Super Sommelier and Le Chapon Fin’s front of the house manager, Alex Morin joined forces with Bordeaux Saveurs for a fabulous Tuesday. Time for wine tasting in Saint-Emilio and Pomerol Bordeaux beginning on the right bank in Bordeaux.
The nouveau Château Pavie headquarters is one impressive building. State of the art winemaking facilities galore and open spaces for large parties make it a perfect place to host a wonderful, elegant party while sipping on some expensive and superior wines.
We tasted a 2006 Grand Cru Classé “A” that was exceptional. It was a shame to sip and spit, but we had a long day ahead of us and had to pace ourselves.
Next we were off to the house of Figeac, a more accessible wine for most people and a family owned and run winemaking business for generations. Like most smaller winemaking operations, Figeac relies on growing the best grapes in their rocky terroir.
They have an excellent hillside position with rows and rows of vines that produce excellent wines at reasonable prices. The Manoncourt family has owned the chateau for the past 120 years in the heart of the Saint-Emilion region.
We tasted a 2007, 2009 and 2011 Grand Cru Classé. I adored them all, but found the 2009 to be wonderfully balanced and quite mature.
Next up was the smallest of the bunch (pun intended), but one of the most interesting vineyards of the day in the sense that the winemaker Jean-Michel Laporte seemed to be completely immersed in his passion for his wine. Every winemaker must be, but he was intensely passionate about Chateau La Conseillante.
New cement wine vats were awaiting this year’s harvest when we visited. Chateau La Conseillante has been in the family of Louis Nicolas since 1872. A great family dynasty has remained committed to excellence in Pomerol. We tasted the newly bottled 2013 wine which shows great promise. It was full-bodied and well-rounded.
All of these wines were just the beginning of our day. We headed off to a fantastic lunch with more wine tasting. More about that later…
Thank you to Alex, Bordeaux Saveurs and the vineyards for the amazing day on the right bank! Bordeaux Saveurs creates custom wine tours and experiences in the Bordeaux region. Let them arrange everything for your next visit to France’s premier wine country. I used them to book our driver for the day and to create an itinerary of vineyards of all ranges and find us an awesome lunch spot. They were so easy to work with and I would definitely use them again.
All photos are the property of The Weekend In Paris. Must obtain permission before use.