Hi,
Paying a visit to the region, with a focus on touring the wineries and tasting wines.
Ideally would want to visit at least one (or a few!) of the first growths (Lafite, Margaux, Mouton, Latour, Haut Brion). Will have access to a car for about 3 days.
Which of the first growths provides the best tours/tastings? As well, what%26#39;s the best way to book an appointment?
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Read through some of the earlier posts which were somewhat informative. I%26#39;ve gone through the St Emilion and Bordeaux tourist sites already, they%26#39;re pretty good.
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With one exception, the first growths you mention are all generally accessible for visiting. They all offer excellent tours with a tasting at the end.
Each property has its own policy on what vintage to present: at Margaux and Haut Brion the wine offered is usually from one of the most recent bottlings; at Mouton you will pretty much always taste a sample drawn from barrel; at Lafite my clients have had wines with some significant age--around 10 years or so; Latour will often present a range of four wines--the most recent vintage from barrel, then three wines from the most recently bottled vintage: Latour, Les Forts de Latour, and the generic Pauillac.
Naturally these appointments are highly sought after, especially in the late spring and summer months (most of these properties are closed for much of the fall), so you will need to get in touch with them as soon as possible; send a fax or e-mail.
Many of my clients often indicate that they would like an itinerary composed of nothing but first growths, and as a rule I try to discourage this and suggest other fine properties (super seconds, fine fifth growths, cru bourgeois exceptionnels, etc.) to complement a first growth visit.
It%26#39;s similar to what I found when friends used to ask me to make restaurant reservations for them, and they%26#39;d say they wanted to dine at three-star establishments for lunch and dinner over a period of three or four days. After the second day they were heartily seeking out more simple, less rich fare.
You can overdose on too much of a good thing. Besides, if you want to get a true and deep understanding of Bordeaux you won%26#39;t get it from just the firsts--visits to other properties help put the first growths%26#39; exceptional quality in perspective.
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If you just visit one First Growth, Ch Latour certainly sounds one of the more interesting visits - you can contact them for an appointment via their website - www.chateau-latour.com
There are many interesting non-First Growth châteaux to visit as dmj has said, but one particularly recommended by Jane Anson, a writer for my guides also based in Bordeuax, is Ch Lynch Bages, also in Pauillac (www.lynchbages.com).
With three days available, you could probably spend one in the St-Emilion area, one in Northern Médoc and perhaps one closer to the city of Bordeaux, visiting châteaux in Pessac-Léognan (Graves) or even go down to Sauternes. Depending on your stamina, around 3 visits per day is probably about right.
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mouton is pretty easy when you request a visit and paying tasting
margaux still possible
lafite rothschild more difficult
latour,now ,extremely difficult
be aware of companies making you pay for access to latour and rothschild only to tell you that there was a last minute problem
the wine route is the D2,access by exit 7 from the bordeaux ring road
follow pauillac-do not miss the turn shortly after you have left the ring road at junstion 7
you really need appointments for all
ask your restaurant sommelier where you live on his recommandation
go as far as lafont rochet/cos d%26#39;estournel in saint estephe
no need to go to saint estephe itself
stay at the top of the wine route
you may get a free D2 map from www.france-wine-routes.com upon request
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In looking over my earlier post, I see that although I mentioned that one of the first growths is not all that accessible, I neglected to say which one it is: Château Latour.
Last year they instituted a policy of offering visits to professionals and wine collectors only. If you tell them you%26#39;re a collector, you can expect to receive a questionnaire that they ask you to fill out and fax back to them. They want to know which vintages of Latour you have in your cellar, where you buy your wines, etc. (And don%26#39;t think about fudging your answers--they have been known to check up on this.)
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I don%26#39;t claim to have the knowledge that the posters that live here do, but I thought I would comment from a %26quot;visitor%26#39;s%26quot; perspective.
I have toured 12 places (including both Left and Right bank) in the Bordeaux area. I have been to 1 first growth (Mouton), 2 seconds, and 1 each of third/fourth/fifth. I could not agree with dmj more that you should not do just first growths. It is really nice to compare and contrast the different places, and I%26#39;ve done some outstanding tours at other chateaux.
I also have to disagree with doing a tour at Lynch-Bages. I thought that chateau had a very corporate feeling, which is unusual compared to my other experiences in the Bordeaux area. We also ate dinner at the restaurant associated with it--Cordeillan-Bages. It was very good, but I didn%26#39;t think it met the 2* rating (i.e. not worth the cost), and the decor was very stark (which I like in the right venue, but I didn%26#39;t think it worked here).
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Hi We are going to the Gironde region for a week to take in the wine festival at end of june. Staying in Bordeaux for 2 nights during the festival. After that just do wine trailing.
Just a few questions....
Hire a car the best option to get around ?
Campsites near a beach for the odd afternoon off from wine trail ?
What would be a good wine trail?
we are a young couple.
THanks
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By all means rent a car--many châteaux are some distance from each other and public transportation can be infrequent.
One of the best wine routes in the area is the Departemental 2 in the Médoc, known as the %26quot;Château Route%26quot; because almost all of the classified growths in 1855 are on either side of it.
The Médoc is the wine region closest to the Atlantic coast, and thus will put you in the vicinity of the campsites which are along the ocean. You can find a good selection here:
%26lt;http://www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/europe/france/aquitaine/gironde%26gt;
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Thanks a mill,You are the bomb! Being from Ireland we are fond of the vino !!!My dad has a pub so want to see and taste as much as possible. What about driving if we doing tasting....drink driving and all that??? From your other reviews I have gained alot of knowledge. I will try to prebook the visits.
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Try to keep a lid on the drinking and driving. They%26#39;ve become quite serious about that around here these past several years, to the point where the gendarmes have even been stopping drivers on the main château roads when the properties host open-door weekends.
During the summer months you can certainly expect to see checkpoints along the roads, particularly in areas popular with tourists--châteaux regions, along the coast, etc.
(And, hey, I may be out there and the last thing I need is to have to fill out a bunch of accident forms...)
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Ha Ha Might do an organised tour from bordeaux first day to get my barings. THanks a million for all of your help.
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