The Mysteries of Bordeaux
In 2016, the Lonely Planet created a list of cities that they think are the best for travellers, and Bordeaux snagged the number one spot. Even though it was absolutely torrential rain when we arrived, and I mean thunder, lightning, the whole nine yards, it was still utterly charming as we met up with our friends Iain and Emma who have jetted in for a few days. Walking around the old town’s cobbled streets and having a fantastically French lunch and a couple bottles of wine is a great way to spend an afternoon.
But there was no time to explore further as we were off to St Emilion, which sits about 20 miles north east of Bordeaux. If you want history, this place has got the lot. The town itself goes back to prehistoric times and the wine making was started by the Romans in the 2nd Century. It is a very small town, with less than 2000 people living here full time and during a rainy week in February, we were lucky to see a handful perhaps. But there is something to be said for having the run of a place without any crowds. Once we’d become best mates with the Boulangerie owner who must have thought all of his Christmases had come at once and found our way around the local market, there was no stopping us.
This stunning village is an absolute delight to walk around, there’s so much to see even as you’re strolling along not even trying to sight see, it’s all right there in front of you. The Romanesque ruins and churches are all around the town with cobbled walkways and narrow paths leading to even more hidden delights. Even if you have no information or handy tips on what to see and do, you can still have a cracking time. Which is just as well, because our Airbnb host didn’t really leave us much information and every time I tried go to the tourist information centre, it was shut. I was either too early, too late or happened to hit the two hour lunchtime shut down. By the end of our time there though we’d made friends all around town, check out the bottom for some recommendations.
And so to the wine. If you’re not a wine fan or, at the other end of the scale, you consider yourself a wine expert, you can skip this next bit. But for the rest of us, let me explain a little about how the Bordeaux region works. You’ll never believe it.
So in 1855 , Napoleon III decided he wanted the wines from Bordeaux to be ranked so people would know which were the “best wines” from the region. Seems like a good idea. So brokers from the wine industry got together and ranked the wines according to the price of a wine and the Chateau's reputation. They came up with a list, ranking the estates on a scale of 1-5, First Growth (or as they called it First Cru) being the best, Second Growth being the next best and so on. So far, so good. Only they didn’t crack open any bottles open to try the stuff, they just crunched the numbers. Ok not a great start, but better than nothing, right? Well, here’s where it starts to get tricky.
They’ve never once updated the list. The only changes to be made in the past 160+ years were in 1856 adding in one of the wineries that was accidentally left out, and in 1973 when Chateau Mouton Rothschild when from 2nd to 1st Growth after significant lobbying from Baron de Rothschild (I’ll let you draw your own conclusions there). And that’s it. Two changes since Napoleon’s time.
If you’re like me, this will make no sense at all. What about wineries that have increased their vineyard size, taking on new plots that might not be any good but still get to say they are First Growth. What about new wineries that weren’t around in 1855? What if the Fours and Fives really improved over the last 100 years and are making outstanding wine which is better than the Firsts and Seconds? Also all of the wines that were classified except one were from the Medoc region where the brokers worked. They couldn’t have cared less about the regions that now have some of the best wines like St Emilion and Pomerol so they aren’t on the list at all. It makes no sense.
It would be like running an Olympic 100m dash in 1855 to decide who gets gold, silver and bronze and then forever more those countries get to be on the winners podium whether they came first, middle or dead last. If you’re one of the new countries that’s come about in the past 100 years, forget about it. You don’t even get a look in. And if you’re a country that the judges haven’t been to or care about, you’re not in either. It’s a funny old way to do business if you ask me.
So back to present day and St Emilion, which was our home base for five days. St Emilion doesn’t go in for all this Napoleon stuff, mainly because they were completely ignored to start off with. So instead, St Emilion has had it’s own wine classification since 1955. It’s updated every 10 years and although not without it’s confusion, arguments and legal challenges, it seems to at least be a better way forward to me. But what do I know - I can’t wait til Mr T reads this, he’s going to be horrified, but I’m giving you the woman on the street view here. You’re welcome.
Regardless of first, second and the rest of it, let me tell you is about the wineries that we visited which were in Margaux, Saint Cibard and Sauternes. First up was Chateau Giscours in Margaux and for what it’s worth (which I think we’ve established is not a lot) it’s classified as a 3rd Growth. This place has five centuries of amazing history, including this little tidbit which I know you’ll like. It was built in 1825 by a man who’d made the mistake of falling in love with Napolean’s missus, Empress Eugenie. In an effort to woo her, he built the entire chateau to be so impressive that she would have to fall in love with him. However when she came to visit, she stopped just long enough for a cup of tea and then went on her way. Oh dear, better luck next time fella. Anyway, the wines that we tried here were absolutely tremendous and we came away with quite a few bottles which is surely a good sign.
I’m not really one for sweet wines but our visit to Chateau Guiraud was a real eye opener. For those who care, they are ranked in 1855 classification as a First Growth but the only white wines the brokers ranked were a small number of sweet wines from Sauternes and Barsac so (surprise surprise) it’s a bit misleading. All that aside, this is an incredible winery in many ways. They have been pesticide free since 1995 and and are now fully organic. They think about the whole ecosystem of the vines and the land around them so, for example, they plant 150 species of tomato and they have little “insect hotels” around the vineyards. The way that the wind and the rivers interact to create precisely the exact conditions needed to make a Sauternes wine is absolutely fascinating. As for the taste - well let’s just say we’ve drunk every bottle we came away with over the past few days and I could easily drink it all day long. Dessert wine, it ain’t!
Chateau le Puy in Saint-Cibard is a hidden gem of a winery. It is about as bio-dynamic as you can get. They have stone circles on the property that have been there for thousands of years. They use horses to plough the vineyards, have one hectare of hedgerow or wild flowers for every hectare of vines and harvest everything by hand. Their production facilities are steeped in history as the Chateau has been in the same family for over 400 years. As for the tasting - their wines are truly world class. And if you were looking for a final nail in the coffin for the dodgy 1855 classification scheme, they have never been classified. This is a place you should absolutely visit. It’s fascinating on every level.
And so we saved the best til last when we visited St Emilion legend Paddy O’Flynn, the only Irish man you’ll meet with something of a French accent. We’re so glad we stumbled upon him, it’s just a shame he was our last rather than our first port of call. He is the self titled Wine Buff and he's a man who knows about as much as it’s possible to know about Bordeaux wines. We spent a couple of very entertaining hours with him tasting five incredible wines, four of which we bought and we’ll probably kick ourselves for missing one out. If you go to St Emilion, make sure you go and see him for a rapid fire education, great stories and some truly delicious wines. You will not be disappointed.
Here’s a couple of other recommendations for you if you’re in the area. We'll be very sad to leave St Emilion, we've had one heck of a fun time. But move on we must, for our next stop is San Sebastián where we plan to stuff ourselves silly with pintxos!
Great boulangerie - Mie & Merlot, great pastries, bread, sandwiches, snacks
Non-French food - Cafe Saigon, you’ll need to book as it’s popular but great for something different and the staff are so friendly and welcoming. A real treat
L’Envers du Decor (means Behind the Scenes in English) - wow, the food in here is amazing. Oysters, bone marrow, beef for days! And the wine list is excellent. Go here!)
Chai Pascal - when you meet Pascal himself, you can’t help but fall in love with the restaurant. We received an incredibly warm welcome, some great wine suggestions and a splendid meal
Other great wines to try that we drank at home or in restaurants - L’Aurage 2010, Couvent des Jacobins 2012, Chateau Duthil 2012 from Haut-Médoc region, Moulin St Georges 2011, Chateau Jean Faure 2009 and Chateau Beauregard 2009 and all of them were wonderful
Utile market - the ladies in here are very friendly and it has a wonderful cheese counter with the creamiest most delightful blue cheese we’ve ever tried. And epic fresh prunes.
And if you’re looking for something to do that doesn’t involve food or wine, go and visit the Dune du Pilat which is the highest sand dune in Europe. Once you clamber up 110m of very steep sand, the view from the top is epic. It’s 2.7km from north to south with a very nice beach at the bottom. The WonderDog thought this was the most exciting day of the whole trip so far and for us, with all that exertion, it mean we could have a picnic with champagne in the park afterwards. Winner!
