Buying Saint Emilion in the UK :: a fine French red wine

Saint Emilion is an appelation within the Bordeaux region of South West France that produces some of the most glorious and prestigious wines that the French have to offer.

The vineyards of Saint-Emilion are located on the right bank of the Dordogne river, near Pomerol and Libourne, and the traditional varietal blend for St Emilion is 80% Merlot grapes, 10% Cabernet Franc grape and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

It's worth thinking about the way the wine tastes. Saint Emillion is a traditional red wine with a fruity aroma, often with hints of raspberries, cherries, blackcurrant and other more earthy smells.

When I drink fine Saint Emilions, especially Premier Cru varieties I am reminded of the smell of the crypts in ancient cathedrals, and the soft smooth tannins and long delicate finish mean that the experience is often very long lasting and memorable.

The great thing about actually travelling to the St Emilion area though is that you get to visit the amazing chateau where the grapes are grown and the wine is made, and experience the hearty warmth of the local French people who welcome you as one of their own.

Getting to Bordeaux by car from the UK is an epic journey. Whether you get part way there through the channel tunnel, or you take the plunge, so to speak, and get across the channel by ferry or hovercraft, you have a drive of several hundred miles ahead of you.

As you drive further and further down through rural France though, as long as you've got a sunroof or some air conditioning, you start to realise why you came.

The clear blue sky above you, creating the most spectacular canopy of high clouds, combined with the lush vegetation and interesting local towns and villages roll by, one after another, and lull you into a reverie that is relieved only by the traffic lights, the reduced speeds through tiny villages, and the wait for farmers to pull to the side of the dusty road so that you can blast past, tearing up the highway on your way to the finest wine making region in the whole world.

Bordeaux itself is incredibly quaint, and yet cultured and sophisticated. A city with a massive difference between the suave, sophisticated well to do people who shop in the boutiques, and the down and outs who beg in the main shopping streets. I guess that's the case for any town or city throughout Europe, but it's just driven home by the stately elegance of your surroundings.

As you drive out from Bordeaux to the heart of Saint Emmilion itself you start to drive past fields of gorgeous vines. The vineyards of Saint Emilion are generally hilly and soils in the region are predominantly calcium based, which encourage the Merlot grape to develop a concentration and ripeness that is the cornerstone of the great wines produce in the region.

You should drive through the town of St Emilion itself, just to get the flavour of the place, and you will see shop after shop selling racks of vintage clarets. Selecting them is at the same time very hard, yet very easy. Price is a good measure of wine, and you can be confident that spending a few francs more (or a few hundred francs more in some cases!) you will get a very fine wine that will be good to lay down in your cellar and bring out maybe a decade later. The best way to select your wine is to either taste it, or buy a single bottle during your stay, and savour it before making your mind up. After all, who wants to shell out on a whole case of wine only to find that it doesn't suit your palate.

Anyway, I've said enough for now. I'm going to be adding details of my favourite Saint Emilions over the next few weeks, so it's worth popping by again. In any case, bottoms up!