To know wine, you have to drink a lot of wine — sage advice in the wine biz. Tasting wine is part of the job, and I do get to taste a lot of good wines, but one wine on this Bordeaux trip gave me a new definition of what exceptional wine is.
Spring was cooler and wetter than usual in Bordeaux…not a good thing when you’re growing grapes. We were there in late May, and it was downright chilly…sweater weather. Each and every Chateau was a wonderful experience from the modern cellars of Chateau Cos d’Estournel to the candlelight wine tasting in the ancient cellars at Chateau Lafite Rothschild.
It’s interesting that as a wine region renowned around the world for being the best, Bordeaux (the region, not the city) for the most part is very, very rural. Many of the centuries old villages sport very little modern development. Catering to tourists is obviously not a priority, and that adds to the charm of the area.
Sure, there are a few exceptions like Le Village de Bages located in the heart of Pauillac on the Left Bank. This tiny enclave of retail and dining is worthy of your time. The Relais & Chateaux Cordeillan-Bages here is highly acclaimed for its luxurious accommodations and its fine dining. The more casual bistro, Café Lavinal de Bages, is quite good, offering a wonderful selection of premier Bordeaux wines by the glass — a great way to compare and contrast.
The town of Saint-Émilion is another exception. It offers a number of wine shops, restaurants and other shopping. BTW, you can buy wine and ship it home. Most of the retailers use a shipping service called ‘Wine Flight’ and it’s door to door service.
Before you travel to Bordeaux, get familiar with the geography. You’ll better understand the wines and their different profiles once you can relate to where they are geographically on a map…at least it was helpful to me.
Once you see that Bordeaux is defined by the Gironde and Garonne rivers with the distinct Left and Right banks, remembering the wines—their styles and flavor profiles—becomes easier.
You’ll get familiar with (and might even start to like) the barnyard aromas like wet hay, dirt and manure, and you’ll be amused that the wine often tastes nothing like the aroma. And trust me, that can be a good thing in Bordeaux! Who wants to drink a wine that actually tastes like a barnyard!
Sommeliers will tell you that getting familiar with Bordeaux wines is the best way to learn about wine in general. After all, Bordeaux is considered the finest wine in the world.
We experienced some delicious wines on this trip like Cos d’Estournel, Pichon-Longueville and Mouton Rothschild. Do I remember all of the flavor profiles by heart? No. But, after all the tastings, I do have a better understanding of Bordeaux wines and can recognize their regional flavor profiles in the glass.
Touring those historic chateaux was quite an experience…humbling in a way. Standing for hundreds of years and producing some of the world’s best wines, I could only imagine what stories we’d hear if walls could talk.
Something I’ll always remember from this trip is my first glass of Chateau Lafite Rothschild. The last leg of our tour at that Chateau was in the wine cellar, a dimly lit amphitheater shaped room. Our charming guide poured the wine by candlelight…kinda cool and romantic, especially when you consider what he was pouring—the 2001 Lafite Rothschild.
Tasting that wine took my breath away! I’ll never forget that moment — I was stunned at how beautiful it was! Blackberries, raspberries, currants, cocoa come to mind, and all smooth as silk. Luscious!
As I look back now, I wonder…was it really the wine or was it the moment that was so special? Who knows. That’s why the emotional connection wine evokes is part of the allure…a mysterious power that transforms the most ordinary of times into extraordinary. And, like any good journalist, it’s a mystery I want to continue to investigate!
Our investigation took us to some premier wine regions in Italy too. More on that soon…!
I have to give a shout out to AT&T – my iPhone and their service helped us navigate many of the back roads!
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