Poesia
On the road heading east out of the St Emilion appellation, beyond even Château Valandraud, as you approach the vineyards of Castillon, there sits a rather unprepossessing estate. There are a hotchpotch of understated, low-slung buildings (pictured), the ruined tower of a long-disused mill (pictured next page), and almost 10 hectares of vines. For may years a great sign covering a large part of one wall declared the estate’s identity as Château Haut-Villet. Since a change in hands late in 2013, however, this estate is now better known as Poesia. Its prestigious limestone-rich terroir combined with new and enthusiastic management suggests this is a domaine that may be worth getting to know a little better.
History
The hills and slopes around St Emilion have a viticultural history which stretches back as far as the Gallo-Roman period. Ancient viticulteurs would plant vines (as well as fruit trees) in trenches hewn from the region’s limestone rock, and even today the remains of these trenches can still be seen, to the west of the town around Château Franc Mayne, Château Bellevue and behind Château Ausone. Here to the east of the town, around Poesia, we have another corner of the appellation with an equally ancient history. There are no limestone trenches here (at least, none that I know of) but there have been enough archaeological finds made in these vineyards to indicate that Gallo-Roman agriculteurs once tended this land.
