Have you ever taken a walk around the vineyards in summer in Margaux? If not, this is an invitation to walk together. Yes, right now. No worries, you don’t have to stand up, just keep on reading and enjoying the photos; you will be making a virtual sightseeing tour. During our tour, I’ll give you some background information about the châteaux and vineyards we’ll see on our way. Let’s begin!

Welcome to our walking tour around the pretty châteaux of Bordeaux. We are in Cantenac and we’ll reach Margaux by passing from Issan. We start our tour at the beautiful Château Kirwan. Kirwan takes its name from its first owner – an Irish family. We take the road Chemin de Kirwan and head west. Here, we have two options: go along the railway or walk from the road in between the vineyards. Let’s take the vineyard road.    

Take deep breaths and keep your head up to see the incredible panorama. See how the vines reach to the sky. If you look straight ahead, you’ll have the impression of being in front of a sea of vines. Enjoy and keep walking, now we’re crossing the railway in the direction of Margaux.

Suddenly, we hear some people walking behind us. Apparently, an elder French couple is also taking a walking tour like us. In these small villages of Bordeaux people are so kind, they would always greet you on the streets. They say ‘Bonjour’ to us and we start to talk and walk together. They say that they have been living in this village for forty years and they know all the châteaux. They worked for a long time in one of them, and their son is still working there. They point us to the châteaux that we are seeing from here, in the south we have Château Cantenac-Brown and Château Brane Cantenac, in the north we have Château Palmer and Château Margaux. They suggest we see all of them. I thank this lovely couple for their recommendation, and continue our trip by choosing the north, by leaving the south for our way back.

By choosing north, we arrive at Issan. The next château on our way is Château Palmer with its vineyards planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. You can see from here its historical building and well-kept garden.

Following, we enter Margaux and walk towards Château Margaux. Of course, if we wanted to visit any châteaux in this region and have a tasting, we definitely need an appointment. This is just sightseeing from outside. We enter the famous principal way of Château Margaux with trees on both sides. The guard is looking at us, I say ‘Bonjour’ and walk through the entrance.

We are in front of the magnificent château with roots extending to 16^th century. The tradition and history behind their wine is impressive. Looking at the vineyard, it’s clear that the soil is kept, and viticulture activities are managed. The grapes are shouting: “We are healthy and delicious; we’ll soon make a good wine!”

Let’s continue towards the city center of Margaux. Pay attention to the sidewalk, they wrote: “Margaux, the most famous vineyard in the world”.

If you’re hungry, there are some restaurants here, and a patisserie. At the end of the road, a tasty surprise is waiting for us: Mademoiselle de Margaux. This chocolate store has special chocolates called “Sarment du Médoc”. It is a gastronomic heritage of the Aquitaine region worth trying.

Before going out from the center of Margaux, if you want to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy tonight and relax from the tiredness of our walking tour, we can pass by La cave d’Ulysse. It’s a wine shop with a wide selection of wine; they sell mostly Bordeaux wines, including the older vintages.

Do you remember where we saw the French couple and then turned towards the north? Okay, now we are heading south from the same point, and we walk directly towards Château Cantenac-Brown. Even from far away, you can easily see the distinct architecture of this château. The Tudor architecture style of this château sets it apart.

We keep on walking along the vineyards with roses in the beginning of rows. Do you know why they plant roses in the beginning of the rows of vines? First, it’s decorative, but not only that. The roses can show the symptoms of the disease before the vines do, so it’s kind of a protection of the vineyard. Passing through the roses, finally we reach Château Brane-Cantenac, which welcomes us with its unique tower surrounded by vines.

We come to the end of our walking tour. Thank you for accompanying me, and I hope you enjoyed our walk, as much as I did. 

Cheers,

Nesli

All images © 2015 by Wines of Nesli. All rights reserved.

Categories: VineyardsTags: Bordeaux, tour, Wines