Left Bank Wine Tour Full Day Trip From Bordeaux (private)

Highlights

  • Tastings of Top-Rated, Locally Made Wines

  • Leave the research and planning to your private guide.

  • Pre-Booked Visits at Three Wineries

  • Tour can be customized to suit your interests.

  • English-Speaking, Local Wine Experts

Summary

A Comprehensive Exploration of the Right Bank Bordeaux Wine Region, Fronsac, Saint Emilion, Pomerol, Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux, are all appellations located on the right bank. 

Tour info

Duration
8 hours - 9 hours
Group Size
8
Pricing (From)
Adult: (4-99 years)
€590.00
Commentary
Meeting Point
Dropoff location

Why take this tour?

After leaving Bordeaux, we will take you to top rated wineries located in these appellations so that you may sample delicious wines. All visits are private and your tour will be conducted by an expert wine guide who will introduce you to the specialties of the wines produced here.

8.50 am - Meeting point at your accommodation in or near Bordeaux

9.00am - Depart from Bordeaux
10.00am - Visit and wine tasting in a Classified Growth Chateau
11.30am - Visit and wine tasting in a Classified Growth Chateau
1.00pm - Free time in the village for personal discovery and lunch
3.00pm - Visit and wine tasting in a Classified Growth Chateau
5.00pm - Return to Bordeaux

Visit Our Expert Guide’s Favorite Wineries in the Medoc Region
American wine critic Robert Parker was the first to base himself on the US Standardized Grading system to grade wines making the buying process easier for consumers. According to this system, a wine that reaches at least 85 points is considered to be above average or good.What consumers usually don’t know is that this grading system results from a first grade out of 50. To that grade, instead of multiplying it by 2 to obtain the final grade out of 100 (the logical way to do it!) the system just adds another 50 points to the first grade. By using this system, a wine that obtains 35/50 on their first grade and that should reach 70/100, finally obtains 35+50=85 points. Imagine therefore a wine that obtains 20/50, the same wine will obtain a 70/100 letting consumers believe that in fact this is not such a ‘bad wine’.

So let’s get to the point. Our team of travel designers have decided to bring you the best of Bordeaux wines by taking you to the wineries that have obtained a real 90+ point average. How is this possible? By combining the scores of 3 major wine tasting events/critics that have put quality before reputation or price. Most of the wineries selected you will never have heard of and many do not offer top of the notch tasting rooms. In fact most of these wineries are not used to having visitors or wine tour companies as their main activity is to make wine! However, they do have one thing in common: create the Best of Bordeaux wines!

Discover the Left Bank Wines of Bordeaux
After being picked up by your driver/guide, head towards the left bank wine producing areas of the Bordeaux vineyards. These include:

MEDOC WINES
The Medoc wine region that spans the left bank of the Gironde from the mouth of the river to the city of Bordeaux and includes the four famous communes of St-Estephe, Pauillac, St. 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 and the main grape variety used is the Cabernet Sauvignon.
GRAVES WINES
The Graves region, bordered on the north by the Garonne river and that contains the sub regions of Pessac-Léognan, Sauternes and Barsac. It is known for its intensely gravelly soil.  While Château 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.

More Information About Your Tour
Your tour will take you to 3 carefully selected wineries located in different appellations and we have selected vintages that have obtained at least 90 points from several renowned wine events/critics. All visits will consist in a short introduction of the history of the wineries followed by a visit of all the technical installations when appropriate. Finally, experience commented wine tasting sessions of the Chateau wines so as to better understand what are the specificities that have allowed the wines to obtain such high rankings. Throughout the day, your driver/guide will deliver live commentaries during your travel time so that the many questions you might have can be answered. All Chateau visits are private.

What’s included?

  • Hotel pick up from Bordeaux or surrounding area.

  • Enjoy live commentaries from your wine expert driver/guide.

  • Reservations for 3 selected wineries of the left bank that have obtained 90+ points in any of the past 8 vintages

  • Travel in recent, comfortable and fully equipped minivans.

  • Free Wifi access on board.

  • Tasting fees in the wineries.

  • Meals and drinks.

  • Personal insurance, expenses.

  • Entrance fees to monuments, museums or attractions.

  • Gratuities for the guide.

Things to know

Before you book

  • Price is per group, not per person.

  • This product is on request.

  • Tour requires minimum 2 passengers (adults) to operate.

  • Tour is operated in English, other languages on request.

  • Not wheelchair accessible.

Before you go

  • Please be ready 10 minutes before departure time

  • Currency is in Euro.

  • Minimum drinking age 18 years old.

Cancellation Policy

    Operator strictly adheres to its cancellation policy and will make no exceptions to the policy. If Guest chooses to cancel his or her reservation, Operator must receive written notice of said cancellation in writing via certified mail, fax or e-mail sent to [email protected] (with confirmation of receipt from Operator), and Guest shall be subject to the following cancellation fee schedule: Ophorus requires full payment by credit card, internet payment (through our website) or wire transfer (Wire transfer fees at the charge of the Guest) to make a reservation. We accept payment by AMEX, Visa and Master Card. There is no charge or service fee for processing credit card payments except with American Express +3%. For any cancellation, the following fees will be deducted from the refund: Up to 48 hours prior to departure: no cancellation fees except the booking fees. 48 hours prior to departure and less > no refund. No show - no refund.

Redemption information

    If any hotel or predetermined meeting place changes, notify Orphorus immediately.  Otherwise be at location 10 minutes prior to pick up time.


    Your voucher will be collected or scanned on redemption

About operator:

Ophorus Tours is both a licensed Tour Operator, member of Atout France and ETOA, and a Transportation company with headquarters in Bordeaux. We operate since 2005 and conduct Walking Tours, Day Trips, Private Tours, Shore Excursions and multi-regional Tours throughout France. 

Our multilingual office staff is made up of France Travel Experts that design unique itineraries for both individuals and groups. Their perfect knowledge of the destination allows them to suggest carefully crafted programs to professionals of the Travel Trade all over the world. 

Our in house team of licensed, multilingual Tour Guides are local Experts that can conduct any type of tours including (but not limited to) Cultural & Historical, Food & Wine, Luxury, Battlefields, Active, Family friendly, Faith-based etc...