Did a wine tasting here today. We were luckily at the winery during the harvest and the collecting…read moreand sorting of the grapes. We were taken through the entire process from grape sorting to entry in the vats to walking through the barrel room and the bottle storage area. The wine was excellent. We tasted 3 of the same wines from 3 different years. It was a wonderful exercise.

The third day of the wife and my tour of Bordeaux wine châteaus continued with a late morning stop…read moreat Château Prieuré Lichine. A 4th Growth château of the Margaux appellation, Prieuré Lichine offered the best overall tour experience of our trip. Our tour guide, Ulrich, was fluent in English, exceedingly knowledgeable in Prieuré Lichine's history and operations, and easily the most descriptive and enthusiastic, if not passionate, while leading our tour. He was stellar! The château property was aesthetically beautiful with an interesting, logical blend of the modern with its vintage heritage. Château Prieuré Lichine had a very nice tasting room/wine/gift shop where its wines in a wide range of formats and vintages as well as wine accessories, books, and other souvenirs could be purchased. We had the opportunity to experience a barrel tasting of its 2013 vintage Margaux as well as a barrel tasting of its pre-blend, straight cabernet sauvignon. Our tour culminated with a delicious lunch in the château's "Harvest" dining room where we were served both its white Bordeaux, a 2013 Le Blanc du Château Prieuré Lichine and a vertical of its 2003, 2005, and 2007 margaux. Tasting the wines as a vertical truly highlighted the variances of the same wine between multiple vintages. Our tour of Prieuré Lichine was an enlightening and enjoyable experience. We were made to feel very welcome. While we were on a special tour not available to most of the public, I still highly recommend checking it out. If Ulrich's the one giving you your tour, then you're in for a treat!

Great spot to enjoy a taste. We called ahead and reserved a spot for two. The place also is a small…read morehotel, looked very nice , intimate setting, great place to chill. We were greeted and tried a few different wines, great stuff. I would recommend for sure

From the owner: Le Château du Tertre, Grand Cru Classé en 1855, appellation Margaux, possède 5 chambres d'hôtes et…read morevous accueille, sur rendez-vous, tout au long de l'année pour des visites - dégustations et des événements sur mesure.

We went to the Château Giscours for a picnic and cricket match and spent the entire day there. It…read moreis an absolutely gorgeous Château, just 30 minutes from Bordeaux. It's an ideal place to organise events (business meetings or wedding celebrations). There are in-doors and outdoors venues. Contact them for wine tasting, or to visit the site. It is stunning and worth checking out.

From the owner: Le classement de 1855 attribue aux vins de Giscours le rang de 3ème Cru Classé de Margaux. A…read morequelques lieues de Bordeaux (30km), dominant un parc de trois cents hectares, Château Giscours se distingue par son imposante stature. Quatre vingt-cinq hectares de vignes plantées sur l'aire d'appellation Margaux y servent d'écrin à un château construit au XIXème siècle. Le Château dispose de 3 chambres d'hôtes, cosy et romantiques pour ceux qui veulent découvrir les paysages des vignobles bordelais. Il ouvre également ses chais et son cuvier au grand public pour des visites instructives. Toute l'année, le lieu accueille réceptions et mariages.

Visited a few wineries while in Bordeaux and this visit was my favorite…read more I feel we lucked out by getting Dwight as our tour guide. He was so nice and knowledgeable. I learned so much about the wine making process, which deepened my appreciation for wine and inspired me to learn more. We tried two Saint-Ahon wines at the end of our tour. The first was a Merlot- Cabernet Sauvignon blend, and the second was a Merlot - Cabernet Sauvignon - Cabernet Franc - Petit Verdot blend. They were both delicious! Thank you again for everything, Dwight!

From the owner: Nous vous proposons diverses activités: une boutique vin et…read moreépicerie fine, des visites guidées de la propriété, un parcours oenoludique Les Jardins de Mirabel , 3 gîtes, une salle de réception, une aire de stationnement pour camping-car. De plus, vos enfants pourront profiter d' activités et d'évènements qui leur seront dédiés tels que des ateliers créatifs et des qoûters d'anniversaire organisés tout au long de l'année sur réservation.

What a wonderful experience today spending time here. A nice family-run chateau with amazing…read morewines. We came here on a tour with Bordovino. A very calm and relaxed environment with a nice breeze. Jennifer told us the history of the chateau and walked us to the vineyards around the property. We then took a tour of the various rooms and got a very thorough explanation of everything relates to the making of wine. After everything we had a nice tasting of two wines. Being an amateur wine drinker I appreciated the presentation and information. The gift shop had a number of vintages available making it very easy to make a few purchases- including the 2010 vintage. Oh, and they deliver! Plan on passing by here.

From the owner: - Vente de vin à la propriété…read more - Oenotourisme: Accueil à la propriété Visites guidées Dégustations de vins Expositions ponctuelles

Love this winery. Glad we came here to do some tastings and get some wine to purchase. Because we…read moreare here in the off season many of the wineries are closed and not offering tastings. The Right Bank St Emilion and Pomerol were completely shut down. It was cold and rainy so we understand. Came to the Left Bank of the Médoc and came to Siran Margaux. Super friendly workers here that did a tasting for us and a bunch of other people that were here to. Loved their Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Blend I ended up buying a bottle to take home. Would have bought more if I had room in my suitcase. Recommend this winery especially in the off season!

Classy. Tasteful. Beautifully executed tour…read more The tour of Chateau Margaux was stellar!!! Detailed, not rushed, historical in nature. Great blending of old and new architecture! But the tasting blew me away in a private tasting room overlooking the long cement cellar. Merci beaucoup Chateau Margaux

Our private tour began in the reception room, continued to the chai, the vat room, the cooperage,…read moreand we returned to the reception room for a tasting and conversation. Altogether, the tour lasted about 1 to 1.5 hours and was both interesting and informative. As we learned, for over four centuries, Ch.Margaux has been considered a wine of excellence. Today, Corinne Mentzelopoulos is the château's proprietor and, together with her team, she continues to produce outstanding Margaux wines on the estate's 262 hectares (650 acres). The estate's Premier Grand Cru is Château Margaux. The second bottling is Pavillon (Rouge/Blanc) du Château Margaux. Currently, the estate dedicates 82 hectares (203 acres) to grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The average age of the vines in the red vineyard is 35 years. Harvesting is done by hand from September through October by a seasonal team of harvesters. Ch.Margaux employs traditional French vinification techniques: fermentation is 3 weeks in oak vats, aging is 18 to 24 months in new French oak barrels and fining is with egg whites. The use of oak vats means that there is no punching down or pumping over during the maceration process. Since the château is designated as a French historical landmark, any efforts to modernise or annex the exterior buildings are restricted, e.g., even the addition of windows is restricted. As a result of the historical landmark designation, when the time came for expansion in 1982, the estate built a subterranean cellar with a 1,200 barrel capacity adjacent to the chai (above-ground cellar). As a result of the region's high water table, the cellar is made of concrete with two walls that are each several meters thick. The open space between the concrete walls allows for water overflow and this space is drained regularly. Today, the estate continues its cooperage tradition with Alain Nunes, the in-house cooper who produces three new French oak barrels per day (approximately 30% of the château's needs). Messr. Nunes continues the same trade as his father and, prior to his father, the château employed two coopers. Annual production is ~150,000 bottles of Château Margaux, ~200,000 bottles of Pavillon Rouge and ~33,000 bottles of Pavillon Blanc. At the end of our visit, we tasted the 2004 Château Margaux.

I liked Chateau Lascombes a lot but it just wasn't my favorite or one of my favorite wineries of…read morethis trip, so I can't quite bring myself to 5 stars. On the positive side, they have a large and welcoming boutique and a very friendly staff. The fermentation cats are in a large and very modern building, which was a deviation from a lot of the more traditional wineries we visited. Their wines were good, but again, not our favorites. While we got a lot of good information and enjoyed our visit, we may just prefer the more traditional looking châteaux vs the more modern like this one. Nevertheless, you will not be disappointed by your visit.

A friend recommended visiting Château Lascombes, so we rented a car to come out here. Definitely…read moremake an appointment ahead of time. We opted for the private tour (in English) for €10 more per person than the group tour, and it was well worth it. We got to learn a lot about the history of the Château, walk the grounds, learn more about the rules of the Bordeaux wine region, and see some of the production. You then finish off with trying both their first and second label wines (Château Lascombes and Chevalier Lascombes) in the shop, which was beautifully renovated inside. It's a very different tasting experience than in Napa - it's one in one, slow paced, and a lot more educational. They are more open to visitors than some of the other places in Margaux (ex Château Margaux, Lafite, etc). If you're willing to get a car, I would definitely recommend coming out here (it's about a 45 min drive from the Bordeaux city center).

Adjacent to Ch. Margaux, Ch. Palmer is a 52 hectare (130 acres) property located in the Margaux…read moreappellation of the Médoc, on the low rising hills between Margaux and Cantenac. The estate's crops are situated on gravelly stones, including quartz, quartzite, chalcedony and lyddite. Originally of French origin, in 1815 Château de Gascq was purchased by General Charles Palmer, who immediately renamed the eponymous estate. As the legend goes, General Palmer was as famous at the English court for his military victories as his conquests as a ladies man. However, while in France, he fell under the charms of Marie de Gascq. The beautiful widow convinced him, during a stagecoach ride delicately referred to as "turbulent", to buy her estate. When the estate fell into financial hardship, several families involved in the wine trade of Bordeaux, English, and Dutch extraction (the Sichel, Mähler-Besse, Ginestet, and Miailhe families), united to buy Ch.Palmer and a total of 16-shareholders from those families continue to manage the estate to this day. The vat-room was modernized in 1995 with stainless steel vats. The fireplace on the back wall was once used for the estate's cooperage. Wines complete their ageing in the chai. The north-facing window (away from the sun) overlooks the vineyard and frames Château Margaux. Generally, direct wine sales by a château are prohibited. However, since two of Ch. Palmer's shareholders are négotiants (merchant firms), the estate recently began limited direct sales of select vintages. Visits are by appointment only and include a one-hour guided group tour of the vat room and chai. The tour ends with a generous wine tasting. Definitely worth a visit.