Saint-Émilion or the Médoc: Choosing a Bordeaux France Wine Day

This guide settles the first choice of any wine day from Bordeaux: which bank. Saint-Émilion, on the right bank, gives you a medieval village among its estates. The Médoc, on the left, gives you a road of the most famous châteaux in the world. Your pick decides the tours you can book and what you pay, so compare them here before you choose a Bordeaux France guided tours.

Is Saint-Émilion or the Médoc better for a first wine day?

For most first visits, Saint-Émilion. You get a village you can walk, a UNESCO landscape, and the widest choice of shared days from the city centre. The shared half days start at $86, with the château visit and the tasting in the fare.

Pick the Médoc if the names on the labels are why you came. Margaux, Saint-Julien and Pauillac hold most of the red wines ranked in 1855, and a Médoc day is a drive between them. It costs more, because every day that goes only to the Médoc is private.

If you cannot choose, do both. One shared day and one private day put the two banks into a single trip, and we compare them below.

How far is each from Bordeaux?

Saint-Émilion is about 50 minutes by van on the half day from the Monument aux Girondins, and about an hour on the day with lunch from Rue Mably. By train, TER line 33 takes about 30 minutes to Saint-Émilion station, and the village is a 20-minute walk uphill.

The Médoc starts north of the city and runs along the left bank of the estuary, with its châteaux strung along one road. The private Médoc half days fit two châteaux into four hours from your hotel. TER line 42, towards Le Verdon, also runs through the vines, with stops at Margaux, Moulis-Listrac and Pauillac.

So you can reach both in a morning. The difference is what happens when you arrive: a village to walk, or a road to drive.

What will you actually see in each?

In Saint-Émilion you see a hilltop village of stone lanes, with its bell tower of 68 metres above the roofs. Beneath it lies the Monolithic Church, dug from the rock in the early 12th century, 38 metres long and 12 metres high; you enter only with a guide. UNESCO listed the Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion in 1999, the first wine landscape it inscribed. The estates sit on the slopes around the village, so the château and the village share one day.

In the Médoc you see the châteaux themselves: Château Margaux, Château Beychevelle beside the road in Saint-Julien, and the turrets of Pichon Baron in Pauillac. There is no village walk on the Médoc days; the road and the estates are the day.

Which wines will you taste?

The two banks grow different grapes, and you will taste the difference.

• Saint-Émilion and Pomerol: Merlot leads, usually with Cabernet Franc. In Pomerol, Merlot covers 80% of the vines and Cabernet Franc 15%.
• The Médoc: Cabernet Sauvignon leads. In Saint-Julien it covers more than 60% of the vines, more than anywhere else in Bordeaux, and every wine made in Margaux is red.
• Both: the wines are blends, so the guide will talk about proportions rather than a single grape.

Each guide pours the blends of their own bank, so a day on each is the clearest way to taste the difference. With one day only, the two-bank days put both in your glass.

Where are the famous châteaux?

Mostly in the Médoc. Its ranking of 1855 holds 60 red wines, and Margaux alone has 21 of them, from Château Margaux, a First Growth, down to Fifth Growths. Pauillac has 18, three of them First Growths: Lafite Rothschild, Latour and Mouton Rothschild.

Saint-Émilion ranks its own wines, and redraws the list every ten years. The 2022 edition names 85 châteaux, two of them at the top rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé "A". A tour sold as "Grand Cru Classé" visits one of those 85.

No listing here promises a First Growth's cellar. The DS convertible stops at Château Margaux and drives past Beychevelle, and the shared days do not name their châteaux in advance. For the ranks in full, read the vineyards, bank by bank.

Can you do both in one day?

Yes, two ways. The shared Saint-Émilion and Margaux day leaves 2ter Rue Mably for nine hours, with visits at three wineries, at least eight wines and a picnic at a château, from $206. The private Saint-Émilion and Médoc day, with a WSET guide and about ten to twelve wines, costs $573 a person and collects you in Bordeaux.

Both are long days in the van. If you want the village walk as well, check that the day includes it: the shared one does.

Which tours put the tastings in the fare?

This is the line that changes the real price of your day.

• Saint-Émilion: every shared half day and full day puts the château visits and tastings in the fare. Among the private days, Olala's full day and the sedan and van leave the château fees to you.
• The Médoc: the Ophorus half day, the 2CV and SIP Wines include the tastings. The DS convertible and Olala's private full day do not; the DS listing gives EUR 10 to 60 a person at each château.
• The cruise-port day: its listing books two wineries but does not say who pays for the tasting. Ask before you book.

Which suits a half day?

Saint-Émilion, if you want a shared half day. The shared half days leave from three kerbs in the centre, at $86 to $109, and each includes a guided walk in the village. Our Saint-Émilion half day with a platter is the most-reviewed day of all.

The Médoc half days are all private, from $286 to $480 a person: the Ophorus minivan, the open 2CV for three, or the DS convertible. They collect you at your hotel, and that is the reason to choose them. All of them are on the half-day wine tours page.

Which suits a private day?

Both banks sell private days, and on the Médoc it is the only kind. Private days in Saint-Émilion run $336 to $878 a person; in the Médoc $286 to $661. The sedan and the van quote one fare for the whole car.

A private day lets you set the pace, and on several you choose the estates. If you want Pomerol too, the Saint-Émilion and Pomerol day names it in its title. Every one of them is on the private tours from Bordeaux page.

Which suits families?

Saint-Émilion is easier with children. There is a village to explore between the cellars, and the Entre Vides private days sell a child ticket and pour soft drinks for children on the Saint-Émilion and Pomerol day. Nobody under 18 is served wine on any tour.

The Médoc is a day of cellars and car journeys, and the minimum ages on its days run from 13 to 18. If you are travelling with young children, our post on wine tours with kids and non-drinkers goes through the options.

The side-by-side table

Here are the two banks on one screen, using the official figures and each listing's own fares.

If two rows matter most, make it the tasting fees and the shared tours: they decide what the day costs you.

Our pick by traveller

• First visit, one day: Saint-Émilion. Take the Saint-Émilion day with lunch, with three wineries and a picnic at a château.
• Short on time: a Saint-Émilion half day from the centre, back in four hours.
• Collectors of labels: the Médoc, on a private day with a wine-expert guide.
• A car you will remember: the Médoc in the Citroën DS convertible; add the château fees to the fare.
• Two days of wine: Saint-Émilion one day and the Médoc the next, with a walk in the city in between. Our three-day plan lays it out.

Still not sure? Browse every one of the Bordeaux wine tours by bank, or see what each costs in our guide to wine tour prices.

Frequently asked questions

Tours that fit this choice

From Bordeaux: St-Emilion Day Tour with Tastings and Lunch

Seven hours from Rue Mably with three wineries, eight wines, a picnic lunch at a château and a walk in the village, all in the fare, in a van of eight.

From $178 per person

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Private Medoc Full-Day tour, from Bordeaux

A private nine-hour Médoc day with a wine-expert driver-guide, collected at your Bordeaux accommodation. The fare covers the car and the guide; each château's entrance and tasting fees, and lunch, are paid on the day.

From $336 per person

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Saint-Émilion & Médoc Private Wine Tour with Exclusive Tastings

Saint-Émilion and the Médoc in one private eight-hour day with a WSET guide, collected in Bordeaux. About ten to twelve wines at private château visits are in the fare; lunch is extra.

From $573 per person

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