InTouch Travel

There's so much more to Bordeaux than Margaux and Mouton, thousands upon thousands of chateaux, thousands upon thousands of labels. Not even the detailed reference works available in English can hope to catalogue them all, nor would such a directory be helpful. What you have to do is what the wine merchants to: go to the vineyards, taste the wine, decide for yourself.

Trouble is, where to start? Christophe Choisy can help.

First and foremost, he lives just an hour's drive outside Bordeaux, in a vineyard in one of the "satellites" of the ancient fortress town of Saint-Emilion, on the Right Bank of the Dordogne, where Roman soldiers once camped, and where the final battle of the Hundred-Years War was fought between the English and French. [The French won, recapturing this corner of France after two centuries of English rule.] He calls his home Bertineau, not a chateau but a family home.

His wife's family owns Chateau Perron, in the nearby appellation of Lalande-de-Pomerol. His dynamic father-in-law raised the profile of the wine and organized a promotional committee of women who managed lesser-known estates around Bordeaux. They called themselves "Les Aliénors" — the Eleanors, named for Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, who'd married the king of England back in the 12th century.

Christophe, meantime, bought a merchant company that sold French wine to the Belgian market. And, with Béatrice at his side, he created his own wine, Chateau Acappella.

"I don't consider myself a 'garagiste' because that connotes amateurism. For Chateau Acappella, we have created a cellar, vat room and aging cellar in a stone building. It's not a garage at all! Our aim wasn't to produce wine with an industrial connotation but to create a nectar, in the way that a craftsman creates art, by personally mastering each stage of its genesis. Our philosophy is to arouse sensory and aesthetic emotions. The style of our wine is unique and reflects what we want to feel in the wine: roundness, unctuousness and power."

Bordeaux: Up Close with Christophe Choisy

Much is made of Bordeaux's so-called newcomers, as William Echickson writes in his book about Bordeaux, Noble Rot. Christophe, whose own family is based in the Corrèze, might be called a newcomer. Certainly Gérard Perse, the supermarket magnate who recently bought Chateau Pavie, is one. But Christophe doesn't see this as threatening. "He is arriving with new ideas and a lot of money and it's a good thing for our region. Bordeaux has a long history of taking advantage of people who come from outside. M. Perse is nothing new..."

Point being, Christophe has lived on the Right Bank for close to 20 years and knows its ins and outs better than most.

For an InTouch visit with Christophe, you can stay in the vineyards, in Saint Emilion itself, or in the city of Bordeaux. Christophe will take you to see his own properties, of course: Chateau Acappella in Montagne-Saint-Emilion and Chateau Perron in Lalande-de-Pomerol. And he'll invite you home for lunch or dinner. He has friends across the entire region, from Libourne to Pauillac, who will also open their cellars to you.

If you're ready to move beyond the most famous names, this is the way to do it: in the company of a serious wine professional with his feet firmly in the vineyard.

"I was ready to go beyond the famous names, to see where all that wonderful local wine comes from. I wanted to meet the wine makers and peek inside their old stone buildings. With the help of Christophe and Béatrice, I was able to do that. And I found any number of terrific new wines."

— Daniel O'Reilly, Winnetka, IL

"Christophe, I want to thank you for the attention you showed us and the insights you shared. It was a privilege to meet your family and a pleasure to taste your wines."

— Grant Esterhazy, Washington, DC

"I was thrilled to walk across the cobblestones of Saint Emilion in the company of a local wine maker!"

— Ellen Fortuna, Eagle Harbor, MI