Day 2 - 28th May 2008
Our Tourist Office 'Medoc 1855' Bordeaux Wine Tour started at 9.15am. It was a huge bus packed to the brim. The tour guide had to repeat everything twice, once in French and again in English. Which was a little annoying as she would speak for 15 minutes in French, then translate for 5 minutes in English, so you felt you were really missing out on half the information. Guess that's what you get at e$85 per person.
We started the day at Chateau Pichon-Longueville (owned by AXA insurance). It was a fantastic Chateau which had been bought by the investment sector at AXA. With the profit from selling the wine, they would reinvest in the winery (new equipment etc) to continue improving the quality of the wine, with the intention to sell the Chataeu in the future and make a huge profit. The old Chateau had been lovingly restored into a guest house for major clients.
The tour guide from Pichon spent a good amount of time with us in the vineyard explaining the terroir of their particular vineyards, the French trellis system and drainage. It was very interesting.
Although we didn't realise it at the time, being the first wine of the day/trip, Chateau Pichon-Longueville was one of the best Bordeaux wines we tried.
The second stop was Chateau Razan Segla (owned by Chanel) where we had lunch. The grounds were from a fairy tale. The Razan tour guide gave an informative account on the family history before the estate was bought by Chanel, and a detailed description of the process during harvest.
Lunch was a superb mix of foie gras (duck liver pate), entrecote (steak) and regional cheeses. The two wines available for tasting were also delicious.
After lunch we had one last Chateau to visit - Chateau Beychevelle. It started badly. The tour guide told us to go to the main building across the courtyard to start the tour, then left us to wait outside in the rain while she talked to other tourists. I personally didn't find the tour very interesting and the wines were pretty average. Don't think I'll recommend this place.
The trip home was exciting as suddenly there was a huge thunder storm and the vineyards started to flood. Those poor vines! And to top it off, our tour guide was quite giddy, which made for a amusing trip back into town.
Had a fabulous seafood dinner at the restarant next to the apartment.
Tomorrow we have our private wine tour of St Emilon/Pomerol. Can't wait!
Our Tourist Office 'Medoc 1855' Bordeaux Wine Tour started at 9.15am. It was a huge bus packed to the brim. The tour guide had to repeat everything twice, once in French and again in English. Which was a little annoying as she would speak for 15 minutes in French, then translate for 5 minutes in English, so you felt you were really missing out on half the information. Guess that's what you get at e$85 per person.
We started the day at Chateau Pichon-Longueville (owned by AXA insurance). It was a fantastic Chateau which had been bought by the investment sector at AXA. With the profit from selling the wine, they would reinvest in the winery (new equipment etc) to continue improving the quality of the wine, with the intention to sell the Chataeu in the future and make a huge profit. The old Chateau had been lovingly restored into a guest house for major clients.
The tour guide from Pichon spent a good amount of time with us in the vineyard explaining the terroir of their particular vineyards, the French trellis system and drainage. It was very interesting.
Although we didn't realise it at the time, being the first wine of the day/trip, Chateau Pichon-Longueville was one of the best Bordeaux wines we tried.
The second stop was Chateau Razan Segla (owned by Chanel) where we had lunch. The grounds were from a fairy tale. The Razan tour guide gave an informative account on the family history before the estate was bought by Chanel, and a detailed description of the process during harvest.Lunch was a superb mix of foie gras (duck liver pate), entrecote (steak) and regional cheeses. The two wines available for tasting were also delicious.
After lunch we had one last Chateau to visit - Chateau Beychevelle. It started badly. The tour guide told us to go to the main building across the courtyard to start the tour, then left us to wait outside in the rain while she talked to other tourists. I personally didn't find the tour very interesting and the wines were pretty average. Don't think I'll recommend this place.
The trip home was exciting as suddenly there was a huge thunder storm and the vineyards started to flood. Those poor vines! And to top it off, our tour guide was quite giddy, which made for a amusing trip back into town.
Had a fabulous seafood dinner at the restarant next to the apartment.
Tomorrow we have our private wine tour of St Emilon/Pomerol. Can't wait!