4-Day Bordeaux Getaway Part II- Sample Itinerary: Right Bank Wines and Museums of Bordeaux
With Tips for Planning and Wine Region Guide
(Editor’s Note: My heart goes out to my family, friends, and colleagues in the Los Angeles area who are facing loss of life, home, and neighborhood. Those in Pacific Palisades and Altadena are experiencing near-apocalyptic scenes. If you’d like to help, here are several vetted agencies who are providing disaster relief: The Salvation Army, the California Fire Foundation, and American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles.)
Last week we began the Wine Wanderings 4-Day visit recommendations to Bordeaux with a view of the Left Bank, Graves, and Sauternes regions, “4-Day Bordeaux Getaway Part I”. Include was “A Guide to Bordeaux Wine Classification by Sub-Region.
During my first of three trips to the Bordeaux region I was surprised how much I preferred the Merlot and Cabernet Franc-dominant Right Bank red wines. In the case of red wine, I believe that Right Bank wines are more approachable and less tannic than many Left Bank wines. In the world of white wines, White Bordeaux, of Pessac Léognan have convinced me that they are among the best in the world.
Bordeaux is not just for wine tourists. For the final day on our 4-Day visit I have suggested visiting two of the most famous Bordeaux museums and a walking tour of the historic Bordeaux city center.
Day 3 St. Emilion and Pomerol – Right Bank
The great thing about the blend of grapes on the Right bank is that each one brings its own strengths: Merlot adds plush fruit flavors and smooth tannins, like “ an iron fist in a velvet glove” and Cabernet Franc contributes aromatic complexity, structure, spice, and it enhances the wine’s aging ability.
Begin your Right Bank exploration with a scheduled tour of Château Angelus, a premier winery of the region. As we arrived, the USA national anthem was played from their remarkable bell tower. The newly renovated tasting rooms and cellars are impressive, too. The signature Ch. Angelus wines have aromas of truffled black cherry, tobacco with sexy velvet textures. Wine critics often award 94-98 points for these wines.
Proceed to visit Château Gazin in Pomerol, a next-door vineyard neighbor to Pomerol’s most famous and expensive winery, Château Petrus. Ch. Gazin, like many Right Bank wines is 90% Merlot, and is a magnificent example of a premier wine, showing “an iron fist in a velvet glove” texture. The charming owner Nicolas de Bailliencourt offered a casual, yet personal tasting and vineyard tour.
Have lunch on the patio of Michelin 2-Star, La Table de Pavie, which offers a panoramic view of the cobblestone, moss-covered walls of medieval town of St. Emilion, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Chef and Sommeliers here make sure that the smallest details of cuisine and service are gracefully wrought. The Lobster cooked “à la cheminée” with seaweed butter is memorable. Consider checking into the hotel for the evening. It is an elegant sanctuary at vineyard’s edge.
Conversely, have lunch at the Red Terrace Restaurant, La Terrasse Rouge in St. Emilion surrounded by the vineyards of Ch. Cheval Blanc and Ch. Petrus. Make sure to book reservations in advance.
If you cannot decide among all the Right Bank wineries, consider visiting one of St. Emilion’s finest wine shops, Ets Martin, and ask Benoit Gaillard to pour you several samples of his selected wines. Ask to see the stash of the world’s most highly prized wines in their underground cellar. Our party spent three hours with the proprietor sampling “Coravin-ed” select wines.
Day 4 – City Tour, La Cité du Vin Wine Museum and Les Bassins de Lumières, Digital Art Museum
Conclude your 4-Day visit in Bordeaux city center and with a visit to two of their most famous museums. You may book a language-specific guided walking tour with the Tourism Bureau. Use a Bordeaux CityPass to access the museums and make sure you see Place de La Bourse, the “Water Mirror,” a prime spot for pictures. While you are downtown be sure to shop on the Rue Catherine, the longest pedestrian shopping street in Europe. The charming one-of-a -kind shops in the passages are amazing.
The Bordelaise are very proud of their wine museum La Cité du Vin and its restaurant venue that opened in 2016. The museum offers a virtual and interactive view of the history of wine and all the world’s premier wine regions. Make reservations for lunch with international wine selections at Cité du Vins’s Restaurant Le 7 for a panoramic view of the city. See January 2024 Wine Wanderings newsletter, “La Cite du Vin in Bordeaux, France: The World’s Premier Wine Museum.”
Les Bassins de Lumières, the largest art digital center in the world, resides inside a former submarine bunker from WWII, and is featuring current exhibitions of “The Little Prince” and “From Vermeer to Van Gogh”. See the September 2022 Wine Wanderings newsletter, “Bordeaux and the Largest Digital Art Center in the World.”
Your 4-Day Bordeaux Wine Getaway will set the stage for a future, more in-depth exploration of the World’s most famous wine region. I am itching to go back again soon.
Where to Eat
Restaurant Le 7, La Cité du Vin, 4 Rue de Pontac, Bordeaux
Le Pressoir d’Argent, a Gordon Ramsay Restaurant, Bordeaux in the Intercontinental Hotel.
La Table de Pavie, St. Emilion
Logis de la Cadene, St. Emilion
Château Léognan, Hôtel Restaurant and Spa. Pessac Léognan
La Terrasse Rouge, St. Emilion
Some Recommended Right Bank Bordeaux Wines
2016 Château Gazin, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France $115
Decanter Magazine, 94 Points
2021 Château Clinet, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France $109
Robert Parker, 92+ Points
2015 Château Cheval Blanc, St. Emilion, 1st Grand Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France $1090
Robert Parker. 100 Points
2022 Château La Tour Figeac, St. Emilion, Bordeaux, France $49
60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, a wonderfully affordable Right Bank Bordeaux. Robert Parker, 91-93 Points
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(Editor’s Note: Please read “What I Wish I Could Tell the Surgeon General,” by Karen MacNeil, Author, The Wine Bible.)
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Understanding Right Bank Bordeaux: Pomerol and St. Emilion
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