Our first full day on the river cruise ship, Uniworld’s SS Bon Voyage, we left Bordeaux headed down the Gironde Estuary in route to Fort Medoc. The three forts that make up the ‘”Bolt of the Estuary” were developed to work together to protect the city of Bordeaux and are now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The fortifications are in three parts, Fort Medoc on the left bank, the Citadel of Blaye on the right bank, and Fort Pate on one of the small islands that sit in the middle of the Gironde Estuary.

All three pieces of the system were developed in the late 17th century by the Sun King’s (Louis XIV) military engineer, Sebastien Vauban. We will see the citadel later in the week. The fort offered an almost romantic collection of buildings in ruins, although at the time it was in use the inhabitants were constantly attacked by mosquitoes and were the victims of disease.

Today, July 14, is Bastille Day in France and during our late-morning visit to the fort, vendors were setting up on the grounds with food booths and inflatables for children for the celebration which would take place later in the day. Families approaching the fort by car were beginning to enter the fort grounds.

For us, this is an oyster stop. We are sampling “as fresh as you can get” oysters and wine from a local vendor. The ship docked at the far side of the fort and we made our way to the building just beside the river. Some guests didn’t venture further, but I enjoyed most of our 45-minute stop with my camera wandering around the fort grounds.

Back on the ship, we enjoyed lunch and continued traveling down the Garonne on our way to Pauillac. This afternoon we will visit a chateau and have a wine tasting. We had the option to upgrade our visit to one of the more exclusive chateau in this region.

Pauillac is on the left bank of the Gironde. The town of Pauillac is the largest in Medoc and sits nearly 30 meters (almost a 100 feet) above sea level. “Thanks to the exceptional terroir, Pauillac wine region includes three of the five premier cru châteaux of Bordeaux : Latour, Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild.” Cabernet Sauvignon is most popular Bordeaux grape variety in Pauillac.  But when blending, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec are other popular varieties that are widely used. Wine Tourism.com

We drove through the countryside seeing the beautiful vineyards and gorgeous chateaus. We made a photo stop to see a chateau built in 1791 by an eccentric owner with a fascination for Asian architecture. The flags outside the Chateau Cos d’Estournel depicted the nationalities of the guests staying on site. The property is adjacent to Chateau Lafite-Rothschild.  

We also had the opportunity to wander around the estate’s vineyards just across the road from the chateau. It will be another month before the grapes take on their rich black color. Leaving the chateau behind, we saw many other beautiful estates before arriving at our destination. We dropped one group off at Chateau Pichon Baron for an upgraded excursion.

We are visiting the Chateau Lamothe Bergeron. “Located between Margaux and Saint-Julien, the Château Lamothe Bergeron has over 67ha [hectares, over 165 acres] vineyard on the Haut-Médoc appellation. Its wine reflects the quality of its terroir marked by the Garonne river and enjoys the Cru Bourgeois status since the 19th century…Since 2015, the Château welcomes visitors in a fully restored building from the 19th century.” ruedesvignerons.com

We visited the beautiful chateau first. The ground floor has been renovated to accommodate visitors for an orientation and wine tasting. We entered from the back and then went out through the front to see the vines, before returning for our tasting.

After seeing the vines, we toured the production facilities. I asked about the interior lighting and was told it indicated what stage in the process the wine inside the stainless steel vats was at. It looked more aesthetic to me. I am not sure the guide’s response wasn’t lost in translation. They use French oak barrels of various sizes and large clay vats to age the wine. After the production tour, we retuned to the chateau for our tasting.

After our tasting, we had the opportunity to visit the gift shop and purchase bottles or other estate related gifts. We then returned to Pauillac to rejoin the ship. We are returning to Bordeaux tonight to join in the Bastille Day celebrations and enjoy the fireworks from the deck of our ship.

“Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as le 14 juillet in French, though la fête nationale is also used in the press.” Wikipedia  In Paris, they celebrate with a military parade on the Champs-Élysées and fireworks over the Eiffel Tower. When we were in Paris, we saw the stadium seating being set up in Place de la Concorde. Throughout the country, cities and towns celebrate national unity with Firemen’s Balls (“bals des pompiers”), concerts and popular gatherings. Apparently young women look forward to these balls all year (so said our guide). Ironically, you would think the firemen need to be on high alert that night with all the fireworks.

The celebrations are nationwide and we saw the set up for the festivities at Fort Medoc and in Pauillac. Tonight, we are docked in Bordeaux so we can enjoy the fireworks at 10:30 pm. It’s that late before it gets dark here at this time of year. After dinner, I went to our upper open deck and enjoyed the featured French 75 cocktail, one of my favorites with gin and champagne. There was a singer performing lots of 80s and 90s classics live. The dance floor was full. What a great start to our cruise.