If you are in Les Eyzies de Tayac in the Dordogne, this is a most excellent place to go for wine…read more The owner Quintin, and his dad were extremely helpful in helping us choose the right Rose, Champagne and Reds. Very nice people, also very good in English and 100% helpful. Super nice people, not "going for the Upsell" or anything like that. Great knowledge and happy to give advice. 5 Stars for selection, helpfulness, knowledge and friendliness. Highly Recommend!

This wine shop was recommended to us by a friend of ours who lived in the area. He pointed at the…read morestore when we were walking in Sarlat and said :"If you need to buy wine in this town, that's the guy." He was right. The shopkeeper was very patient with our bad French and set us up with some fantastic local varietals. We liked his selection so much that we went back more than once. If I could, I would buy a case load of his swag and have it shipped back to America.

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.

Run by the remarkable Patricia Atkinson, an English woman who moved to France knowing nothing about…read morewine and not even speaking French! Due to her circumstances she needed to learn pretty quickly and gradually turned a run down vineyard into one of Bergerac's best producers. She makes 5 wines or did at the time of writing. 2 whites, 2 reds and a dessert wine. All are good - very good in fact - but the sweet wine 'Saussignac' is absolutely remarkable; like liquid crystalised nectarines it barges to one side many of the quality wines of the Sauternes region on Bordeaux. In the last 10 years or so Patricia has expanded her vineyard area and is doing very well. You can get her wines in a few places in the UK (Justerini and Brookes is the only outlet for the Saussignac) but if you are staying in Gageac you can knock on the door and buy some there directly from Patricia herself. If she's not got much on she'll show you the vines and winery and even put on a small tasting. She also runs some holiday homes which are absolutely beautiful. The fact that she is an exceptionally nice woman certainly helps - her enthusiasm and knowledge are fantastic and her success story is very refreshing.

I would first like to mention how welcomed I was when I walked through the door of this beautiful…read morewine shop! It was perfectly situated on Rue Tourny and very close to my apartment on my recent visit to Sarlat! Justine the wine expert in the shop was so knowledgeable and kind! She went out of her way, despite my efforts to speak in disjoined French to speak English so that we could talk about my choices and talk more about the nuances of the wines that she suggested to me, all of which were magnificent! The shop is lovingly decorated and there are many wines both regional and local. She even showed me some Pét-Nat and Natural wines which are sometimes difficult to find! I picked out some champagne, some prosecco, and also some reds from the area and she packed them so nicely in a box with a handle so that I could easily bring them home. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the suggestions that Justine offered and I am so grateful that this bottle shop was so convenient to visit! I am also very grateful for my new friend!! Beautiful shop wonderful employee with a great personality and a kind heart! When I return to Sarlat again (which I will), this will be my first stop! :-)

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.