In the wine world, the 'must' is to spend the night in a château. Especially in the Bordeaux region which boasts several thousand properties, many of which are magnificent. However, not everyone is welcome. It is mostly V.I.Ps who are allowed the privilege of sipping a few glasses of good claret at the château proprietors table, retiring to their room on the spot instead of having to drive to a hotel and opening the shutters the next morning to enjoy an unparalleled view of the vineyards....
Who are the members of this elite? Some are supermarket buyers from Singapore, others select wine store owners from Paris or sommeliers from Tokyo, importers from Las Vegas, distributors from Geneva and journalists from Moscow. These are the sort of professionals the wine world likes to pamper, especially when practically all of them come to Bordeaux in early april for the future tastings or in mid-June for the wine fair Vinexpo.
Supplementing income :
More and more château owners are transforming outbuildings which used to house machinery or staff and even proprietors lodgings into attractive bedrooms. In fact, when renovating a château nowadays, practically every owner includes several "guest bedrooms". Bernard Magrez possesses several in each of his various properties, the château Cos d'Estournel (Saint-Estèphe), undergoing renovation at the moment, has extra bedrooms planned, André Lurton has redesigned château La Louvière (Pessac-Léognan) with guest accommodation in mind and the interior decorator, Jean Guyon has similar plans for the château Rolland de By (North Médoc).
Among the other estates equipped with guest bedrooms are Lagrange (Saint-Julien), Pontet-Canet (Pauillac) and Les Carmes Haut-Brion (Pessac-Léognan).
Appart from attracting professionals, the expansion of wine tourism has provoked another trend in the Bordeaux area : many more modest properties are now offering a bed and breakfast service. This enables wine growers to supplement their income and gives clients a chance to stay admidst the vines, to get a 'taste of terroir'. One can even rent out an entire château, such as the Château de France (Entre-Deux-Mers).
On another level, some estates have been transformed into luxury hotels : Cordeillan-Bages in Pauillac, the Sources de Caudalie in Martillac and Franc-Mayne in Saint Emilion are three fine examples.
There is a plan (although still rather vague) to create 100 guest bedrooms at Château Cantenac-Brown in Margaux, which is owned by the businessman Simon Halabi.
However, in an area already serviced by the Relais de Margaux and the Pian-Médoc Golf-Hotel, one wonders if the offer may surpass the demand in the Médoc wine region.
Author:
César Compadre
doc@sudouest.com
S.O. 23/01/09
Translated by Maxine Colas.