This was our first dinner at Bordeaux and we wanted to hit our favorite: La Tupina. This place is old and old style, but it offers great, simply prepared cuisine with fresh ingredients that take you back to the 18th Century. As it would remain the rest of the trip, I couldn't resist having Fois Gras every time I saw it in a menu. I also had a Duck Magret that was very well prepared.

We were greeted by Christine Brachet, who showed us the estate and led us to the tasting of the 2004 Troplong Mondot. Troplong Mondot is greatly situated at the top of the Cote de Saint Emilion in mostly limestone clay soils. Its neighbors are a who's who of Saint Emilion grand names: Pavie, Pavie Macquin, etc. It is one of the biggest estates in St. Emilion (33 hectares). It uses 75% new oak and uses micro bullage as needed. Press wine is only added to the second wine. "2005 is a cellar master's dream".

Pavie was a highly anticipated visit. We were greeted by Delphine Rigall exactly at 11:30 AM, after we showed up 30 minutes earlier and were sent back like grounded children for showing "too early". Delphine showed us the estate and cellars, which are gorgeously decorated exhibitting great taste and a sense of fashion. Pavie is one of the best terroirs of Saint Emilion with a high sloping south facing vineyard at the top of the Cote de Pavie. It is also a big estate for Saint Emilion (37 hectares). The vineyards average 42 years of age, have varying soil substrates and are managed with great detail. The winery is designed with 100% gravity flow to avoid pumping. There is no fining nor filtering. Delphine talked with border-line religious fervor about Mr. Perse's efforts at the Chateau and about his shy nature.

Mr Perse is planting a big section of Cabernet Sauvignon right behind the Chateau. This will no doubt, create him more enemies (I can already anticipate the "He is destroying the Saint emilion typicity!!!").

This hotel/spa/restaurant is beautiful. It is mid way between Saint Emilion and Libourne. We had a great lunch in the almost empty , well appointed restaurant. I started with a chestnut soup with an immersed ravioli filled with fois gras and black truffle. Then I had a great slow baked wild boar with hazelnuts and finished with a tartine of dehydrated green apple with caramel. Recommneded.

We were greeted by the enthusiastic, attractive Sarah Wright. She is a transplanted Irish young woman that came to Bordeaux to see the world. Whilst in love with wines, her real allegiance continues to be beer. While in the vineyards, we met Nicolas Thienpont, who was polite, funny and welcoming. Pavie Macquin has 14 hectares of vines on top of a hill with a thick limestone ground. The vineyards are planted with 70% merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. They are ripping most of the Cabernet Sauvignon out because it is in a lot with clay soil and bad exposure, so it hardly ever ripens. Pavie Macquin is made by Stephan Derencourt. This is where Stephan got his start. They use whole berry fermentation and wild yeasts. They use 80% new oak barrels. An interesting thing was that the 2005 malolactic fermentation was not finished until June! They have no clue why it took so long.

This was the most energetic, fun visit we had no doubt because of Sarah's own enthusiasm.

We stayed at the hotel tonight, but first packed up some goodies at a Libourne supermarket: fois gras, hams, chorizo and jamon serrano as well as several cheeses.

This was our return to Latour after last year's visit. Latour is an impressive operation that is at the cutting edge of tchnology and good taste. To me, it is the most aesthetically pleasing chateau in Bordeaux. It is a thrill to visit it. The 2004 line up was dissapointingly different from last year, but the 1999 was re-assuringly pleasant. We saw Mr.Engerer run by the reception to host some shippers.

Lion d'Or is La Tupina of the Medoc. Old style, no nonsense cooking of great south western dishes. We had an incredible turbot filet and a great dessert. We talked to the chef owner (Mr. Barbier) who is fluent in Spanish and is a real character (moody, proud and very French!).

This was a very interesting visit. We were greeted and hosted by the affable Jean Dominique Videau, who despite our insistence to try and find out why there has been a surge in quality since his taking over of the estate in 2002, he denied taking credit for it. Branaire is a quintessential Saint Julien: elegant, lightly extractedbut flavorful and light on its feet. They do not use pigeage for fear of over estraction and only use 50-60% new oak. They vinify in concrete vats.

We were hosted by the gorgeous, model-like Tina Bizzard who could easily win Miss Universe should she apply. Overall, Chateau Margaux was a disspaointment facilities-wise. It is old tech, somewhat un-tidy and a bit disorganized. They must have great terroir to make up for what seems to be a cost savings neglect. They choose to spend their money in public raelations instead of the winery. The wines are nevertheless incredibly good.

This is a great restaurant that consistently provides the 5 hour dinner experience with numerous amuse bouches and great modern cooking. It is surprising that they rely on such a young service staff with a lot of turnover. It may have to do with the relatively low volume of visitors in big parts of the year. Thanks to Gusbo for his immense generosity for bringig this wine all the way from Mexico and sharing it with us.

We started off with a Duval Leroy rosé champagne. My first plate wa s ahot seared fois gras lobe with peach in a vintage port reduction. This was the best fois gras I had all trip. It was flavorful, tender and the big rock grain salt that was lightly sprinkled over it exponentiated the flavor. It was agreat match with the Sauternes. I followed with a filet of Bar (A type of sea bass) in a cacao sauce. Wonderful. Then it was the turn of slow braised Mister Reyes' Lamb in 3 different presentations with a couscous side. Then we followed with cheeses (of which the Saint Nectaire proved to be the most outstandingly mature). Finally, I ended with a deconstructed Lemon tart. This was the most complete and long dinner experience we had and with the added magic of a bottle of Petrus, it was indeed a complete evening.

This estate is in the middle of Saint Emilion, a mere 30 yards from the church. We were hosted by Veronique Ballu, the estate manager's wife. This was a very interesting visit that is highly recommended because of the amazing under ground quarries dug out from underneath the estate. The views down there are amazing! And so is the 2005!

Comte Neipperg is one of my favorite producers. Clos de l'Oratoire and Canon La Gaffeliere are long time favorites of mine. They use whole berry fermentation and pigeage and vinify with natural yeasts. The enthusiastic and knoledgeable Magali Malet hosted us and offered a very generous tasting of all of Comte Neipperg's 2005 wines. The 2005 La Mondotte was by far my favorite 2005 of the trip.

This is a great very traditional restaurant that is the opposite to the nouvelle style of Cordeillan Bages. My main plate was a slow cooked pork loin that was utterly delicious. A definite must when in Saint Emilion.

We met the owner of Chateau Figeac during our visit (the only non individual visit we had). We were very dissapointed with the state of the Chateau, its facilities and the wines. Despite Mr. Mannoncourt's pretentious of having a wine superior to Cheval Blanc, what's in the glass destroys that notion. In other hands, this estate could really shine.

This restaurant is touted as a wine bar but it is defintely NOT a wine bar but rather a typical restaurant. The wine list is unimpresive and the food is acceptable.

We were greeted by Mr. Thienpont's asistant, who showed us the estate and cellars. We briefly mey Mr. Thienpont but he was very busy. People don't realize these Pomerol estates are managed by the owner wne 2-3 employees. that is it! We were grateful to be hosted at these places with really low production volumes and little marketing/PR infraestructure. the estate is a mere 14 hectares (about the size of its neighbor Petrus).

This is a great little restaurant in the heart of Libourne. The food is very good (especially the fish dishes). We were served by Umma Thurman's slightly heavier twin ;-) I think I had a turbot (sole) dish.

La Conseillante is one of the the quintessentially elegant wines of Pomerol. It has less than 12 hectares under vines and is a typical blend of 80% of Merlot and 20% of Cebernet Franc. It is polanted with a density of 6,000 vines per hectare and has yields between 35 and 45 hectoliters per hectare. We were hosted by their cellar master. this was the purest expression of fruit we tasted among the 2005s.

This was another great visit. we were hosted by the extrovert Benoit Prevott, who is the Technical Director at Chateau le Bon pasteur and is also the enologist of all of Michel Rolland's estates in Argentina. He speaks fluent Spanish. Michel Rolland is a controversial figure (I still don't know why) whose wines are amasingly good. Le Bon Pasteur is only 7 hectares and sits at the borer between Pomerol and Lalande de Pomerol. They are currently experimenting with "integral vinification" (i.e. vinifying the entire wine directly in new 225 liter oak barrels for better integration and roundness).

This restaurant was an un-planned surprise. The food was good and the wine list much better than at L'Enver du Decors. It had several gems at very good prices (including the 2001 Pavie).

We were hosted by the owner-enologist-salesman-PR man Dennis Durantou. I had never experienced a more rushed visit than this. Mr. Durantou was in a great hurry and rushed us through the visit and tasting in less than 18 minutes.

We returned to this restaurant to retaste the remarkable home made fois gras terrine. Mr. Durantou from L'Eglise Clinet was also there. We thought of paying his bill to thank him for receiving us but decided not to due to the very rushed nature of the visit.

This was another entertaing visit. We were greeted by the owner Nicolas de Bailliencourt. Gazin sits in agreat terroir and is a 2 sided neighbor of Petrus. About 4 hectares of gazin vienyards were sold to Petrus 30 years ago, which makes him very proud. Gazin is low tech with concrete vats and pumping. The owner is incredibly extroverted, speaks perfect English and is a great conversationist. We were let in on some local owner gossip as well as candid opinions on several critics. It is amazing that Gazin doesn't produce better wines with its privileged terroir.

This was another very interesting visit. We were hosted by the new 26 year old winemaker, who outdid himself to please us. I am very greatful for his generosity and enthusiasm.

This is a modern looking restaurant near the Eiffel Tower with very good food and a lackluster wine list. We had a very good lunch. My hare in a reduction of its own blood was superbly stinky.

Lavinia is without question, the best wine shop in the world. It is huge, beautiful and high quality. The only complaint I have is the very poor service at the top floor restaurant. It is nearly impossible to get a waiter to come to the table as it could interrupt their socializing. we had an assortment of cold cust, cheeses and fois gras.

This is the ultimate luxury restaurant. Service is impeccable, the fod is great and the wine list enormous. The only complaint is that we were slightly rushed to orderand te out of there. I had 3 plates of great food and a Partagas Series D number 4 Cuban robusto cigar to finsh in style.

I went back for more fois gras and dessert wines!

Last year I had a so-so experience here and decided to come back. What a diofference ayear makes. I got there at a less crowded hour, so it was more comfortable and less noisy. The food was great and the chocolate fondant dessert was out of this world. I drank a half bottle of non-descript Croze Hermitage from Pallard.