Three Major Wine Regions FD Trip From Bordeaux (private)

8.50am - Pick up by your driver / guide at your hotel or accommodation in Bordeaux or surrounding.

9.00am Depart from Bordeaux
10.00am Visit & Wine tasting 1st Winery in the Margaux appellation
11.00am Depart for the village of Saint Emilion
12.00am Visit & Wine tasting 2nd Winery in the Saint Emilion appellation
1.00pm Free time for personal discovery & lunch in Saint Emilion
2.30pm Depart for the Graves and Pessac Léognan Wine Region
3.30pm Visit & Wine tasting 3rd Winery in the Graves Wine Region
5.30pm return to Bordeaux

Not much time to spend in Bordeaux but you would like to experience the different types of wines that are produced in this vast vineyard? Take part in a comprehensive small group private day trip & vineyards tour of the major Bordeaux wine regions. Our English speaking and Expert wine tour guides will be with you the whole day and you will be driven in recent and comfortable air conditioned minivans that can take up to 7 or 8 persons.

In the morning, we will come and pick you up at your accommodation in Bordeaux. Meet your English speaking driver/guide that is an expert in the wines of Bordeaux. At first, your guide will go over the itinerary and program of your day that will include winery tours in three different wine regions of Bordeaux. Typically, your wine tour will begin in the Medoc wine region of Bordeaux with a visit and wine tasting session in the Margaux appellation (Please note that this is not a visit to Chateau Margaux – we can organise a visit in this prestigious wine estate but it all depends on availability at time of booking). Then we will take you to the St Emilion wine producing area where you will enjoy a tour and tasting in another winery. Finally, reach the Graves wine producing area that produces both red wines and white wines for your final visit and wine tasting of the day.

All our private Bordeaux wine tours include a visit of the winery where you will see the vat rooms and hear about the wine making process. All visits in the different regions include visits to Grand Cru or Grand Cru Classé properties and are private tours, not group tours. We also offer different types of options concerning lunch such as picnic lunch in a Chateau or Set table lunch in Grand Crus wineries. Your guide can also suggest a number of restaurants depending on your wishes and budget.

WINE REGIONS VISITED

The Medoc wine region spans from the Atlantic ocean to the left bank of the Gironde estuary from the mouth of the river to the city of Bordeaux and includes the four famous communes of Saint Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint Julien and Margaux. It is about 60 km north to south, and about 10 km wide, with around 10,600 hectares under vines and a production of about 50 million liters per year. All the wine made here is red wine and the main grape varieties used are Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Some white wine is also produced but it is then categorized as generic Bordeaux wines and do not bear the appellation name on the label.

This Bordeaux Wine region is the for the Wine Lovers. The wines produced in this region are classified into different categories and under different names of regions. Famous categories include the Cru Bourgeois or 1855 classification Grands Crus Classés wines of which world renowned wineries such as Chateau Margaux, Chateau Latour, Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Lafite are part of. Famous regions include st julien, saint estephe, margaux, haut medoc or pauillac.

The Margaux appellation will be on your program today. Located on the left bank of the Gironde Estuary, the Margaux appellation is one of the most famous wine producing areas of Bordeaux. The appellation is located on five communal grounds: Arsac, Labarde, Cantenac, Margaux and Soussan. It is the soil of Margaux that gives the wines produced here a distinctive fragrant taste, attributed to the high gravel content of the soil in these vineyards. The soil’s excellent drainage means the plants need to root down further to find moisture, making them particularly strong, and bringing up the flavors of the deeper earth. The main grape varieties used the blends are Cabernet Sauvignon and merlot as well as Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec (seldom used today). The wines of Margaux are classified under different names including those that were part of the 1855 classification of bordeaux wines but also under Cru Bourgeois or AOC Margaux. The wines produced are predominantly red wines but there is also a small production of white wine that falls under generic Bordeaux AOC. The most famous wineries of the Margaux appellation include Classified Growths Chateaus such as Chateau Margaux, Chateau Palmer, Chateau Rauzan Segla, Chateau Marquis de Termes and many more.

Located on a hill set along the Dordogne Valley and surrounded by beautiful countryside, it’s not hard to see why the medieval village of Saint Emilion was the first wine region to be given World Heritage status in 1999. The first to plant vineyards were the Romans, who brought grapes here in the 2nd century.

The village however takes its name from Emilian, a monk from Brittany who fled his home town of Vannes. He took refuge in one of the natural caves of Saint Emilion and lived a hermit’s life until his fame for performing miracles spread far and wide and drew disciples from around the region and beyond. The village subsequently became an important religious center and pilgrimage site and even after his death his followers reinforced his legacy by naming the village after him.

The town continued to thrive through the Middle Ages, at which time local monks developed wine making in the region elevating it to the status it has today. Although excluded from the famous 1855 Bordeaux rating, Saint Emilion wines were finally classified in 1955. Today, far away from the local train station, the stoic beige rooftops and medieval stone buildings make Saint Emilion feel like an open-air museum. Everywhere you walk reveals another picturesque scene and the many cafes and restaurant offer some of the best outdoor dining views to be found in France.

The best attractions in the village are located underground: beneath the town, a gigantic network of tunnels and galleries. Quarries were carved out of the hill in order to provide fertile soil for the surrounding fields and vineyards, and they have left Saint Emilion with many unique underground attractions. Chief among them is surely the Monolithic Church an underground church carved from the limestone in the 12th century that reaches above ground up to a 68-meter high bell tower. The ancient Cordeliers cloisters, which sit alongside the monolithic church in the heart of the old town, are another emblematic local landmark.

Local soil features combined with a unique micro-climate have contributed to the reputation this wine region has developed for producing some of the very best red wines of Bordeaux. This is true for both Pomerol and St Emilion wines. The grape varieties which grow best here are Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The most famous Saint Emilion wines are typically a blend of these grapes and are known for their robust flavors and rich earthy notes.

The Graves Bordeaux wine region is bordered on the north by the Garonne river and contain the sub regions of Pessac Léognan, Sauternes and Barsac the later producing sweet wines. It is known for its intensely gravelly soil. While Chateau Haut Brion was included in the 1855 classification of the Médoc, the Graves appellation itself was classified in 1953 for its red wine producers. White wines were included in the updated 1959 classification. Graves is considered the birthplace of claret. In the Middle Ages, the wines that were first exported to England were produced in this area. Château Pape Clément, founded at the turn of the fourteenth century by the future Pope Clement V, was the first named chateaux in all of Bordeaux. In 1663, Samuel Pepys’ mention of Château Haut-Brion was the first recorded mention of French Claret in London.

The Graves region is a lesser known region to foreign travelers but very well known to both local and other french wine aficionados. Graves region produces both red and white wines and the main grape varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc but also lesser used Petit Verdot and Malbec. For the dry white wines varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon or Muscadelle. Famous wineries include La Mission Haut Brion, Domaine de Chevalier, Chateau Haut Bailly, Chateau Bouscaut, Chateau Carbonnieux and many more that are classified as Crus Classes wines and most are located in the pessac leognan sub region. Other wines of the area include Graves AOC and Graves supérieurs.