Bordeaux Great Chateaux 

23 - 27 November 2009

The visits on this superb tour include the Premier Cru Classe estates, Chateaux Margaux, Lafite-Rothschild and Latour as well as d’Yquem , Haut-Brion, La Mission and other great chateaux. Our Master of Wine lives in the region, so brings an added depth to the tour. As ever on an Arblaster &Clarke wine tour, meals are included as private guests at top estates. 

Our base is a private chateau in Margaux a,2ieme Cru Classé, which has been elegantly furnished with classical decor and where we have been warmly welcomed in the past. This is not a hotel and is not open to the general public to stay at, so it is a special invitation to Arblaster & Clarke and their claret loving clients. There are just 5 comfortable double rooms and one smaller double, so the maximum party size can be just 11 participants, making this trip extremely exclusive - and giving you lots of opportunity to get to know the Master of Wine wine guide and your kind and generous chateaux hosts. This is a unique experience of enjoying the relaxing vie-de-chateau at a top wine estate.

The theme of our first full day wine touring is the great commune of Pauillac where our special visits are to the two great chateaux in the commune recognised as 1st Growths in 1855, the mighty Châteaux Latour and Lafite-Rothschild and to Mouton Rothschild which was elevated to 1st Growth status in 1973 from its original 2nd growth position and was the first wine ever to have a different artist-designed label for every vintage.

Latour has produced monumental wines for generations. The modernisation of the vat house and improvements in the vineyard has simply tended to make the wines more accessible. Retrospective tastings show that Latour has lost none of its legendary characteristics: its great depth of colour, a classic Cabernet nose and remarkable concentration of fruit and tannin.

Next day, our first privileged visit of the morning is to the Palladian style Chateau Margaux in Margaux, where we experience the exquisite wines whose wines are said to typify its commune more than any other of the 1st Growths. The wines of this classically beautiful chateau, with its colonnades and tree lined approach, have been in a peerless position since 1976, when the Mentzelopoulous family (now headed by Christine) took over, following nearly two decades of disappointing wines, bettered by those of their arch-rival neighbours at Château Palmer. Paul Pontallier, the winemaker, ensures that Château Margaux typifies the wines of its commune more than any other of the 1st Growths by exhibiting soft, velvety texture, a warmth and richness of palate and a distinct note of violets on the nose.

We then head to the Right Bank where our lunchtime appointment is with Château Canon, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion. Château Canon owns the St Martin vineyard on top of one of the finest slopes in St Emilion. Indeed 13 hectares of its vineyard are within a walled clos just opposite the imposing 18th century château. Here the Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines are grown in the traditional way in a sub-soil of limestone. The wine is fermented in oak vats and aged in oak barrels. Canon is famous for its power, finesse and tremendous ageing potential. In 1996 the Wertheimer family, who also own the firm of Chanel, purchased the estate.

This afternoon we continue for a tasting at Château Cheval Blanc. This legendary chateau is classified 1èr Grand Cru A, St Emilion and is on the border with Pomerol. The soils are largely gravel and sand, and unusually there is a higher proportion of Cabernet Franc than Merlot. The wines are powerfully rich and spicy.

Tonight’s VIP dinner invitation is with our friends at Rauzan-Segla, one of the oldest and most famous crus in Margaux, which challenges Palmer as one of the Super Seconds of the commune. Taken over by Chanel in 1994, this property makes outstanding wines that have flourished in recent vintages under the care and attention of David Orr, former director of Château Latour. Extensive improvements have been made to the château itself and the cellars. The current owners have also reverted to the original spelling of Rauzan with a "z". 

Next morning we are privileged guests at the historic Château Haut-Brion, the only non-Médoc chateau to be awarded 1st Growth status in 1855. Situated on the Graves of Bordeaux, Haut-Brion is one of the oldest wine chateaux in the region and, even with the city of Bordeaux expanding around it, continues to produce truly outstanding wines. We also visit Haut-Brion’s sister chateau, La Mission. It is possible that due to building works, we will only visit La Mission and taste both wines here.

For lunch we continue to the delightful Domaine Chevalier, where owner Olivier Bernard warmly welcomes us. Despite unusually retaining the domaine name, (owing in large part to there being no formal, impressive chateau), this is nonetheless one of Pessac-Léognan's most successful wines. The wines are lighter in style than some wines of the commune, but with more finesse and piercingly beautiful purity of flavour - particularly in their white wines. It could even be suggested that the white is the more impressive, offering as it does a truly amazing breadth of flavour, with the new oak wonderfully integrated with the Semillon/Sauvignon blend. The red is also of outstanding quality, in keeping with those of its neighbours.

We then continue to the Sauternes, where we complete our First Growth tour with the illustrious Chateau d’Yquem. No property in France dominates its appellation in the way that Yquem dominates Sauternes. At 113 ha, Yquem is the biggest property in the A.O.C. Yquem is one of the most difficult wines on earth to make; yet the tradition of quality and selectivity is such here that it is one of the most consistent of all great wines. The hilltop dome on which Yquem sits is composed of sandy gravels over limy clays.

For dinner this evening, we move on to St Julien, where at Ch. Leoville-Langoa Barton, where we will be welcomed by a family member (the ever charming Anthony Barton or his daughter Lilian). Léoville and Langoa-Barton have been in the same family since 1821, thus pre-dating the 1855 classification of the Médoc.

We return to Bordeaux airport next morning, and you can either elect to fly home, or stay on in Bordeaux, or perhaps treat yourself to a couple of days recouping in a spa hotel! We will be pleased to book this for you if you wish.

This is a small party with a maximum of 12 participants, there is availablility for single travellers with no supplement.

The Wine Guide is James Lawther M.W.

Singles Welcome.