Bordeaux
Four days in Beautiful Bordeaux! Where to start? Four days is not nearly enough time to traverse this entire wine region but we certainly gave it a good shot! I divided my time between Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux city and the coastal area around Cap Ferret.
Most important things to know about Bordeaux as a wine region? The terms Right Bank and Left Bank- you may have heard these terms before been confused by what they mean? Put simply, the wine regions of Bordeaux are separated by the Gironde estuary and two main rivers (the Garonne and Dordogne) Depending on which side of the estuary you are, determines if it is a Left or Right Bank area. Simples right!
Other main difference between the areas are the type of grapes grown there. Wines from Bordeaux usually tend to be a blend: white wines are mostly Sauvignon Blanc blended with Semillon and some of the best are found in the regions (or Appellations) of Pessac-Léognan and Entre-Deux-Mers. Reds can be a blend of a number of different varieties, again dependent on the region. Left Bank reds are mostly dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. This grape grows best in the Left Bank area due to the presence of gravel in the soil. Cab Sauv is a thick skinned grape that needs the extra heat radiated from the gravel stones in order to ripen successfully in this part of the world! Right Bank wines are usually Merlot dominated (most planted grape variety due to clay and limestone soils) blended with other partners like Cabernet Franc.
Saint-Émilion: a beautiful and charming village in the heart of the Right Bank wine region of Bordeaux. Hundreds upon hundreds of years of history plus more wine shops than you can shake a stick at, what's not to love!
Stay: Chateau Hotel & Spa Grand Barrail is a stunning property less than 10 minutes drive from the village. Stunning gastronomy experience restaurant on their terrace looking across the super manicured grounds and vines beyond
Shop: A plethora to choose from! But we spent our time perusing the selections in La Grande Cave, on Place du Cloucher and Will Wine.
Visit: We had a wonderful visit to Maison Blanche Vignobes Despagne-Rapin, hosted by Nicolas Despagne himself where he gave us a tour of the winemaking facilities and explained all about the old vines on the 32 hectares on the estate (an average age of at least 45 years) their use of stainless steel vats over the winter before moving the wine to old French oak barrels for between 15-18 months. Unsual for the area, the Maison has higher plantings of Cabernet Franc than Merlot and all their wines (including the Prestige label and Estate labels which we tasted) with often as much as 50% Cab Franc in the blend. These wines are beautifully textured with the addition of more Cab Franc than other estates giving an amazing freshness to the wines. Big shout out to the guys at Bancroft for arranging our visit with Maison Blanche, an epic first tasting for our trip!
Four days in Bordeaux - Part Two!
The next part of the trip took us to the City of Bordeaux and some of the villages in the Left Bank area
Bordeaux City
A vibrant city with an excellent food and drinks scene! Much larger than we expected it with a really pretty and aesthetically pleasing Old Town area full of wonderful architecture and cobbled stone streets. This is in tandem with the more modern parts of the city - futuristic looking bridges that cross the river Garonne and a fantastic tram system that will get you anywhere you need
Stay: Moxy Hotel in the newly gentrified area of Bassins à Flots . A fun, modern place to stay right next to the Cité du Vin! Most importantly, if you have rented a car for your trip and are staying in the City, be careful where you book to stay. A lot of places don't have any parking and due to the tram system and various pedestrianised streets in the Old Town, driving/parking in the city can be a bit of a nightmare. This hotel was an excellent choice as it has access to a large and safe multi-story car park next door and is situated on the edge of the city so is ideal to get in and out of the city to visit wineries.
Eat:
Symbiose - stunning small plates and an expertly chosen wine list on the banks of the river Garonne
Les Halles de Bacalan is a lively & buzzy food market in the heart of the Bassins à Flots district serving food and drinks all day.
Drink: There is no shortage of wine bars in the city of course! One of our favourites was Le Vertige, the perfect spot to sit outside in the sun and watch the world go by with a glass of something delicious from their considerable wine selection.
To Do: Cité du Vin - a trip to Bordeaux city just wouldn't be complete without a visit to this multi level wine lover's dream! Each floor features something different from interactive displays charting wine regions around the world to areas where you can test your sensory abilities, a wine library, wine shop and on the top floor, the tasting room with a birds eye view over the whole city from the terrace.
Left Bank
Bordeaux reds can be a blend of a number of different varieties, again dependent on the region. Left Bank reds are mostly dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon as it grows best in the Left Bank area due to the presence of gravel in the soil. Cab Sauv is a thick skinned grape that needs the extra heat radiated from the gravel stones in order to ripen successfully in this part of the world!
Some of the most famous appellations (or regions) in the wine world are found in the Left Bank area- St-Estèphe, Pauillac, St-Julien and Margaux. We chose to only visit Margaux due to time constraints but it certainly didn't disappoint! The village itself is very small with just a small hotel and a few local services but it does have a quaint little restaurant called Le Bar Margaux run by a local family with amazing quality local produce and of course, fantastic wines.....
From lunch here it was a short stroll over the estate of the famous Chateau Margaux to stand at the gates and gaze in longingly at the beautiful house. Many of the most famous Chateaux in the area either don't permit visitors at all or only by prior appointment. So it's really important when planning a trip to the region to have a think in advance (a couple of months at least!) of where you'd like to visit and check what their rules are. I managed to get a picture of their famous vines too before a very serious looking and burly security guard made his way over to me- I promise I didn't touch the vines!
We were lucky to have a visit arranged at Château Kirwan - known as a Third Growth producer (via the 1855 Classification) the estate got its name and began its wine making in 1760 when an Irish wine merchant from Galway, Mark Kirwan married the daughter of a prominent Bordeaux négociant. I loved the Irish connection here of course, including the original Kirwan coat of arms displayed in the winery! The estate is surrounded by 37 hectares of vines (Cav Sauv, Merlot & Petit Verdot) on clay and gravel soil and they have a brand new state of the art wine facility with 37 large cement egg shaped vessels - one for each hectare of vines so each plot can be vinified separately. We tasted the 2017 and 2020 vintages plus were lucky enough to try the newly bottled 2021 vintage - only bottled that very morning! So lucky to have gotten to taste a wine like this so soon before release.
The Coastal region
What to do in the area when you're travelling with someone who is sick of doing 'wine-y' things? The answer is: head to the coast! Bordeaux city is only an hour's drive from the coast so it is an excellent way to round off a trip to the region.
Stay: Arcachon, a pretty seaside resort town in southwest France that's known for oyster harvesting. It has a number of different accommodation options to suit different budgets and the promenade is a wonderful place for a sundowner while watching the sea.
Do: Run Climb to the top of the Grande Dune du Pilat, Europe's tallest moving coastal sand dune. At up to 110 metres tall, the views are spectacular and a really great way to burn off some wine calories!
Boat: Take the ferry from Arcachon to Cap Ferret and spend the day there, cycling around and checking out the beautiful scenery. Ferries go very regularly during the summer months but can get very busy so make sure you get to the dock area in plenty of time before your ferry is scheduled to leave! Likewise, when you dock in Cap Ferret, make your way to the bike rental area as fast as you can before the queues get too big!
Eat: Le Bouchon du Ferret is undoubtedly the most famous restaurant in the area and worth the hype! As luck would have it, we cycled past at midday just as they were opening for lunch so we managed to snag a table right outside by the sea and an amazing spot for people watching! A must do if you are a seafood lover.
