The Bordeaux Wine Route "la Route des Châteaux" in the Médoc

Between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Gironde estuary to the east, you will find the Route des Châteaux (D2). From the north of the city of Bordeaux to the Pointe de Grave, the prestige of the Grands Crus Classés, a profusion of châteaux and a mosaic of spectacular architecture.

The Route des Chateaux, which crosses the Médoc, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful wine routes in Bordeaux. It will stop 60 km further north from Bordeaux to St Estèphe, after passing some of the most prestigious châteaux and appellations.

The wine-growing properties that dot the landscape are traditionally called "châteaux" in Bordeaux. Not all of them are in the usual sense of the term. Yet what great vineyards still possess, in the heart of the vineyards, beautiful old houses made of local blonde stone (Lime stone) that they open to visitors.

The Médoc vineyard includes 8 appellations: Médoc, Haut Médoc, Margaux, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien, Moulis and Listrac. It includes the most prestigious of Bordeaux's Grands Crus Classés (1855 classification) as well as tasty Crus Bourgeois and Artisans.

Your itinerary and visits on the Bordeaux Wine Route "Route des Châteaux" tour.

The Médoc is located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde, largest estuary in Europe. Classified as a Marine Natural Park, which is home to a dozen inhabited or wild islands, to be discovered from Pauillac or Verdon-sur-Mer during your visit on the Route des Châteaux. To the south, vast man-made forests protect the vines from the strong winds.

Due to this particular location, the Médoc terroir benefits from a temperate climate and deep gravelly soils whose unique combination is particularly conducive to the ripening of the vines.

Its exceptional terroir brings together the most prestigious of Bordeaux's Grands Crus Classés (Classification of 1855) and châteaux with the most unusual architecture. Almost exclusively devoted to the production of red wines which are usually a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot.

Always very colorful, these wines generally have a very full structure and a quite exceptional aromatic distinction, based on a tannic structure that is both powerful and harmonious, which gives them a very great ability to defy time.

How many great names with venerable accents are to be found on this Tourist Route!

Château Latour and its famous tower in the middle of the vineyards, Château Lafite-Rothschild with its underground cellar designed by the famous Catalan architect, Ricardo Bofill and Château Mouton Rothschild with its famous collection of at labels. But also Château Pichon-Longueville, Château Palmer, Cos Estournel, Château Margaux are unique and beautiful wine estates.

The Médoc wine route and its very picturesque D2 road is for wine lovers the equivalent of Route 66. Embark on the Wine Route of the Médoc for a wine trip for your holidays among the most beautiful castles of the Bordeaux vineyards and its world famous wines.

You can stop to some of them for wine tasting but we recommend to contact the château first in order to boon and schedule your visit. You can also contact a local wine tour company to set and organize a Medoc wine tour for you.

From Bordeaux on the way to Margaux, after passing Château Palmer, you will reach the famous Château Margaux. A visit to this house, which is part of the aristocracy of the Bordeaux wine industry, is a must. You will enjoy the 85-hectare estate, the Palladian architecture and of course the tastings. In Margaux, stopover at the church located near the famous Palladian-style Château Margaux.

Continuing your way north, the road passes through Saint-Julien which has many classified growths as esteemed as the Châteaux Lagrange, the "3 Léoville" (Las Cases, Poyferre, Barton), Beychevelle or Talbot. Roads and paths lined with roses lead to the heart of the vineyards from which emerge wineries and castles.

Then stop in Pauillac, the capital of the Médoc. From Latour, to Lafite Rothschild, the names of the castles are glorious there. If you only have to visit one of them, choose Château Mouton Rothschild: in addition to the magnificent cellars, it has a very fine collection of works of art relating to vines and wine.
The "Wine in Art" museum (inaugurated by André Malraux in 1962) of Château Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac Premier Cru Classé), which displays extremely rare pieces of 17th century German silverware, pourers, goblets and hanaps from the fabulous treasure trove of the kings of Naples, as well as medieval tapestries and Chinese, Japanese and Persian porcelain...

In the heart of the Pauillac vineyards, the restored old wine village of Bages offers an enchanting stopover with its chic bistro, Café Lavinal. It will be your perfect stop for a gourmet lunch.

Still in the series of out of category wines, the road continues further north towards Saint-Estèphe where you can visit the famous Château Montrose. In the commune of Saint-Estephe, the façade of the Cos d'Estournel has already astonished Stendhal: "This building, very elegant, of a brilliant light yellow color, is in truth not of any style; it is neither Greek nor Gothic, it is very cheerful and would rather be in the Asian style". Indeed, we owe the architecture to the "Maharajah of Saint-Estèphe", the name given to Louis-Gaspard d'Estournel because he exported his wine as far as India, he had Asian pagodas added to the roof of his castle as well as a door brought back from Zanzibar.


Continuing northwards, you cross the Moulis and Listrac appellations, rich in Crus Bourgeois. If you are a cyclist, there are many trails through vineyards and pine trees.

To visit the châteaux on the Wine Route and for further information, go to the Maisons du Vin of the appellations. Not only will you taste the best that France has to offer in terms of wine tasting, but the setting is magnificent: mythical châteaux and sumptuous residences to visit are on the program.

On West side, by the D101, the Lakes Route, you can go via Lacanau, stronghold of surfers, to Soulac and its superb church Notre-Dame de la Fin des Terres as far as the Verdon where a ferry takes you to Royan. From the Verdon, a regular ferry takes you to the Charente coast and Royan, after a pleasant mini-cruise. Don't miss: visit the Cordouan lighthouse, on watch over the estuary.

There are 100 kms of fine sandy beaches that will delight children. The beach of Lacanau is also famous for surfing, its powerful waves and several lakes are scattered in the region such as the Lake of Hourtin-Carcans, the largest in France. 

National and international sporting events:

The Médocaine mountain bike race (May), the Lacanau Pro (the only French stage of the surfing world cup, in August), the Médoc Marathon (September).

Things to do on the Bordeaux Wine Routes in the Médoc

La Winery (Arsac) offers nearly 1,200 references of French and foreign wines. Themed tastings, tasting sessions in the company of winegrowers, and a game of the place's flagship animation: find your oenological sign.

What is Pruning the vines? Importance & Methods

What is the pruning 

The vines can be pruned in long, short pruning*, guyot, cordon de Royat, goblet...

Because the vine is a liana, it must be pruned and trellised to produce always more fruit than wood. An unpruned vine will offer numerous grapes, but small and acidic, not exploitable to produce a quality wine.

Pruning is the main activity in winter during the vegetative rest of the vine, is manual and takes place from December to March.

But beware! The earlier you prune, the earlier the buds will hatch, bringing risks of frost. The winegrower proceeds to what is called dry pruning. It is a long work where 80% of the shoots are eliminated. Traditionally, it is done using mechanical pruning shears with one or both hands.

Today, technological advances have brought winegrowers electric pruning shears with a portable battery that allow them to increase the force tenfold and to prune with one hand.

Pruning therefore consists of removing the useless wood from the previous year and preparing the future harvest by guiding the growth of the vine stock.

Do not forget that a vine stock is alive. It is necessary to know how to observe and analyse it in order to adapt the effort that will be required of it, in particular by forecasting the number of bunches for the coming year. Pruning is the essential factor in the search for quality.

* We speak of short pruning when we leave only 2 to 3 eyes per shoot.


Why to prune the vine?

Pruning meets 3 objectives.

1) to fight against natural development of the vine in length causing an exaggerated lengthening of its branches. This is called acrotony, the tendency of the vine to feed its buds close to the top with sap.

2) to control by pruning the number and volume of the future bunches in order to have an optimal harvest and ripening.

3) limit the number of buds to adapt the vine to the possibilities of the environment. To have a suitable vigour and to ensure the perennity of the vine. But beware, excessive pruning exhausts the vine!

In conclusion, pruning must be adapted to each vine stock according to its general condition. If it is vigorous, it will be able to support a greater load of grapes. If it has an average development, a light pruning is sufficient to help it regain enough strength to give its best potential the following year.


The most common pruning styles

There are many different styles of pruning in France and around the world. Wire driving, which has gradually replaced trellising on stilts, can induce different forms of development and involves different types of pruning.

First of all, let us specify that 2 pruning styles can be practiced :

- The short pruning: only one or two eyes are kept per shoot.
- The long pruning: four to ten eyes are kept per shoot.

The pruning also differs according to the type of vine (low or high). The most common are :

Guyot pruning
of the name of its inventor. It is carried out on trellised vines. It is a quick and easy pruning system. It is ideal for grape varieties whose maximum fertility (number of bunches that the bud will give) is on buds of high rank on the vine shoot, chardonnay or pinot blanc for example. But this pruning is exhausting for the plant because it requires a lot of energy to make all the buds of the stick bloom. Often, the maturity of the harvest lacks homogeneity. There are two variants of pruning known as Guyot pruning:

The simple Guyot has a long wood (with 5 to 8 buds) and a spur (with two buds). The cane will be formed by the upper shoot and the spur by the lower shoot. A wire trellis is necessary for this pruning system.

Double Guyot: the vine stock is structured with two arms each carrying a spur and a long wood (rod) whose length varies according to the vigour of the grape variety. The cane will be formed by the upper vine shoot and the spur by the lower vine shoot. Wire trellising is also necessary for this pruning system. It is practiced in the Bordeaux region, the South-West, the Loire, Champagne, etc.).


A summary of the different sizes in Guyot
- Burgundian single Guyot: with a two-eyed spur and, a little higher up, a rod with about six eyes ;
- Bordeaux double Guyot: with one or two spurs and two flat rods;
- Guyot double (for tall vines): with two spurs and two arched rods, with ten to twelve eyes;
- Mixed Guyot: 1 rod with 6 to 8 eyes on the left and one spur on the right, alternating each year;
- Mixed Nantes Guyot: 1 rod and 2 spurs spread over 2 or 3 heads.
- Guyot Poussard: single guyot waist with 2 arms, one of which carries a spur and the second carries a stick

What is Racking the wine in the barrels ?

This operation done by the master-cellar or winemaker decants the wine during the maturing process to eliminate undesirable deposits. This operation can be repeated several times usually every 3 month during the ageing period.

It is a life-size decanting, a "cleaning-up" of the wine. The purpose of racking is to separate the wine from its natural lees during maturing. By this operation, the winemaker eliminates the deposits that have become undesirable, made up of fermentation residues and precipitated tartar that accumulate at the bottom of the barrel. Prolonged contact between these residues and the wine can lead to aromatic deviations, reduced, bad tastes and even some times disease and bacterias.

In concrete terms, the wine is transferred from barrel to barrel first by gravity then draining or pushing by neutral gas. For red wines for laying down, racking is often done with intermediate aeration. The operation, through subtle chemical reactions, flavors the formation of aromas and the maturation of tannins, fixes the color and reduced odors. The moment of racking is determined by the wine maker and master cellar. Here again, the "best" is the enemy of the "good": too many rackings can oxidize or deplete the wine.

The best way to do it is to use a candle, as only natural candlelight will allow the winemaker to see the sediments and deposit through the glass.

The quality and number of rackings have a huge influence on the success of the ageing process and the final product. Practices differ according to the region, the grape varieties, the color and nature of the wines, the vintages and the barrels. Usually in Bordeaux racking is done every 3 month for a total of ageing of 15 month.

"When the rackings are carried out at the right time, the result is wines with a clear, more brilliant color and brightness. They are marked by great purity and a crystalline aspect, both in terms of aroma and taste. On the nose and in the mouth, you can detect a beautiful expression of fruit and aromas. The wines gain in substance, complexity and flavors. They are also more frank and easier to approach. On the other hand, if you find not very bright color or some bad taste, you can deduce that the racking was badly done or made at the wrong time. So, Racking is a crucial and decisive stage in the maturing of wines.

THE WINEGROWER'S GESTURE
There are several ways to extract. One of them is racking by draining the wine and then pumping it out with intermediate aeration, as here in Burgundy.

1)  The winemaker tilts the barrel slightly.
2) The wine flows into a container where it is aerated for a few minutes. The lees remain in the barrel, which is then washed.
3) The wine is then pumped back into another barrel, which is clean with hot water.
4) The empty barrels are cleaned and sterilized by  burning some sulfite tablets inside
5) The barrel is full-up with new clear wine.


See how it works on the next video, filmed in the cellar of Chateau Lafite Rothschild

Chateau Gazin (Pomerol)

Located on the right bank of Bordeaux just next to the appellation of Saint Emilion, Pomerol is one of the smallest wine region in Bordeaux. Pomerol is well known for producing smooth red merlot wines very soft, fruity and elegant. The most expensive wines from Bordeaux are coming and produced in Pomerol and Petrus is for sure the most famous one around this region.


Chateau Gazin formerly belonged to the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem (the order of Malta). and is one of the largest estates in its appellation (Pomerol). The vineyard is in a single block on the upper part of the famous Pomerol plateau located just next to the big star "Petrus".
For the little story, chateau Gazin sol one hectare of land and vineyards to Petrus few years ago.

Gazin is currently owned by the Bailliencourt family. Descended from the lords of Landas, the Bailliencourt dit Courcol family is one of the oldest in the Province of Artois. The name Courcol (meaning "short collar") was given to an ancestor by Philippe Auguste King of France in 1214 due to his bravery in time of war. Louis Soualle, the great-grandfather of the present owners, acquired Chateau Gazin in the early 20th century and the estate continue to be carefully managed by his descendants.

The vineyard is composed of 24 hectares of land located on the plateau de Pomerol.
The soil is mainly made of Clay-Gravel with some Günz gravels.
The grape varieties used in the blend are almost 90% of merlot and 7% cabernet sauvignon and 3% cabernet franc.

Because of the global warming, the chateau is slowly replacing the merlot in order to improve the quantity of cabernet franc which seems to me more adapted to warm temperature.

The grapes are fermented in concrete vats and malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel, after which the wine is also aged in aok. It is then fined with egg whites and, if need by lightly filtered before bottling at the chateau.
The wine will age for around 18 month in barrels and the chateau is using 50% new oak barrels every year.

The annual production (80% exported) can attain up to 100,000 bottles (including 30,000 for the second wine named l'Hospitalet de Gzin). Chateau Gazin belongs to the Academie des Vins de Bordeaux.

The chateau is open to the visit on week day only and closed the week-end and during the Primeurs week.

I had the chance to visit few times, and tasted some great vintages as 2009, 2010, 2015. The visit is also very nice as the owner M Nicolas de Bailliencourt is personally taking care of the visitors which is a real privilege.
If you visit he will spend about 1h30 with you sharing is knowledge and passion for its vineyard.

Chateau Guiraud 1st GCC Sauternes

Nature & Biodiversity

The Chateau as a constant philosophy of work based on nature and biodiversity.

Orientated sustainable development  since many years, the Château has planted hedges made up of different plant species, the soil between the rows of our vines are naturally grassed over, nesting sites for birds are protected, and special nesting "hives" have been installed to encourage the presence of pollinating insects. All this illustrates our desire to preserve the local biodiversity and promote ecological methods.


Ever since 2001, Château has had its own conservatory of white grapevine varieties, the only one of its kind in the world. This invaluable reserve contains 135 original strains of semillon and of white sauvignon blanc. This action maintains the diversity of the vines and it guarantees the infinite complexity of our great wines, and is also of inestimable pedagogical value.

Chateau wine is very complex and full of fruity aromas. You get touch of mint, white flowers, citrus when it is young ( less than 7 yo) then aromas will turn on something more jammy, cooked fruits after few years aged.

A sweet wine can age for a long time in good condition of storage and even age much longer than a red wine. Also the advantage of sweet wine it is that then can be drunk young and not need 10 years of aging before to be enjoyed.

Cheers.

Chateau Pontet Canet

Located in Pauillac, just in front of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, chateau Pontet Canet is the leader among the Grands Crus Classes in terms of biodynamic. The conversion started in 2004 on part of 14 hectares. Under the influence of the technical director Jean Michel Comes who has in own vineyard run in biodynamic, he convince the owner Alfred Tesseron to try it at Pontet Canet.

After few years of test, it was decided to convert the 80 hectares in biodynamic agriculture. It was a real challenge and more than a technic it was a new philosophy for the Chateaux.

The biodynamic needs to understand better the vines, their devlopment and the diseases as the use of chemicals is not allowed. We can compare this to a Chinese medecine and anticipation of the problems. To run the vineyard they follow the moon calendar, they use natural extract of plants to spray on the vines. The idea is to be more respectful of the land, the terroir and the vines. 

A good example to explain and understand this, they started also to use horses instead of tractors (too heavy they compact the soil and damage the roots). Actually the chateau is using 5 horses, wich is far away not enough for the 80 hectares of vineyard and is builiding a brand new traditional construction in order to be able to accommodate 15 of them. 

Donkeys, chicken, sheap are also part of this very unique team ! 

Finaly, the vines are not trimed and there is no green harvest either done, the vines control themself their devlopment and yeild. The wine will age for a big part in the traditional oak barrels but also in very particular amphoras where the wine stay in a vortex movment all time long. 

The result is a wine very fruty with a light structure but still a long potential of aging. The ripe and generous nose combines very pure notes of blackcurrant, violet, rose and liquorice. Wonderful internal harmony creates a symphonic red which associates shimmering substance, exquisite freshness, noble tannins and radiant fruit. 

Come and visit this unique Chateau. The visit will start with a ride on a golf-car in the vineyard, will continue with the technical installation and finish with a glass of wine.

Chateau Mouton Rothschild the Labels History and Museum

One of the most interesting visit in Bordeaux is the visit at Chateau Mouton Rothschild. This one is unique in the sense of it is the only one that offer a collection of piece of art from some of the most famous artists in the last century : Miro, Chagall, Braque, Dali, Bacon, Koons,
even SAR Prince Charles did one for them.

Under the influence of baron Philippe de Rothschild, in 1945 to celebrate the victory on the Nazi, he decided to request the French artist Philippe Jullian to design the famous label showing the "V" for Victory.

Since, every year, a new artwork from a  famous painter, drawer or sculptor will complete the collection.
Some years and labels are more remarkables than other ones.

A label forbidden in US
Vintage 1993 by Balthus, showing a draw of a naked young girl. This label was ban in US because of puritan and was not printed on the bottles for this market. It shows a blank label with no draw on it so, if you have it in your cellar, keep it, it's a piece of collection.

Why 2000 as no label ?
Vintage 2000, no artist ! The bottle itself becomes the piece of art. It show a golden ram on it, from a reproduction of sculpture of Jacob Schenauer 1590.

Why the Picasso one is so big ?
Vintage 1973, Picasso. If you look on the size of the label you could see that the artwork is bigger than all the other ones. In fact the painting was not designed especially for the bottle and it is a reproduction of a painting made by Picasso in 1959.
Picasso died in 1973 that is why in order to celebrate his memory, the Rothchild ask if they could use one of its work and use it for the label of the vintage.

If you come to Bordeaux for a wine tours, ask us to book a tour for you at Chateau Mouton Rothschild. You will have the privilege to taste their wine and also visit this unique treasure located in the middle of the Medoc.

Visit & Wine Tasting at Chateau Lafite Rothschild

The Chateau Lafite Rothschild is one of the top 5 first growth (Premier Cru) classified in Bordeaux in 1855 as Latour, Margaux and Haut Brion. This chateau is certainely the most renown and famous one since few centuries. Thomas Jefferson himself, staid few nights at the chateau when he came in 1787 to visit the famous vineyards of the Médoc region.

I had the chance to visit the Chateaux few times already and it is always a pleasure to bring some guests there. The Chateau Lafite organize <b>visit and wine tasting by appointment only</b> and depending on their availabilities but if you are lucky and if you book long time ahead you could have the chance to be welcome for a wine tasting.



The Chateau is located in <b>Pauillac appellation</b>, northen part of the Medoc just between St Julien and St Estephe.<br />
The name comes from an old French word "La hite" which means the litle hill.<br />
The vineyard has 114 hectares and the chateau produces app. 500 000 bottles a year for half part dedicated to the first wine and the other half to the second label (Les Carruades de Lafite).

The blend is 70% cabernet sauvignon + 25% merlot + 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.
The avarage age of the vineyard is 40yo with some older plots of 80yo.

The wine will aged for 17-20 month in 100% brand new oak barrels. The barrels are all manufactured by their own cooperage and they produce app. 2000 per year.

The legendary vintages are 1945, 1947, 1982, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010. The potential of aging of this wine is exceptional with a minimum of 15 years for  a classical vintage up to 50years and plus for top quality vintages. If you visit the chateau they will explain to you that they still have some bottles of 1797 and they taste regularly old vintages (60-70 yo) still very drinkable.

The tasting will take place is the magnificient barrel cellar design by Ricardo Bofill in 1987.
To come for a visit, you will have more chance during the low season from November to March. The chateau is closed the week, during the Primeur week (April) and from August to October.

Chateau Suduiraut a 1st Growth in Sauternes

Chateau Suduiraut was classified in 1855 as a first growth in Sauternes. This classification, same as the one for the Medoc, concerns also Chateau in Barsac and includes famous Chateau d'Yquem as first growth superior.

Suduiraut is a property of 200 hectares half part dedicated to the vineyard and the other half to the forest. This point is important as it helps to control a certain level of humidity and helps to the development of the "botrytis cinerea or noble rot".

The vineyard is composed of 90% of semillon, 10% white sauvignon. The semillon is perfectly adapted to the "noble rot", it will grow from September to November and will make the skin so porous than slowly with time, water will evaporate and will concentrate the berries in sugar.

The berries mature on the vines and are harvested only when they look dry enough.

The sauvignon blanc will bring the acidity necessary to balance the sweetness of the wine.

Harvest are done by hands and take place from September to November. It is long and late harvests, 100 pickers are used to do them.

The Chateau itself is also a magnificant domaine and the garden were design by the famous gardener Le Nôtre who also design Chateau de Versaille garden's.

Chateau Suduiraut organizes visits and tasting, come to Bordeaux to discover this unique wine and beautiful region.

Sauternes Wine Tour

Mouton 2014 label by David Hockney

Hockney, who was a close friend of longtime Mouton owner Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, has paid tribute to her by using the words ‘In tribute to Philippine’ both above and below the image of two wine glasses.

One glass is full and one empty. The estate said that this symbolised the ‘constantly renewed miracle of the birth of a great wine’. 

Since 1924 to celebrate the first botteling at the Chateaux, Baron Philippe de Rothschild ( father of Philippine), asked Jean Carlu to create the design of yhe label.

Since first painting label was too 'new" for the market and they deceided to do not do it again.

In 1945, this time to celebrate victory, Baron Philippe decided to create a new artwork label with the "V" for victory. French painter Philippe Julian did it and since avery years a new contemporary artist is choosen to draw the vintage label.

Braque, Miro, Cesar, Chagall, Warhol, Bacon, Koons ...labels are now shown at the Chateau in their very unique "Art & Wine" museum.

The Chateau welcome visitors all year long by appointment only to visit it and of course for wine tatsting.