When it comes to the Bordeaux wine region, most people have heard of the big names like Margaux, Saint-Estèphe and Pauillac, which all happen to be on the Left Bank of the Gironde estuary. On the Right Bank, two appellations have an international reputation – Saint-Émilion and Pomerol – but much of the area to the north of them gets very little attention. As such, Bordeaux’s Right Bank – stretching from Blaye, through Bourg and Saint-André-de-Cubzac, down to Fronsac and Libourne – offers some excellent value bottles. I’ve written a Substack article about the crisis threatening Bordeaux wines, but one of the upshots is that wines from these lesser-known appellations are remarkably affordable, and the wineries are very keen to welcome visitors.
But of course, one cannot live on wine alone! This guide therefore covers some of my favourite restaurants in the Right Bank region, as well as wine bars (all of which also serve food) and winery visits. I’ve arranged my coverage from north to south, starting with Blaye and ending in Saint-Émilion, but you could of course visit these villages in any order.
Planning your visit to Bordeaux’s Right Bank
Before you can begin tasting wine, here are a few trip essentials to get you started:
- Getting to Bordeaux: Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport is well-connected across Europe, served by budget and national carriers like easyJet, Ryanair, Vueling, British Airways, Air France and KLM. Expedia is good for comparing routes, while Omio covers rail if you’re coming via Paris on the TGV.
- Getting around: A rental car is essential for exploring the Right Bank – the villages, wineries and restaurants in this guide are spread across a wide area with limited public transport. Bear in mind that if you’re visiting wineries, you’ll want a designated driver or to keep tastings modest!
- Where to stay: Blaye is a quiet citadel town while Libourne is a more vibrant city, but of course there are plenty of rural gîtes if you want to get away from it all. Booking.com has the full range across the region.
- How long to spend: Three days gives you a decent taste of the Right Bank, though you could easily fill a week if you’re serious about the wineries.
- Tours & experiences: GetYourGuide and Viator have a good selection of guided vineyard tours if you’d rather leave the driving (and navigating) to someone else.
- Further reading: Also visiting Bordeaux city? Don’t miss my guide to Bordeaux’s wine bars and restaurants.
Blaye’s best restaurants and wine bars
I stayed just outside Blaye for a month, which is why this section is by far the longest. As well as its wines, Blaye is famous for its citadel – a UNESCO World Heritage Site that dates back to the 17th century. It’s well worth a visit in its own right, as is the outdoor market held on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the centre of town. With a few exceptions, the fresh produce is so good that there’s an argument for making your own meals. But if you don’t have a kitchen or prefer not to cook, there are several restaurants and wine bars in Blaye that are worth a mention.
Auberge des Officiers
Right inside the entrance to the citadel, Auberge des Officiers has an expansive, leafy terrace that stretches down the side of the slope in a series of shady steps – ideal for hot days when lunch becomes an exercise in escaping the sun. We visited a couple of times, and found the winning dishes to be the pink-in-the-middle duck burger with wobblingly fresh seared foie gras, and the impressive beef skewers that come dangling from their metal brochettes above a small bowl of jus. Vegetarians need not apply.
La Tisanerie Gourmande
Within the citadel walls, La Tisanerie Gourmande is a rustic, restful spot for a restorative cup of tea or coffee (plus a range of cakes and cookies). I particularly liked their signature “infusion”, which was a herbal blend of leaves and petals steeped together in hot water. It looked a picture and smelled amazing.
ESTI’BUS
A red double-decker bus right on the banks of the Gironde Estuary, we expected the ESTI’BUS to be essentially a food truck. But in fact its menu is far more extensive. We tried an array of shareable snacks – from chicken gyoza and tempura shrimp to garlic calamari and classic charcuterie – washed down with a local IPA. Had we had a reservation, however, we would’ve also had access to a more substantial restaurant-style menu. ESTI’BUS might present as some repurposed pallets and barrels forming tables and chairs on an urban beach, but don’t let the casual setting deceive you.
Le Quart d’Heure
Le Quart d’Heure looks like a snack bar on a side street, but it has a sunny terrace and a good value menu formule, so we stopped by for lunch on more than one occasion. Food is simple but generous: think côte de boeuf with French fries, lamb shank with mash and jus, or oeufs en cocotte. Service is a little chaotic, but forgivable for the price-quality ratio of the food.
Le Clos de la Marina
Beyond the centre of Blaye, Le Clos de la Marina could be mistaken for a private members club from the outside. But behind the gate, you’ll find a green oasis: a bar beneath the trees, a serene pool, a bamboo shaded terrace with a BBQ out the back. The term “hidden gem” is overused, but this is surely its true definition.
The wine is great value: a bottle of Lagarde Excellence was as excellent as the name suggests at just €29. The food is a little more inventive than other menus we experienced in Blaye. My favourite dish involved the oysters on the back of a chicken, served with a creamy, tangy, chorizo-laced sauce and plenty of bread for mopping. The pork chop and magret de canard could’ve done with less cooking time, but perhaps they saw the English coming. It’s an affliction!
I Gusti della Mamma
It’s easy to miss I Gusti della Mamma on what appears to be an industrial estate, close to giant out-of-town stores like Intersport and Leclerc supermarket. But inside you’ll find surprisingly good pizzas (cooked in a rotating oven) and naughty but nice Negronis. My favourite pizza was the Bismarck: topped with tomato sauce, cooked ham, burrata and a whole egg.
Cave de l’Estuaire
Back in central Blaye, Cave de l’Estuaire is a wine shop and wine bar in one. Their terrace is small but catches the evening sun, and their menu is nothing fancy but everything on it is good quality. The dishes call themselves grignotages, which I assume are France’s answer to tapas. Think Saint-Félicien cheese with honey, chorizo rillettes with grissini, and a classic charcuterie board – all washed down with a glass of Champagne or a spritz. (Plenty of still wines are on offer too, of course, but it was so hot during our visit that chilled bubbles were called for.)
La Petite Cave
By night, La Petite Cave serves wines by the glass and shareable snack platters – often with musical interludes on sunny evenings. By day, La Petite Cave is a wine shop, with proprietor (and local raconteur) Leslie Kellen offering tastings and tours of the in-town winery (see Étalon Rouge below) as well as his wife Clarissa’s art gallery and his collection of classic cars. La Petite Cave is a treasure trove, not just of local wine but of useful information.
Blaye wineries: visits and tastings
There are dozens of wineries around Blaye, which fall under the “Blaye – Côtes de Bordeaux” appellation, so I’ve curated just a handful that I particularly enjoyed visiting. Most of these seem happy to let you drop in for an impromptu tasting, without having to pay for a full tour – but please be polite and buy some wine!
Étalon Rouge
Étalon Rouge is the only micro-estate making wine within the historic town centre of Blaye, and it has a rather special history. During a tour with co-owner Leslie (who also manages La Petite Cave, above), you’ll learn all about the winery’s connections with Gérard Depardieu, Étalon’s winemaking philosophy (including the “integral method”: gentle fermentation of whole grapes in rotating barrels) and the reason why their oak barrels touch each other (it was a new one on me!).
We came home with a bottle of their Icon red (an easy-drinking Bordeaux blend) but were also lucky enough to taste their signature Étalon Rouge, which was smooth with dark berries, cedar, pepper and vanilla. Their white – Étalon Rouge le Blanc – is aged for a year in barrels from Château d’Yquem, resulting in a very Burgundy-esque Sauvignon Blanc.
Château Roland la Garde
Literally right next door to our gîte (i.e. dangerous proximity!), Château Roland la Garde is a biodynamic producer making two entirely different styles of wine. The first feels more traditional: we loved their Prestige red, which is distinctly Bordeaux but full of energy – a living, breathing wine, if ever I’ve tasted one. The second is more experimental: amphora-aged, produced as naturally as possible, and in a range of very un-Bordeaux-like categories – amongst which a tart, tannic orange (made up of Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle) and a light, chillable “blouge” (a 50/50 blend of Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc). I could see these going down very well among Amsterdam’s natural wine crowd!
Château Peybonhomme-les-Tours
With a similar philosophy to Roland la Garde, Château Peybonhomme-les-Tours is a female-led winery that’s also producing two lines: a classic Bordeaux range, and a more experimental range. We only popped by to pick up a few bottles, but they were extremely helpful – offering us several tasting samples so we could try before buying. We came home with wines from both sides of a spectrum: “L’Atypic” is a co-fermentation of Malbec and Cabernet Franc (i.e. highly atypical for Bordeaux), while “Blanc Bonhomme” is a peachy-soft, elegantly rich blend of classic Bordeaux varietals, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. I’m not sure Peybonhomme offers winery tours, but it’s definitely worth stopping by their shop to stock up.
Château Monconseil-Gazin
Further south in the direction of Bourg, you’ll find Château Monconseil-Gazin, which offers tours and tastings starting at €7 per person. The Château itself is postcard-worthy, but it was devastating to hear that they’ve recently been ripping out red grapevines due to the wine crisis, caused by a combination of climate change and evolving tastes. Perhaps they should charge more for their wines, which were all a steal for the quality.
Try their “Blanc Prestige”: a sophisticated, lees-aged white blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon that was both floral and full-bodied. Or their Piron la Romaine, made with 80% Merlot and 20% Malbec, which is a lighter red style than their traditional Grande Reserve. Both for under €10 (staggeringly!).
Right Bank villages between Bourg and Libourne: restaurants and wineries
A little further south of Blaye is the picturesque village of Bourg, which sits atop a rocky outcrop at the confluence of the Dordogne and Garonne rivers, and dates back to Roman times. Continuing down the Dordogne, you’ll reach the towns of Saint-André-de-Cubzac and Fronsac, although there are many rural villages to explore up the gentle hills to the northeast of the river. The next proper city is Libourne, which feels positively lively compared with the surrounding settlements – and has plenty of foodie finds, too.
Belle-Amie, la petite soeur – Bourg
Overlooking the river shore of Bourg, Belle-Amie is what’s known as a guingette: an indoor-outdoor space made up of metal containers, weathered planks of wood and corrugated iron roofs, plus a boat that’s been turned into the kitchen. But don’t let the ramshackle appearance put you off, because Belle-Amie served some of the best food we ate on the Right Bank.
The menu is a collection of shareable plates, and we couldn’t get enough of the creamy burrata with green-meets-spicy chimichurri, the tuna tataki with sesame and Thai basil, the patatas bravas that seemed to have been dusted in a variation of five-spice rub, the roasted veggies with a grassy herb oil and lemon whipped cream, and the sticky marinated pork ribs. The only downside was the bread, which was confusingly dry, stale and under-salted. That small gripe aside, we were more than happy with everything else, including the perfectly mixed cocktails and excellent wine recommendation.
La Muraille – Marcenais
Near Marcenais to the east of Bourg, restaurant La Muraille is set in a grand building within a five-acre wooded park that’s home to several roving peacocks. The menu features both classics (foie gras, magret de canard, grilled entrecote, Grand Marnier soufflé) and seasonal creations (tuna and avocado tartare, sea bream ceviche, Thai curry of monkfish and king prawns) – most of which were done very well (with the exception of sliced mushrooms being added to seemingly every dish!). The service, however, was a tad shambolic: we were made to move tables ten minutes after being seated; menu items turned out to be unavailable that we weren’t told about; and we were forever asking for things that should have already been on the table. Perhaps our server was new, but I’d expect more training for the size of the bill at the end.
Château Mercier – Bourg
On the northern edge of the Côtes de Bourg appellation, Château Mercier has joined the trend of using amphora to make beautifully aged wines without the oakiness. Co-owner Christophe Chéty explained that the clay allows micro-oxidisation, helping the wines to round out and develop texture, while still retaining plenty of primary fruit. We tasted our way through a few of his reds and were inclined to agree. Try the Atmosphere (not amphora-aged, but young and fruity with no added sulphites) and the Amphorae (aged 13 months in clay) and taste the difference. For those who prefer a more classic Bordeaux, Château Mercier also produces the delectable Clos du Piat: 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the wine tastes like a Saint-Émilion but at a fraction of the price.
Château Lapourcaud – Cézac
A 20-minute drive northeast of Bourg in Cézac, Château Lapourcaud dates back to 1883 but has only been recently revived to its former glory by owner-vigneron Vincent Gas. We took a tour and tasting at Château Lapourcaud via Winedering and found lots to recommend. Under normal circumstances, Vincent would have got us involved in the vineyard: learning about the process by doing a little pruning or harvesting. But Mother Nature had other ideas, with temperatures soaring into the mid-30s, demanding we find shade after about ten minutes. Not to worry: in the château’s gardens, we sat beneath the trees and enjoyed a tasting of six different bottles, alongside a multitude of local cheeses, foie gras and heavenly magret de canard.
My personal wine favourite was Château Lapourcaud’s own 2023 blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, which was bright and light on its feet. But we also tasted Vincent’s brother’s white and red blends from just down the road, as well as some other wines from the local cooperative of which Château Lapourcaud is a member. If I could pick one tasting note that carried through every wine we tried, it would be: “peppery” – which says something about the region’s terroir.
Libourne market
Sunday morning in Libourne is market day, and the city is thronging with locals and visitors picking up their week’s supply of cheese, saucisson and fresh produce. In the streets immediately surrounding, and jutting off at right angles from, the market square are a host of tempting little cafés and eateries – I only wish we’d had more time (and room in our stomachs) to visit more of them. La Halle Éphémère – a food hall a stone’s throw from the market – looked particularly fun, with a fish shop selling fresh fruits de mer and white wine at communal tables, and a next-door bar selling tapas and beers.
Le Dix-Sept – Libourne
Just around the block from La Halle Éphémère, we had lunch at Le Dix-Sept (17): a restaurant as minimalist and understated as it was elegant. Quite apart from my décor crush, Le Dix-Sept also served an excellent-value menu du jour of three courses for €35. We started with mussels, cooked marinière-style but finished with a gloriously moppable olive oil. Then ling (a white fish in the cod family) with a chunky sauce of olives, capers, orange segments and parsley, with more of that fabulous olive oil. Finishing off with a simple cherry clafoutis that hit all the right spots. The wine we ordered (a white blend from Entre-Deux-Mers) was the perfect complement to a light but satisfying lunch.
Saint-Émilion: restaurants and wineries
Saint-Émilion needs little introduction: one of Bordeaux’s most famous appellations, its Medieval hilltop village is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most visited destinations among wine lovers. I only had a day to explore, but managed to fit in a few highlights worth sharing.
Chai Pascal
The walls of restaurant Chai Pascal are carved from those sandy-coloured limestone bricks that characterise so much of the centre of Saint-Émilion. The stone, and its thoughtful spot lighting, lend the restaurant a cool elegance that’s in contrast to the warmth of the service and the wines. I was impressed by Chai Pascal’s culinary credentials: a starter of smoked trout atop buckwheat waffle, interspersed with dill cream cheese and zesty kumquat, followed by a main of pressed lamb with a deft sliver of cumin crisp and buckwheat risotto. Wine came from one of the family’s own vineyards, Château Gaillard, and was a deep and spicy example of what Saint-Émilion’s famous reds have to offer.
Clos Saint-Julien
From the same wine family as Château Gaillard, Clos Saint-Julien is just down the road – but amongst the vineyards rather than in the centre of town. It’s possible to eat at their bistro, but we stopped by for a wine tasting (€10 pp) – including Clos Saint-Julien’s own 50/50 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, grown on Saint-Émilion’s famous limestone plateau. Perhaps more interesting still was the Château Petit Gravet Aîné, made almost entirely from Bouchet (Saint-Émilion’s term for Cabernet Franc). We tasted the 2018, which was smooth and ageing beautifully, so we decided to take the 2012 home to see what another six years in bottle had achieved. (Verdict pending!)
Château Saint Christophe
Not in Saint-Émilion proper but a couple of kilometres down the road in Saint Christophe Des Bardes, Château Saint Christophe offers excellent value for money. We tasted various Merlot-dominant blends, from unoaked and young to fully oaked and ten years old, all of which were a steal for the level of quality. There wasn’t a lot of time to go into the winery’s story as they were expecting a large group to arrive (and we had turned up without an appointment) but I’m looking forward to cracking open the bottles I brought home over the next couple of years.