Bordeaux area: Worth it?
 

We're planning a tour de france for ourselves (Paris, Dordogne/Provence, Burgundy, maybe Alsace). I'm seeking input re Bordeaux area, St.Emilion in particular.

Reasons to go: 1)my dad was stationed at Paulliac in WW1, it'd be interesting to see where; 2)it'd be our only chance ever to taste Grand Crus wine for a merely expensive price.
Reasons not to go: 1)we're happy with $8 wine; bought a $20 wine once, it was nowhere near as good as $4.99 merlot from Aldi's 2)I wouldn't mind drinking an excellent wine, but I suspect saying, "It's good" would be an insult in an environment where the rest are extolling the "nose", "the hint of cinammon", the "body", etc of the same wine.3)I don't seem to see any other redeeming merits of the area.
Maybe we should skip Aquitaine and spend more days on the rest. What do you think?

<2)it'd be our only chance ever to taste Grand Crus wine for a merely expensive price.>

best chance for best price is probably at Cotsco in U.S.

Just read that they were the largest buyer of vintage 2005 Bordeaux wines and as usual will be at a cost-cutting price.

Everyone is raving about 2005 as being one of the best vintages in history for Bordeaux or any region. Not ready till next spring though.

Bordeaux area save wine never inspired me either but a city like Saint-Emilion i found really neat - old old town surrounded by swirl of vineyards.

The general Bordeaux area certainly has much more to offer than St. Emilion IMO.

We just came back from staying in Mirambeau about 45 miles northeast and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

From your proposed "iti8nerary" above you may be trying to cover too much ground although it is hard to know without a stated timeframe.

Buet perhaps you should go with your gut on this one and skip the area.

<The general Bordeaux area certainly has much more to offer than St. Emilion IMO.>

such as? and not being negative - though i've driven thru the area a few times i never saw many captivating cities or landscapes except vineyards. But i don't know - which ones do you find nice? Did you go to a wine house? Experience there?

Welcome back from your trip!

In googling Paulliac and St Emilion, I came across the Costco wine website; its price for Chateau Margaux 1999 was $330+ for a 750 ml bottle. I'm not too proud to say that, for me, it's too much money.

I'd be interested what that wine would cost at a Bordeau wine house, straight from the vintner?

Pal,
I guess we just have different tastes and that's perfectly OK with me. Obviously, the things I found "captivating" you perhaps did not.

The OP asked for an opinion and we have both rendered ours.

Château Margaux > Homepage, Official website of Château MargauxChâteau Margaux > Official website of Château Margaux. ... wijnjaar, weine bordeaux, margaux france, bordeaux margaux, chateau margaux wine, châteaumargaux, ...
www.chateau-margaux.com/en/Home.aspx

can't get site to work i'd like to compare price

Dukey: i am not really familiar with Bordeaux area and was genuinely asking what you liked - cities, villages and not contradicting you at all - you obviously know much more about Bordeaux than i - i just drove thru it twice to get somewhere else and never had time to explore. I probably would like much of what you like it seems.

Anyway no offense in my post.

Bordeaux is a horrible bore. But the region is nice.

jack - what are some nicer towns or wine houses to tour? This has perked my interest to go back and take a better look. I love seas of vineyards so a few nice towns? merci

tomboy - You can buy cheap wine just as easily in Bordeaux as anywhere else in France so the fact that the area grows some of the most expensive wine in the world and that you (by your own admission) don't appreciate it, that is hardly a reason not to go.
It comes down to how compelling your reasons TO go are.
However by rereading your OP I think you will admit that you already have made up your mind.

What happens to bored people who go to a nice region?

Hi T,

>..it'd be our only chance ever to taste Grand Crus wine for a merely expensive price.<

Not really. You are also going to Burgundy and Alsace.

In 2005 we very much enjoyed our stay at the Chateau de Roques in Puisseguin on our way to the Dordogne.

It is not far from Pauillac (1:30 hr), St. Emilion (0:10 hr) and Bordeaux. (We frove to Libourne and took the train.)

You can also visit the beach at Arcachon (1:30 hr).

((I))

robjame-I realize I was quite explicit about my reasons not to go. My post was really seeking input on reasons TO go to Bordeaux/Aquitaine. Given the attractions of other regions of France, I assumed that it had attractions that I was not being exposed to. So my question remains, what towns and sites (other than vineyards) in the region have interested other Fodorites?

Are you travelling with children? If so, the beaches at Arcachon are nice, though the town is a bit Daytona Beach-y. Also, the Dune de Pyla is fabulous. St. Emilion (IMHO) is a bit too Disney-ish. It is incredibly touristy and done up. We did do a wine tasting class and that was fun. I discovered that I much prefer the Paulliac to St. Emilion. St. Julian's came in 2nd. :)

If you do go to Bordeaux (the city) and the Medoc (the wine region) don't expect to find better deals at the vineyards. Good Bordeaux needs to age before being drunk, and usually gets sold to commercants well before that. If you manage to taste, the wine won't be any cheaper, and may be more expensive than Costco (since I live in France, I dont know US prices, but I do know that we've not found any bargains on site)

Carlux-thanks for your reply. Not looking for bargains; our low level of gourmandness can probably be satisfied at Tesco or the like. Re wine, it'd be our one chance to see if we could even discern what others deem excellent.

We greatly enjoyed the Sarlat area 3 years ago, and are planning a return. I don't know if there are non-wine-ish sights between, say, Les Ezyies and the Medoc. Any to recommend? Our interests lie in places like Sarlat, Domme, St.Remy as contrasted to more urban areas.

Hi T,

>Re wine, it'd be our one chance to see if we could even discern what others deem excellent.<

Considering what you have told us about your wine palate, I suggest not paying more than 8E/bottle.

You will find a 20E bottle good, but not that good, and a Chateau Margaux will leave you cold.

>... non-wine-ish sights between, say, Les Ezyies and the Medoc.

St. Emilion.

Chateau Monbazillac has beautiful views, an interesting chateau and some truly terrific white wines available for tasting at low cost.

((I))

My husband and I generally drink relatively inexpensive wines, but we enjoy learning about wine. We had a great time in the past few years (when we lived in Paris) visiting wineries as part of holiday weekends: we toured Champagne, Bordeaux and the Loire Valley, for example. If you are curious about wine, even if you don't want to spend buckets of money on it, Bordeaux is a great place to learn about the winemaking process, about the history of the families involved in wine-making and about the land. Take an introductory winetasting class at the Maison du Vin in the city of Bordeaux and then book a tour to some vineyards. (We organised our own, but it took some effort and I think you might want something simpler.)

In Bordeaux we tasted some very good wines, but we bought some of the less expensive wines from good chateaux - some were as little as 7 euros and I think we spent about 22 euros on something we really enjoyed.

If your destinations aren't carved in stone yet, you could incorporate a few days in Bordeaux in a way that made it less out of your way. For example, you mentioned wanting to go to Provence (which is more toward the southeast in France) - and that fits with Burgundy and Alsace (at least in the sense that they're all east of Paris and amount to a triangle). Alternatively, you could head west from Paris and visit Bordeaux, Languedoc and then perhaps head north up the west coast to take in La Rochelle (one of my favourite places) and Brittany or Normandy.

Kate - great post

ytomboy - I know you are questionning travel but if you do want to taste those Bordeaux, you can do it far more cheaply than buying a bottle at the wineries.
When in Paris go to one of the many wine bars (Taverne Henri IV located on the Pont Neuf is our favorite). He always has a couple of vintage wines open and for a relatively small price (maybe €4-6) you can try a glass or two of different regions and years.

If your father was stationed in Pauillac (which is in the Haut Medoc, about a hiccup away from Chateaux Latour, Lafite and all the rest), why are you thinking about St Emillion, which is miles away, and a real shlep round the Bordeaux rocade, which is always near-gridlocked?

The Medoc/Haut Medoc peninsula is fun (you can drive round the Latour vineyards, and pop their grapes into your car for free when no-one's looking). The Pauillac information centre has reasonably well-informed staff, occasional tastings, and a facscinating leaflet on the history of Pauillac.

One terrific day out is to do the tour of the Saintonge churches (the area round Saintes), get the car ferry across from Royan to Verdon sur Mer in the Medoc, stop by Soulac (allegedly the starting-off point for English pilgrims on the road to Compostella, though the map they proudly display in the Soulac Basilica of ND de la
Fin de Terres to prove it dates from 1648, when the English weren't going anywhere on pilgrimage), then through the Haut Medoc back to Bordeaux.

Well worth anything.

Some worthy ideas here. Thanks, and more please.

<<pop their grapes into your car for free when no-one's looking)>>

flanneruk - you mean that was you???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Z8Vo9b4fg

<it'd be our only chance ever to taste Grand Crus wine for a merely expensive price.>

If you actually get an appointment with one of the grand chateaus for a wine tasting/facility tour, then you'll get to drink the wine for FREE. Unlike Napa. they don't charge anything for tasting, and many will open 3-4 bottles for you for free. The key is making the appointment in advanced (by email/phone).

If you really are not into Bordeaux wine, I would recommend just going to Pauillac for your dad and perhaps have a lunch stop on the way at Lion d'Or. A well known local restaurant serving very good dishes at reasonable prices along highway D2 in Medoc halfway towards Pauillac. The friendly chef usually comes out to hug all his guests even Germans and Americans.
St Emillion is an attractive touristy town with remarkable medieval atmosphere, definitely worth a visit even if you're not into wine, however it's far from Pauillac.

PalenQ: FYI Costco prices on Bordeaux is not less than those at the proper wine stores. Often times they are actually a bit higher. They can do that because most costco buyers are not aware of the true market price of Bordeaux so why cut their profit, that's the costco wine director's logic.

Actually Paulliac is the home of some of the best known Bordeaux producers - Chateaux Latour, Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild. One would think that there would be a wine-tasting in the area.

DAX - that makes perfect sense to me. I jumped to conclusions that Cotsco, said to be the largest buyer of the vaunted 2005 Bordeauxs would thus have the best price.

But yes business motto is whatever the traffic will bear. Thanks for that insight

I agree with Robjame, those chateaus are really must sees and must taste (at no charge) if you can just get an appointment with them. The best way to get it is through the help of your local wineshop (besides Aldi). I just thought of a 4th reason to go: Visiting the wine chateaus may give you more information to appreciate of how/why a wine can taste better than the single dimensional Aldi merlot. It'll change your perspective at the very least.

PalenQ: It's a natural assumption that Costco is banking on. They have the clever image of a volume discounter which is true for some products, but not for all. That said, I still buy considerable amount of Bordeaux from them just out of convenience.