This is the first in a four part series sharing with you my glorious week in Bordeaux. As you know I was a finalist in Millesima’s 2016 International Blogger Awards in the US category of Bordeaux Wine and Travel. As a result of winning this category Millesima hosted myself and five other bloggers, two from the US and three from Europe, for a truly outstanding week in Bordeaux for En Primeurs. I can speak for all six of us when I say we felt like royalty. Not only was the week highly educational but it was filled with amazing wine, food, and hospitality. In this article I am going to take you along my week in Bordeaux with a photo tour highlighting our amazing journey. In an attempt to make it concise as possible I have put most of the photos into collages so please click on them for more details. Let’s begin…
Saturday: Bernard Magrez’s Château Fombrauge was our home for the week. It was a fantastic. A beautiful Château in Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe and we had the full run of the place!
Sunday: We began the day with a tour of Bordeaux city; then an incredible lunch at Grand Maison de Bernard Magrez Joël Robuchon 2 Michelin stars Restaurant; a visit of the Institut Culturel de Bernard Magrez modern art museum; and finally a fun night of wine tasting and awards ceremony at Millesima’s 200 year old downtown Bordeaux warehouse!
Monday: We dove right into the 2015 En Primeur tasting organized by the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux at the brand new Bordeaux football (soccer) stadium; lunch at Château d’Yquem (yes we drank their glorious Sauternes!); conference by the oenlogy department of University of Bordeaux on the 2015 vintage; a silent tasting of 26 Sauternes; finally En Primeur welcome dinner at Château de Fiezual for all participating in En Primeur week
Tuesday: We had a morning tour and tasting at Château Fombrauge followed by an incredible day at Château Pape Clément that was so great it will be featured in its own article
Wednesday: Continuation of tasting the 2015 Bordeaux vintage at Château Malartic-Lagraviere in Pessac-Léognan; a lovely lunch and tasting at Château du Tertre in Margaux, more Sauternes tasting at Château La Lagune in Haut-Medoc; and dinner in downtown Bordeaux at Le Petit Commerce
Thursday: Our epic week of 2015 En Primeur tasting had come to an end; we spent a wonderful morning cruising the Garonne River to Pauillac with our guides Guillaume and Simon of Bordeaux River Cruise; then had an incredible tour, lunch and winemaking class at La Tour Carnet, which will all be featured in its own article; finally a farewell dinner with Millesima at Château Fombrauge
If it sounds incredible and looks incredible than I have properly conveyed the week to you. I must send a warm thank you to all the great people at Millesima for a truly incredible week! They were such amazing hosts and really put together an incredible week in Bordeaux. Additionally, I must thank Bernard Magrez for his incredible hospitality at all his Châteaus, restaurants, museum and everything he did for the six of us. Both Millesima and Bernard Magrez went above and beyond to make us all feel very special at En Primeurs in Bordeaux. As I said at the beginning it was a very educational week but it was also epically amazing! Stay tuned for my next article featuring En Primeur 2015! Cheers!
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21 responses to “My Week in Bordeaux”
WOW, what a week!!
It was epic!
Great post. Looks like an epic food and wine adventure you got to experience. When I visited Bordeaux several years ago it was only for a few days. I hope to make it back soon. I was most surprised by how vibrant the city center itself was – sort of like a miniature Paris. Cheers!
Agreed. I have never seen more cranes in one city. Lots of revitalization. Great city! Thanks Ryan. Happy Wine Wednesday!
Not enough pictures of barrel rooms for my liking!
Ha! Touché! You know me….I love a good barrel room! Cheers my friend.
It does sound and look amazing! I love that dessert tray and the piano!!!! Oh my god that is awesome!
Awesome only touches on how great it was! Cheers Lori! Happy Wine Wednesday.
This is just amazing! I’m equal parts astounded and incredibly envious. This whole week you spent there just looks like heaven on Earth. Reading this I felt like I was there too, and that’s the magic thing–I’ve said before a blog is really a community and you brought the rest of us there with you. Can’t wait for the other installments of this series!
Thank you so much Sean! It was truly glorious. I am so glad you feel like you were with me too.
Wow what a week! It all looks and sounds absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing the experience, as always I felt like I was there as well. Can not wait for the rest of the series!!
PS the Bordeaux Wine Museum what interesting architecture!
It was incredible. And yes, the architecture was very interesting. Bordeaux is an old city but under tremendous renovation and quickly becoming a “mini-Paris.” Great place to visit.
YES! Incredible, epic, and amazing! Wow Michelle, you must have felt you were in heaven on that trip. I love all the photos. Wow, wow, wow! 😀
I did!
Michelle, I think if it had been me, I would still be on Cloud Nine, and would have trouble sitting down to write. What a just awesome trip and experience and may it not be just a once in a lifetime event for you.
It was awesome John. Thank you so much!
Hy from your right neighbour at the Union des Grands Crus Diner at Château Fieuzal !
Cyril forget from Château Maucaillou (Moulis en Médoc)
Hi Cyril! Of course I remember you and our lovely dinner. How are you? Thank you for reaching out. I had a great week in Bordeaux. Please keep in touch!
Reblogged this on http://www.seanmunger.com and commented:
Michelle Williams of the RockinRed Blog, one of the best wine blogs out there, has been a longtime friend of this site and vice-versa. All of us who read her blog were thrilled to hear when she was picked as one of the American wine bloggers invited to a special wine tour of France. This article is the first in her series reporting on her wonderful trip. Everything looks so tasty! A blog really is a community, and it’s wonderful that Michelle was able to represent us, her fans, and the American online wine community so well in France. Can’t wait for the next installments!
O.M.G! O.M.G! O.M.G! O.M.G! O.M.G! Did this really happen? You had me at Michelin Stars and Chateau d’Yquem….unbelievable. Could not have happened to a better storyteller. Can’t wait to read all about it. Xoxo
It did! Details are all published in four different articles. Cheers!