerful bouquet, black cherries, blackberry jelly, currants, slate. Tightly woven, elegant, full palate with intense, sweet fruit, a finely creamy texture, complex aromatics, fine tannins, and a long, dense finish with sweet echoes.

Dense, velvety, fruity bouquet: blackberry jelly, cherries, dark pralines, light tobacco, liquorice. Dense, more velvety, elegant, multi-layered palate with plenty of fine tannins, powerful yet refined fruit, finely concentrated structure, varied and fresh aromatics, very long, full finish with many lingering flavors. 18/20 2025 - 2045

La Tour Figeac 2018 is deep garnet-purple in color. It offers plum preserves, stewed cherries, and dried mulberries, with hints of potpourri and raspberry leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is firm, with nice, juicy fruit and lovely purity.

Built on a slightly creamier, livelier structure, the 2018 comes across as fairly juicy, with understated tannins. A slight touch of fussiness in the details of a palate that lacks personality and brightness.

A Pinot-like nose, above all alluring, with fresh strawberries, stewed raspberries, rose petals and violets. On the palate, the same avalanche of freshness returns, with a beautiful balance between sweetness and acidity, ripe fruit and bitterness, wrapped in a delicious spiral that races toward a very mocha-tinged finish and an astonishing honeyed note.

From the outset, this 2018 shows a beautiful concentration of fruit, between black cherry and succulent blackberry. It unfolds with a seductive silkiness, a creamy mouthfeel wrapped in finely etched tannins. The texture is supple, very caressing, and neatly rounded off by a hint of minty pepper on the finish.

A 70/30 split of Merlot and Cabernet Franc that saw 40% new oak, the 2018 Château La Tour Figeac reveals a deep ruby/purple color to go with a classy nose of spiced currants, black cherries, loamy soil, leather, and dried tobacco and herbal notes. It has a savory, complex nose yet brings plenty of sweet fruit and opulence on the palate, with ripe and polished tannins, a rounded, layered mouthfeel, and outstanding length on the finish. The balance is spot on, it has a great mid-palate, and I suspect it will have 15-20 years of overall longevity.

This vineyard operated on organic principles has produced a firm, solidly structured wine. It is dense, full of tannins as much as black-currant fruits. All the elements are just beginning to come together. Drink from 2026.