Tour #1
The quaint medieval village of Saint Emilion. The private tour of the carved underground was amazing but sadly no photos were allowed.
The macaron cookie recipe was developed by the nuns and you can taste them here!
We passed a wedding in the Saint Emilion village church...very posh crowd.
The vineyards at Chateau de Soutard is the biggest Chateau in Saint Emilion.
A taste of a Chateau de Soutard blend....80% merlot and 20% cab franc. The original family sold 3 or 4 years ago to a large insurance company and both the Chateau and wine making area has been updated and remodeled. Wine cellars are original.
Chateau de Sales in Pomerol began planting vineyards in 1464 before Columbus discovered America and the business still remains in the same family.
Merlot grapes in sandy soil.
Tasting 72% merlot, 15% cab sav and 12% cab franc...delicious. All wine presold to America, England, Belgium, China and France of course.
Tour#2
Wine tasting in the Medoc region. This Chateau is modern and harvests all their grapes by machine.
A sea of grapes. Who says vineyards need to be on a hillside. Machines need flat ground.
We took a bus to the Medoc region and rode this boat back. Slow trip to Bordeaux because we were traveling upstream. It was a long day.
Tour #3
Hotel at Chateau Grand Barrail in Saint Emilion. Chateau was built in 1909 for the owner's mistress.
Indoor grand staircase leads to restaurant and patio.
Queen for the day!
Lunch was extraordinary. Goat cheese wrapped with tomato aspic. Feast for the eyes!
Viticulturist examines nearby merlot grapes and pruning practices.
We learned that for the most part the terroir in the Bordeaux region on the right bank of the Garonne river is limestone and gravel as you see in this photo. The left bank soil generally is more sandy and/or clay like.
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