Saint-Emilion, France

Saint-Emilion was amazing! Besides being one of the principal red wine areas of Bordeaux, the architecture of the town is amazing! The region is actually along the French portion of the Camino de Santiago so there are many monasteries and churches along this route 11th century onwards. In this area, limestone is abundant and most of the houses in the old town are built with limestone bricks. It appeared to us as though the limestone seeing the age. In many places the buildings are starting weather very significantly. Also, we could see many workers doing repairs and one house was even getting propped up by a hydraulic lift while we were strolling through town.

The primary grapes 🍇 grown in this region are the Merlot and Cabernet Franc, but some Cabernet Sauvignon is also grown. Wine from St. Emilion is 80% Merlot and 20% Cab Franc. Grape vines were first introduced to this region by the Romans in the 2nd Century.

The town is named after a Breton monk, Émilion, who sought asylum here in the 8th century. He led an eremitic life in a cave and according to legend he performed many miracles and thus developed a large following. His followers are responsible for creating the monolithic church shown in the pictures.

We did a tasting while in town at Chateaux Gadet sampling there 2011 and 2015 vintage. The wine was good but the tour especially through the cellar was outstanding. The cellar which you had to use a large step ladder to get into resembled a vast tunnel system with 5 or 6 rooms that were accessed by snaking large hallways. It was impressive and amazing how it ran under the entire length of the chateau and then popped up again in our tasting room which we started in. We ended up purchasing a half bottle of their 2009 bordeaux which was a particularly good year for vineyards out here. It did not disappoint. Even if wine from Saint Emilion is not your fancy we recommend coming to this iconic town for a leisurely stroll and some lunch it was indeed very besutiful.Read more