My Wine & Spirits Learning Journey - Episode 3: Bordeaux and the Most Famous Chateaux.

I’m closing the summer chapter of my wine and spirits discoveries with the French mecca of wine production: Bordeaux and its renowned wine area, including Medoc, Haut-Medoc, Grave, entre Deux-Mer, St-Emilion, etc.

I visited the lovely city of Bordeaux for, guess what?... Another friends' weeding! ?? ?then decided to stay for a week of holidays to enjoy the local gastronomy and richness of the surrounding of Bordeaux wine area.

?? THE WINE MUSEUM

Together with two friends, we went to visit La Cité du Vin for a three-hour tour all about wine history and international overview.

The venue is outstanding, the learnings are infinite and you wrap-up the tour with a tasting at the panoramic rooftop with 360-view over the city.

No need to say more: visit here: www.laciteduvin.com and do not miss the wine shop which is both outstanding and extensive.

?? BIKING AMONG THE VINEYARD

The following day, we rented bikes and went for a tour across the most famous domains in Bordeaux, the Margaux AOC denomination, and the beautiful castles you can see all around. Simply MAGIC! ??

There are small pleasures in life and a relaxed bike riding with your best friends across this wonderful landscape under the sun is definitely one of them! ??

See below I am not lying:

What's a visit of AOC Margaux without a tasting?

Between the bike tour across the small paths across the field of grapes, a VIP visit of Chateau Desmirail with our young-yet-knowledgable guide Valentin and some wine shopping, our day was done! ??

We did two very different tastings: the first one at the famous Chateau Ferrier (3rd Grand Cru certified in 1855), and the 2nd one at Clos de Bigos (AOC Margaux Cru Artisan) that produce only 10,000 bottles of red wine each year! The harvest is still handpicked and managed by the son and his parents (4th generation of the family). This experience was TOTAL. ??

Off the record, I bought a bottle labeled in front of me (with the machine you can see above) by the lady, owner of the domain Clot de Bigos.

? THE SACRED ROAD OF SAINT EMILION

The following day, I went by myself visiting the wonderful village of Saint Emilion. One of the most famous wine areas in the entire world. Surrounded by vines as far as your eyes can see, the village is absolutely lovely and deeply linked to History. Book your ticket to visit the Monolith Church, something you will only see here. The choice of great restaurants and wine shops is also endless.

I was very fortunate to have a private tasting of premium wines thanks to Tim Cowley just him and me in his backyard, before he let me ride his electric bike for one hour to go visiting all domains around Saint Emilion: Cheval Blanc, Pomerol, etc.

• I strongly suggest you to book a tour with Tim when visiting Saint Emilion

The landscape was so *speechless* and the timing cannot be better as it was just a few days before starting the 2021 harvest. That is to say, vineyards were full of grapes!

?? NOT ONLY WINE, WHISKY AUSSI

Of course, Bordeaux is mostly famous for its wine culture, but for a couple of years, the city recycled an old bunker from WWII nowadays in order to aged whisky and rum!

The Moon Harbour distillery had this crazy idea to stock barrels of whisky in the ancient bunker. After 3.5M investment and some patience, you can now taste a 100%-local whisky of all varieties, 2 rums (one white and one gold), and their own gin too (lavender-lovers, don't miss it!)

All of the above was wrapped up in less than a week! Without mentioning the numerous wine bars, and restaurants offering expertise in pairing food and wine or organic bottles (ECHO, I see you!)

Maybe one week wasn't enough...

Stay tuned for the episode n°4 about the WSET certification level 1.

Cheers, Adrien

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• Original announcement post
• Episode 1 of my Wine & Spirits journey: Spanish & Catalan wines discovery
• Episode 2 of my Wine & Spirits journey: The Italian Way