Xmas special #2 your tastebuds in Limoges !

After our Christmas special in Paris last week, this week your favorite taste buds are heading out to Limoges a place where you might be spending your holidays as well!

« Le Tagazou », located in the center of Limoges, is a beautiful wine bar made of exposed stones. No one can resist to this facade that hides a very chic wine bar inside. In fact the interior also made of exposed stones, is paired with black leather furniture and subdued lights! It is like being in a very chic underground cave! Jazz and rock music complete this chic ambiance. Not only is this wine bar’s interior welcoming, so is the staff!

What would be the best wine to be served and drunk in this chic place? Grands crus … right?!

Well that is exactly the case, "grands crus" from 51€ to 387€ are proposed on the wine list. A large choice of more affordable wines, roughly 20€, complete this wine list. The choice of wines by the glass is not as large as the places we already went in Bordeaux but still, two wines are proposed by region: one red and one white. The prices by the glass are around 4 and 8€.

Our experience: 

1. Macôn- Uzichy 2010 domaine Talmard (5€)

This is the first time during our wine bar experiences that we taste a white wine from Burgundy, and what a surprise: the color is deep yellow; the nose is fruity with enjoyable aromas of pear, apple and chamomile! To the mouth these same white fruit aromas fill the palate. The balance is incredible and acidity does not hide these uncommon aromas. The final is long fresh.

2. Viognier  « vérité » 2009 Laurent Miquel (6€)

As a first experience never comes alone, we also tasted a Viognier. This grape variety is mostly used for white wines and what makes it so familiar is its aromas: litchi and white flowers! The wine was exactly as we expected: a very fine wine with white flower aromas, very fresh. An elegant and fruity wine different from what we taste in Bordeaux! A must have!

3. Côtes de Gascogne, Brumont Gros Manseng Doux 2011 (5€)

As our southwest region was missing us a little, we finished the tasting with this white wine that is sweet and also very fruity. The balance of this wine is great because the sweetness is to no overwhelming. Perfect for appetizers and deserts. 

Le tagazou offers a large choice of plates to eat while sipping some wine: cheese, fish, cold cuts and deserts! The welcoming staff will always be pleased to help you choose what will be the perfect match with your wine. The prices go from 5 to 15€.

To summ: A great place for after works and discoveries. Charming wine bar, miles away from Bordeaux. This very chic bar is great by its diversity of prices and wines: grands crus, wines from all over France and wines by the glass! This was a great place to come and try white wines. Our impressions are that these types of wines, fruity, well balanced and very different from Bordeaux, need to be tasted at least once before the end of 2012 … 

SO POP UP A BOTTLE AND CELEBRATE THE END OF 2012! 

Location: 5 rue d'Aguessau 87 000 Limoges

Concept: wine bar, grands crus, wine by the glass

Budget: 25€

Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday: 5pm to 1am

Telephone number: 09 81 37 96 69

Special services: wine by the glass, after work 

Xmas special! Your taste buds in Paris

This week Father Christmas is coming to town while the Bordeaux taste buds are coming out!

In fact your local taste buds are out of Bordeaux for the holidays and off to new adventures in new cities. But this doesn’t mean that we are going to let you down! These holidays instead of Bordeaux wine bars we are going to share with you our experience in cities where you may be spending your holidays as well!

First stop: Paris, and the wine bar “Le vin qui danse” (“the wine bar that dances”, in French) a bar whose colors are in perfect harmony with Christmas and our festive spirit of the moment! In fact the facade is bright red such as the interior. Once inside we travel from Paris to Greece thanks to the decorations on the walls.

This wine bar is located very close to the Panthéon and the Sorbonne in the 5^th district (arrondissement) of Paris. Its concept is very simple: The chef Thibault Kapeluche proposes great affordable gastronomic meals. But not only a personal sommelier is always in the wine bar to educate the clients and propose them the best food and wine match possible! What is very different from the other wine bars is that the sommelier proposes one wine for the entrée, one for the main course, and one for the desert and not one wine for all the different courses. In this way the perfect match is possible!

The prices per glass go from 4€ to 9€ and 21€ to 129€ for the bottles. If you want to eat the average price will be 30€ per person depending on the choice of the meals (entrée/ main dish or main dish/ dessert).

Our experience 
1-    Henri Weber – Riesling – Vin d’Alsace 2010 – 12€ (375cl):
The color is bright yellow, to the nose white fruit aromas are distinguished as well as a nice minerality. To the mouth white aromas are dominating the palate and follows a sensation of white pepper. The balance is perfect and the wine has a nice thick sensation. The end of the mouth is mango and litchi. An explosion of different sensations. 

2-    Domaine Vray Houchat – Fronsac 2007 – 5€/glass:

The color of this wine is a beautiful dark ruby color. Tanins are present as well as spice and ripe fruit aromas. The final mouth is elegant and long. Ideal to be opened now, the wine is perectly balanced and will be a perfect match with game or strong cheeses.

To summ: very antic place where affordable gastronomic meals and great wines can be tasted in the heart of Paris! Perfect to celebrate the Holidays and Christmas!

Location: 4 rue de fossés Saint Jacques 75 005 Paris

Concept: Gastronomic food, wine and food pairing

Budget: 15-45€

Opening Hours: Monday: 12pm to 2.30pm and 7.30pm to 10.30pm

Tuesday-Saturday: 7.30pm to 10.30pm

Sunday: 7.30pm to 10.00pm

Telephone number: 01 43 54 80 81

Web site: www.vqd.fr 

Third experience...Aux 4 Coins du Vin

It is while continuing our wine bar experience that we discovered a great place called “Aux 4 coins du vin”.

It is two former INSEEC students that are the owners of this wine bar in the heart of Place Saint Pierre in Bordeaux. “Aux 4 coins du vin” is born after the Australian experience of the two owners Benjamin and Clhoé (spelled correctly). In fact it is while their travel that they discovered a wine bar carrying a very high-tech machine that allows the good preservation of wine bottles once they are opened. In this way these machines are the best for wine by the glass! Nowadays very popular in Bordeaux (ex: vOv), it is “aux 4 coins du vin” who started to work with these special machines in Bordeaux.

32 different wines from all over the world are to be consumed by the glass. The prices are 2€ to 50€ the glass. Little story: it is a glass of Yquem that reached this price!

Thanks to the three machines spread in the wine bar the customers, with the help of a very special credit card, can go choose and serve themselves their wine. But of course if ever a question is to be asked, the staff of the bar will always be pleased to give good advice!

Our experience

            1- Bird in Hand, Clare Valley, Australia, white, 2011 

This 100% Riesling has a floral nose, is enjoyable with a great balance and a slight sensation of sugar. To the mouth the wine has a great structure. A light but floral and balanced wine.

2- Chinon Tradition Graves, Val de Loire, France, red, 2008

This strong and smoked wine reveals its silky tannins during the tasting such as spice and dark fruit aromas. This wine was a perfect match with the cheese tapas that we ate!

      3- Domaine des Tours, Vin de Pays de Vaucluse, red, 2009 

      This wine 100% Grenach reveals red fruit aromas followed by a long length in the mouth. This wine is light in tannins but very fruity and balanced.

      

           4- Calamar, Rueda, Spain, white, 2011

During the tasting of this Spanish wine, citrus aromas are expressed such as grapefruit combined with an extreme freshness

To summ: All the wines that we had were a great quality price ratio! Added up with the cold cut and cheese tapas that were by the way extremely good and the perfect size for four, our total was 10€ each! With its incredible choice of wines, low prices and welcoming staff, “Aux 4 coins du vin” is 
the place to be… 

Location: 8 rue de la devise 33000 Bordeaux 

Concept: Wine by the glass, tapas

Budget: 10-15€

Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday 6pm to 2am

Telephone number: 05 57 34 37 29

Special services: wine by the glass, special events
Web site: www.aux4coinsduvin.com

Second experience...Perdi Tempo!

Italian style inside

It is while enjoying our walk on the borders of the Garonne that we found this great place between the Place de la Bourse and Porte de Bourgogne: Perdi Tempo an Italian wine bar. 

We traveled hundreds of kilometers in just a couple steps. The inside colors remind Italy with grey and red colors such as the Italian speaking staff, very welcoming!

Once seated we discovered the wine list with many Italian wines of course, both red and white and even some rosés and proseccos! Soul sounds were guiding our experience.

Our experience:

1- Cantine Maschio, Prosecco (6€) sparkling white wine

Prosecco is an italian sparkling wine perfect for « apéritif ». This wine is incredibly balanced, fruity and not dry at all. To the mouth, toasted aromas as well as tints of butter are found.

2- Almenada, Tempranillo, Spain (3.5€) red

This Spanish red wine is balanced and in its young age. Never less it already shows an incredible potential. The attack is supple, the tannins are like velvet and thick in the mouth. Its black fruit, spice and pepper aromas are very enjoyable.

3-  Etchard Privado, Torrontes, Argentina (3.5€) white

An Argentine wine showing a beautiful gold color. The wine is structured with white flower aromas such as some honey. The attack is supple and acidity does not dominate. A great experience, very different from Bordeaux dry white wines. A must have!

A little bit hungry, we asked the owner to make us a mix of different tapas. A couple seconds latter muscles, shrimp, sardines, octopus and salt-cod fitter were pilling up on the table. One can tell the quality of these amazing tapas for roughly 6€ each!

To summ : A very nice wine list with many Italian and Spanish wines and a couple French ones! The average price is 23€ the bottle. A large list of cold and hot tapas is also proposed and will be the perfect match with one of these bottles. The average prices are 6€ for a plate. 

A place to recommend for an « apéritif » with some friends in… Italy…

Location: 25 Quai Richelieu 33000 Bordeaux

Concept: Italian wine bar 

Budget: 15-20€

Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday 12 to 2.30pm (except Saturday) and 7pm to 11pm

Telephone number: 05 56 81 17 91

Special services: tapas, Italian and Spanish wines

First experience ... Verre O Vin

Verre O Vin, 43 rue Borie - Bordeaux

Our first Bordeaux wine bar experience led us to Verre O Vin located in the heart of the Chartrons in Bordeaux. 

This wine bar was our first pick by its unique interior: in fact it was built in an old wine cellar in this way beautiful white rocks, typical of Bordeaux, surround the place. Wines by the glass from all over the world: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa are served in two service machines that can each gather 16 bottles.

Verre O Vin's service machines

The team invented a “prepaid” card system which can hold a 50€ credit. In this way you can drink the wines you want in the machines and then go to the register to pay the amount due. Prices per glass go from 3,80€ to 9€.

Several tapas can be enjoyed with the glass of wine you will experience: foie gras, cheeses, cheasecake, tarts, desserts, ham etc. Thanks to the good advice of the welcoming team, perfect food parings can be made!

Beautiful glasses created by Arnaud Barrate are used for the tastings. These ones are very special because they were made to reveal aromas at their best! These amazing glasses are on sale in the bar! Great idea for a Christmas gift!

Our experience:

• Diamandes de Uco –  Mendoza - 2010 (3,90€) White 72% Chardonnay, 28% Viognier, a superb wine that is fresh and reveals citrus aromas. A silky while thick structure, very enjoyable with an explosion of fruit and flower aromas. A must to drink !
• Marlborough Premium – 2010 (4,10€) Red 100% Pinot noir, a subtil wine with dark fruit aromas whose complexity is increased thanks to the barrel aging. A great wine but better if aged a little more
• Beaune 1^er Cru – 2008 (4,90€) Red: 100% Pinot noir, a wine with a beautiful grimsom color with to the nose, intense smoky aromas, spices and ripe fruits. Outstanding nose!

To summ : An enjoyable place, very welcoming in the heart of the chartrons in Bordeaux. Perfect to meet up with friends for a unique tasting experience of wines for all over the world. Experienced people to advise you on the wine such as food paring. A good quality/price ratio!

A WINE BAR NOT TO BE MISSED !

- Your Taste buds

Location: 43, rue Borie 33000 Bordeaux

Concept: wine by the glass

Budget: 15-30€

Opening Hours: 6pm to 2am, tuesday to saturday

Telephone number: 05 56 02 52 09

Special services: take out,  wifi access

Taste buds in Bordeaux ... ready, set, GO... !

Welcome to our blog!

Bordeaux is a beautiful city full of wonderful wine bars that are not to be missed!

If you are a wine lover just like the four of us, this blog is made for you! Each week we will test a wine bar in Bordeaux and share with you our personal experience.

• How was the ambiance?
• What wine did we drink?
• What perfect food match did we find with this wine?
• But most of all how was the wine?

In this way you will have no more excuses to go out and have a good time drinking some wine!

But as you are a wine lover just like us, what YOU think is important! Give us your feedback on the wine bars we tested for you. Or even better, let us know if we didn't talk about a wine bar you would recommend!

Because this blog is OUR blog! Let’s create together a list of the wine places to be in Bordeaux!

See you soon for our first wine bar experience!

Morgane, Agathe, Anthony and Baptiste...four taste buds in Bordeaux.