Bordeaux- Chateau Paloumey, Le Saint Julien & Chateau Mouton Rothschild

In order to get the full Bordeaux experience we booked a two day wine tour through Bordeaux with Elodie.  Our fantastic guide Lea picked us up at our place each morning then drove us to various wineries beginning with Chateau Paloumey on the Left Bank.



This small winery has had a long history in the Medoc region however it wasn't all wonderful.  Back in the 1950's the original owners abandoned the vineyard due to rising costs and it wasn't until 1990 when it was purchased by the Cazeneuve family that it became a fully functioning winery once again.


Chateua Paloumey's location has a warm climate with gravel soil perfect for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyard has 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and all of the wines are aged in 30% new French oak barrels for 12 months before bottling. 


 We had a chance to tour both the vineyard and the barrel room then finish with a tasting of wine from both their vineyard and a few others in the area.



We all loved Chateau Paloumey's cozy location and wonderful wine. In fact we ended purchasing a case to send back to NYC before heading out the door. 



After Paloumey is was time for lunch at Le Saint Julian, a countryside restaurant with a beautiful outdoor area overlooking some large vegetable gardens out front. Chef Claude Broussard greeted us at the entrance when we arrived, his warm smile and boisterous energy was reason enough to visit alone.  Of course his food was also amazing.  


 Sea Bass Ravioli in a saffron cream sauce, absolutely my favorite course of the day.



Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Salad in a toasted sesame dressing...



Roasted Lamb Lion with sweet garlic and a side of creamy gratin potatoes.



Of course we kept the wine flowing between vineyard stops and the list at Le Saint Julian was filled with some spectacular regional bottles.



Then it was off to our second winery of the day Chateau Mouton Rothschild, one of the most famous family names in all of Bordeaux.


Mouton Rothschild began back in 1853 by Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild and was classified as a Second Growth wine during the 1855 Bordeaux Official Wine Classification. It wasn't until Baron Phillipe Rothschild took control of the winery in 1922 and made it his mission to have Rothschild classified as a First Growth wine that winery really started to gain world wide popularity.  Then in 1973 Mouton Rothschild was finally elevated to First Growth Wine status, the one and only change to the original 1855 Bordeaux Wine Classification.



Mouton Rothschild is another Left Bank winery with 222 acres of gravel soil planted with 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.



We were lucky enough to visit at the start of harvest season as the barrels were getting filled.



It was absolutely amazing to see how many grapes are hand picked each day and loaded into the tanks.



We had the opportunity to tour the downstairs cellar along with the The Great Barrel Hall, an impressive building that can hold up to 1,000 oak casks on a single level.


This was one of the original wine storage units in all of Bordeaux as Baron Phillipe was the first person to insist that all his wine be bottled at the chateau, a practice now widely used across all of Bordeaux today.



After that is was onto the tasting room for a sampling of three incredible wines :



Chateua Clerc Milon Pauillac 2003



Chateau d'Armailhac Pauillac 2011


Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 2012

All of these wines were absolutely incredible and I truly enjoyed each one a little bit more having seen the history unfold before us.   The tour at Mouton Rothschild lasted about two hours so once it was finished we headed back into Bordeaux for the evening. For the full history on Chateau Mouton Rothschild check out their website.

50 Rue Pogue de Beau 33290
Ludon Medoc France

11 Rue Saint Juilen 33250
Saint- Julien- Beychevelle

Chateau Mouton Rothschild
Château Mouton Rothschild
33250 Pauillac

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