By: Simon Roberts
What a week! Graileys first member’s trip to the Bordeaux region has been a wonderful experience. A visit to Bordeaux had been a long time goal. I had carefully planned over the past eighteen months, selecting Chateaus visits and accommodations and boy did it pay off. Our first two days were spent at St. Emilion. Our base was the superb Chateau Grand Barrail. 
We took an easy afternoon after our long journey, some visited the nearby town of Libourne for a look around and a few drinks, it was our first taste of cobbled streets and picturesque town squares.
We had planned a welcome dinner at St. Emilion’s best restaurant Hostelliere De Plaisance for the first evening located next to the clock tower St. Emilion. Breathtaking is probably the best way to describe the location, panoramic views of the surrounding vineyards with the restaurant nestled in the corner of the square next to the clock tower. A superb meal ensued and the tiredness of the journey took a back seat as dish after dish was served, each dish taking you down a new road of tastes. A good three hours later we ambled back through the cobbled streets to our transport and back to the Chateau for a good night’s sleep. It was a great start to what turned out to be a fantastic experience.
Day two started with a brisk morning walk around the Chateau grounds and breakfast in the old school dining room. We had a small tasting class in St. Emilion which was both fun and informative. A great lunch at Gironde Dines on the patio set us up for the afternoon of tasting. We walked off our lunch with a stroll around St. Emilion. Getting a sneak peek at Chateau Ausone at the top of the hill, what strikes you most is the openness of the vineyards. One of the world’s most expensive wines and the vines just sitting there, over a small wall, gnarly vine after vine of greatness.
Our walk meandered through the back of the town walking past Beusejour Duffau onward to the impressive Chateau Canon, our first winery visit. 
The tour of the Chateau was informative, interesting and surprising. A trip down the stairs to the cellar and then deeper underground revealed a catacomb of tunnels that reminded me of the Three Musketeers movie, there must have been a half mile of corridors and trails underneath the vineyards, all keeping the ground below the vines at a perfect temp year around, our host pointed out that the vines are never stressed at Canon due to the underground tunnels. I can attest as we sat in the Garden tasting the fruit forward 07 vintage. Ahh Bordeaux!
We left Canon and went on to visit Chateu Pavie Macquin for a very cool tasting hosted by Nicolas Thienpont tasting thru the 09/10 vintages along with Larcis Ducasse and some of his other smaller production labels. Nicolas was very welcoming and we appreciated the time he spent showing us around the vineyard and the cellars. A very nice guy.
The second evening in St. Emilion was free so a few stayed in the village, after the night before’s 5 star gastronomic feast a small bistro was in order. The one we found proved interesting to say the least. Dave and I made the huge mistake of ordering andouiellette sausage…..the less said the better! It was without doubt the biggest mistake of my life when it comes to ordering food. It tasted like I imagine a dead body would……one that had been recently dug up after 200 years underground, as I said…. the less said the better.
Thursday morning and we are hitting Pauillac and Sauternes. Chateau Latour… ..yes, that’s right, not a bad way to start the day! We were greeted by our host not knowing what to expect, a few pics from the vineyards next to the tower and we were ushered in to a video room. Wine porn! 10 minutes of it, I must say we all came out a little flustered and still not knowing what was coming next. We were taken below to the cellars, state of the art steel tanks for each plot. 
A computer board that looked like a flight deck cockpit that controlled every temperature under the sun and then on to the cellar…rows of 61/82/45/47….vintages going back to the early 1900…more wine porn! We finished off in the tasting room, 06 Paulliac, 05 Le Forts and 04 Latour…Life is good!
An afternoon drive to Langon, just outside of Sauternes was interesting as our lovely French guide Isobel proceeded to spell out the rivers Gironde and Dordogne for the 50th time. A brief lunch and next up was Chateau Yquem. Pulling into the vineyard was surreal, a wine we have tasted with gusto on many occasions and here we are, in the Chateau…mind-blowing! A great tour and host culminated with a taste of the 07 vintage…Nectar of the gods!
A short drive around the corner and we visit Raymond Lafon. One of the few family owned estates left is situated right next door to Yquem. We were greeted by the portly Jean Pierre Lafon and what a nice genuine guy he was, showing us his vineyard and his beautiful gardens on the property and inviting us into his living room to taste his wine. No heirs and graces here, just a real genuine character from an old school family. This was a truly exceptional experience, from the musty smelling small cellar at the back of the farmhouse to his showpiece speaking Parrot Coco talking away in the kitchen while we tasted his superb wine.
It was tough to leave Lafon, but our last stop of the day was Chateau Smith Haut Lafite, a wonderful winery that reminded me somewhat of a Napa winery, very modern in style with beautiful grounds surrounding the vineyards. After a tour of the cellar and bottling facility we tasted very impressive 09 Blanc and 05 red, both were showing exceptionally well. The tasting room reminded us of Graileys a little, comfortable leather chairs and a interesting pictures along the walls, little did we know we were sat atop a secret cellar hatch that remotely opened to the downstairs cellar…awesome…just awesome. Suffice to say they impressed us so much we bought an imperial of the 86 and merrily drove off into the sunset with glasses full on our coach.
Onwards to our hotel in the stunning port city of Bordeaux. It is Paris without the hype. Hotel Regent is situated at the heart of the city opposite the very impressive opera house, a bustling square dotted with bars and bistros, smells and characters. I am liking our new camp! A quick change and into the city for our first night, walking through the small city back alleys soaking up the essence if the city and we end up in Sweeney Todd’s English pub…..you guessed it ….burgers/fish and chips and beer..Go figure!
Friday morning greets us with perfect weather, again! 72 degrees and sunny, Does it get any better? It did. Lunch at Chateau Pichon Baron. The Royals were throwing a wedding of their own in London. Graileys members took it up a notch with a tasting and tour of the most stunning Chateau in Paulliac. Think James Bond movies for the operational side here, some serious money has been invested in the Chateau, they did not miss a trick. We tasted the 2010/09 and 05 vintages with our host Nikolas Santier followed by a surreal lunch in the dining room overlooking the grounds. Mushroom soup for the ages, Duck breast seared to perfection and a desert of cooked peach in red wine followed by a visit to the Chateau to pick up some Mags for our bus ride to our next location.
The trip had come together perfectly, the weather, the synergy of our group, we were all having a blast. Getting on the coach after our fabulous lunch at Pichon Baron I took a minute to take it all in and then it hit me. I realized our next stop was Chateau Lafite.
We had a stunning drive from Pichon Baron to Lafite, famous Chateau’s and vineyards went sailing by the window, too much to take in ! We drove along the picturesque small promenade in Pauillac and continued up the hill toward the plateau vineyard that is Lafite. The winery itself was a hive of activity. We walked through the area where the large wooden vats were housed, some over 20 years old and I pondered of all the great vintages that had been in and out if these vats. The barrel housing room was impressive in its size and that unmistakable oaky smell tantalized the senses again. The best was yet to come as we went deeper underground to the ancient cellars, a ghostly place that had a reverence about it, we stood stunned looking at vintage bottles dating back to the late 1700’s. I keep using the word surreal but it definitely defines this trip. We finished the tasting by sipping on a 95 Lafite overlooking the guys racking the barrels in the vast coliseum like barrel room. I am sure I could hear angels singing! Let’s just say it was like a religious experience!
The days of days continued after Lafite with a dinner at Chateau Phelan Segur hosted by winemaker Fabrice Bacquey. We really appreciated the time Fabrice spent with us. We tasted the 08/9and 10 after the winery tour and then on to dinner tasting 2001/1996/ and 02 out Magnum. The wines were paired with veal which was cooked to perfection. Fabrice has been making the wine at Phelan Segur for over 12 vintages and we got to blind him on the 93 vintage, which of course he nailed. How cool to sit with the winemaker and experience his thoughts on the wines he made.
Saturday morning beckoned, bright sunshine, breakfast in the brasserie at the Regent and onward for a change of pace. A cooking class and the wonderful Chateau Lavergne nestled into the hillside just across the bridge in the Bordeaux suburbs. We were greeted by our host Suzzane, she and her husband own this sprawling estate moving from Paris a decade ago to “Get out if the big city”. This was a fun morning; we took our turn to help in the preparation of our own lunch, a duck confit that reminded me of a French shepherd’s pie. We were split into two teams and enjoyed a quiz on different smells and aromas of wines and some interesting questions on the region and its appellations.
I have mentioned earlier that the trip was building to crescendo each day. I did not think it could get better but each day we took it up a notch and our final tasting did not let us down. We boarded our coach and drove to the sleepy village of Priegnac. How the coach driver squeaked thru the narrow street still amazes me but he did, dropping us off in front of a blue door directly behind the church clock tower in the village square that looked like the same village out of the final battle scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan. What was behind the Blue door? The best tasting of the trip! Vignobles Gonet Medeville and their famous Chateau Gillete wines, Champagnes Gonet and some superb Margaux appellation reds and one very special pinot from the Ambonnay.
We were greeted by our hosts, owners Julie and Xavier Gonet Medeville, the winery has been in the family since the 17th century, and both Julie and Xavier made the tasting very special. They are a warm and generous couple who poured and talked passionately about their family, wines and operation. We tasted 18 wines, 6 different vintages of Sauternes topping it off with a 53 from the cellar. It was astounding as was everything else about the afternoon we spent there. We will be offering these wines direct from the Chateau and I would highly recommend you purchase some, the Sauternes and Champagnes are very unique in style and of the highest quality.
Our trip ended with a farewell dinner at the riverfront restaurant Maison Fleuve, great food , great friends with some 01 Cheval Blanc and 01 Haut Brion that tasted like this whole trip…truly…. unbelievably good!
