History, mystery and wine. An adventure for the soul & tastebuds in Bordeaux

A visit to Bordeaux is no doubt on the bucket list of wine lovers, but it's so much more than just wine. It is a destination that takes all your senses on its journey and blows your mind away. The century old architectures, traces of the Romans, mysteries and histories, a pleasure culture, the heavenly cuisine.

Here we're sharing with you just the tip of the iceberg.

Let's get started.

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Enchanté, Bordeaux

Bordeaux history goes back to 300 BC, when the ancient Celtic people happily lived here in Bituriges as it was known at the time, until the Romans arrived.

Like many European cities, Bordeaux went through a few change of guards in the following centuries, until it finally fell under the French after the Hundred Years' War.

The name Bordeaux comes from the word "au bord de l’eau”, which means 'at the water's edge', as it is situated at the meeting point of the two rivers - Garonne and Dordogne.

The region benefits from its locations, where the two rivers flow to the sea. Export business of mainly wine, tobacco and grains flourished in the late 18th and early 20th centuries.

While there are more than 50 appellations surrounding Bordeaux. the world often recognise the wine as simply, Bordeaux wine.

The appellations are often simplified into the Right Bank and the Left Bank. The most common Bordeaux wines sold around the world include appellations such as Pauillac, Saint-Émilion, Saint Estephe, Saint Julien, and the most prestigious, Margaux.

These wines are named after the appellation rather than the grape variety.

The most common grapes grown here are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and sometimes, Carménère.

In 2020, the French government approved 6 grape varieties to be planted in Bordeaux in attempt to adapt to climate change challenges, as these varieties are well adapted to warmer climates and lower levels of rainfall,

These include four red grape varieties: Arinarnoa, Castets, Marselan and Touriga Nacional, and two white grape varieties,:Alvarinho and Liliorila.

It could take a life time to go through the existing appellations in Bordeaux, but I'm still very excited about tasting the new varieties grown here when their first vintage are ready!

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Discovering the city

Bordeaux is a pretty walk-able city, or easily accessible by the tramway. You can spend one or a few days in town, exploring different place of interests.

The city is stunning in the day light, but I often feel that the yolk-coloured lighting at night casts a magic spell and brings the city to live.

Here are just some of my favourite spots in Bordeaux. Check out some these places at night, where I've marked '🌙 '.

♡ La Grosse Cloche 🌙

Much adored by the locals, it is the symbol of Bordeaux and is still featured in the city's coat of arms. The Porte Saint-Éloi was built in the 13th century and the belfry was added in the 15th century.

The bell is rang by the magistrates of the city to signify grape harvest, as well as to alert residents when there's a fire. Don't miss the hidden church at the bottom of the Porte.

♡ Miroir d’Eau 🌙

The world’s largest reflecting pool. Open only in Spring and late Autumn from April to October.

♡ Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux 🌙

Built in 1780, it is regarded as the masterpiece of architect Victor Louis.

♡ Sanna, by Catalan sculptor Jaume Plensa.

It's hard to miss the seven meters high sculpture that stands on Place de la Comédie. It has been here since 2013, made entirely of cast iron. What's the story of Sanna? She calls for serenity and a moment of pause and reflection.

♡ Place des Quinconces and the Monument aux Girondins 🌙

The 12 hectare square is the largest square in Europe. The Monument aux Girondins was built in the early twentieth century commemorating the Girondists, a political faction that gave support to the French Revolution since its prelude in 1791.

Fate of the Girondins took a sad turn in 1793 when the National Convention found Louis XVI guilty, while the Girondins sought a referendum by the people on whether the King should be executed. as they were concerned that the King was judged by Paris rather than the nation. This demand was denied in the Convention and the Girondins were seemed as Royalist or in other words, anti-revolutionary, which built up further dissatisfaction from the Paris Commune. In late 1793, the leader of the Girondins, Brissot and 21 of his followers were trialled by the Revolutionary Tribunal and eventually, guillotined - an event that marked the beginning of the Reign of Terror.

Today, the Girondins are recognised as martyrs of liberty.

♡ Place de la Victoire and the giant cast iron turtles

In 2005, some interesting installation were added to the Place de la Victoire - an obelisk and two turtles made out of cast iron, designed by France-based Czech carver Ivan Theimer. The obelisk symbolises a cork screw, and the turtles symbolise the glory of the wine growing industry in Bordeaux.

♡ La Cite du Vin

The world’s first wine museum of its kind. It’s more of an interactive wine experience than a museum with ample opportunity of wine tasting!

♡ Palais Rohan

Constructed from 1771 to 1784, Palais Rohan is the Hôtel de Ville, or City Hall of Bordeaux. It is so beautiful that the fresco in the dining room even inspired the young Eugène Delacroix in the 1780s to embark on a life painting some of the world's most celebrated masterpieces.

♡ Cathédrale Saint-André / St Andre's Cathedral

Built between the 12th and the 14th century, the Cathédrale Saint-André had its up and downs. In 1137, the 13 year old Eleanor of Aquitaine and the future king of France - Louis VII were married here and became the King and Queen in a few months.

Fast-forwarding to 1793, it was turned into a fodder storage to feed military horses during the French Revolution. Today is it a place for worship and admiration by travellers alike.

♡ Rue Saint Catherine 🌙

Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping street stretching over 1.2 km in length. You could easily spend a whole day just browsing what Rue Saint Catherine has to offer. We’d suggest avoiding Saturday as it can get very crowded.

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Time to treat your belly!

♡ Marche des Capucins

The covered market is the foodies’ heaven in the centre of Bordeaux. It has a long history, in fact, it was established in the 16th century by ‘the the Capuchins’, but it wasn’t quite a ‘market’ per se, rather a congregation of religious mendicants.

The name came from the brown robe with a pointed hood called “capuce”. Informal gathering started when the cupucins were set out to evangelise the locals, turning a rundown and rather dissipated neighbourhood into beautiful gardens and terraces.

It wasn’t until the 1700s the weekly market had really taken shape. Nowadays it opens 6 days a week except Monday, from the early hours of the morning to just after lunch.

If you’re into seafood, don’t miss tasting the freshly shucked oysters from Chez Jean-Mi, or a pot of mussels from Bistro Poulette.

♡ Cannelés

Meaning 'Fluted' in French, the cannelés had at least 200 years of history but no one is really sure when they were invented. he common belief is that as egg white is used in wine making (to clarify wine), as wine industry flourished in the region there were a lot of excess egg yolks.

The clever nuns used the egg yolks to make food for poor children, and here the delicious cannelés were born. As the emblem pastry of Bordeaux there are shops selling them everywhere. According to locals, La Toque Cuivrée is their favourite.

♡ Place du Parlement to Place Fernand Lafargue, passing by Rue du parlement saint-pierre

While not on any tourist maps, Rue du parlement saint-pierre had quickly become our go-to for authentic, local restaurants and bars. In particular, we loved the Bistro Réno, a popular spot for the locals for its refined French cuisine and regional specialty.

♡ Books & Coffee Cafe

My top pick for coffee and brekkie, and I don't think I'm alone. While I love the Italian espressos I do enjoy the vibrant cafe cultures serving up hot brunches with smoked salmon, avocados, flat white or cappuccino with plant-based milk (almond, soy or oat).

It is a trendy yet down-to-earth cafe where locals come for brunch or work on their macbooks.

I must confess, I was also checking in everyday for their cakes!

♡ The Vintage Bar

Just next to the La Grosse Cloche, the Vintage Bar is the locals' favourite hang-out for some delicious aperitif, an extensive rum cellar with almost 150 bottles, classic or innovative cocktails and Belgian beers.

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Touring the world's favourite wine region

Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion, Margeaux, Saint Julien, Pauillac, Saint Estèphe,

It started with a sunny, blue sky day at Port de la Lune - the city centre of bordeaux, not expecting what we’ll see en-route.

In fact, nothing but a thick blanket of fog. The road, fields and the vineyards were hardly visible as they’re covered by the fog, like a bridal veil. Roses, embossed with frozen dew.

The scenery stayed much like that until exactly quarter past 1pm, like changing of the guards, the sun took the afternoon shift and it was finally warm.

Colour and life came back to the kingdom of the vines.

We set off our tour de vin on a Saturday, despite much of the wineries would be closed, we knew it would be either way a nice drive just taking in the scenery and the fresh air.

Even better, we were still fortunate to stumble across quite a few wineries that welcomed us with drops of gold without booking ahead.

The cooler months might not be the most popular time to visit Bordeaux, but the good news is that you'd almost feel like you own the region to yourself. Since there’s hardly any tourists, you can really take your time driving through the beautiful vineyards and chateaux.

The region is as surprising as its weather, from the morning fog to a blazing sun in the afternoon. The changing weather in fact provides for the depths of flavour in the fruits.

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Château Margaux

One of the most prestigious estates in the world and a real fantasy to the wine connoisseurs. Château Margaux has been here since the 16th century, and was the only estate given 20/20 at the time of Napoleon III’s classification. If that’s not impressive enough, well, it produced the most expensive bottle ever sold - Château Margaux 1787 sold to Thomas Jefferson for half a million dollars. Sadly, the bottle was knocked over by a server at the Four Seasons hotel in New York in 1989 during a Margaux dinner and that priced liquids were destroyed.

Moral of the story - don’t wait too long to drink that wine!

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Château Prieuré-Lichine

Grand cru classe: 4ème Cru Classé. Like many wineries, Chateau Prieure Lichine started out as a priory for Benedictine monks, supplying these delicious drops to the pilgrims (why do I get the sense the pilgrims in those days were just doing a wine degustation?).

Most of the wine we tasted would deserve some patience - another 5-10 year of cellaring would bring the most out of it.

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Château Coutet

A Grand Cru winery in Saint-Émilion that has been here since Roman times where traces of ancient remains, wild tulips and Eastern Galdiolus (a beautiful wildflower) believed to be left by the Romans, still thriving on the estate today.

Treasure has been left here for some 200 years, waiting to be discovered.

A lucky man unearthed a bottle of wine hidden in the cellar that looked nothing like the wine as we know with a wooden cork. This mysterious bottle has been corked with a glass in the shape of heart, emery to be exact, a hand-blown glass that bears witness of the ancient knowledge of glass-making.

Who made it?

How long exactly has this bottle been hidden here?

What's behind its unique heart-shaped glass cork? Was it made for a wedding some centuries ago, or was it a symbol of love from the wine maker?

A charming mystery is never to be answered, but you might have a chance to discover the cave for yourself.

What we know from history, is that In the 16th century, Sieur François Coutet gave the estate its current name. Its ancestry is respected and continued by the 14th generation, in fact, the Châteaux is currently run by three generations of the same family.

Châteaux Coutet has been blessed with one of the best geographic locations, spreading over 16 hectares on a hillside, which provides for three unique types of soil: brown fine soil covering the asteriated limestone (starfish limestone) on the plateau; clay-limestone soil on the slope, and a mixture of clayey sand and carbonated soil on the surface, lying on a shallow iron-rich bands of sand below the surface.

Wine making here starts from the love and understanding for the terroir, and many blessings from the nature. The diverse flora and fauna have enabled the vines to grow without any synthetic additive, weed killers or pesticides. The hillside location means the grapes are protected from strong wind.

While preserving the good-old way of wine making, the family also tries to continuously innovate the process and enhance sustainability. Check out its solar-powered robot who helps manage the vines!

So, how does their wine tastes?

Well, I often think that giving away the tasting notes only hijack the joy and surprise as your senses first interact with the wine. I could only say Châteaux Coutet may not have the grandest nor the most glamorous castles, but I now understand why the wine maker made a glass of heart on the bottle.

When you're in love, you know.

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Château Fonrazade

To hear from a vintner and someone who loves their wine is one of the best way to learn about wine. Fabienne Balotte warmly welcomes every guests with her passion for wine and stories of the estate. She is the only daughter of Guy Balotte who took over the ownership of the estate in 1958. Decades later, she still speaks of her childhood memories fondly. Hear her stories as the last ray of sun crimsoned the vineyard carmine, it's surreal.

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Chateau I’inclassible

If you’re looking for biodynamic natural wines, Château l’inclassible might just be your cup of tea, or glass of wine should I say.

The 6th generally family-run estate has been growing grapes for decades without herbicides or insecticides. Wine is made with minimal intervention, indigenous yeasts without added sulphite during harvesting, and ageing takes place in barrels and clay jars. The family pays attention to the birds, insects, even the bacteria in the soil and how it holistically impacts their terroir and wine. They truly live and breathe respect for nature, and believe in: “We always need someone smaller than ourselves!”.

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Château Croix du Trale

Run by a lovely three-generation family, Château Croix du Trale is located in the town of Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne in the heart of Haut-Médoc. The grandad, Michel, from a family of winegrowers, bought and planted the 22 hectares of half Cabernet-Sauvignon and merlot.

The love of wine passed down from father to son, son to daughter.

Stéphane, followed Michel's footsteps, and was joined by his wife Sandra and their two daughters, Laurie and Chloé. Now the three generation family run the estate together and will come out of their way to open the doors (even late!) to welcome you with their smile, passion and wine.

Thank you for hosting us!

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The regional restaurant loved by the locals

Restaurant le Lion d'Or

Restaurant le Lion d'Or, or the Golden Lion', has been pleasing the locals and occasionally, lucky travellers like us with their regional specialties and diverse range of local wine. Once all dishes have been served, Chef Michaël Lemmonier would exit the kitchen to greet every customers, and check if everyone's happy with their dishes.

It has gained popularity as a favourite gathering place by the locals for its delicious, fresh and reasonably priced food, warm and relaxed ambience and friendly staff. We were told by the locals who pointed us to this restaurant that they're particularly good with their meat dishes like foie gras, lamb and duck, and they were right!

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So much more to discover

No matter what season you find yourself in, rain or shine, there will be beautiful chateaux one after another along the way to awe you. I couldn't stop taking photos to bring a piece of Bordeaux's magic back with me, but the photos simply can't do it justice.

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Laland