bordeaux vineyards
Discussion
tips for a 1 day vineyard visiting road trip please? Mrs 2CV is pregnant by the way so she'll be driving!! (she actually wants to do this too)
mainly love big reds... quite want to take in some lovely scenery... some nice food. Pretty open really... the "tours" seem phenomenally expensive (€420 for 2 people) so happy to roll our own as it were.
oh this is next week by the way! weds 3rd.
also anything we need to watch out for or think about?
thanks!
mainly love big reds... quite want to take in some lovely scenery... some nice food. Pretty open really... the "tours" seem phenomenally expensive (€420 for 2 people) so happy to roll our own as it were.
oh this is next week by the way! weds 3rd.
also anything we need to watch out for or think about?
thanks!
Pessac Léognan big enough red?
http://www.chateauleognan.fr/contact_leognan_en.ht...
You have to book a tasting tour links on that page, Restaurant is good too
http://www.chateauleognan.fr/contact_leognan_en.ht...
You have to book a tasting tour links on that page, Restaurant is good too
Chateau Carbonneau have been very good with the short notice visits I've done - walks around the vineyards tasting the grapes, then through the wine making process, and on to tasting. They're not a "big name" but were really friendly and knowledgeable for a walkround.
From there you're in easy reach of Saint-Emilion where there are plenty of places to eat/drink/taste/buy, go via Castillon-la-Bataille, or follow the river (Dore/Dordogne/Girdonde) for some very pretty driving. Going the other way there's Bergerac, via Sainte-Foy-la-Grande which has a couple of decent restaurants which overlook the river.
From there you're in easy reach of Saint-Emilion where there are plenty of places to eat/drink/taste/buy, go via Castillon-la-Bataille, or follow the river (Dore/Dordogne/Girdonde) for some very pretty driving. Going the other way there's Bergerac, via Sainte-Foy-la-Grande which has a couple of decent restaurants which overlook the river.
I haven't been there for a while, but the scenery on the left bank downstream of Bordeaux (Haut Medoc, Margaux, St Julien, Pauillac etc) isn't spectacular even some of the 'big' names are there. I don't know what the visiting/tasting options are these days though, but a lot of the top producers only have modest chateaux.
I thought that the prettiest town in the area was Saint-Emilion and the scenery along the Dordogne is nice.
I thought that the prettiest town in the area was Saint-Emilion and the scenery along the Dordogne is nice.
peter tdci said:
I haven't been there for a while, but the scenery on the left bank downstream of Bordeaux (Haut Medoc, Margaux, St Julien, Pauillac etc) isn't spectacular even some of the 'big' names are there. I don't know what the visiting/tasting options are these days though, but a lot of the top producers only have modest chateaux.
I thought that the prettiest town in the area was Saint-Emilion and the scenery along the Dordogne is nice.
Would echo that - St Emilion is / was the last time we were there, very good for tastings etc, plus much prettier than the left bank I thought that the prettiest town in the area was Saint-Emilion and the scenery along the Dordogne is nice.
amazing trip thanks guys. We only saw one vineyard in the end (chateau haut smith lafitte) and it was the one attached to the rather swanky hotel we spent a few days in. TBH the wine in most of the restaurants etc was just incredible. Spent a day in St Emilion, which was a great shout, and quite a few other places. 2000Km in all, nice little road trip.
peter tdci said:
I haven't been there for a while, but the scenery on the left bank downstream of Bordeaux (Haut Medoc, Margaux, St Julien, Pauillac etc) isn't spectacular even some of the 'big' names are there. I don't know what the visiting/tasting options are these days though, but a lot of the top producers only have modest chateaux.
I thought that the prettiest town in the area was Saint-Emilion and the scenery along the Dordogne is nice.
Exactly what I havefound. Ok, Paulliac is global HQ for the best wines in the world, but it's pretty drab and as you drive around the dusty grey flat landscape, it seems like all the big chateau are forbiddingly shut away behind walls discouraging the casual visitor (with good reason, no doubt).I thought that the prettiest town in the area was Saint-Emilion and the scenery along the Dordogne is nice.
St Emillion is much better for pretty rolling hills and accessible vineyards offering tours and degustations. My fave visits have been following signs off the main road to smaller off the beaten track places, not organised tours (worth popping in the tourist office though to get your bearings), the village itself has a fair few small shops that offer tastings there too. Some nice, atmospheric bistros to eat in too.
It's nearly 10 years now, as I haven't returned, and I'm sure if we had scratched the surface we would have found some gems, but I found Paulliac absolutely uninspiring. Margaux, a place on the road we just drove through.
Bordeaux itself is an excellent city though.
BTW Bordeaux is not the place I'd think of "big" reds unless you are thinking big on reputation or price!
that's the one! A couple of nice restaurants actually... and a small plates wine terrace! It is just a stunning place. We were in chateau le thil down the road but wasn't an issue for us as we had a car (and a des driver!!). Bought a few bottles at the vineyard shop, but annoyingly they had started to leak after a short while. Fortunately we were still in the area and so able to get them replaced. The hotel is a bit of a tractor beam, but we did make it into Bordeaux on one of the evenings and had a couple of drinks at the rooftop bar at the grand hotel which was rather nice.
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