The Garcin-Lévêque Portfolio, 2017
Earlier this year I called in on Hélène Garcin-Lévêque (pictured below) of Château Barde-Haut in St Emilion, primarily to taste her barrel samples from the 2016 vintage. Fortunately I had a little time in hand, so I was also able to take advantage of an unanticipated opportunity to taste her portfolio of wines in the two preceding vintages. This was a second taste of the 2015 during élevage, after an early encounter with it during the primeur tastings in 2016, and my first look at the 2014 vintage which has not long been bottled.
Looking at 2015 first the wines showed consistently, the only shift in my opinion being a reversal of my previous preference for Poesia over the other three wines, as on this occasion Clos l’Église showed a touch more harmony and promise. Of course, all opinions remain moot while the wines are in élevage, so it will be interesting to see which turns out to be my favourite once they have been bottled, next year. As for the 2014 vintage, I certainly preferred the Clos l’Église here, showing a more classical and fresher style than its peers. On the whole, these notes and scores were very much in keeping with my previous opinions when tasting the wines from barrel.
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