Essentials

Nick Trend was a guest of Chateau Troplong Mondot

(troplong-mondot.com) in St Emilion. You can stay on the premises where rates

at the Vineyard House, immediately next to the main château start at £245 per person B&B. Its “dive

into the harvest’’ is available in September and October. It lasts four hours and 30 minutes, ends with a lunch in company of the team at the harvesters’ table, paired with old

vintages of Château Troplong Mondot and

costs from £120 per person based on a group

of eight

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You can also rent the château itself. Newly modernised, it sleeps eight in sumptuous comfort and

costs from £6,254 per night (including breakfast and a “Behind the Scenes” experience in the vineyard

and cellar)

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Its Michelin-starred restaurant, Les Belles Perdrix, overlooks the vineyards opposite the château and serves menus from £43 at lunchtime and £73 in the evening

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St Emilion is a 45-minute drive from Bordeaux

airport, served from Gatwick by both British

Airways (ba.com) and EasyJet (easyjet.com). By

rail, it takes six to seven hours to get to Bordeaux

main station from St Pancras, including

a change of trains and stations in Paris

(eurostar.com)