M
y waders suction to my shins as
I edge towards the centre of the
waist-deep pond. I hadn’t planned
on visiting a sturgeon farm during
my time in the south-western
corner of France, but when the
heavens opened and our plans for walking the limestone
streets of Libourne were washed out, a little voice inside
my head said, “On y va.” So here I am, at a breeding
farm on the Isle tributary of the Dordogne, ready to
show the rest of my group how an Australian catches
a fish. “Grab the tail firmly, and always with two
hands, otherwise it might bite,” says Yoann Garitey,
sales director of Caviar de Neuvic, nonchalantly.
Later, over a whip of caviar butter on baguette, I
realise sturgeons don’t have teeth. But I’m going to
need a few Grands Crus Classés to recover, regardless.
This is one of the more adventure-fuelled stops
on the eight-day, round-trip Grand Bordeaux river
cruise, devised by luxury cruise operator APT. The
trip guides 144 guests through the region’s prestigious
wine country and its renowned châteaux, medieval
castles, historic hamlets and other, less conventional,
adventures for those willing. As we potter from the city
of Bordeaux along the rivers Garonne, the Gironde
estuary, and the Dordogne, our lodging is the 2009
MS AmaDolce, one of eight AmaWaterways river-
cruise ships operating in Europe.
Bordeaux has 118,000 hectares of vineyards, and
with more than 60 appellations d’origine contrôlées
(orAOC,morethananyotherwineregioninEurope),
it’sa rabbitholeofregions,subregions,subdivisionsand
rules.Themoststringent,theOfficialClassificationof
1855,rankschâteauxintofivecategoriesfromPremiers
Crus(firstgrowths)toCinquièmesCrus(fifthgrowths).
“ThisweekinBordeauxis notnecessarilyaboutthe
cruising;it’saboutthedestinations,”saysourspirited
cruisedirector,StuartTurner.Andhe’sright.Forthe
majorityofthetrip,wecruiseonlybrieflyat night,
awakingat a newportreadyforournextexcursion.
TheGaronne,sadly,is thecolourofcaféaulait.But
we’renothereforthewater,I tellmyself.We’rehere
forthewine(andslightlyfurtherafield,theCognac).
TravellingbycoachaboutGraves,ontheleftbank
oftheGaronne,it’sa paint-by-numberspatchworkof
brightandcrunchygreens,blueskiesandcloudsthat
spilloverthevineyardslikewhippedmeringue.Ducks,
geeseanda peacockarethefirsttowelcomeusat
theChâteaudeMyrat,a smallbiodynamicestateinthe
Sauternaisregion, 40 kilometressouth-eastofBordeaux
city.WinemakerSlaniedePontac-Ricardmanages
the30-hectarepropertywithhersister,Elisabethde
Pontac-Chabot.Theygrewupvisitingtheestateas
childrenandwentontomanagetheproductionofits
Sauternes,whichtheregionis famousfor.ChâteaudeClockwisefromtop:
theMSAmaDolce;
ChâteauFrancMayne,
Saint-Émilion;buildingsin
Saint-Émilion;red-wine
grapesinSaint-Émilion;
ChâteaudeMyrat’s
cellar;AmaDolce’sbar.
PREVIOUSPAGESFrom
top:ChâteauFrancMayne;
vineyardsinSaint-Émilion.152 GOURMET TRAVELLER
PHOTOGRAPHY JULIE REY CHÂTEAU FRANC MAYNE
& GETTY IMAGES GRAPES & SAINTÉMILION
.