Grand Cru

In 1855 Napoleon III decided that those wines in Bordeaux that were most sought after and obviously the best should be classified as such. These wines were called the French Grand Cru and all of the red wines that made it on the list came from the Médoc region. And it was Mèdoc that we traveled to with our host Coaroline to taste the best of the best. The two vineyards we stopped at were Chateau Palmer, in the third class of Grand Cru, and Château Pichon Longueville Baron, in the second class of the Grand Cru.

At our first stop we tasted a 1996 Chateau Palmer (a bottle of which would set you back 165 Euros, and it would be worth every penny) as well as their secondary wine a 2006 Alter Ego de Palmer (only running at 55 Euros). Both were amazing.

At Château Pichon, we tried all three of their 2004 wines. But before the tasting we were taken on a fantastic tour of their grounds. It was like we were in a James Bond movie. The Chateau guide was so passionate and the wine was so mindblowingly good, we were quickly convinced we needed to bring home a bottle of their wine. Don’t worry, we only have to 10 more years or so before we can have some.