Day 9: Bordeaux Part 2
It was somewhat of a hassle picking up our BMW hatch back rental early in the morning. What should have taken about five minutes, ended being a 20 minute drive back to our airbnb due to the morning rush hour. Luckly the traffic died down and we made it to our 1st vineyard tour in under 45 minutes.
Our tour guide at Chateau Olivier was very knowledgeable and thorough. He explained that this winery is one of the few places that produces white wine just outside of Bordeaux. What's amazing is their castle was built in the 14th century and is still preserved quite well to this day. It even has an intact drawbridge, although it's not very functional.
Below is a picture of the vats, enormous receptacles where most of the wine making occurs. Just next door is a temperature regulated room filled with oak barrels. Both the reds and whites are aged for a short period in these barrels in order to add some oakiness to their flavor. The tour guide really knew his stuff and while we sampled the three wines, he gave us excellent recommendations on what kind of food we can pair with each glass.
We found a little restaurant close to the second vineyard called Le Nappe Monde, which means the world napkin. We enjoyed the sliced hard boiled eggs because it reminded us of deviled eggs back at home. We go to Italy with a bowl of bolognese made with an untraditional red bell pepper sauce. Not bad at all. And to France with the classic small medium rare steak with fries. Although the meat was a little on the tough side, we definitely appreciated the char and seasoning. We ended the meal with some flan and a fruit pie. Overall the meal was decent for a small joint outside of Bordeaux.
Our second tour was at a more well known winery called Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. We discovered that many of the vineyards are called chateau, even if they don't have a castle. Chateau simply refers to a winery in France. You can immediately tell that this establishment is much larger and more commercialized than Chateau Olivier. Our tour guide first led us to the top of a tower that overlooks the whole plantation. You can really see how massive the field is from above and despite the size, all their grapes are still hand picked.
Next we stopped at the wood shop where all the barrels are made individually. Unfortunately the carpenters were off on Monday but we were able to observe the same tools and workspaces used hundreds of years ago. The vats and wine barrels were quite similar to the ones at Chateau Olivier. There's just a slight variation in time of fermentation and aging. We actually prefered the wines at this tasting over the ones at Olivier, especially the white. The grand surprise was the secret underground cellar where the owners hold their prized, rare wine bottles. We saw vintages in all decades, with the oldest bottle from the 1800's. The tour guide stated the tasting room and cellar are used often to host public and private events.
We thoroughly enjoyed our drive to these two vineyards. You can take a bus out to some of the wineries, however there is always going to be some walking involved. In most cases, there won't be public transit between the chateaus. If you are brave enough and mindful of your own alcohol consumption, we highly suggest renting a car and cruising through the towns for a unique experience.
Our last dinner in Bordeaux was at a 6 seat restaurant called Le Troquet. We kept it simple and ordered the two entrees of the night, the roasted pork and super gnocchis. The pasta sauce was very tasty and had the flavors we were looking for the first day in Bordeaux. We just wished that there was just a little of more of it to accompany the gnocchis. On the other hand, the roasted pork did not have any seasoning on it what so ever. It's very hard to believe a chef would skip the foundation of salt and pepper on any meat. Unlike the balance in the pasta sauce, the squash puree was overly sweet. It really needed a splash of lemon juice or vinegar to cut the sweetness. Especially since it was paired with carrots and a sweet pistachio crust.
With another average meal, we hope that our lunch reservation at Le Bouchon Bordelais redeems Bordeaux in some way. Interestingly enough, our tour guide from the first chateau had some difficulty naming specialities or restaurant recommendations in the region. He said people come for the wine, not so much the food. This statement is well on par with all our dining experiences here in Bordeaux. We leave for Venice the next evening. Many of our friends have described how magical and unique this Italian city is. We have done extensive research on restaurants, bars and attractions in Venezia. Day 10 will be up soon!