History is Now: Poesia, 2018 – 2022
Poesia occupies an enviable position on the eastern periphery of the St Emilion appellation, perched on the edge of the cool limestone plateau. The property lacks the long-established (or in some cases, not so long-established) reputation of some of its neighbours, a slew of classified properties including Valandraud, Fleur Cardinale, Rol Valentin and Montlisse, and yet this understated château turns out wines of singular appeal which demand our attention.
Formerly known as Château Haut-Villet, the transformation of this interminably overlooked property began in 2013 when it was acquired by Patrice and Hélène Garcin-Lévêque, already proprietors of Château Barde-Haut and Clos L’Église. They chose to rename their new baby Poesia after their Argentinian property in Mendoza, Bodega Poesia.
Their ambition was seemingly not simply to add another château to an already impressive portfolio of vineyards and wines, but to unlock the potential of a site they regarded as exceptional. While the property sits a stone’s throw from the boundary between St Emilion and Castillon (if you continue along the road past Poesia the next estate you encounter is Louis Mitjavile’s L’Aurage), the quality of its terroir is enviable. Underfoot the soils are cool and rich in limestone, the elevated position – at 87 metres above sea level this is one of the highest points in the appellation – looking down over gently sloping valleys filled with vines, place it among some of the finest terroirs in this corner of St Emilion.
I first visited the property more than ten years ago, only a couple of years after Patrice and Hélène had taken possession. The photographs in my profile now act as a historical record of how the property used to look, because in 2021 they finished building a new winery including an impressive glass-walled cuverie filled with gleaming stainless steel vats.
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