Poesia, Grand Cru St. Emilion 2014 |
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Buying Bordeaux wine can be daunting. With over 9,000 different Bordeaux wines spanning 57 appellations and costing anywhere from under $10 to well over $3,000 a bottle. Add the intricacies of vintages, changing ownership, or new importers, and the category can be overwhelming. So it is no wonder that many collectors stick with a limited stable of chateaus that they collect year after year because they know the stories of their favorite wine. But then the stories change. Case in point, before 2014, Chateau Poesia did not exist, and now their goal is to be a 100-point Bordeaux wine. |
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Chateau Poesia St. Emilion is a story that makes you want to buy their wine. Before 2014 this 32-acre vineyards was a neglected property formerly known as Chateau Haut Villet. Purchased and renamed Chateau Poesia in 2014 by HĂŠlène Garcin with her husband Patrice LĂŠvĂŞque. HĂŠlène comes from a deeply entrenched Bordelais winemaking familyâbased in Pessac-Leognan, they own Château Haut-Bergey and Château Branon, and her aunt and uncle own Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte. Patrice also comes from a winemaking family in Graves. Despite being born-and-bred Left Bankers, they moved to St-Emilion and now operate several estates on the Right Bank, Ch Barde-Haut, Clos Lâeglise, and Chateau dâArce. Plus, the familyâs property in Mendoza, Argentina, where they produce wine from 13 hectares of old vine, un-grafted Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon, planted in 1935. |
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Helene and Patrice fell in love with Chateau Poesia, situated on a limestone plateau. The largest portion of the property sits in the Saint-Ămilion Appellation, while the remaining part is in CĂ´tes de Castillon. After buying the estate, one of the first things Helene Garcin did was to remove more than 17 acres, half of their estateâs vines. The estate has been planted with 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vines range from 30 to 70 years of age. The vineyard is well situated on a high plateau consisting of clay and limestone soils. After the purchase, a complete renovation of the property took place, first in the vineyard, followed by the cellars and chateau. The vineyards have good neighbors with Valandraud, Chateau Peby Faugeres, and Chateau Fleur Cardinale. |
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âWe are really in love with this property,â enthuses Patrice. âWe think Poesia will produce our first 100 PT wine.â |
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Although they made a 2013 vintage, it was juice leftover from the previous owners they had in the tank; very little was produced and not distributed in the U.S. 2014 was their first widely distributed vintage and met with rave reviews from the critics. For you wine geeks out there, the 2014 vintage as a whole was met with mixed reviews; Wine Advocate gave it a 91 rating. If you dive more into the vintage, you will see that the Right Bank was rated higher than the Left Bank, mentioning that some vineyards were better suited for the vintage, and Merlot and Cabernet Franc did very well. Because of the mixed reviews, Bordeaux lovers can find great wines at a more significant value. The 2014 Ch. Poesia is that kind of bargain for the collector. |
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This might be an excellent segue to mention that we are starting to get offers for 2021 Bordeaux futures. You would think that they would all get together and send a master list of what the chateau was offering on the First Tranche. Unfortunately, they all give their offers at different times to the negociants, who then put out offers to retail buyers. This means they come peace meal to Tim Korbyâs desk daily. We are assembling for 2021 Bordeaux presell campaign, and if you have received those offers before, you will automatically be included on this list. If you havenât received our Bordeaux offers before, just respond to this offer and say, âinclude me.â This offer is revised often, is separate from any of our other offers, and comes directly from Tim Korby. There are great wines there that range from $20 to $2,000 offered at significantly less than when they arrive in two years. |
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Far from decorum and worldliness, a sincere wine that speaks of the soul of the vintage and not of its reflection. In Poesia, only the truth of the terroir makes its mark: The mark of the great wines of Saint-Ămilion. |
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The 2014 Poesia is a powerful wine with serious density and richness. Black cherry, plum, spice, and leather emerge with great reluctance. This packed, structured Saint-Ămilion is going to need at least a few years to fully unwind. Even so, it is both impressive and promising. Helene Garcin and winemaker Alain Raynaud have done a terrific job here. The blend is 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Vinous 93 pts
The Château Poesia 2014 was picked from 8 October until the 14 October, finishing with the Cabernet Franc. It is a blend of 30% Cabernet Franc and 70% Merlot, seven of the ten hectares having been recently re-planted through massale selection of Cabernet Franc from Clos lâEglise. Fermented in non-epoxy lined troconic concrete tanks it was matured in 100% new French oak with partial malolactic in barrel. It has a very concentrated, intense nose with black cherries, crème de cassis, and vanilla-scented bouquet that just bursts from the glass. The palate is more controlled than the nose, with fine tannin and a keen line of acidity (pH 3.50) that is neatly interwoven into the fabric of this wine. It feels persuasively harmonious in the mouth, though I would like to see a little more complexity and personality develop right on the finish that feels quite linear at the moment. This is HĂŠlène Garçin-LĂŠvequeâs baby, and you know, I wouldnât mind babysitting this when it reaches four years old. Wine Advocate 92 pt
Floral and aromatic with currant and wet-earth undertones. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins, and a lightly bitter-chocolate aftertaste. James Suckling 91 pts
Earthy, licorice, plums, smoke, and espresso leads you to a medium-bodied, silky effort with freshness with a hint of herbs and olives that only add to the red pit fruits in the finish. The Wine Cellar Insider 91 pts
Outer quote mark Ripe, with a slightly compact core of raspberry and blackberry pâte de fruit flavors. A brambly note underneath adds energy and enough freshness and floral charm to let this stretch out in the short term. (JM, Web-2017) Inner quote mark. Wine Spectator
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Poesia, Grand Cru St. Emilion 2014
It goes without saying that for us to taste this wine, I needed to seek out our Bordeaux nerd on the wine team. I met Tim Gunderman in the kitchen, where we opened up this bottle of wine with great anticipation. Our initial response was that the wine was very compact and needed to open up. The color was great, dark garnet color to the rim, rich and full on the palate with dark fruit and cherry flavors along with olive and herbs. Fine silky tannins with a medium finish. An excellent wine that needs to open up, so I was planning to come down later and taste it. As it turned out, as often the case, I never made it back to the wine. Tim and I play in a band together and had practice the next night. I asked him how the wine had evolved, and he gushed about how great the wine was when he brought it home, and low and behold, he saved me some to try. Let me tell you, 28 hours later, this wine was amazing. The middle filled out, complexities of bright fruit and spice balanced by acid and tannins leading to a long, lush finish. I was blown away. This bottle of wine is what Bordeaux hunting is all about. Decant for an hour before drinking.
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*Sale price is on 3 or more bottles, wine is packed in a 12 bottle case.
Quantities are limited.
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Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that I need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes me some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that I sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet, and in this pandemic environment, simply operations sometimes prove difficult. Thank you in advance for your patience. |
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Let me know your preferred store for pickup: Attleboro, Norwood, Sturbridge, or Swansea. If you don't state the store, I will assume you are picking up in Sturbridge.
Place your order now while you've got everything in front of you. Reply to this email along with your name and which store you want to pick it up.
I will confirm your order via email when it is ready for pickup. Please give us at least 48 hours to respond. Stay well, cheers!
âJohn Hannum, Fine & Rare Wine Specialist
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We reserve the right to limit quantities. You must be at least 21 years of age to purchase/consume alcohol. Please drink responsibly. Not responsible for typographical errors. Rebate quantities are subject to limitation by the manufacturer. These alcoholic beverages may be subject to payment of Connecticut or Rhode Island Alcoholic Beverage Tax and Connecticut Use Tax, and may be subject to seizure as contraband. |
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