Tasted at Thierry Manoncourt's 90th birthday lunch at Taillevent in Paris, the 1953 Figeac is a marvelous Saint Emilion that has certainly stood the test of time—even if after 54 years, it is just starting to fade a little. The nose just lacking the definition and joie-de-vivre of the 1955 Figeac, quite conservative with scents of antique bureau, forest floor, old pencil box and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied, structured, foursquare, surprisingly tight and very traditional in style. However, with time in the glass, it gains a sense of irrepressible harmony. In some ways, a “shy” wine that does not really comprehend how good it is...and does not really care after half-a-century! This is a wonderful Figeac approaching the end of its long drinking plateau. Tasted December 2007. - Neal Martin

The 1953 Figeac has a slightly faded bouquet that does not quite deliver the intensity of the 1950 with scents of pencil shavings, an old mahogany bureau and loam. The palate is medium-bodied with fine backbone, traces of cedar and pencil lead, gently building towards quite a focused, rather conservative finish that never fully lets go. Yet it remains a diving wine. Tasted in Paris. -- Neal Martin