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.

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!

Very definitely a value wine in Medoc. Mostly 60/40 Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon in the bottle…read more Easy drinking and even easier on the wallet. We bought and drank a bottle of 2009 because it was ready to drink. Very good hosts. Chateau was built in 1868 and renovated in 1980's.

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.

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).

We had a lovely time at Hourtin Ducasse. They had a large variety of tasting and tour options,…read moreincluding many of which were kid friendly (not what we went for, but they have the option if you need it). We opted for their L'Ampélo tasting and added on the vineyard picnic. The L'Ampélo tasting was a fun and educational experience, as well as the first time I've ever gotten to taste wine in this way. For this experience we got to taste all of their individual grape varietals directly from the barrel, with an actual grape from that harvest, and then we tasted the blend made by the wines we tried. From there we tasted a couple previous vintages that were in the bottle. As we tasted the bottled wines, we also got to snack on some meats, chips, and bread - not a part of our picnic. This was all lead by Michel, the winemaker and owner. We loved learning from him and hearing his analogies about wine. He was a welcoming host and happy to teach us all about French wine rules in the region. After our tasting we enjoyed a wonderful picnic in the vineyard. Much of the food was local, and some items even prepared by Michel's wife. Everything was fresh and flavorful and the picnic setup felt whimsical and romantic. We also had plenty of food and weren't even able to finish it all. We ended up spending a good 3 hours here for our whole experience. I would definitely recommend this chateau/winery to anyone looking to have a unique tasting experience or who want to have a slow day in the vineyard.