Destinationreport Bordeaux
By Jens Hoffmann.
I made a beautiful wine trip to Bordeaux. It is not so easy to get there – by Air France always via CDG-Paris.
Anyway.
Bordeaux just opened La Cité du Vin, an ambitious institution along the coast of the river Garonne dedicated to the history of French culture. The undulating wooden structure, designed by XTU architects, is part of a huge greening and revitalization effort along Bordeaux’s waterways, which also includes the opening of the Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Europe’s largest lift bridge, and the transformation of former docklands into more than 5,000 new apartments and public waterside attractions.
In 2007, half of the restored neoclassical city was Unesco-listed, making it the largest urban World Heritage site. And all the effort has been paying off:
Bordeaux France’s is nowadays one of France favourite citie. More recently, a restaurant boom has welcomed enticing openings by the likes of Joël Robuchon, whose namesake restaurant opened at the end of 2014 within the city’s palatial Grande Maison hotel. Gordon Ramsay recently took the helm at Le Pressoir d’Argent, the restaurant within the InterContinental Bordeaux — Le Grand Hotel, while the French celebrity chef Philippe Etchebest, has taken over the Café Opera in Bordeaux’s Grand Théâtre. Other appetizing new entries include Franco-Chinese restaurant Dan, high-end minimalist Garopapilles and locavore Belle Campagne, in a rustic-chic townhouse in Bordeaux’s picturesque Old Town. We enjoyed lots of different wine tastings at Château Montlabert and different vineyards in Bordeaux and region.
Great to be here, my favourite is Château Poumey; this estate dates back to 1784.
The château was built by an English wine merchant and it almost disappeared due to urban expansion.
Today it’s the role only remaining vineyard in commune of Gradignan. All the grapes are hand-picked into small crates and sorted both before and after destemming on a vibrating table.
The fruit is put into vat using gravity flow and the grapes from each vineyard plot are fermented separately in temperature-controlled and went directly into new French oak barrels.
The Grand Hôtel de Bordeaux & Spa is a fantastic place and has become part of the life of its city, its heritage, its region and its vineyards.
The french government made a lot to renovate the city and gave Bordeaux a new shine.
What was true from the end of the 18th century, at the very beginning of its history, is still true 230 years later.
The place is right in the heart of the golden triangle, generally known as the “quartier des Grands Hommes”, the historic hub of the city of Bordeaux, architect Victor Louis added the final touches to the construction of a mansion house. This inspired architect designed the Grand Théâtre. A reference in the art of building!
The same neoclassical-inspired façade, same Corinthian style colonnade, same excessive interior style, like the astonishing Marble Room, now called the Sauternes Salon, a marvel of marvels: opposite the Grand Théâtre, the mirror effect is immediate, striking, and at the same time the Harmony of the whole Place de la Comédie reaches perfection. This new building immediately entered the hearts of the people of Bordeaux.
The Grand Hôtel was therefore born under the sign of Excellence. The years and decades passed and asserted the hotel’s reputation, reinforced by legendary guests, like Victor Hugo who, in 1870, made this visionary statement from the neighbouring terrace of the Café de Bordeaux: “If we do not want any more wars in Europe, we must create Europe”. Then History with a capital “H” began to slow down. As the years went by, life in the hotel lost some of its intensity and some of its splendour. But the myth lived on. The hotel suddenly regained its original prestige when Bordeaux businessman Michel Ohayon bought both the 18th century listed façade and the adjacent buildings. In collaboration with architect Michel Pétuaud-Létang, he then decided to breathe new life into the ex-Grand Hôtel. Five stars now shine above this historic building which has succeeded in finding the balance between its rich past and luxury services.
Beyond the regained magnificence of the city’s famous Golden Triangle, the Grand Hôtel de Bordeaux & Spa ─ which had been lacking until then, enhanced the hotel offer in Bordeaux. A lovely place.
Later on we checked-in for two days @ Chateau Montlabert.
The press trip was supported by Organize Communications.
Jolie, je t’aime Bordeaux.
