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I organised a five day trip for me and a friend to discover the region of Bordeaux and particularly its most prestigious wines. In Bordeaux there are six first growth wines: Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Lafite, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Haut Brion and the fabulous Chateau d’Yquem. I managed to organise a day including two of these fabulous wineries along with a boozy lunch that included two of my personal favourites - an itinerary for the more professional drinkers among us.
 We started the day at Leoville Barton. It has a stunning castle and the winery has a traditional outlook on both the vinification procedure and the setting. The gardens are breathtaking and we admired the landscaping while listening to the history of one of the oldest wine producers of the St Julien area. Anthony Barton uses traditional techniques -- fermenting his wines in wooded vats and then aging in oak barrels for 18 months. Each year the winery replaces fifty percent of the barrels with new ones.
 Then we were off to Chateau Latour, considered one of the finest wines in the world, where the vineyards are steeped with an aura of prestige and history. There is no castle to speak of and the whole presentation has become very corporate and unfortunately rather cold. We were whisked around the production area very briskly. They use very modern techniques in the beautiful recently renovated premises, but I still felt like an excited schoolchild as we finished up in the tasting room. As my enthusiasm and albeit moderate knowledge about the wine started to dawn on our guide, she soft ened in her attitude and three half bottles of the Latour appellations awaited our palettes. Despite their youth they gave us an insight into the character and sheer exuberance of the wines. There are three wines: the Pauillac, the Les Forts de la Tour, and the Grand Vin Latour. I previously tasted all three wines, but it was interesting to have them side by side in one tasting. I have to admit that we finished all three bottles and hardly spat any out. Well would you?
 In the afternoon we visited two other castles, both who’s marketing of the wines I felt rather took away from the actual appreciation of the wine itself. Mouton Rothschild is probably the most well known brand from Bordeaux and this is due to the impressive efforts of the patronne - the effervescent Baronne Phillippine de Rothchild. She has wines in Bordeaux, California and Chile. The tour of the property includes a museum of wine and art, the cavernous cellars, and the private cellars of the family dating back to the 19th century the tasting room. One of the most remarkable features about the Mouton is the label. Each year a famous artist is asked to design the label. For the millennium edition they excelled all previous years by choosing one of the treasures of the Museum of Wine in Art at Mouton Rothschild, the little "Augsburg Ram", a 16th century silver-gilt drinking vessel and the Mouton emblem, to be reproduced on each bottle in all its original lustre. It’s an interesting history lesson, but the wine seems to take backstage.
The final tasting of the day was at Chateau Lynch Bages. Jean-Michel Cazes runs the operation and is developing the whole village around his Lynch Bages property. The wine is one of the finest of the St Julien appellation. The cellars were renovated quite recently and use relatively modern techniques. We had a charming Englishman who took us around the chai, and of all the castles we visited, this was the most generous with the tastings. He opened 12 different bottles for us to taste and the Chateau Lagrange and the second wine ‘Les fiefs de la Grange’ topped the selection. Although there is a great deal of development going on at the property, the atmosphere was relaxed and professional. The wines were fantastic and I had a particular ‘penchant’ for the 1998 Lagrange. It has a fabulous dark ruby colour and is a truly elegant wine offering spicy new oak, medium body, excellent concentration as well as depth, surprising softness, and early appeal.
After four wine tastings, I don’t know how many wines we tasted. For lunch we dined at the delicious St Julien, St.-Julien-Beychevelle 33250, Phone: 05 56 59 63 87, which offers traditional French food with an interesting modern touch and an impressive wine list. I just don’t know how I managed to get on the plane to come back to London.
What a day!!
We were accompanied by Mary Wakefield who helped organise the wine tour. She has great contacts in the Bordeaux wine area, so give her a call if you would like to do a wine tasting. Phone 00 33 6 08 25 00 54.
Imo
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