2008 Poesia

The 2008 Poesia is not as complex or as intense on the nose as the 2007, with tightly wound and rather broody blackberry, mint, wild strawberry and cassis. The palate is rounded on the entry, with savory-tinged black fruit and good acidity, but I feel that it is missing some tension towards the powerful, burly finish (especially when compared to the previous two vintages.) Drink now-2017. Bodega Poesia was founded in 2000, when Helene Garcin-Leveque was seeking a property of her own (her family is the proprietor of Clos l’Eglise in Pomerol among others.) She discovered a small vineyard located between Mendel and Cheval des Andes: 13-hectares of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, the latter planted on its own rootstock in 1935. The vineyard is comprised of four rows of vines interpolated by a row of olive trees that Helene thought looked like a Garden of Eden and so she christened it “Poesia,” “poetry” in Spanish. Since the inaugural 2001, the wine has been made in a rented winery; however, they use their own vats and barrels during vinification. Helene’s husband, Patrice, flies down regularly to oversee the vineyard and vinify the wines, and for the last two years he has enlisted the consultancy of the father of Santiago Mayorga (winemaker at Mendel). The goal is to make a high end wine and to make “the terroir speak.” The vines are cultivated organically, although they are not seeking certification, and they harvest early but ripe in order to capture the acidity, which hovers around a pH of 3.75. The “Clos des Andes” is designed to show the best Malbec on their property, where they feel that the fruit is “less heavy.” It is hand-harvested and fermented in wooden, stainless steel and concrete tanks (50-80 hectoliters in size). After a long cuvaison, the wine undergoes partial malolactic in barrel and then sees 40% to 60% new oak in 300-liter barrels rather than 225 liters. Various importers.