Château Barde-Haut, 2018 – 2022
Château Barde-Haut is one of the most visually striking estates on the St Emilion landscape, the rust-red buildings of oxidised steel and matching wind turbine creating a distinctive landmark on the eastern limestone plateau. Behind this unique and modern façade, however, there lies a property the history of which stretches back to (at least) the 18th century.
While the property has considerable history, the wines reflect its modern appearance, being rich, dark, brimming with black fruits and wrapped up in spicy notes of cinnamon and clove. They reflect the tastes and ideologies of the owners, Patrice and Hélène Garcin-Lévêque, who now eschew the advice of the region’s many consultants (having served their time with both Michel Rolland and Alain Raynaud) to plough their own winemaking furrow.
And I really so mean they plough their own furrow. In the course of all my visits to Château Barde-Haut I have only met Patrice once, for one simple reason; he is always out on his tractor, working the soils or tending to the vines. Normal behaviour in less grandiose appellations, where a grower is perhaps more connected to his land, but for a proprietor of a grand cru classé estate in St Emilion this is a rare (and admirable) trait.
Last year I returned to Château Barde-Haut to taste a handful of recent vintages, not just of this estate but also two other Garcin-Lévêque properties, Poesia and Clos L’Église. This is therefore the first of three mini-reports which will ensure that these notes enter the Winedoctor tasting database.
