Because I couldn't book any Premier Grande Cru Classe chateaux, I had to settle for Chateau Villemaurine and Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot. My first tour was at 11:30am, but I got up early to book my Underground St. Emilion tour. After booking the tour, I went up get bell tower above the monolithic church and took some great pictures of the town. I went back to the tourist office to book a bus tour for the afternoon, since I had nothing much to do then.
After walking around the town a bit more, I went to Chateau Villemaurine and did my tour there. I was actually quite surprised at the quality of the tour, as they mostly led us through the quarries and the underground cellars while explaining the history of the tunnels. They even had a light show sort of display while narrating the life of St. Emilion and the city. I was surprised that they only used low toast barrels though, as it seemed like most producers use medium or a blend of medium and high toast. Nevertheless, it was a good tour, with more of the town history run anticipated.
I had a sandwich for lunch, and then walked around a bit before going to my underground tour. Unfortunately, the underground tour was running late, so I had to skip the end to get to Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot. I only missed the last bit of the monolithic church though. There were no pictures allowed only the tour, because surprisingly, the monuments are all privately owned. The tour started at Le Hermitage, where St. Emilion lived. The cave was located under someone's house, and included a small baptistery area and a small stone bed. We then explored the chapel next door, where mass was held when his followers grew in number. We also visited the catacombs where many people of the church and rich families of Saint Emilion were buried. Finally, we entered the huge monolithic church that is carved into the cliff of the mountain, the largest in all of Europe. The tourist information office sold postcards for the interior of these buildings, so I bought a few.
I got to Chateau Beau-Sejour Becot 5 minutes late, but luckily, the tour was just starting as I got there. Beau-Sejour Becot was pretty cool and used some techniques that I did not expect. First off, their goal is to make wines for the purpose of keeping for a long time, so they do their best to add as much complexity as possible by using barrels from 10 different barrel makers. Proof that their methods work? The oldest bottle in their cellar is from 1849.
The tour only lasted 45 minutes, but I got back into town to be on time for my bus tour. He bus tour was a unique experience, as I was able to see things that I wouldn't have otherwise. The bus not only went to the wine areas of St. Emilion, but also nearby districts such as Pomerol. It was great to see some of the architecture of the wineries, both old and modern. Some places that I didn't know existed, such was Petrus, were actually world famous. The bus went fast, since the tour was constrained to one hour, so I wasn't able to get many great pictures, but I got a few thanks to my camera's excellent zoom. I also learned a lot, as they would talk about the terroir and the history of some of the chateaux that we passed. I had always assumed that the rose bushes at the end of each row of grapes were aesthetic, but apparently they're an early warning for the downy mildew disease, which attacks roses before vines.
When the tour ended, they also introduced us to Les Cordeliers, which made an excellent Cremant, a can't miss for visitors. I ordered a glass and two boxes of the St. Emilion macarons, which are different from the others in France, and I was lucky to get my Cremant free! Good deal, I'll say. Saved 4 euros, hehe.
I got back to my hotel and began plotting out where to go for dinner. Unfortunately, some of the good and cheap restaurants were 2km away in another village. I still got some great food at a decent price. The place I went to was called Le Cote Braisee, which served regional cuisine for reasonable prices. I started on their specialty, the foie gras with duck, and then worked on their specialty ribeye steak. The dessert was the ever-common chocolate mousse, but the entire dinner was satisfying.
After dinner, most of the shops were closed, so I went back to the hotel. This time, I was smarter and bought my wine before dinner. It's just a small half-bottle of local family wine. Nothing fancy like Grand Cru or stuff like that. I'm going to rest up and enjoy my final day in St. Emilion tomorrow.
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