Sun 27th Aug
It was another beautiful morning so Mark went for a bike ride and I took another walk along the river. There were more people out today which was surprising given I had thought a Sunday would be more quiet around here.
Our only activity for the day was a 3.5 hr Bordeaux Food Tour organized by Do Eat Better Bordeaux. Our guide for the tour was Aurelien, who was a Bordeaux local, and we were joined by five other guests who all just happened to be from Florida. Aurelien took our group around the historic old town pointing out many of the main tourist attractions and this suited the Floridian’s as they had all just arrived in Bordeaux and were new to the area. Our first stop was at the Cousin & Compagnie wine bar where we tasted three different wines and had a bit more of a lesson about Bordeaux wines. It just so happened that one of the Florida guys on our tour was a wine expert and he was taking three of the others on a 3 week wine tour around France and spending 2 weeks in the Bordeaux area. Our next stop was at a restaurant where we sampled some more food and wine from the local area and this turned into a bit of a long lunch with lots of great discussions but I did avoid raising the issue of Trump’s most recent indictment. Our our third stop was to sample some local cannele and our last stop was at the popular shop, Dune Blanche du Bassin d’Arcachon, where we sampled some of their chocolate.
It was a lovely few hours strolling with the group and chatting about wine, food and travel. We hadn’t known what to expect but the day turned out to be a lot of fun and this is another activity I would recommend if you’re ever in Bordeaux.
It was 3.30 pm by the time we got home and we were both tired after our outing so spent the rest of the day relaxing in the apartment and had an early night.
Mon 28th Aug
We had a full day wine tour today hosted by A la Francaise to visit the two wine regions of Saint Emilion and Medoc. Our guide for the day was Emily and we were joined for the morning part of the tour by a young couple from the UK, Adam and Emma. The morning tour was to region of Saint Emilion and it was about a 45 minute drive from Bordeaux. Emily gave us some background about Bordeaux on the way:
- There are 800 wineries in St Emilion compared to 200 in Medoc
- The wine classification system in Medoc dates back to 1855 and was pushed by Napoleon Bonaparte and is fixed meaning once a grading is awarded it is held for life. The system in St Emilion started 100 years later and is reviewed every 10 years.
- Bordeaux wines are blends and are identified by their appellation rather than the grape variety.
- There are 3 main wine classifications in Saint Emilion:
- Saint Emilion
- Saint Emilion grand cru
- Saint Emilion grand cru classic (premium price)
- 85 vineyards are grand cru classic
- St Emilion is primarily 80% Merlot with some Cabernet Franc some Malbec
- The Average size of a Chateau is 8~ 9 hectares
- Many chateaux are family owned.
- Land in St Emilion is very expensive: 1 hectares = €1 million so an average vineyard is €9 million
- St Emilion soil is primarily Limestone and clay which is good for red wine
- Chateau is term used very broadly in St Emilion. It doesn’t mean a castle. Even Small vineyards are called chateaux.
- St Emilion has around 2,000 inhabitants but receives about 2 million tourist per year
Our first stop was at the medieval village of St Emilion and then on to two vineyards, adjacent to each other, and owned by the same family. St Emilion was a most beautiful little medieval limestone village and we were lucky with the early hour as there weren’t too many others strolling the streets. We viewed the 11th century Monolithic Church which was rather amazing as it was carved out of the limestone hillside. Unfortunately they don’t allow many visitors these days as they are trying to preserve the ancient structure.
Our group also visited some caves in the village that were now used for storing wine by the Clos des Menuts but were originally carved out to quarry for limestone in the 12 th century. Apparently there are 100 km of cave tunnels under St Emilion.
Our second stop was at two neighbouring vineyards owned by the same family: Chateau Tour Baladoz and Chateau La Croizille. We had a short tour of the vineyards and winemaking process in both estates and then took a tasting of three wines; a rose and two reds. As has been the case in Bordeaux, we liked both of the reds and bought a bottle of each.
We enjoyed the visit to St Emilion and wished we’d been able to spend more time there. With hindsight, I would now advise anyone who is considering visiting the Bordeaux region to spend a few days in Bordeaux city and then a night in a Chateaux in Saint Emilion, as some of these looked amazing, and then one night in the town of Saint Emilion.
Our group then returned to Bordeaux, to drop off Adam and Emily, and we had lunch back at the tour group office. We then joined with six new guests for the afternoon tour to the Medoc wine region where we went on to visit two vineyards, Chateau Paloumey and Chateau Marquis de Terme. We preferred the wines from St Emilio more than those from Medoc but it was nice to experience both. We also got to see the famous Chateau Margaux where visits cost a fortune and you need to book up to 18 months in advance.
It was a great day out and made so much more special thanks to our delightful young host Emily. I would highly recommend this tour and tour company and I would ask for Emily as well.
It was 7 pm by the time we got back to the apartment and we had a night dining in and packing up for our departure tomorrow for Carcassonne. We had enjoyed our time here in Bordeaux although, as mentioned above, I would allocate time differently if I was ever to return. We loved our location by the river as well, despite the interesting folk hanging around downstairs, and enjoyed dining on the terrace whilst overlooking the magnificent Porte de Bourgogne and the River Garonne.
