New wave Bordeaux architecture
Back in March I flew over to Bordeaux for a whistle-stop tour of some of the most eye-catching modern wineries in the wine world.
This was a mini-reprise of my first book – Wineries with Style, an attempt to look at and talk about wine from a new perspective, linking the striking designs (from historic and ultra-modern) to the places and people that make wine special.
Many books and articles on the same subject have focused on the technical aspects of the architecture. But talking about this from a wine perspective is often fun and enlightening. Many of these edifices and spaces are ingenious and uplifting, acting as visual ambassadors for the wider world of wine.
Although I’m lucky enough to visit Bordeaux fairly regularly, on this latest trip I was struck by how much the city, as well as its outlying wine regions, have been transformed and renovated over the last decade. It’s become a far more attractive tourist destination than it ever used to be – the super impressive Cité du Vin just one of the most striking manifestations of this. This is all partly why we included it in our Sunday Times piece on our favourite wine destinations.
I visited châteaux like Le Pin, Cheval Blanc, Franc Mayne, La Dominique. In the piece, I profile Pédesclaux, Marquis d’Alesme Becker, d’Arsac, La Grace Dieu des Prieurs and Les Carmes Haut-Brion. All a bit different, a bit daring – and most certainly eye-catching.
The PDF on the below link is low-res so some of the photos aren’t as sharp as they are in the original.
[Design of the Times appeared in Decanter magazine’s Bordeaux supplement accompanying the July 2019 edition]
