From Royan
You wish to realize your own wine fair while enjoying a beautiful navigation on the Gironde estuary? Then this cruise is for you! Departure from Royan, passing through Port Médoc, Meschers sur Gironde, Saint Estèphe, Blaye, Pauillac, Margaux, etc.
To start: a small tour to discover Royan, a seaside town and "City of Art and History". On the seafront, Belle Epoque villas and villas of character with "fifties" design rub shoulders, a real architectural journey. The ideal location of the port in the heart of the city will allow you to discover the city center at your leisure.
Just like the ferry or rather the amphidrome which ensures the connection to Port Médoc, you can start your Médoc history at this place. The Médoc is a wine region which spreads out on the left bank of the Gironde. The wines of the Médoc are famous and you probably know more than one
Between Port Médoc and Pauillac, you have seen the vineyards of Saint Estèphe and some famous châteaux such as the unavoidable Châteaux Lafite-Rothschild, Latour and Mouton Rothschild.
First stop in Pauillac
The entrance to the port of Pauillac is the most recognizable of all, but it can be tricky during high tides because of the strong current. Well marked out in euros, you can't miss it!
The Médoc wine house is right next to the port, what luck!
You will be able to discover and taste the "Médoc" appellations such as Listrac, Moulis, Saint Julien, Margaux, Saint Estèphe and of course Pauillac.
Direction Blaye
Leaving Pauillac and always paying attention to the current, destination Blaye by going around the island of Patiras by the North and by taking the pass of Saintonge to arrive in front of the citadel.
The latter, built by Vauban in the 17th century, had the ambition to protect Bordeaux by constituting a part of the "Lock of the estuary". Today, it is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Like the Médoc on the left bank, the Blayais occupies a large part of the right bank between Bordeaux and Royan. The wines of the AOC Blaye are produced only in red. But there are also white wines made from the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety to which the Semillon and Muscadelle grape varieties are sometimes added to give a little roundness. The port of Blaye is rather a short nautical stop. There are few facilities but the wine house is nearby. Staying on the left bank, you can continue up the Gironde for a short stopover in Plassac.
A stopover in a typical port, Plassac
The port is typical of what is called "esteys". An "estey" is a small channel which, subject to the tides, is dry at low tide. This expression is used in the landes of Gascony and the region of Entre deux Mers, a well known white wine. The port allows you to discover the old village with a Gallo-Roman villa and to refine your knowledge of the vineyards of Blayais.
From Plassac it is possible to go up to Bordeaux or to continue by taking the Dordogne river to Fronsac, Libourne and of course Saint Emilion. For our part, the holds being almost full, we go back up to the North, down the Gironde to Meschers sur Gironde.
A last stop at Meschers sur Gironde
A real balcony on the Gironde, the town owes its fame to its troglodytic caves. As for the marina, it offers two basins. One is afloat with a lock and the other one is for beaching. Overlooking the estuary, the caves are dug in the limestone cliffs. The "holes" of natural origin were enlarged by man to become a troglodytic habitat in the 19th century. But here we are in Charente territory.
Goodbye Bordeaux wine and welcome to Charentais wine! This PGI offers you good quality wines with sometimes unknown grape varieties. Which ones? For the red wines you will find among others: Black Arinarnoa, Black Cot (better known as Malbec), Black Egiodola, Black Mourvèdre (also known as Black Balzac) and Black Tannat
And for the white wines, the Folle Blanche, the Montils Blanc and the Muscadelle Blanche
Return to Royan, just next door and end of this little trip which combines navigation and tasting and lets us foresee good evenings, on board, in the port when the wind is strong outside
Good wind and good tasting
