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Château Figeac 2022 enjoys a premium promotion

01 August 2023 By James Evison

The producer Château Figeac is the only one to have been elevated to Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the year’s classification, and has offered its bottles at a 55.2% rise on the previous opening price.

The St-Émilion classification has seen notable developments and controversies in recent years. In 2012, Château Angélus and Château Pavie were promoted to the esteemed Premier Grand Cru Classé A status, resulting in immediate Market Price increases.

They both released their 2012 vintages at significantly higher prices than in the previous year, a 30% increase for Angélus, and a whopping 58% for Pavie.

In the 2022 classification, Château Figeac became the only producer to be promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé A. The château has followed the trend of Angélus and Pavie with its en primeur release price: Figeac 2022 was offered at £3,036 per 12×75, a 55.2% rise from the previous year’s opening price.

However, alongside this promotion, there have also been notable withdrawals from the classification. Château Angélus removed its application for the 2022 ranking in January, following Cheval Blanc and Ausone, which had announced their withdrawal in July 2021. Additionally, Château Canon La Gaffelière, which was ranked ‘B’, withdrew from the classification in 2022. When Angélus and Pavie were promoted in September 2012, their indexed Market Prices increased by 18% and 11% respectively in the space of one year.

In the same period, the Bordeaux 500 index only increased by 5%. Despite Angélus’ subsequent withdrawal from the classification in 2022, its index value has remained relatively stable from September 2022 to May 2023, while Pavie’s prices have been declining since 2018.

Figeac experienced a significant 41.7% increase in its index value between September 2020 and September 2022. This rise could be attributed to the anticipation leading up to the 2021 St-Émilion classification, when the wine was originally rumoured to be promoted.

This strong price performance, following increased demand for the producer’s wines, also partly explains why Figeac climbed from 75th place in 2020 to 12th place in 2021 in the Power 100 rankings.

It’s interesting to note that in November 2022, just after it was finally promoted to Grand Cru Classé A, Figeac dropped back to 35th place in the Power 100 rankings. The impact of the new release on Figeac’s index remains to be seen.

As Figeac prices peaked until September 2022, before its promotion, perhaps the momentum surrounding its upgrade has already been and gone.

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