A Perfectly Curated Week in Bordeaux
- ItaliAndrea
- Oct 26
- 4 min read
Bordeaux is arguably one of, if not the, most famous wine regions in the world. It's the birthplace of many noble grapes, notably the heavy-hitters, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The following is by no means a definitive guide to Bordeaux, but it's an overview of what we saw and did on our perfectly curated 5-day tour with Mark of eMpTy bottle.
The tour provided access to chateau we would not have access to visiting on our own, certainly not in the manner we were hosted! The owners of eMpTy bottle, Mark and Tracy, are both Masters of Wine and work in the industry in Bordeaux. As such, they have cultivated relationships over the years.
Day 1 - Left Bank
We checked into our accommodations at the lovely Le Sources de Caudalie and made introductions (over champagne, of course).
LE SOURCES DE CAUDALIE
We then headed to Smith Haut Lafitte owned by the same family as the hotel and on the adjacent grounds. Lucky for us, the onsite cooper was busy working on a barrel during our visit.
Day 2- Left Bank
Chateau Pichon Baron in Pauillac was the most beautiful winery on our tour. The lovely Colette offered us a nice tour and a generous tasting of 5 wines, including 3 vintages of their signature wine, the 2nd growth grand cru classé: 2020, 2019, and 2018.
After the tasting we headed to the chateau for a private lunch along with more special wine including their signature 2006 and 2016 Bordeaux and, last but not least, a 2006 Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes.
Pontet-Canet, also in Pauillac, was 'all in' biodynamic including burying cow horns filled with manure on a full moon! No machines are to be found; it's true horse power.
Heading north to Saint Estèphe, we toured Chateau Montrose a second growth located on the Girone Estuary. The influence of the breezes coming from the ocean via the large estuary helps create their elegant wines. It was indeed very windy!
Day 3- Right Bank
At Chateau Gazin in Pomerol we had the good fortune of being shown around by the affable owner, Nicolas. He took us into the vineyard and showed us the plot of land his ancestors sold to Petrus. He had a good sense of humor, taking a bit of credit for their huge success! Interestingly, they use concrete fermentation tanks which can be customized into the square shape they desire.
LUNCH IN THE CHARMING TOWN OF SAINT-ÉMILION
In St. Émillion we headed to the fantastic Chateau Figeac. where we tasted the Petit Figeac 2021 and their Premier Grand Cru Classé 2018. The chateau is lovely too!
Back in the town of St. Émilion, dinner was at the Michelin 2-star La Table de Pavie.
Day 4- Left Bank
Back on the left bank we toured Chateau Margaux, and it did not disappoint! The 2011 Premier Grand Cru Classé had the most integrated and refined tannins of our trip.
One of the most interesting things we did was a tour of Nadalié cooperage to watch them making and toasting airtight barrels by hand. Now we have an enhanced appreciation for the tremendous amount of work expertise that goes into creating them. They must remove and replace the metal bands at least 10 times before the final sanding and the pristine new ones go on. No wonder they are so expensive! No photos were allowed but they shared a few photos with our group.
The fusion design at the spare-no-expense Chateau Marquis d'Alesme in Margaux was something extraordinary in this very traditional corner of the world. It's owned by a French/Chinese couple, so everything is very feng-shui, even if it means re-positioning the chateau! It made a nice spot to relax for a private light lunch.
Back to Pauillac, we toured the modern facility at Chateau Lynch Bages. They went to great lengths to avoid pumping including the addition of several wine tank elevators.
The tour concluded with fabulous dinner while being entertained by the chateau's hospitality director, Charles. He treated us to some special wines including magnums of their 2000 and 2010 Lynch Bages. The '10 rocked!
Day 5- Barsac and Boat
At Chateau Coutet in Barsac, a sub-appellation within Sauternes, we experienced the autumn morning mist in the vineyard, essential to produce botrytis, noble rot. We even tasted botritis affected grapes from the vine. The fungus does add additional flavors that non-affected grapes don't have. Cellar manager Luc guided us through a tasting of a dry white and 3 vintages of Barsac, 2018, 2010, 1989. This was Thomas Jefferson's favorite Sauternes- good enough for Tom, good enough for us!
We lucked out on the weather and had a nice ride on a pinasse, an oysterman's boat with more than you can eat oysters just plucked from the ocean and cracked open for us.
Helpful tips:
The Bordeaux region is very spread out so plot your course accordingly. We had envisioned it to be vineyard after vineyard, but that was not the case- they are quite far apart with neighborhoods and towns in between.
The beautiful city of Bordeaux is worth a couple of nights, great shopping and restaurants.
St. Émilion is stunningly cute but offers little more than excellent wine shopping- 1 night. That being said, the shops had exceptional selections of Bordeaux, and they ship worldwide.
Have you been to Bordeaux? We'd love to hear about it!
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