Today we went to St-Emilion, on the right bank of Bordeaux. On the way we saw quite a different side of Bordeaux, with a more quiet and peaceful feeling as compared with the left bank. We went by a lot of the famous chateau like Cheval Blanc, Ausone before arriving at Chateau de Ferrand, which is owned by the same family of the stationery giant Bic. 
The winemaker came to greet us and showed us the winery. Much smaller in scale than the chateaux we visited in Medoc, there was a more personal touch that I could smell from the environment. No matter it was the concrete vats that they used, the mobile small press, all gave me the appreciation of the 'heart' of the producer. And I was happy to hear that they were just promoted to GCC in the 2012 classification.
Another interesting thing is that they still kept quite a lot of the older vintages in their warehouse. We then proceeded to taste several vintages, including 2001 and 2004. Generally speaking the right bank was not one of my favorite but these were easy to drink and also probably more suitable for drinkers who like more fruit and smoothness.
Next we moved to Chateau Figeac. Much larger than de Ferrand, again I got the 'commercial' feel from the Medoc GCC. Quickly going around the vineyard and tasting some ripe Merlot and Cabernet Franc, we went back to the cellar and tasted the wines. Much more robust and intense, you could immediately feel the difference compared with de Ferrand, which was more akin to the left bank. 
When I asked that question, the staff from Figeac explained that they got a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, which definitely showed in the style of the wine. 
Feeling hungry, we went to the town centre and had lunch at L'Envers du Decor. Our guide told us that adjacent to our table was a chateau owner (I forgot which one). Dining outside though a bit cold, we all had a wonderful time. 
Originally we planned to visit the underground monuments after lunch, but the ladies would prefer to spend some time in Bordeaux city shopping so we returned to the hotel, but before that we managed to take some nice photos of this peaceful town - St. Emilion.
Without having a proper seafood dinner, we all felt we had missed something in this trip, and so on the night we went to a good seafood restaurant in Bordeaux called Fernand. Decorated like a cabin of a vessel, I had some oysters and mussels. The mussels were very very good, and the other dishes like duck breast and onion soup were equally delicious. A happy meal to farewell Bordeaux...
(to be continued...)
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