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Around Saint-Émilion

Gironde, France · 14 stories · Half a day

A loop from the limestone village of Saint-Émilion across the grand cru plateau to Libourne and Pomerol, north through the satellite vineyards, down to the battlefield at Castillon and home along the Dordogne.

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Stories along the way

  1. 1. The Carved Legacy of Saint-ÉmilionYou are coming into a landscape of rolling green hills, where vineyards sweep over nearly two-thirds of the land. This medieval ridge in Southwestern France was once known as…
  2. 2. The War of Saint-Émilion WineYou are traveling through the vine-ripened hills of Saint-Émilion, where wine is not just a drink, but a fiercely guarded hierarchy. Unlike other Bordeaux regions where official…
  3. 3. Château Cheval BlancAs you travel through the prestigious wine country of Saint-Émilion, you are passing near Château Cheval Blanc—literally, the White Horse Castle. It sits on a remarkable patch of…
  4. 4. The Other AénorWhen thirteen-year-old Aliénor became Duchess of Aquitaine in 1137, she did not just inherit a title. She inherited a realm richer and vastly more powerful than the lands of the…
  5. 5. The Myth of the DordogneIf you look at a map of south-central France, high up on the slopes of the Puy de Sancy, you will see two mountain torrents meeting: one named the Dore, the other the Dogne. For…
  6. 6. The English Knight's French TownYou are coming into a region where two great rivers meet: the Isle and the Dordogne. Where rivers join, people settle, and long before this town was called Libourne, the Romans…
  7. 7. The Quiet Giants of PomerolAs you travel through this quiet landscape, you might notice something unusual for one of the world’s most celebrated wine regions: there is no actual village here, just a…
  8. 8. The Battle for Saint-Émilion's NameAs you travel through the right bank of the Dordogne river, you are passing into one of the most famous landscapes in the entire wine world. Vines have been cultivated here since…
  9. 9. The Illusion of Wine TastingPour a mid-range Bordeaux into two different bottles. Label one as a cheap table wine, and the other as an expensive Grand Cru. What happens? When French researcher Frédéric…
  10. 10. The Parent of CabernetFor generations, wine lovers assumed Cabernet Sauvignon was the undisputed king of red grapes. But in 1997, scientists ran DNA tests and uncovered a plot twist: Cabernet Sauvignon…
  11. 11. The Great French Wine BlightIn the eighteen-sixties, French vineyards began to wither and die of a mysterious disease that growers distressingly described as vine consumption. Leaves turned yellow, roots…
  12. 12. The Story of TerroirIf you look out at the landscape around you—the soil, the slope of the hills, the local weather—you are seeing what the French call terroir. The word comes from terre, meaning…
  13. 13. The Cannons of CastillonAround here, in the gentle, vine-covered countryside near the Dordogne River, medieval warfare came to a sudden, violent end. On a sweltering July morning in 1453, a thick cloud…
  14. 14. The Secrets of Château AusoneAs you come into the sun-drenched slopes on the western edge of Saint-Émilion, look toward the steep, south-facing terraces carved right into the limestone. This is Château…