Bordeaux River Cruise Ports
By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
I write all the time about Europe river cruising and its value. One of the newer routes on the Europe river cruise offerings is on the Bordeaux Estuary Area. We took an AmaWaterways cruise in 2017 and it was truly unique and, in many ways, different from past river cruises.
Why was it different?—the main reason is there is so much emphasis on wine, wine production and how wine has impacted this area.
I plan to tell you a little about the Bordeaux wine region in general and then highlight some of the port stops. I am not including the starting and ending port of Bordeaux—it deserves a future blog.
Although not the theme of this blog, I would be remiss if I didn’t laud our hosts, AmaWaterways on our “A Taste of Bordeaux” cruise. AmaWaterways is our top rated Europe River Cruise Line and, as always, they delivered on our 16th cruise with this great company (we are going on #18 later this year). It was a special wine themed cruise and a very good trip option, especially if you like wine.
Our Route Map—Diagram from AmaWaterways
So, let me defend my thoughts—why go on this cruise?
The Bordeaux Wine Region
To really understand the Bordeaux region, and the huge impact wine has on the region, a little background might prove helpful for you. The origin of term Bordeaux derives from the French phrase “bord des eaux”—on the edge of the waters. The Bordeaux region is dominated by 3 great rivers—where the Dordogne and the Garonne meet to form the Gironde.
Wine Areas of Bordeaux—Diagram form AmaWaterways
Bordeaux wines are blended wines. The permissible grapes that can be used in red Bordeaux are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. There are also white Bordeaux wines produced, but the vast majority of wines are red wines.
Bordeaux is France’s and the world’s largest wine producing area. There are about 287,500 acres of vineyards. The area has over 900 chateaus, and about 10,000 individual producers. 89% of the grapes are red plantings, so the remaining 11% are white grapes.
The terroir of Bordeaux impacts the wine characteristics and some believe it is the perfect region to grow grapes to produce the highest quality wines in the world. It is at 45 degrees north and has a temperate, maritime climate. The weather conditions are moderated by 3 factors. First, the Gulf Stream effects the temperature. Second, the coastal pine forests, protect from high winds. Third, the Gironde estuary, the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers, provide humidity and temper the temperatures during growing seasons.
2 Ports were About a Castle, a walled city and a Fortress.
Our first stop was a walking tour of Cadillac. Founded in 1280, there are still some of the medieval walls and gates remaining that once protected this port city.
One of the Watch Towers
Looking into Cadillac from inside the entrance tower gate
The main site of this town is the Château of Cadillac. The correct name of the chateau is Château des Ducs d'Épernon. It is a very good example of how the aristocrats lived in the 1600’s.
The Chateau
Moat area of the Chateau
After the visit to Cadillac, we took a short bus ride to Roquetaillade Castle.
Roquetaillade in French means carved out of rock. There has been a fortification on this site since Charlemagne constructed an earth and timber defensive position during his advance to the Pyrenees.
The castle
The current structure is a combination of two fortresses within the same walls. The castle has been lived in for over 700 years by the same family.
The entrance doorway into the castle
The tour took us through the castle rooms. I particularly enjoyed the inside drawbridge to the rear of the castle and the kitchen area.
The rear drawbridge I liked from an outside view
In the port of Blaye, we visited the imposing Blaye fortress. The most famous site in Blaye is the Blaye Citadel. The Citadel is a military complex designed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the famous French military engineer.
Blaye Citadel
It was constructed between 1685 and 1689 and designed to protect the Gironde Estuary.
A view that shows how massive this fortress is!
Libourne
Libourne is located at the confluence of the Ilse and Dordogne Rivers. In 1286, the town was founded as a fortified port.
The old port tower from the walled city—not much else remains of the defensive walls
The main sights in Libourne are the town hall and square (Place Abel Surchamp), the Museum of Fine Arts & Archeology, the Church of St. John the Baptist and the Rue Gambatta, a pedestrian only street. Sadly, we were not able to visit these sites, as we chose to go on a wine tasting—something to look forward to on our next cruise here.
There are many famed Chateaux wineries around Libourne. We visited Chateau de La Riviere near Fronsac, France for a good wine tasting. This is a dramatic wine estate worth a visit for a tasting and tour.
The stately Chateau
Chateau de La Riviere is the largest vineyard in Fronsac, with about 59 hectares planted with vines and 6 hectares beautiful gardens, and forest lands. It is planted with 82% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4-5% Cabernet Franc grapes.
It produces primarily red Bordeaux wines, between 15,000 to 18,000 cases per year. Most of their red wines have strong dark red fruit flavors during tastings but this can vary. They also produce a white wine.
The tasting room
St Emilion
We first took a tour of this city and the underground church. St. Emilion is known for its great wines and the underground church started by Emilion, a Breton monk. The monolithic church is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are about 124 miles of underground areas under the streets of St. Emilion.
A good view of the city
Cool old half-timbered house
There is a tall bell tower in the city that marks the underground church—it is the largest monolithic church in Europe and it completely underground.
The Bell Tower marks the underground cathedral
There are 4 steep streets of St. Emilion, which are called “Tertes”—steep pedestrian cobblestone streets build by using cobblestone brought by English wine traders as ballast prior to returning with barrels full of wine.
One of the four tertes of the city
We then went to a wine tasting at Chateau de Ferrand for some St. Emilion Gran Cru—it was awesome!
Enterance to the winery
The vineyard is planted with about 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a 32 hectare estate. The terroir is mostly limestone and clay.
They age the wine in oak barrels
It produces St. Emilion Gran Cu Bordeaux wine. This red wine is usually medium bodied with red fruits as the primary taste on the pallet, but each vintage has its own subtle characteristics
Bourg
Bourg is pleasant and picturesque small town perched on the banks of the Dordogne River.
Local sites include: The citadel castle, with its horse-drawn carriage museum "Au temps des calèches", French formal gardens and terrace overlooking the lower town and surrounding landscapes: the Moorish house built in the 18th and 19th centuries; the 18th-century Jurade mansion complete with a bell tower; the covered market; 19th-century wash house and the river harbor.
We again, didn’t have time to see these, as we attended a wine festival during our AmaWaterways cruise at the House of Wines. It was a lot of fun and we had a small band in period clothing to help us celebrate.
The band at the wine tasting party
Pauillac
There are not many key sites to visit in the port of Pauillac, since the main attraction here is the world famous region of Medoc and their outstanding wines. In Pauillac, the sites of interest include the large 19th century Church of Saint-Martin, and the 19th century market hall.
The church of St. Martin
It is the wine estates of the region that most come to see and taste while here. They include Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Mouton Rothschild, the most recognized wines from the Bordeaux region. These 4 wines all are “Premier Cru” (first growth)—the best of the best in the region.
We visited Chateau Leoville Payferre to taste 4 great wines. Chateau Leoville Payferre, located in the St. Julien region of Medoc, and produces highly acclaimed Bordeaux red wine on their 60 hectare estate.
The chateau winery
They have planted 68% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, 25% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.
According to Jeff Leve (editor of The Wine Cellar Insider), who focuses on Bordeaux wine, Chateau Leoville Payferre is “one of the most consistent producers of high quality Bordeaux since 2000. They make so many great wines, it is hard to pick a favorite.”
Their old oak barrels to age the great wines they produce
We tasted 4 wines. They were: Chateau Moulin Riche 2016 (barrel sample); Chateau Moulin Riche 2011—30 Euros per bottle; Chateau Leoville Payferre 2012—80 Euros per bottle and Chateau Leoville Payferre 2000—220 Euros per bottle.
I included the price per bottle just to show you how good the quality of the wines were we tasted—if you can command those prices in the market place, these are great wines!
We liked the mask decorations here
My Final Thoughts
Wow—what a trip! I think now you can see how much wine has on this region—it’s not about the sites so much, it is about wine and the wine growing culture. The forts and walled cities grew up to protect the wine producers and are not as much a reason to visit this area as the great wines—if you really enjoy wine, this trip is for you!
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HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 48 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
