Smith-Haut-Lafitte

Tasting in the Medoc

St Emilion

Wine Producers in this Region
Some of the Wine Producers we visit on this tour.

• Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte

Bordeaux Wine & City

22 - 25 April 2010, 9 - 12 September 2010, 4 - 7 November 2010

Our innovative programme of Wine & City trips is aimed at the more independent traveller who would also like to spend a couple of days in a party being taken to wine visits in the company of a wine expert with the added advantage that someone else does the driving and navigating for you! You book your own travel arrangements, or we will be happy to do this for you (being fully bonded with the CAA we can of course book your flights for you), and meet up at the hotel on the first evening. This gives you the freedom to decide how you wish to travel and the length of your trip.

Bordeaux, the sixth largest city in France, is situated in South West in the Gironde region and is the centre of the most renowned wine region in the world. Wine growing around Bordeaux dates from around 37BC with the arrival of the Romans who planted the first vineyards on the gentle slopes to the south of the town. The English too discovered the sea route to Bordeaux early on and the medieval trade in Bordeaux wine was considerable. It was in the 19th century that most of the wine estates and châteaux were established and the first official wine classification, which stands almost unchanged today, came about in 1855. The city is extremely attractive, with its mainly 19th century buildings and river-front siting. The wine merchants’ old depots line its banks. The mostly pedestrianised old quarter is filled with cafés, brasseries, chic shops, a superb theatre (renowned for its magnificent staircase), a grand cathedral and a tempting indoor market. During recent years the city has undergone a major face-lift and a new tram system has been installed. We stay in a central welcoming 2* hotel (which we have chosen as we prefer it to all the 3*s) within walking distance of the shops and the Marché des Grands Hommes. You can choose to upgrade to the 4* Regent, which is nearby, if you prefer a higher level of luxury. There is a wealth of wine shops nearby and many good restaurants to choose from and, as on all the Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours, we will give you a list of our tried and tested suggestions based on over 20 years of visiting this wonderful wine town.

On the first evening, your wine guide will meet you to host an informative introductory tasting, just as we do on our superb champagne weekends. Not only is this is an enjoyable way to set the scene wine-wise for the weekend so that you get the very best out of the next few days, it also, of course, gives you a chance to meet both the wine guide and the other tour participants. Next day, you'll spend a full day wine touring in the Medoc, or what is known as the "Left Bank", where we will arrange a total of three chateaux visits and tastings, and a private invitation to lunch at one of them. This will typically include visits to a selection of chateaux in the famous Medoc communes of St Estephe, Margaux, Pauillac and Listrac such as Baron de Rothschild's Château Clarke (where of course we are particularly welcome!) Lynch-Bages, Beychevelle, Angludet. We may also select other slightly lesser known chateau offering great value wines and the opportunity to buy direct which is often not the case at the more famous chateaux due to the negociant system. The opportunity to have lunch in a beautiful wine chateau in the Medoc is not only an extremely enjoyable experience, but it is, to our mind, the best way to really appreciate these magnificent wines - with the local food in the place that it was made. Arranging such invitations as an independent traveller is simply not possible.

On your second full day of wine touring, our wine guide will take you to several more important Bordeaux wine regions. Our first visit of the morning is to one of the leading chateaux in the Graves, for both red and white Graves. Lunchtime is usually spent with good friends of ours from Champagne who own an excellent property in the Cotes de Castillon, where you'll start with a glass of Champagne and then taste great value reds over a kind invitation to a private home-cooked lunch. Our final visit of the day is to a chateau classified as Grand Cru in St Emilion. So the Arblaster & Clarke Bordeaux Wine & City Tour really gives you a superb overview of the whole of the region, bar Sauternes of course, in a very short space of time. There will also be time for you to stroll around St Emilion too as it would be a shame to miss out on seeing the loveliest wine town of the region.

The excellent value of these trips means that combined with taking advantage of any special travel deals you might find - you still have peace of mind that the actual tour part is put together by a fully bonded, professional tour operator. If you book hotel elements etc yourself direct via the web you generally have no financial or legal comeback.