What a treat to meet in Bordeaux for a weekend with your best friends to celebrate your birthday! A weekend full of surprises: cake and crémant on arrival, a pyjama party & truffle cooking class; a morning cycling the trail to a château for a posh picnic lunch, only to return by horse & carriage; dressing up for birthday dinner with a fruity chocolate cake ‘to die for’; dancing to live musicians and cosying with friends by the fire pit- memories to last a lifetime!
Despite the wet and blustery January day, we enjoyed a fabulous day exploring and sampling the wine of the Medoc region with the delightful Elodie on this wine tour in Bordeaux, France. The day began with a visit to Château du Tertre in the Margaux Appellation d’origine contrôlée. A delicious lunch at Bistrot Chez Mémé was followed by a visit to Château Lafon-Rochet in the Saint-Estèphe Appellation, both Châteaux Grand Cru Classé en 1855. The day was complete with a visit to the delightful family-owned Cru Bourgeois classified Château du Moulin Rouge where we tasted and purchased their very palatable 2012 vintage. A great day of wine tasting was had by all!
This wine tour in Bordeaux’s Medoc region was a fascinating and insightful day for everyone. Our wine tour guide Elodie was bubbling over with enthusiasm and extremely knowledgeable, never tiring of our questions throughout the day, as she drove us between locations through the stunning Bordeaux countryside in a luxury black Mercedes minibus. The hosts at each of the châteaux were friendly, attentive and had excellent English language skills. Each host explained the history and wine-making philosophy of their particular château as they led us on a tour of the vineyards and the château’s technical facility. The precision and technical requirements of the wine-making process were eye-opening, and the skill of the Vigneron and their team admirable. The choice of restaurant for lunch was Elodie’s and the food was simple but authentically French, and enjoyed by everyone without exception.
Why not let us organise your own wine tour in Bordeaux, whether in the Medoc or one of the other wine-growing regions in the area? We will arrange for you to be picked up from the château where you’re staying, and returned safely after a day to remember. And if you visit in Spring, Summer or Fall, you’ll likely enjoy a day with considerably more sunshine than ours!
Now the full heat of Summer has past, September & October is a fantastic time of year to visit this spectacular region. The vineyards are busy with the excitement of bringing in the harvest, the vendange; the grapes that will be used to create 2017 vintages.
Blue skies and still air is the perfect accompaniment to taking a vintage wooden canoe on the river in the early evening. One of the privileges of living here is the ability to do this on a whim. Of course, you too can share that experience… Château Living would be delighted to host you.
We were delighted to host a group of friends, who traveled from all over the USA to France to celebrate a landmark birthday! The group enjoyed some fabulous food, wine tours and visits to the City of Bordeaux and altogether had an amazing experience. The trip was a great success.
In response, Château Living is launching ‘Amazing Bordeaux Experiences’ in 2018, which offers clients a specially selected package of best hospitality and experiences the region can offer. You are welcome to join one of the select weeks. Find more information on our Experiences page or request details of itinerary, availability and pricing here.
One of the great things about the Bordeaux region, home of Château Living, is the wonderful diversity of things to do. The Bay of Arcachon and Atlantic coast is in easy reach, just one hour West of Bordeaux. Here you can sail in the bay, laze on the beach, climb to the top Europe’s highest sand dune for magnificent ocean views or relax at a quaint waterside shack enjoying some super fresh seafood; a lunch of sunshine, oysters and rosé.
The table is set for an exclusive party of American gourmands to enjoy a Birthday Banquet in the style of the French monarch Louis XIV. The extravagant 7-course menu was the climax of a week’s Summer vacation hosted by Château Living. The team of chefs, stylists and servers delivered a magnificent feast, which we were told, compared to the best the gourmands had enjoyed anywhere.
To celebrate a special birthday, what better than to invite your friends to a fairytale château near Bordeaux! The birthday boy, working in London, invited his US friends to meet him in France for an unforgettable celebration weekend.
Château Living took care of all of the hospitality details from arrival to departure; providing delicious breakfasts, grazing lunches and sumptuous dinners. For some the days started early with an exercise class; stretching, followed by a run through the vines and into the forest.
Others were able to enjoy a massage to help them unwind. Nobody missed the wine tour visiting fine Bordeaux region château vineyards and tasting some exceptional vintage wines. All-in-all it was a splendid occasion – many happy returns!
THANK YOU for sharing this amazing château with myself and my friends. Everything from the decor, the grounds and especially the food have been nothing short of PERFECTION!
This stay has been one of the most memorable experiences of my life and I look forward to visiting again in the future. Please never stop being AMAZING!
We are grateful to Days of Grace for the vintage wedding dresses, Evolve Photography for the wedding photography, models Louisa, Hannah and Lyris, Pumpkin & Pye for the flowers and Kye Tew Jewellery for the headdresses.
We are extremely grateful to Amy Murrell for the stunning photography used in the Château Living website. Here we take a peek behind the scenes as we prepared for a recent photographic shoot with Amy. Find more of Amy’s work at amymurrell.co.uk. Also, thanks to Pascal Conan for supply of props www.decoration-insolite.fr and to Cheryl Tarbuck for her help with staging cheryltarbuckdesign.com.
