Private Saint-Émilion Insider Day: Limestone Caves, Organic Family Estate

Bordeaux pickup and day plan

Days normally run from 9am to 6.30pm, with pickup and drop-off at a hotel or boat in the city of Bordeaux. The usual plan is three properties a day in a range of styles, to show different sides of vine growing and winemaking in Bordeaux. Most are family-owned and classified. Where possible one is a smaller independent producer, where the group meets the winemaker. Bordeaux has 7000 properties and only around 200 belong to the Grand Cru Classé. St Emilion, on the Right Bank, has vineyards on rolling hills around a medieval village, and its properties are smaller and often family-owned. The visits contrast styles: a classified property where the group goes under the vines into limestone caves, and another that has been organic forever and is run today by the 14th generation of the same family, who are met in person. There is time for the medieval town and its cobbled streets, and the route passes through Pomerol, home of Bordeaux's most expensive wines, Petrus included. The guide builds each itinerary individually, drawing on twenty-five years as a wine professional in the region. The price is all inclusive except meals: tailor-made planning and advice, third-party insurance, an expert wine guide on the day, pickup and drop-off from central Bordeaux, transport, and château visit and tasting fees. Guests can name favorite Bordeaux estates or areas of special interest in advance.