2004 Poesia

Moving on to the flagship wine, I tasted all vintages from 2004, although they are still distributing the 2007 in the United States. The 2004 Poesia, 60% Malbec and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, remains fresh and vital on the nose with dark cherries, mulberry, dark plum and a touch of balsamic. The palate is full-bodied with rounded, loosely knit mulberry fruit interlaced with white pepper, garrigue and cooked meat. It is nicely balanced, though it is missing just a little precision towards the finish. 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.

Lively, punchy nose. Great depth of colour. Very chewy. Quite different from 2003. Much more structure. (JR)

Deep ruby. Black raspberry, blackberry, violet and enticing oak tones on the nose. Dense, lush and ripe, with dark berry and bitter chocolate flavors offering compelling sweetness and fat. Offers a combination of lushness and acid spine rare for Argentine wine. Finishes with big but fine tannins and superb breadth and length. This has been racked only twice to this point. Promises to be the best release yet under this label.