FFW 2021 Wine Catalogue

TRAVEL TIPS Travel to Bordeaux The beautiful city of Bordeaux, with its classic 18th Century French architecture, epitomised by the Place de la Bourse and Grand Théâtre Opera House, showcases the wealth generated by the dominant business of the region – wine. One forgets quite how large the region is and a drive fromSt. Estèphe in the NorthernMédoc to the beautiful UNESCOWorld Heritage town of St. Émilionwill take you the best part of two hours by car. If visiting for a few days, one can take two approaches - either base oneself in Bordeaux and travel out to the wine regions from there or travel around (as we do) staying a night or two in the famous villages of St. Émilion, St. Julien or Pauillac. Access is easy, and we tend to fly into Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport, fromwhere one can be sipping a kir royale in the gardens of the Hotel au Logis des Remparts overlooking the medieval rooftops of St. Émilionwithin an hour. For those happy to treat themselves, the 5* Hostellerie de Plaisance is the place to be seen. For dinner, we prefer the pretty location and ambiance of the Logis de la Cadène a couple of minutes around the corner. Amust visit restaurant in St Emilion is La Terrasse Rouge. Owned by Ch. La Dominique, the huge red facade is hard to miss with the rooftop restaurant giving commanding views of the surrounding vineyards & Chateaux like Cheval Blanc & La Conseillante. If staying in Bordeaux itself, the alluring façade of ‘ Le Grand ’ opposite the Opera House offers amagnificent view over the heart of the city and amyriad of restaurants to explore. Pessac-Léognan is the closest wine region to the city itself. La Mission, Haut-Brion is extraordinarily nestled in the suburbs. As buildings give way to vines, a night at Les Sources de Caudalie , surrounded by the vineyards of Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte is a very tolerable place to find oneself, especially if dining in the 2* Michelin La Grand’Vigne . Over in theMedoc, we tend to stay in a rather shambolic ChâteauMeyer’s Le Clos deMeyre just outside Avensan in the heart of theMedoc – even during the En Primeurs tasting week we seem to have the placemore or less to ourselves. Don’t expect 5* service – more like a hands-off rustic charm. One of the reasons we stay here is its proximity to the

BORDEAUX

restaurant Le Lion d’Or in Arcins, a perennial favorite at Farthingoe. Busy every night, the food is simple, delicious Bordelaise fare. In the restaurant boxes mounted on the walls contain bottles fromall the great Medoc Chateaux. These are personally stocked by Chateau owners and usually firmly locked! However, just sometimes and if one asks a Chateau owner nicely (or place a large order), youmay well find a bottle from their box on your table to greet you! A fewmiles north of St. Julien on the edge of Pauillac town is the much smarter Relais & Château Hotel of Château Cordeillan-Bages with their recently appointed 1* Michelin restaurant, and the fun ‘Village de Bages’ adjoining the Lynch-Bages estate, offering a few boutiques to wander through and a bite in the Le Café Lavinal bistro for somethingmore casual. Of course, themain reasonmost of us visit the Bordeaux region is to visit so Châteaux and taste some wines! Through our contacts there, we’ll always be delighted to helpmake your visit amemorable one and set up a couple of tastings for you with some of our favourite Châteaux. Alex Cox

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WINE CATALOGUE