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Whatever your level of wine knowledge, tastes or whims, a trip to the Saint Emilion and Pomerol area with its fabulous wine estates, restaurants, hotels and wine shops will be sure to leave you with many marvelous memories.
  
SAINT-EMILION: THE HEART OF A WORLD-FAMOUS VINEYARD
There can be no better place to start a visit to this attractive region than Saint-Emilion, heartland of the Merlot grape, which produces delicious, rich, round wines. The vines on the "hill with a thousand châteaux" reach right up to Saint-Emilion's 13th century town walls and surrounding moat dug out of solid rock. Walking around the medieval town is an absolute delight, particularly when the roses at the end of the vine rows are in bloom. Members of the local wine brotherhood, the Jurats, proclaim the vintage banns in much the same way as their ancestors did during the reign of Richard the Lionheart. Saint-Emilion's wine châteaux, churches and other historical buildings are unequivocally beautiful. And if your walk has given you an appetite, this is the ideal time to appreciate a good Saint-Emilion. You will relish the subtle taste and bouquet accompanied by nothing more involved than some bread and cheese. In Saint-Emilion, take a moment to enjoy the famous maccaroons unique to the town.
Some of the neighboring villages lying north of the town of Saint Emilion, such as St. Georges, Lussac, Puissegin and Montagne, add the words "Saint Emilion" to their wine appellations and are known as the "satellites". These vineyards, planted on the surrounding limestone hillsides known locally as "combes" date back over many centuries. With their gentle slopes, pastoral landscapes and array of good, powerful red wines, these vineyards are well worth searching out.
BDXV Top Chateaux in Saint Emilion:
POMEROL; A TINY JEWEL OF A VINEYARD
North of Libourne is a region of small vineyard holdings in which Merlot is king. The unusual concentration of iron oxide in the soil accounts for the unique character of Pomerol wines. The illustrious Pétrus has made this appellation, one of the smallest in Bordeaux, world-renowned. The beautiful deep color and inimitable violet and truffle bouquet of Pomerol and Lalande-de-Pomerol wines impress people just beginning to appreciate fine wine as much as they do the most demanding connoisseurs. These wines are sensual and can also be enjoyed quite young.
BDXV Top Chateaux in Pomerol:
  
Text Copyright © Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux
All pictures © BDXV
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