My friend and I stopped at this shop to grab a bottle of wine and went on an amazing wine journey…read more Shop owner, Eliott, really took the time to make us feel welcomed. I mean, we are a couple of annoying Americans who speak very little French and he was very patient and accommodating. Now, for the wines! We had an amazing tasting and were introduced to some really fun, unique wines. I never wanted to buy more wine - sadly, we only walked away with 6 bottles. I can't wait to have more shipped to me! If in the Bordeaux region, go to Saint-Emilion and go to this shop! Trust us, it is worth the journey!!

You generally can't go wrong with the wine "caves" in St. Emilion. They are honest sellers who…read moreoffer beautiful wine at fantastic prices. But you will not find a friendlier, more engaging, and more knowledgeable wine expert than Monsieur Thierry Dubois. His cave is not simply a shop, it is a place to learn about and experience all that fine wine has to offer. If all you want is an excellent recommendation, a good selection, and fair prices, that can easily be had here. The shop is unassuming but very well-appointed, comfortable, and well-stocked. Thierry offers fantastic tastings, and also, if you are lucky, he may serve you some of his delicious Basque tapas with it. This is a man who loves wine, and loves what he does, and it is a true pleasure to be welcomed into that environment, share some wine, and deepen one's knowledge. Perhaps the wisest thing he said to my wife and I, who enjoyed ourselves so much that we never even made it past his shop on our last visit, was this: "yes, there is a lot of competition, but ultimately, the competition is with oneself, and the goal is to not lose your soul in the process." Perhaps the most amusing thing he said about wine was "you need to aerate this because it is an old wine, and old wines are lazy!" I mean, how could you _not_ want to buy a bottle from a chap like that? Whether you are a neophyte or a connoisseur, the Cave de la Grande Fontaine is not to be missed on any visit to St. Emilion. And it's easy to find--just look for the big inflatable wine bottle (this is Thierry's way of not taking himself and his wine too terribly seriously, so don't be put off). Pull up a stool, hold your glass up to the light, take a deep sniff, and prepare yourself for wine nirvana.

I can't believe I have not yet reviewed this fabulous wine shop in Saint Emillion. My husband and I…read moreare wine lovers. However, I'll admit we are not knowledgeable at all when it comes to French wines. Although we've had many we enjoyed, we just had not taken the time to learn left bank vs. right bank or about all the different regions. Benoit not only offered a fantastic tasting, but also spent a good amount of time educating us, even showing us the regions where each of the wines were from on a map. He was ever so patient with us and really took the time to tell us details about each of the wines he poured. He offered a number of different wines from different regions at very different price points - anything from 25 Euro a bottle to over 200 Euro. The selection here is simply amazing. I felt honored that Benoit took the time to lead us down into the cellar and show us around not only the premises, but the older vintages they kept locked up behind huge iron gates in the cellar below. This was truly a first class experience! Then as we headed back upstairs, he grabbed two wines from the cellar which he told us we simply had to taste. All in all we probably tasted about 10 to 11 wines. We ended up shipping a case back to the states - a variety of wines we had enjoyed, all from the tasting to include three of the higher end selections which we plan to cellar for awhile. I found the wine prices to be quite reasonable for the quality. Because we shipped back to the states we did not have to pay the 20% VAT which saved us a bit more. Shipping charges were extremely reasonable considering we got the wine two days after shipping. Benoit even held the wine at the shop before shipping since we were in Europe for another week and he didn't want our wine arriving before we did. I cannot recommend Etablissements Martin enough. We stopped in a couple of other wine shops in Saint Emillion and did not experience near this level of service. Highly recommend!!

Our last stop of the day on our last day of our tour of Bordeaux was a stop at Etablissements…read moreMartin, an upscale wine shop specializing in Bordeaux wines in the heart of Saint Emilion. Customer service, especially from Benoit, was outstanding! He was informative, helpful, and exceedingly patient, while pouring us many samples from their wide selection of wines and cognacs in its inventory, and helping us to make our selections for purchase. Most impressive was its selection of older vintage Bordeaux that they maintained in their on-premises wine cellar. For items they didn't have in stock, they gladly special ordered our desired wines. Prices were competitive and in some cases considerably cheaper than what can be found in the States or on wine auction sites. Etablissements Martin also arranged shipping to the States (at a charge), which was a huge plus for us. For first class service and a diverse, yet top shelf selection, Etablissements Martin is a must for Bordeaux wine lovers looking to buy a bottle or case to enjoy at home.

My favorite place and favorite wine on earth! Chateau La Commanderie is a boutique winery nestled…read morein the Pomerol , the crown jewel appellation of Bordeaux. The wines of La Commanderie Pomerol, is produced with the highest level of production, through a fully modernized technology and at the same time following the traditions and heritage of traditional French winemaking and the ideal of terroir.

Stopped by vins 33 on a slow February day. St Emilion has…read more50 little wine shops All of which offer complimentary wine tastings. Hugo was the man that welcomed me in. Very friendly, informative, not too pushy sales wise. He explained the whole Bordeaux region to me. The wines here are great! I bought a bottle. I can recommend this place to anyone. I preferred this spot to others down the street. Some French people are quite rude. Not Hugo. Thanks Hugo for being a good guy!

Stopped here on our trip to St Emiilion back in July and had a pleasant experience. Did a little…read moretasting, the host was super informative. Overall decent experience. We decided to purchase wine and we were told it would be X amount of dollars to have wine shipped (maybe 30 or so). Seemed a little expensive but we were told that would cover all costs (shipping, customs, etc). Wine arrived shortly after we got home and all was good. About 3 weeks after getting home, we received an additional bill from FedEx for an additional 35 dollars for customs fees that we were told would be covered in the initial shipping cost. Essentially 65 dollars to have 3 bottles shipped. I attempted to reach out without any resolution other than "I'm sorry that happened, it happens occasionally". Over the past 3 weeks I have found all 3 bottles that we had purchased at this wine shop at various places here in the US (Costco, local artisan grocery stores, etc) for a fraction of the price of what we paid. Can't help but feel a little exploited. Not only was the wine heavily marked up but hidden costs of shipping made the price come out to an additional 20/bottle. Beware. Don't be stupid tourists like us.

This wine cellar in Saint-Emilion is a stop on the Rustic Vines "Monk" tour. The eight of us…read moredescended upon Le Cellier and were greeted by the store owner. We proceeded to have engaging discussions and a series of tastings including several Grands Cru Classes tastings. We discussed the classification system of Saint-Emilion, when to age wine and when to drink it, how one individual's palate and preference differs from another and how cost should not dictate perceived quality of a wine. Such an excellent place to visit and you will leave with a wealth of knowledge and hopefully a few bottles to take with you.