Arrival and check-in

Check in to your centrally located five-star hotel in Bordeaux's UNESCO-listed historic district. Guidance on the best way to arrive will be provided based on your travel schedule.

Evening at leisure

Dinner is on your own tonight. A curated list of recommended restaurants — from elegant bistros to Michelin-starred tables — will be provided.

Meet your guide

After breakfast, meet your professional English-speaking wine expert guide and driver for the day.

Graves — Classified Grand Cru visit

Travel south to the Graves region, just outside the city limits. As the VIP guests of a Classified Grand Cru estate, enjoy a private tour and tasting of exceptional red and white wines.

Welcome lunch

A welcome lunch at a quality local restaurant in the Graves area.

Sauternes — Classified Grand Cru visit

Discover a Classified Grand Cru estate in Sauternes — home to the most famous botrytised sweet wine appellation in the world — for a private cellar tour and tasting.

Margaux — Grand Cru Classé visit

VIP tour and tasting at a Classified estate in Margaux — one of the most famous wine-producing villages on earth, home to just over 1,400 residents and some of Bordeaux's most celebrated châteaux.

Pauillac and Saint-Julien

Continue north through Pauillac — home to three of the five First Growths: Lafite, Latour, and Mouton-Rothschild — and Saint-Julien, known for harmonious, well-balanced reds.

Private château tasting lunch

A private wine-tasting lunch in the kitchen or dining room of one of the region's best estates, prepared by the estate chef and paired with library wines from the cellar.

Grand Cru estate visits

VIP tours and tastings at outstanding Grand Cru estates in Saint-Émilion — including ancient underground cellars and some of the appellation's most celebrated First Growth producers.

Explore the medieval village

Following lunch on your own, explore Saint-Émilion's cobbled streets, monuments, galleries, and some of the finest wine shops in the region.

Farewell dinner suggestion

A final Bordeaux dinner is recommended at the hotel's gourmet restaurant — one of the most sought-after tables in the area.

Free morning in Bordeaux

Time to explore the city at your own pace — the Cité du Vin, the markets of the Chartrons neighbourhood, or simply a café breakfast by the river.

First Class train to Loire Valley

First Class train tickets and transfers to and from the station are included. An upgrade to private driver transfer with a stop in Cognac is available on request.

Arrival in Amboise

Your driver meets you at St-Pierre des Corps station and transfers you to your hotel in Amboise — a historic Loire Valley town with a royal château, Leonardo da Vinci's final home (Clos Lucé), and a Renaissance garden.

Vouvray — boutique grower visit

Begin with a boutique Vouvray grower-producer. Vouvray is made exclusively from Chenin Blanc and ranges from brightly dry to luxuriously sweet depending on vintage conditions — top examples are among the most age-worthy white wines in France.

Vouvray — domaine tasting

Visit a leading Vouvray domaine for an in-depth tasting, exploring the full range of styles — from crisp pétillant to rich demi-sec and Moelleux.

Lunch (included)

Lunch included today.

Château de Chenonceau

One of the most beautiful châteaux in France — its unique gallery bridge spanning the River Cher was designed for Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II. A masterpiece of French Renaissance architecture and an essential Loire Valley visit.

Morning at leisure in Amboise

Time to explore the town at your own pace. Clos Lucé — a few steps from the Royal Castle — is where Leonardo da Vinci lived until his death in 1519. The gardens contain full-scale models of his most spectacular inventions.

Chinon — estate tasting

An afternoon visit and tasting of Chinon wines at a respected estate in Cravant-les-Coteaux. Chinon is dominated by Cabernet Franc, producing wines that are fragrant, earthy, and genuinely age-worthy.

Bourgueil — estate tasting

Tasting of Bourgueil wines at a prestigious estate in this neighbouring appellation — another great expression of Loire Valley Cabernet Franc from a different terroir.

First Class train to Reims

First Class train tickets and transfers to and from the station are included. An upgrade to private driver transfer with a lunch stop en route is available.

Major Champagne house

Arrival and an afternoon visit to one of the great Champagne houses of Reims — discovering majestic cellars carved from Roman chalk pits, miles of underground galleries, and a tasting of their finest cuvées.

Boutique Champagne house

A visit to a top boutique Champagne producer in the vineyards — a smaller, more personal contrast to the grandes maisons.

Arrive at luxury hotel in Reims

Check in to your five-star Relais & Château hotel in Reims. Evening at leisure — a curated restaurant list is provided.

Côte des Blancs — boutique Grand Cru visit

Visit and taste with one of the finest small producers on the Côte des Blancs — the hillside of Chardonnay that produces Champagne's most elegant Blanc de Blancs. Producers of this calibre are appointment-only and rarely visited by independent travellers.

Champagne-tasting lunch at a Grand Cru estate

A celebratory tasting lunch at a boutique Grand Cru estate, paired with the producer's finest cuvées.

Hautvillers — Dom Pérignon's abbey

Visit the hilltop village of Hautvillers and the Abbey of Saint-Pierre d'Hautvillers, where Dom Pérignon — the Benedictine monk whose contributions transformed the region's wines — is buried.

Épernay

Continue to Épernay for a visit to a renowned Champagne house on the Avenue de Champagne — the most famous street in the wine world, its cellars holding more than 200 million bottles.

Breakfast and check-out

Final breakfast at your Reims hotel.

Private transfer to Paris CDG

A private transfer to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport — approximately 45 minutes from central Reims. Onward travel is independent.