QUINTESSENTIAL BORDEAUX
10 day total immersion: May 20, 2025 – May 29, 2025
Our way of traveling allows wine lovers to fully experience authentic Bordeaux. Our tour takes us to: Sauternes, Pessac-Léognan, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, Médoc, Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Entre-deux-Mers, Blaye.Besides doing Châteaux hopping, I will also show you other aspects of “Bordeaux” that the usual wine tours do not do: we will be introduced to the “Place de Bordeaux” buying and selling system unique in Bordeaux by visiting a négociant house, a wine merchant; we will visit a cooper to see from A to Z how a barrique is being made; we go to the basin d’Arcachon to see how an oyster is raised; we will experience the big bodies of water so important for the Bordeaux climate: the mighty Gironde estuary and the Atlantic ocean; instead of sitting for 3 to 4 hours in traffic every day going back and forth to Bordeaux city we will travel around, spending nights in the heart of the Left Bank in Pauillac and in the heart of the Right Bank in Saint-Émilion to “feel” the vineyards; and of course we will spend some time in the vibrant, hip, cultural, cool city of Bordeaux. We will visit well-known classified Châteaux, classified under the radar Châteaux, and so-called “Petits-Châteaux” producing phenomenal wines.
Our personal ties to many of the Château owners/ managers/ winemakers, and the small size of our group (max 12 people) allows us to visit many of the hidden gems that are essential to feel what Bordeaux is all about. After this tour you have a thorough understanding what “Bordeaux” is all about - and the tour is lots of laughter and fun too. In a nutshell: this is an on ground wine class on Bordeaux!
- We will visit a total of 19 Châteaux (15 are classified) in Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Blaye, Entre-deux-Mers, Sauternes, Graves, Pessac-Léognan, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux.
- We will get intimate insights into the world of Bordeaux - the majority are Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux producers, but also excellent lesser known and unknown producers.
- We will visit a 1ière Grand Cru Classé Châteaux.
- We will explore the Bassin d’Arcachon off the Atlantic Ocean coast, visit an oyster farmer to learn what it entails to grow delicious oysters, and have an oyster tasting.
- We will visit a top-notch, family-run cooperage to witness the fascinating art of making a barrique barrel from A to Z, so important to the quality of the wine.
- We will visit a wine merchant to learn how the market for Bordeaux wines – La Place de Bordeaux- functions.
- We will experience French hospitality and culinary art at the highest level.
- We will have exquisite, Michelin-star equal gourmet wine pairing luncheons or dinners in an intimate setting at different Châteaux which we share with the proprietors / general managers and/or winemakers.
- We will experience the vibrant, cool city of Bordeaux.
- We only travel with a small group (max 12 persons) to experience very private behind the scene visits.
- You will never travel with a hired guide. It is always the husband and wife team Annette and Christian Schiller who will be your guides.
The Bordeaux region is a very exciting area with its long, fascinating history, beautiful, lonely, powder sand Atlantic beaches, the graceful, cool, vibrant capital city of Bordeaux, medieval towns like the UNESCO-World Heritage listed Saint-Emilion, and its glorious vine-ribboned countryside where some of the world’s best wines come from. Bordeaux is the second largest winegrowing area in the world with close to 300,000 acres under vine. To understand “Bordeaux” means to appreciate its unique geographical location and the importance of water: the rain from above, the Gulf stream of the Atlantic Ocean, and the protective influence of the Gironde estuary with the two rivers Garonne and Dordogne that form the Gironde. This and more we would like to make you understand on this trip. Conditions in the Bordeaux region create wines that are unique, beautifully interwoven with a solid body and integrated elegance on the palate. Bordeaux wines are copied around the world, but never achieve perfection elsewhere. We are sure that you will second this statement after the tour.
There are so many great producers with wonderful people at the helm that it is very difficult to choose which one to visit. We selected top estates of different price points, from sky-high 100 Parker point wines to budget friendly, excellent, unknown wines exported to the US for the first time.
