Saint-Émilion Wine Tour from Bordeaux: 2 Grand Crus & French Apéritif

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Duration5h 30m

GroupUp to 8

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Two Châteaux, One Afternoon: Saint-Émilion Wine from Bordeaux

You're picked up at the Bordeaux Tourist Office at noon and driven to two Grand Cru wineries in Saint-Émilion, with tastings at each, a guided walk through the medieval village, and a French aperitif with local food at the second château. Transport, guide, and all tastings are included. You're back in Bordeaux by early evening.

5h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Saint-Émilion wine and village tour

Meet guide at Bordeaux Tourist Office
Travel to Saint-Emilion with vineyard talk
Visit Grand Cru winery and taste wines
Guided walk in Saint-Emilion village
Tour family-owned winery and taste wines
Enjoy wine with local delicacies
Return to Bordeaux Tourist Office

The Experience

You meet your guide at noon in front of the Bordeaux Tourist Office, and within minutes you're in an air-conditioned minivan heading toward Saint-Émilion. The drive itself is part of the tour — your guide talks through the region's vineyard landscape and asks what you already know about wine, which is a nice way of saying they're testing your palate before you taste anything. The road winds through Aquitaine's rolling countryside, and you start to understand why this corner of France has been making wine for centuries.

The first stop is a Grand Cru or Grand Cru Classé château in Saint-Émilion or Pomerol, where you walk through the cellars and learn how merlot and cabernet franc move from grape to bottle. It's not a lecture — the winemaker or their representative walks you through the stages, and you taste as you go. After that, the minivan takes you into the village of Saint-Émilion itself, a medieval hilltop town with narrow stone streets and a church carved partly into the rock. You get a guided walk through the old quarter, maybe an hour, with some free time to wander on your own before the group has to move on to the second winery. (The tour keeps a tight schedule because of fixed appointments at each château, so you won't have all day to linger, but the walk gives you the feel of the place.)

The second winery is a family-owned operation, also in the Grand Cru or Pomerol appellation. Here the tasting is more relaxed — you sample their wines and then sit down with a glass paired with local delicacies, the French apéritif the tour promises. By the time you're back in Bordeaux, dropped off at the Tourist Office around 5:30 or 6pm, you've tasted five or six different wines, walked a 900-year-old village, and heard enough about the region's soil and history to sound credible at dinner. The group stays under eight people, so the guide knows your name and adjusts the pace if someone has questions.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel or central Bordeaux pickup and return, an English-speaking local guide, transport by air-conditioned minivan, a one-hour guided walk through medieval Saint-Émilion with free time to explore, visits to two Grand Cru or family-owned wineries, five to six wine tastings throughout the afternoon, and a final glass of wine paired with local delicacies (French apéritif) at the second winery.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Bordeaux Wine Trails

Is this one for you?A good fit if you want to taste Saint-Émilion's top wines and see the village without arranging transport or making your own château appointments — the fixed schedule and guide handle both. Plan for a full afternoon and early evening out, which is what lets you visit two wineries and still walk the medieval streets without rushing.