Wine Tasting in Pessac-Leognan

For inexperienced wine drinkers (like Kevin and me), the Bordeaux area can be overwhelming.  Unlike in Napa Valley, many chateaux in Bordeaux conduct visits by appointment only.  To help us sort everything out and give us an intro to wine tasting in the region, we hired Dewey Markham from DMJ Wineworks to give us a one-day tour.  He's an American by birth but has lived in Bordeaux and worked in the wine industry for over 20 years.  He teaches classes at the Ecole du Vin in town, and he also offers a variety of private tours.  It was nice to have our own "personal expert" who could answer all our questions.  (And we had a LOT of questions!)

Dewey had prearranged three chateaux visits and tastings.  It was eye-opening.  In Napa/Sonoma, Kevin and I just drove from winery to winery -- you pop into the tasting room, maybe pay a fee, try three or four wines, and head out to the next stop.  It was not like that here.  We spent more than an hour at each chateau, touring the vineyards, seeing the pressing equipment, walking through the barrel rooms, and then -- finally -- tasting the wine.  The nice part is that you basically receive a private tour of the winery, and you don't have to compete with other tourists for attention once you get to the tasting room.  The drawback is that the basic process is the same from one chateau to the next, so much of the information is repeated, especially if all the chateaux are in the same region/appellation.

Chateau Latour-Martillac

After Chateau Latour-Martillac, we went for lunch at the nearby Smith Haut Lafitte chateau complex. 

In addition to the winery, there is a five-star hotel, spa, and two restaurants.  We went to the more informal restaurant, La Table du Lavoir.  It was modeled after a 19th century wash-house.  It was a pretty spot, with a very nice lunch menu.

After lunch, we headed to Chateau Carbonnieux, which was once visited by Thomas Jefferson.  The basic winemaking explanation was the same, but the chateau owners' collection of antique French cars was a big hit with the gentlemen in our party.

Chateau Carbonnieux

Each of the chateaux we visited today are classed as a Grand Cru Classe of the Graves region.  This is a classification system that separates the elite wines from the rest of the field (although honestly we haven't met a wine we didn't like).  Each of the three chateaux is well-known for both its red and white wines, so there was something for everyone.  Definitely a good introduction to the vineyards of Bordeaux.

Chateau Bouscaut