Bordeaux Trip Tasting Report

[Anthony_C]

Hi all,
I recently had the pleasure of spending a week in Bordeaux with some friends and family. We stayed downtown but made plenty of trips to the wineries and had a great time. The city itself is like a more subtle version of Paris. Charm, museums, cafes, shops, restaurants, old architecture and monuments – but not nearly as crowded or expensive! We stayed at the Hotel Indigo, whose architecture is completely out of place (but slightly hidden). However, it is relatively inexpensive and has a perfect location between the train station and the Cite du Vin wine museum and a block away from the Jardin Public and Notre Dame (not that Notre Dame).

But enough about town, the winery trips were the stars of this particular week.

Day 0:

No wineries, but a fantastic meal at La Tupina where we ate in their wine cellar. I am not qualified to fully review a restaurant but it gets my highest accolades: the food was great, worth the money, and we will definitely go back next time we’re in Bordeaux.

Day 1:

Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere
Big thanks to Jean-Jaques for the tour and tasting. His tour was fun and informative and a great way to kick off our adventure. The winery has a rich, wonderful history. We tried some well-structured reds like the 2017, but the star of the show was the 2024 blanc. Just singing with layered flavors atop a crisp acidic backbone. I stocked up on these as soon as I got home.

Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte

Merci beaucoup to our hostess, Marie. She gave us a wonderful tour of the property starting with its tower (and cooperage), and ran through a monsoon to the lovely tasting room hiding a secret cellar. Similar to Malartic, the red wines were well-made and noteworthy, the best being the 2018, but the 2023 SHL blanc was the star. Just a perfect sauvignon blanc + semillon blend. I have a case on order if FedEx/Customs can ever get it out of Memphis (almost 3 months now). Edit: just got the wines today. 3 months later . . .

Lunch at La Table du Lavoir
This was a fun country tavern-style restaurant attached to the hotel across the street from SHL. The food was elevated but a little rustic and as you would expect, the wine list had some great gems. I can’t speak for the hotel, but if you’re touring wineries in this area and need a great lunch stop, this is worth a visit.

[Anthony_C]

More to follow. I’ll post the rest of the trip over the next few days, but feel free to ask about the wineries or wines. I’m happy oblige.

[JustinP]

Following along with pleasure, thanks so much for writing this up!

[NMalhotra]

I also had a great week in Bordeaux last month! La Tupina was a great first spot for dinner. Hope you made it to restaurant Bui Bui, Taiwanese spot with a great wine list. My favorite visits were, Lafite, Latour, Biac, Lafleur, and Fonplegade. But really every visit was great. Can’t wait to hear more about your trip

[Anthony_C]

Day 2:

Chateau Barde-Haut

Nestled in the rolling hills of St. Émilion , this small family winery channels the beauty of its location into some lovely, approachable, but also age-worthy wines. When you are a friend of a friend of the owners of a winery, they usually treat you pretty well. At Barde-Haut, we were treated like family by Hélène and Patrice. We were told to expect a light lunch with our tasting, what followed was a feast of pain, paté, fromage, and gateaux. Merci beaucoup! In a similar fashion, we thought we were done with our three glass tasting of new, aged, and very aged wines. Little did we know there were two more flights to taste, including some from their sister properties. The 2019 was the star, approachable now, but could probably age at least 10 more years. Their sister properties Clos l’Eglise, Poesia, and Poesia Bodega in Argentina also showed well including a 2006 Malbec that was a delightful surprise.

Chateau Valandraud

Just down the road from Barde-Haut is Chateau Valandraud, the home of one of the original garagiste winemakers, Jean-Luc Thuvenin. Xavier and Jean-Luc gave us a quick tour of the winery and then a wonderful tasting of not only the Valandraud wines, but a few from their other properties. The 2019 Valandraud Rouge and 2024 Blanc hit on all cylinders. The rouge had the perfect blend of merlot structure with the floral and fruity perfume of the cabernet franc. The Blanc was a surprise hit in an appellation not known for its whites. The final standout wine was a 1975 Maury from Thuvenin-Calvet. An unexpected sweet wine, more of a sherry to madeira flavor profile than a Sauternes, but still unique all its own. I immediately bought the last three bottles in the US but they still have a large cask of it and will likely have another release in the future.

Troplong-Mondot

One of the fears when touring many wineries in a short time is that the tours will get repetitive. Each winery tries to highlight what makes them special and the effort is usually rewarded with some unique history, cellars, and tasting rooms. But the concern remains that you will see the same things over and over. The tour at Troplong-Mondot was anything but routine, thanks to our hostess Celine. Most of the tour was actually spent outside in their garden and vineyard walking the property and taking in the spectacular views of Saint Émilion down the hill. When the traditional part of the tour proceeded into the building, it was still anything but ordinary. The entrance to the winery, cellars, and tasting area is an elevated glass bridge over the barrel cellar that is acrophobically awe-inspiring. Our tasting was three wines, the 2015, 2018, and 2021. Overall the wines were just solid with the 2015 and 2018 ready to drink now.. My lack of verbiage on their structure and character should not detract, they were all just solidly made wines worthy of their price point.

Dinner at Les Belles Perdix.
A small, intimate dining experience attached to the winery. After our winery (and garden) tour, we enjoyed some champagne on the terrace and taking in the views of the vineyards and the town of St. Émilion . After that, we were treated to a great meal. What I remember most was their wine list had fantastic deals and since we were taking a very expensive taxi back to the city (thanks Greg), we definitely sampled as much as we could. But the dishes were delicious, the ambiance astounding, and the conversation corking (to use an old Brit term). I would definitely recommend it if you’re touring St. Émilion , especially if you’re staying local.

[Drew_Corwin]

great notes! looks amazing there. what was your take on the 21 Mondot? i had it last year and it really was enjoyable.

[Anthony_C]

That was towards the end of a long day, so my notes were short: ruby, approachable, good value. I remember liking all three wines, but the 2015 was the one I marked as the best. More classic style and the tannins have settled so it’s perfect to drink now. The 2018 was more modern style, but also ready to drink.

[Drew_Corwin]

Thanks! going to hunt for the 15 now

[Anthony_C]

Day 3:

Chateau d’Yquem

I have to admit, I’m a sucker for stickies. So this was the winery I was most looking forward to visiting this week. As an oenophile on a budget, my wallet usually stops with its peers at Suduiraut and Coutet. The winery tour did not disappoint, easily the prettiest tour we had. The wine also did not disappoint. The 2010 Y’quem had an acidic balance to it that many sweet wines miss. The layered fruit and floral aromas came across in perfect balance with an incredibly long finish. Sadly my wallet won’t allow me to upgrade to d’Yquem full time, but I am glad I got the opportunity to experience it.

La Mission Haut Brion

We were lucky enough to get to taste Haut Brion and LMHB reds side by side. It’s amazing that two wonderful vineyards and wineries are literally inside the Bordeaux city limits with a water tower shadowing one end and major roads and train tracks bracketing both. The Haut Brion 2017 was the wine of the week. It just had a balance and refinement to it that shone above its peers. The LMHB counterpart from the same vintage was also fantastic, but was obviously (and admittedly) made in a more punchy, extracted style. But this was definitely the best tasting of the week.

[Anthony_C]

Day 4:

Chateau Margaux

The final spoiling of me on a wine vacation that I did not deserve, but could not say no to, was a trip to Chateau Margaux. It was a beautiful drive up north into the Medoc. One thing that struck us was how huge the vineyards are up there. Just one after another, as far as you can see. In that same vein, Margaux is huge in every sense: the vineyards, the buildings, the fermentation tanks, the cellars. The 2016 wine they gave us to try was equally big and bold in the traditional Bordeaux Left Bank style. As you would expect, it lived up to its reputation.

Dinner at L’Observatoire du Gabriel
Just an amazing restaurant. We had an incredible view out of the second story windows and every course just balanced the salt and acid perfectly. The sleeper hit of this meal was the trip to the cheese cave (a wine cellar-like room just off the dining area), which had an incredible selection to please any turophile. As mentioned earlier, I don’t feel qualified to do detailed restaurant reviews (best left to the pros), but it was worth the coin, we had a great time, and we will go back. The best praise I can give a restaurant.

[Anthony_C]

I have a thread in the travel forum about the city itself:

Bordeaux City recommendations

Hi all, Going to Bordeaux in October and wanted to know any activities, wine bars, museums, or restaurants worth seeking out. Will be there for five days with a couple day trips to Sauternes, St. Émilion, etc. We’ll be staying near the Jardin Public. Thanks.

[Ed_Steinway]

@Anthony_C , fantastic trip and notes! How were you able to get into Chateau Margaux? Did you contact them directly?

[Jeff_H]

Absolutely terrific tasting notes and writeup. What a wonderful vacation!

[Anthony_C]

Friend of a friend of an importer that does a lot of business in Bordeaux. He and his French counterpart set up most of the tastings.

[Scott_Stewart]

A friend of ours was able to arrange a visit to Chateaux Margaux for a group of us including he and his wife as well as his two daughters. I am not sure exactly how he managed to get the invitation but I do know that he explained to them that they named his daughter Margaux after their wine! It was a great visit that we all enjoyed…especially Margaux.

[Ed_Steinway]

Thanks, Scott. We have a daughter named Kathryn, but not Margaux! We are going to Bordeaux later this year and will be using Henri with Bordeaux Wine Travel and get his recommendations.

[Jeff_Leve]

Anthony… You did a great job on your trip, and I like your enthusiasm in writing about it.

[Arv_R]

Great pictures and commentary. Thank you for taking the effort to assemble them and share them here.

[Anthony_C]

Thanks all. Appreciate the positive feedback and discussion. We had a great time and this is something I’d love to do more of (traveling and writing about it) — maybe in a few years when the kids are out of the house!

Also big thanks to the folks that helped me research and plan this trip. We had some great recommendations from folks in the Travel forum as well (and me digging up old threads here).

Santé!

[Howard_Cooper]

@Scott_Stewart

A friend of ours was able to arrange a visit to Chateaux Margaux for a group of us including he and his wife as well as his two daughters. I am not sure exactly how he managed to get the invitation but I do know that he explained to them that they named his daughter Margaux after their wine! It was a great visit that we all enjoyed…especially Margaux.

I should have named my daughter Romanee Conti!