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Château Pape Clément in Pessac-Léognan and the World Wide Wine Empire of Bernard Magrez, France
On the same day, we will set up in Bordeaux a tasting party, in the Bordeaux Interprofessional Wine Council’s bar. If by chance you were in France at that time, we would be happy to welcome you.”
The twitter handle is @twittwineparty and the hashtag is #twpbx.
The City of Bordeaux
The City of Bordeaux is a jewel, with vestiges from the Roman era and medieval town gates. However, the 18th century was its golden age. Victor Hugo once said: “Take Versailles, add Antwerp, and you have Bordeaux.”
Bordeaux is often referred to as "Little Paris". Baron Haussmann, a long-time prefect of Bordeaux, used Bordeaux’s 18th century, big-scale rebuilding as a model when he was asked by Emperor Napoleon III to transform a then still quasimedieval Paris into a “modern” capital that would make France proud.
The city was ruled by the English for a long time, which is why Bordeaux seems to have an "English flair". After the marriage of Henry II to Eleanor of Aquitaine, Bordeaux came under English rule between 1152 and 1453. It was then that the British first developed their taste for Claret, as the red Bordeaux wine is called in the UK.
The city has recently been classified by UNESCO as an “outstanding urban and architectural ensemble”. Bordeaux has a million inhabitants, including a lively university community of over 60,000.
Bordeaux is a flat city, built on the left banks of the Garonne. The Garonne merges a dozen kilometers below the city with the Dordogne to form the Gironde, which is biggest estuary in France.
See also:
In the Wine Capital of the World: the City of Bordeaux, France
Bordeaux City Vineyards
The outskirts of the city of Bordeaux are the birthplace of the phenomenal Bordeaux wine boom. It was here – in the Graves - that the region first gained its reputation, as early as the 14th century – hundreds of years before Dutch wine merchants and producers drained the marshes of the Medoc. In the Middle Ages, much of the Claret - as red Bordeaux is called in the United Kingdom - shipped to London was grown within in easy distance to the Quai de Chartrons in Bordeaux.
For centuries, Graves encompassed all the vineyards south of the border with the Medoc, in a great sweep around the city of Bordeaux with the exception of the sweet wine appellations of Sauternes, Cerons and Barsac, which are nestled within the boundaries of the Graves, but are independently recognized because of their outstanding noble-sweet white wines. But in 1987, the Pessac-Leognan appellation was carved out of the northern end of the Graves, encompassing Graves’ most respected producers. The four key producers in Pessac-Leognan are Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion (both in American hands), Laville Haut-Brion and Pape Clement (named after Pope Clement V, who ordered its original vineyards to be planted in the 14th century).
Interestingly, these chateaux are within the city limits of Bordeaux and well within the Bordeaux beltway. This is the most urban wine area I have seen in Bordeaux and perhaps in the whole world. Indeed, the vineyards of Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion, Laville Haut-Brion and Pape Clement are surrounded by suburban development.
Plateau des Fruits de Mer and Arcachon
Bordeaux City is also an excellent place for fruits de mer. Remember, to the west of Bordeaux is the Atlantic Ocean and the sea-side town of Arcachon, noted for its oyster production. Near Arcachon is the biggest sand dune in Europe.
See also:
Plateau des Fruits de Mer and a Pessac-Leognan Wine in Bordeaux City, France
Schiller’s Favorite Wine Bars in Bordeaux City
Here are my favorite wine bars in Bordeaux.
Bar á Vin - The Wine Bar in the Maison de Bordeaux
An excellent place to enjoy Bordeaux from different regions by the glass is the Bar á Vin, the wine bar in the Maison de Bordeaux (of the Conseil Interprofessionnel Du Vin De Bordeaux (C.I.V.B.)), right across the street from the Tourist Office and just across the tramway tracks from the main Quinconces Square. However, if you interested in wines in the higher price categories, do not go there, as the Bar a Vin only serves Petites Bordeaux.
Max Bordeaux Wine Gallery
I have not yet been to Max Bordeaux Wine Gallery, but my friend and Bordeaux Guru Allan Liska recommends it highly. It is a sleek tasting bar with an enomatic system containing wines of the 400 producers or so that are known all over the world.
Aux Quatres Coins Du Vin
The other wine bar that comes highly recommended and where I have not yet been is Aux Quatres Coins Du Vin. Like Max Bordeaux Wine Gallery, wines are also dispensed with the enomatic system and, more like Le Bar a Vin, this cute wine bar offers more affordable wines. Unlike both Le Bar a Vin and Max Bordeaux Wine Gallery, its selection includes also non-Bordeaux. Aux Quatres Coins Du Vin also serves cheese and charcuterie platters.
Address: 8 rue de la Devise
Wine and Soul
Located at 23 rue du Couvent, near the Quai, Wine and Soul comes also highly recommended by Allan Liska: “It has a very cozy feel to it, with signs of music and wine all over the walls. The wine selection is excellent. The food is also excellent with an assortment of tapas a well as traditional French faire. Of course, what makes any bar great is the people and here Wine and Soul really excels. The guys that run the bar are passionate about the wine they serve and are genuinely friendly. If you are looking for someplace to have an enjoyable evening of wine and food I highly recommend Wine and Soul.”
Wine and Soul
L’Intendant
L’Intendant is a spectacularly designed wine shop, opposite the Grand Théâtre. The centerpiece of it is a spiral staircase that winds up the narrow profile of the shop. Wrap-around shelves with bottles of wine curl up to the top of the building along the staircase. Most of the wine stocked in this store are ultra-premium Bordeaux wines.
See also:
Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars in Bordeaux (City), France
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