Ninth experience ... Vinset !

Hi friends! As you saw in our last posts we love hanging out in wine bars in the Saint-Pierre area. And as we were never really disappointed we decided to go again and this time we went to a special place called « Vinset » close to the church on the Saint Pierre place.

The inside of this bar is refined and modern and very laid back which put us in the convenient mood for our new tasting. Look for yourself! You just want to go in and have a glass:

As we said this place is special, and why, because it is one of the few wine bars in Bordeaux where you can have a personalized wine tasting course and on top of this Vinset offers take out gastronomic food and wine! Perfect when you are not in the mood to cook and not in the mood for a fast food by nice a refined food!

Vinset has no less than 30 different wines by the glass ranging from 3 to 8€ a glass which is similar to all the other wine bars we did. And in order to not be narrow minded on only one region, wines from the South Ouest of France or Champagne can be bought! And as all the other wine bars you can have some tapas of meat, cheese or even seafood! Ok we kind or always repeat ourselves with this tapas thing but it is the perfect idea to make people stay longer and order more wine!

In the mood of tasting nice wines, we decided to taste two wines that the waiter advised us. These ones we served by the bottle no high tech machine. Yes everyone has switched to serving tapas, but not everyone is decided to buy the machines yet..

Our experience: 

1. Château Bernateau 2006: Saint Emilion Grand Cru

Yes as the end of the year is approaching for us students we have decided to offer ourselves a Grand Cru Classé to celebrate! The wine was complex, fruity with a piece of cloves, the whole was long in the mouth.

2. The Dada Rouillac, Pessac Léognan 2010:

This wine is the second wine of the very famous Château Rouillac which we always see beautiful adds on the French wine press with a beautiful landscape and horses! This is why this wine is called this way as dada means little horse in French and as the owner loves horses! The nose is smoky, wired to say but it is in fact barbecue sauce aromas that we felt… but also more typical ones such as ash: you know this aroma you smell in tobacco boxes.  

Location: 27 rue des bahutiers, 33000 Bordeaux

Concept: Wine bar by the glass, by the bottle, special tastings courses, take out

Budget: 3€ to 8€ the glass

Opening hours: Thursday to Saturday: 7pm to 1am

Telephone number: 09 52 19 09 37

Special services: Wine courses, take out food and wine

Web site: http://www.vinset.fr

Eighth experience ... La Robe

This week your taste buds have decided to honor ... women! The perfect place to do this: “La Robe”, a wine that only serves wines created by women! This bar/restaurant located in front of the “mirroir d’eau”, is born of the of owner’s Alain desire to mix two of his passions: wine and women.

In this way, your two taste bud girls decided to offer themselves a feminine tasting this week and what a choice we had! In all 51 red wines among the very famous Château Troplong Mondot (Saint Emilion Grand Crus Classé), Château La Clotte (Saint-Emilion Grand Crus Classé) Château Talbot…, 14 rosés, 16 white wines, 6 sweet wines and 2 champagnes!

The colors of this bar are very girly without being too much, it is a place where we feel … good. 

Not only wines, but tapas are also proposed at “La Robe” for roughly 5 euros, a good starter before eating in their restaurant that offers affordable meals for only 20€ including starter, main course and dessert! On the menu: Roast beef, Beef tartare, lamb chops, stew of leeks and duck fillet, tuna steak…miam!

Our experience:

1. Château les Palais, red, Corbières, Anne de VOLENTAT BACHELET

Red cherry color with red crystallized fruits and slight pepper aroma felt to the nose and to the mouth. To the mouth the tannins are smooth, the hole is aromatic and full. Perfect to pair with a spicy dish!

2. Mas Karolina, red, Côtel Catalanes, created by Caroline BONVILLE

The syrah present in this wine gives a spicy nose that is also toasted with red fruit aromas and … coconut! To the mouth the texture is silky the tannins are suave and the fruits ripe due to the present of Grenache a very fruity a creamy grape variety.

Bye Bye Machism…women do make great wines !

To sum: this place is perfect for a girls night out! The place is cozy and girly and the ambiance is jazzy. The prices are more than affordable! Great women temple! This special place also offers many special events such as meetings with the wine growers ! 

Next special event: special meal for Valentines day ! Check out the meal on their website and reserve fast ... 

Location: 3 Quai Louis XVIII, 33000 Bordeaux
Concept: Wine bar composed of wines only made by women, restaurant

Budget: 20€

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday : 3pm to 11pm

Telephone number: 05 56 69 04 80

Special services: wine tastings with the wine grower

Web site: www.la-robe.fr/

Seventh experience...Wine More Time

Once again we have decided to find the sun in a cold Bordeaux night, and this is why your taste buds crossed the door of the “Wine More Time” a “bodega” in the heart of the Place Camille Julian owned by Alexandre Lahitte and Jean Astruc.

This “Bodega” atmosphere wine bar has more than 350 wine references as well as 70 different beers and spirits! What a large choice we had there...and at a very affordable price: in fact roughly 4€ for a glass of wine.

The inside of the bar is very chic thanks to the leather sofa's and typical white stones. Seeking for some coziness were fell inside the comfortable sofas and started are 100% Bordeaux wine tasting. This week, we wanted to try two wines from the same soil and the same vintage the only thing that changes is the blend, and you will see the difference of tastings just because of this 10% changes of the grape variety.

Our experience:

1. Château Haut-Chaigneau 2009 – AOC Lalande de Pomerol – red (4,50€): 

This blend from 90% Merlot Noir and 10% Cabernet Franc has been aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. The nose shows enjoyable flower aromas and ripe fruits. To the mouth the wine is full bodied with lovely polished tannins and a very nice structure. Lovely length and class to this wine. A very nice Lalande de Pomerol!

2. Château l’Archange 2009 – AOC Saint Emilion – red (5,00€):

Just like the Lalande de Pomerol this 100% merlot Noir wine has been aged 12 months in new oak barrels. The beauty of wine is here: Lalande de Pomerol is very close to Saint Emilion but the wines that arise are opposites: To the nose we have black liquorice and aniseed aromas. To the mouth this full bodied wine has fine tannins and a long finish. This wine is delicious and really well balanced.

Like many wine bar now, tapas can be enjoyed with your glass of wine: cold cuts, cheese, foie gras... from 10 to 16€ the plate.

And what about the “Bodega” spirit?

Many events are organized such as tastings of different regions and countries: Portuguese night or Spanish night etc. But not only this wine bar also organizes meetings with wine growers mainly from Bordeaux. These meetings with the wine-makers are a blast to discover a new vineyard through their eyes and learn more about wine: how it is mad how to taste it etc!

To sum: A great place to spend time with friends. Charming wine bar, in the town center of Bordeaux that mixes Bordeaux and Spanish style. This very chic bar is great by its diversity of prices and wines, from all over France and wines by the glass! This was a great place to come and try wines. Our impressions are that even if you have the same wine from the same vintage, with the same soil and only 10% change in the blend, it could be a wine totally different in terms of taste.

Location: 8 Rue Saint-James, 33000 Bordeaux

Concept: Wine, Beer and Spirits bar

Budget: 20-25€

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday : 3pm to 11pm

Telephone number: 05 56 52 85 61
Web site: http://winemoretime.blogspot.fr/

And Happy Birthday to those who are born on the 3rd of february ;)