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...
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