Chateau Yon-Figeac

Yon is the name of the place where the vineyard is located, and Chateau Yon-Figeac was created in the 19^th century, carved out of the larger Figeac estate. Located on the hill at the heart of St-Emilion, it was bought in 2005 by Alain Chateau, a businessman.

Alain invested to renovate the vineyard to improve the quality of the wine, and the estate now covers 24 ha, with sandy clay soils, having some iron slag. There are 3 wines produced, apart from the grand vin Chateau Yon-Figeac, the second wine is Les Roches de Yon Figeac and another wine called Yon Saint-Martin.

The winemaking process is now being consulted by Denis Dubourdieu, with the initial focus on recultivating the vineyard and totally abandoning herbicide. Planted with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, there is now a small amount of Petit Verdot also.

I have recently tasted the 1998 vintage and my tasting note is as below:

Acceptable quality St-Emilion with medium ruby color, reasonably intense nose showing fair complexity of blackcurrant, blackberry and plum, savory, wet leaves and forest floor, liquorice, toast and farmyard. Fairly high in acidity, the tannin is robust and grippy, with a fairly full-bodied structure, showing reasonably intense flavors of blackberry and plum, cloves, wet leaves and forest floor. The wine has a fairly short finish and a bit unbalanced as I think the acidity is a bit too high, without the fruit and ripeness to support, and also a general impression of not having sufficient ripeness. Ready to drink now and not intend for further ageing.