Toulouse and Bordeaux
Trip Start
Aug 09, 2010
1
38
43
Trip End
Jan 06, 2011
Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France
Monday, November 29, 2010
Christmas markets were on, ice skaters were skating merrily outside, and delicious food and wine were on the menu for us. Walking around the city included strolling down small alleyways and a gorgeous outdoor mall where my mom opted for a proper winter coat in readiness for the forecast of freezing cold weather and snow in Paris. Christmas lights were up and quite a few Christmas trees were scattered around the town. Again, the effort the Europeans seem to make for Christmas far outweighs Brisbane's efforts.
We visited two chateaux's to take in the Bordeaux wine experiences – which are normally not open to tourists. The first châteaux, Châteaux de Reignac, is renowned for its red wines – a mix of merlot and franc (franc is apparently a very strong variety and only a small percentage is added to the wine). Bordeaux wines are always a mix, rather than a pure grape. This estate was a family run estate and the family still lived in the very grand chateaux on the property. Bordeaux wines have a very strict classification system in terms of grade of wine, how the vineyards are to be tended and the how wine is to be made. If there is a lack of rain and the vines are just about to wither and die, it is forbidden to water them. This apparently makes the playing field even, and doesn’t modify the natural development of the grape’s taste. We were told that the 2010 year has been heralded as one of the best years for Bordeaux wine. The wine tasting area on the chateaux is in an old pigeon house, or dovecote, which was modified for the task of housing guests and journalists to taste the wine. The barrels themselves cost 600 Euros each, and are only used once, and then sold off to the cheaper wineries for their use. The hostess was very happy to talk about wine making at the basic level, which was a great change from the usual arrogant attitudes I have experienced at other wineries.
The second chateaux we visited, Châteaux Clos-Fourtet, is literally apart of the village of Saint-Emilion. We went for a guided walk around the town which is now heritage listed. The original cathedral was originally carved out of the cliff and you can still see the original rock around the doorway.
Châteaux Clos-Fourtet is quite charming in its own way. This winery is renowned for its red and white wine, and has been ranked as a "Premier Grand Cru Classe" which is the highest ranking in Bordeaux. We went into the cellar (or as the French call them, 'cave’), which was the highlight of this chateaux. Climbing down 3 stories of winding stairs into a very warm and humid environment to be greeted with some very old wines and great fascination. These caves were mined once hundreds of years ago to obtain the rock to build the village of Saint-Emilion. There are about 120 hectares of underground caves, of which the chateaux uses about a hectare to store their wine from various years.
Overall Bordeaux is a town that is extremely beautiful and was well worth the visit.
