After a lot of soul searching as to where to go in September we have decided on a gentle drive to Bordeaux, spending a few days soaking up the local culture and then a gentle drive back. We will no doubt wish to take back a few bottles in the 7 euro - 20 euro per bottle bracket - cheaper if the quality is as good and sample some whilst we are there.
Where would you suggest that we visit in order to fill the boot of the car?. Looking at local merchants and supermarkets etc.
|||
As you can imagine, finding wine to buy in Bordeaux is not a problem. You could go to one of the large supermarket chains (Auchan, Carrefour, Leclerc, etc.), however most of the stores in these chains get their wines from a catalog issued by the company%26#39;s central warehouse. Thus, you probably won%26#39;t have to worry about filling your boot in Bordeaux and carrying back cases of wine from Southwest France--you can stop in one of their shops along the Channel coast and fine much the same selection in the North.
You might want to consider one of the wine shops in town, or even out in the vineyard areas if you plan on heading up to the Médoc or over to Saint-Emiion.
In town, four of the better-known shops are all in the heart of the city near the Grand Theatre, within a street or two of each other.
There is L%26#39;Intendant, which offers only Bordeaux wines for sale, arranged around a central spiral staircase that extends the entire height of the building (four or five stories). It%26#39;s worth a visit just for the experience of strolling down the stairs (take the elevator to the top and then walk down--it%26#39;s easier) and seeing so many great wines in such a small space. Happily, they also have a nice selection of moderately priced wines that fall within the range that you have specified.
Across the street is Vinotheque, a store with a wider selection of wines and perhaps more to offer in the 7-20 euro field. Nice people there.
Around the corner is a shop called Bordeaux Magnum with a nice selection as well, and a couple of blocks away at the other end of the tree-lined promenade called the Allée de Tourny is Badie. This last is actually two individual stores, one a wine and spirits shop with a very wide selection, and the other is dedicated wholly to Champagne--the only such shop in all of France (not even in the Champagne region itself is there a wine store which offers such a selection exclusively.)
However, there are two other shops that are a bit away from this central location that are worth visiting as well: Cousin %26amp; Compagnie, owned by a Dutch négociant firm that is located on the Place de Parlement; and Les Caves d%26#39;Ausone that is just behind the medieval gateway to the city on the waterfront called the Porte Caillau. (Don%26#39;t worry about exact directions, you will see these two areas clearly indicated on any map of the city.)
If you are going up to the Médoc, try stopping into Le Cave d%26#39;Ulysse, situated in Margaux, right as you come into the village from the south. In Saint-Emilion, I usually recommend Etablissements Martin, at 25 rue Guadet. Both of these shops usually have open bottles of wines in your price range available for tasting, and a great many other selections that might interest you as well.
|||
Thank you very much for that DJM. With all of that information I can spend a few nights research on the internet and plot them into the satnav for when we go.
Regards.
Chris.
|||
-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-
This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html
We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
Removed on: 6:18 pm, August 24, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment