Libournais

Saint-Émilion, Pomerol and Fronsac sit together on Bordeaux's right bank, in the area around Libourne. Merlot dominates the wine here, grown in Saint-Émilion on mainly clay and limestone soils.

The wine

Merlot is the dominant grape on the right bank of Bordeaux. Cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon complement it in the blend.

Saint-Émilion's soils are mainly clay and limestone. The vineyard covers about 5,400 hectares and is a mosaic of terroirs and small holdings, with more than 900 winegrowers. In practice that means many small estates rather than a few large ones.

The Bordeaux tourist board groups Saint-Émilion with the neighboring appellations of Pomerol and Fronsac. The Saint-Émilion wine landscape is UNESCO World Heritage listed, and the town draws about one million visitors a year.

Some estates carry the Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé designation, as Château Balestard La Tonnelle does. Others farm organically, including Château Coutet and Château La Rose Beauséjour.

Visiting

If you arrive by train, Libourne has both TGV and TER services. From Paris Montparnasse the fastest train takes 2 hours 51 minutes. You can also take the TGV to Bordeaux and change to a TER for Libourne.

Estates here take visitors by reservation, not walk-in. The Saint-Émilion tourist office, at Le Doyenné, Place des Créneaux, can point you to between 2 and 4 estates open to the public each day, at no charge. It does not take bookings for these visits: you book with the estate and pay any visit-and-tasting fee on the spot.

Fees at the estates mentioned here run from free to €9 ($10), and most visits last 1 hour. A few examples show the range:

• Château Coutet in Saint-Émilion charges €9 ($10).
• Château Pipeau in Saint-Laurent-des-Combes charges €8 ($9) and is open 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Château la Pointe Bouquey in Saint-Pey-d'Armens charges €8 ($9) and is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Château La Rose Beauséjour in Vignonet is free and open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Château Balestard La Tonnelle in Saint-Émilion is open 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

If you plan several tastings in a day, spit rather than swallow and name a designated driver before you set out. Leave a gap between visits, since each one lasts about an hour and several estates sit in different villages.