March 2007 news about wine tours in Bordeaux France, France gourmet wine country travel, and luxury Bordeaux wine tours, French wine tasting vacations.


	Newsletter 2, March, Vintage 2007
	Return to newsletter archive index Read about: v The Bordeaux Wine Experience recognized by the Tourist office v Our exciting new Bordeaux Wine Blog v Bordeaux Chateaux en traveaux Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron v Bordeaux Chateaux en traveaux Chateau Ausone v Our Bordeaux Harvest Tour includes three First Growths! v Self catering accommodation in the Bordeaux region v Bordeaux Wine Trivia Quiz		Dear wine lover, March comes with the thrill of expectancy in France. The vineyards will soon start to produce new buds with a promise of a new vintage. In Bordeaux everybody is preparing for the circus of the future tastings of the vintage 2006 in March and April. And in June we have the International Wine and Spirits Exhibition VINEXPO in Bordeaux. As your eyes, ears and palates in Bordeaux we will attend to all these events and we will report back to you. The weather has been great; Last Sunday we had lunch on the terrace by the pool. It was 25 degrees Celsius (77F) but I just had to share with you this picture of Chateau Coulon Laurensac in the snow. On a more personal note I can tell you we have new technology to serve you better. This Newsletter is being mailed to you by new software. Some of you might have noticed that I was new to this software as they received the last issue two or even three times. My apologies for this. I can’t promise it won’t happen again but I can promise to do my best to prevent this from happening again. As we are talking technology and future developments, I would like to steer you to our brand new: Bordeaux Wine Blog. More on this blog in this Newsletter. Margaret and I recently visited some top Bordeaux Chateaux that are renovating. We live at a chateau ourselves, so we know they are money pits and we know the maintenance never stops; it stops you! But we have seen the works going on at Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron in Pauillac as well as the renovations at Chateau Ausone in Saint Emilion. When returned from these visits, we felt much better about our own modest renovations and maintenance at Coulon Laurensac. Everything is relative. And I have another –not so easy- wine trivia question for you. I hope you will enjoy reading this Newsletter and I am looking forward to “Blogging” with you. Don’t drink anything I wouldn't drink! Have an excellent spring! Ronald Rens, M. Sc., Wine Master President Ronald and Margaret at the Michelin rated restaurant "La Cape”
The Bordeaux Wine Experience recognized by the Bordeaux Tourist Office We are very proud that our company has been officially recognized by The Bordeaux Tourist Office. We see this as recognition for all the effort we have put in creating remarkable wine experiences for so many people over the years. The most satisfying aspect of this you can see at our guest comments page and for us these comments remain the most important results of our efforts. But of course we were delighted to be accredited by The Bordeaux Tourist Office. New: TheBordeauxWineBlog A brand new feature on our website: a blog. For those of you who don’t know much about blogs, I’ll answer the question: What the heck is a blog (weblog)? The Wikipedia definition is: A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of most blogs. So this is where our blog is about: I want to communicate with you. This means a two way street, you will have to post on the blog as well for it to work. So now it is up to you! www.TheBordeauxWineBlog.com Our blog serves two purposes It will keep you updated on what is happening in Bordeaux as it happens. I post here regularly on our own wine and food experiences and other thing happening with us. I would like to ask for your input here. I want to know your ideas and suggestions Recent posts are about the annulled Bordeaux Cru Bourgeois Wine Classification or my Confession of a wine splurge, and of course my much debated “Screw the screw cap” posting. Please have a look at this blog and leave your comments there. Confess to your own splurges (please do, it helps saving my hide...) or comment on those screw caps. Don’t worry if your comments don’t show up directly. The blog is moderated. This means that you have to be approved prior to your first posting. This is to prevent blog spamming. After I have checked the post is by you, I will approve you so you can comment as much as you like. The name is easy to remember: www.TheBordeauxWineBlog.com Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron renovating Arriving at Pichon Longueville last week, the sight of the chateau almost brought tears to my eyes. If you have ever been to Pauillac, you will remember the shallow mirror lake in front of the chateau reflecting the chateau’s image. The Chateau, since 1987 owned by the AXA insurance company, is a copy of a fairy tale chateau from the Loire region and is undergoing massive constructions. Where once we saw the chateau’s reflection in the water, we now see a huge hole resembling a city putting in a subway. If you look at my pictures you'll understand why we don't visit Pichon on our tours: I had to wear a hardhead to be able to take these pictures. Large cranes moving, concrete being pored everywhere, the turmoil was deafening. And honestly a little bit intimidating. Pichon is building a brand new aging cellar with an underground connection to their present cellar. It will make work much more comfortable for the manager Christian Seely and his team. Undoubtedly the new cellar will improve the already great quality of this rising star of Pauillac. The present cellar remains usable during the renovation. This can not be said for the Chateau. The view from the rooms as well as the noise is just too awful. Fortunately no one lives in the chateau. AXA actually uses the Chateau as a kind of hotel, but not in 2007. It is just too inconvenient. Two questions remained unanswered: The budget and the finishing date of the project. It is quite normal in Bordeaux to be secretive about budgets because of all the rumours and gossip. It is also quite normal in France not to know when a building project finishes. We know that from our own bitter French building experiences. The project was supposed to be finished coming June for Vinexpo, but that thought was discarded long ago. They hope to finish the project in 2007, but I wouldn't bet my money on it. More pictures of Pichon in renovations and our tasting notes on the Pichon will be on TheBordeauxWineBlog soon. The views from Chateau Pichon will remain like this in 2007 Chateau Chateau Ausone building and rebuilding Just visiting Chateau Ausone is something very special. Ausone is one of the eight top wines in Bordeaux (Next to the five First Growths, Petrus and Cheval Blanc) and also the smallest of them all. Whit its 7ha (16acres) it is about 10 times as small as a Medoc First Growth. Ausone, producing between 15.000 and 18.000 bottles yearly, is NOT open for visitors. We felt privileged driving up to Saint Emilion to visit Ausone and meet the charming owner Alain Vauthier. Ausone has been renovating for so many years that their crane has become something of a new Saint Emilion landmark. The way they are renovating here is totally different from what we experienced at Pichon Longueville. Everything is done in the way they were building in the 18th century. Monsieur Vauthier is very strict on this: no concrete or cement or any contemporary building material is allowed to be used. He knows concrete dries in matter of days and his chalk and limestone needs at least a year before it reaches its full strength. “Il ne faut pas être pressé”, you can’t be in a hurry, is his dry comment on the questioning looks on our faces. The underground quarries of Chateau Ausone are used to (barrel)age the wines. These quarries were in a very bad condition and needed extensive renovations, i.e. the addition of new support structures, preventing the entire structure from collapsing. Again no modern building materials were used, no concrete, no nothing. In these caves everything looks like it has been there for centuries. In these same caves Monsieur Vauthier personally took 2005 samples from a barrel for us to taste. Normally not a loss for words, I didn’t know what to say after tasting this magnificent monumental wine, which sells by the way for € 1350 ($ 1800) per bottle. The owner then showed us what he was doing with the chateau itself. Ausone employs 7 masons who have to be able to work in the traditional way. Every chunk of stone used on the renovation is “cut to measure” from giant block of stone by Ausone’s own masons. Monsieur Vauthier believes magnetism and induction influences the comfort of living in a house. As a result all the wiring for the electricity has to be done in a very special way to prevent those effects. He had to search for a long time to find an electrician who could and would work in this manner. The same attention to details he applies to the acoustics in the chateau. Again the choice of materials and the way they are applied are very important to him as he wants to be the one living in the chateau in the future. “You can’t be in a hurry”, I think the crane at Ausone will remain the Saint Emilion landmark for a while… More pictures of Ausone in renovations you can find on TheBordeauxWineBlog. Our Bordeaux Harvest Tour September 24 - September 29 we have scheduled the unique Bordeaux Harvest Wine Tour. The itinerary is online on our website. We are very excited to have confirmed the visits for First Growths Chateau Latour, Mouton Rothschild and Haut Brion! This tour is really without equal as everything in and around Bordeaux just buzzes with action and anticipation. This tour includes a dinner at the Relais & Chateaux Restaurant Hautrive Saint James with its unique view on Bordeaux. The Bordeaux Harvest Tour (now open for booking) This unique tour (6 days, 5 nights), which will include a pickers lunch at a Classified Growth Chateau, will take place from September 24 – September 29, 2007. You will even be invited to pick some of the holy grapes yourselves! Just five couples on our tours. That’s just you and four other couples. Harvest at Château Lafite Rothschild This Harvest Wine Tour is really unique as everything just buzzes with action and anticipation. For more information on the Bordeaux Harvest Tour, please click here. Self catering accommodation at Chateau Coulon Laurensac Did you know that you can stay at our Chateau when there are no wine tours? If you are looking for self catering accommodation to spend one or more weeks in our Bordeaux region, Chateau Coulon Laurensac might be a good choice for you. The Chateau is Michelin rated and is referenced in the Alastair Sawday's "Special Places to Stay" guidebook. For more information you can visit de Coulon Laurensac website by clicking here. Wine trivia quiz My latest Wine Trivia quiz was NOT as easy as many people thought. The question was: How many chateaux were classified as a FIRST Growth in 1855? The correct answer is not five and not even four (Mouton Rothschild) but 16! Click here to see which sixteen. I told you this question was not that easy! New question This month my question is on the Medoc. I would like to know which country has had the greatest influence on wine growing and wine making in the Medoc region (after the French of course) and why. Let me know before March 14 what you think at: Ronald@BXWINEX.com. The correct answer will be on our website as of March 15 on our Newsletter archive and on our blog. Forward to a Friend I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. Like always I would like to ask you to forward it to a friend, family member or colleague who loves wine! We hope to see you soon with us here in France! Cheers from Bordeaux, Ronald and Margaret Rens				Visit our website: Bordeaux Wine Tours www.BXWINEX.com
				2007 Wine Tour Schedule (Only five couples per tour!) We proudly present the following Tours and dates for 2007: The Bordeaux Harvest Tour September 24 – 29, 2007 (Now open for booking) The Grand Tour of Bordeaux 1 May 28-June 2, 2007 Last 4 spots remaining! (just two couples) The Grand Tour of Bordeaux 2 September 3-8, 2007 (Sold out!) The Bordeaux Grand Cru Tour 1 June 11-16, 2007 (Sold out!) The Bordeaux Grand Cru Tour 2 July 2-July 7, 2007 (Sold out!) These Bordeaux Wine Tours are 6 days, 5 nights. Avoid disappointment and reserve your place today! (Click here!) The Bordeaux Wine Experience Wine weekends at Château Coulon Laurensac Weekend wine and Chateaux of Bordeaux at Château Coulon Laurensac (every weekend or any day of the week) One night at Chateau Coulon Laurensac (double bed, bathroom with jacuzzi). Lovely four course dinner in front of the fireplace in our favorite gastronomic restaurant on the riverbanks of the Garonne River (4 courses and wine included). Visit at Saint Emilion Grand Cru Wine Château the next morning, etc… For more information please click here! The Bordeaux Wine Experience Gift Vouchers An original gift idea is a Bordeaux Wine Experience Gift Voucher. These gift vouchers can be used for: Wne Weekends, Wine Day Tours, Paris Wine Tours, Full week wine tours. You tell us what you would like to offer and we will prepare a beautiful invitation card that will serve as gift voucher for the tour you would like to offer. These invitation cards are much appreciated and are considered an original and elegant gift. Click here for more information.
				Bordeaux: Self catering accommodation at Chateau Coulon Laurensa (Accommodation only available outside wine tour periods) Chateau Chateau Coulon Laurensac is situated less than 10 minutes from the Bordeaux city centre and offers two deluxe self catering gîtes for two persons and one self catering gîte for four persons. Click here for more information.
				The Bordeaux Wine Experience Chateau Coulon Laurensac 1, chemin de Meydieu 33360 Latresne (BORDEAUX), France Tel: +33 (0)556 20 64 12 Fax: +33(0)556 21 79 44 Email : info@BXWINEX.com Web : www.BXWINEX.com www.TheBordeauxWineBlog.com Subscribe to this newsletter because you want to be the first to know! Click here to subscribe Don’t want to receive this newsletter anymore? Click here to unsubscribe
		Copyright © 2007 by The Bordeaux Wine Experience. All rights reserved. The content, design and graphical elements of this newsletter are copyrighted. Please ask the permission of the author before copying or using this material. The Bordeaux Wine Experience is a Dutch company specializing in wine and culinary tours in the Bordeaux region for an English speaking international clientele.