Haut-Poitou
The climate of Vienne is very good for the vine, not very cold and a little humid in the spring, a little hot in the summer, very subject to late frosts but therefore it can give the wine certain qualities that it would not have elsewhere.
– Jules Guyot, Étude des Vignobles de France (L’Imprimerie Impériale, 1868)
The city of Poitiers, at the heart of the Vienne département south of the Loire, has long occupied a strategically important position in western France, even in the Gallo-Roman era when it went by the name Limonium. At this time it sat on a (somewhat meandering) Roman road which ran from Lyon, in the Rhône Valley to the east, to the town of Saintes, close to the Atlantic coast. It was also the capital city for the Pictones, a Gallic tribe. Over many years the city grew in terms of wealth and influence, and it had all the trappings to show it, including an amphitheatre and impressive public baths.
This sense of import did not wane through the feudal era and the Middle Ages, the city at this time home to the powerful Counts of Poitiers and Dukes of Aquitaine, a noble lineage which gave us arguably the most significant female figure of Medieval France (fans of Jeanne d’Arc, cover your ears for a moment), none other than Aliénor of Aquitaine (1122 – 1204), whose marriage to Henry Plantagenet (1133 – 1189), the future Henry II of England, brought Bordeaux and all its vineyards into the hands of the English crown. Aliénor’s main residence, the Palais des Comtes de Poitiers at the heart of the city, was a grand venue which hosted lavish receptions, diplomatic meetings and political conferences.
It probably comes as no surprise to learn, bearing in mind its ancient heritage, patrician inhabitants and strong trading connections, that by the Middle Ages the land around Poitiers would come to be planted with vines, the wines produced gracing the city’s royal, noble and merchant tables. And by the time Jules Guyot stayed here during the latter half of the 19th century, a visit which prompted him to write the words reproduced at the top of this page, the vineyard had grown to a huge size, one which would dwarf many modern-day wine regions, including Alsace, Burgundy and even Champagne.
Sadly the modern Haut-Poitou (as the Poitiers vineyard is called today) appellation is a mere shadow of its former self, this being another of France’s disappeared vineyards, where a tiny number of hardy souls strive to keep the viticultural flame alive. In this guide I explore in detail its origins, ascendency, decline and recovery, as well as the wines today.
Please log in to continue reading: