This tour doesn't include

Personal insurance & expenses. Meals and drinks. Entrance fees to monuments, museums, attractions, Gratuities for the guide.

MORE ABOUT SAINT-EMILION AND POMEROL WINES

There are three claims made about Saint-Emilion that is uniquely famous to this region: It is the oldest active wine producing appellation dating from the antiquity which left to Saint-Emilion a large number of roman archeological sites. And it has the oldest active wine society of France called Les Jurades dating from 1199. It is also one of the first region to export wine in the 14th Century.

More than 800 different producers make wine in St. Emilion, which are spread among the 9 parishes: Saint Emilion, Saint-Christophe des Bardes, Saint-Etienne de Lisse, Saint-Hippolyte, Saint-Laurent des Combes, Saint-Pey d’Armens, Saint-Sulpice de Faleyrens, Vignonet and a portion of Libourne. In total, close to 2.4 million cases of wine are produced in Saint Emilion each year.

Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the dominant grapes that make St. Emilion wine. with as secondary grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The Merlot in St. Emilion offers tasters lush, soft textures, richness and concentration with flavors of plums, blackberry, licorice, chocolate and black cherry. The Cabernet Franc adds aromatic qualities like flowers and spice as well as tannin and structure. St. Emilion can also be earthy, spicy and deliver notes of tobacco and truffle, as well as fresh cherries when it ages. Depending on the level of limestone found in the terroir, the wines can also provide a strong sensation of minerality, crushed rock or cement. Of course the taste and texture varies from estate as does the wines ability to age, evolve and develop with bottle age.

Pomerol, which is located just due west of St. Emilion has a variety of different terroirs and slopes that range in quality and help create a myriad of diverse expressions found in Pomerol wine. It the uniqueness of the divergent terroirs and soils that give birth to the different styles of Pomerol. The easiest and simplest way to look at Pomerol is to divide it into three parts. The plateau of Pomerol, the slopes along the side of the plateau and the flat parcels of terroir following the slopes. The best terroir in Pomerol is found on the famous Pomerol plateau with its concentration of clay and gravel soils.

It is the smallest, major appellation in Bordeaux with close to 800 planted hectares and about 150 producers and growers. As you can imagine, most Pomerol château and vineyards are small. Of course there are a few exceptions. The largest Pomerol vineyard belongs to Chateau de Sales at 47.5 hectares. The smallest vineyard is Enclos Tourmaline, which is a scant .5 hectares of vines. On average, close to 350,000 cases of wine are produced in Pomerol each year.

Merlot and Cabernet Franc are the two most important grapes used to produce wine in Pomerol. Merlot did not become the dominant grape in many of the best Pomerol vineyards until after the Phylloxeria epidemic. While Cabernet Franc is blended into most Pomerol wines, it is the character of the Merlot grape that gives the wine of Pomerol its sensuous, elegance. Looking at the entire 800 hectares of the Pomerol appellation, it is planted to 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Due to the refurbishment works next to the Bordeaux train station, we recommend that customers from Paris take the train the day before so that they can guarantee their punctuality on the day of their tour.

-- This tour is subject to availability & Guaranteed departure from 2 people --