Immaculate vines stretch in every direction as we explore the Bordeaux countryside, the green leaves clashing brilliantly with the meticulously pruned red roses at the end of each row. Every post is perfectly lined up with its neighbours, lengthways and crossways, and the degree of exactness tickles my brain.

Early in the day, before the mercury rises too high, we see workers hand-tying runaway branches to the steel wires supporting each row of these prized plants. It’s an enormous amount of work and we quickly come to appreciate the thousands of hours put into producing every single drop of the famous wine.

We’re on Scenic’s Beautiful Bordeaux cruise, an 11-day sojourn along two of the region’s waterways, but today we’ve swapped the ship for a new luxury coach so we can go deeper into the countryside.

This is not a typical river cruise, starting at Point A and ending at Point B. Instead, our route resembles a Y. The Gironde estuary is the stem, while the Garonne and Dordogne rivers are the arms and the region’s namesake city lies near the centre. We take our time exploring each limb. For one thing, there’s a lot to see – it would feel rude to rush. For another, it’s summer and we’re all luxuriating in the sun.

Bordeaux itself is stunning – the first thing you notice is the aesthetic, which is strangely familiar. “It looks like Paris, right?” says Astrid. She’s one of Scenic’s expert local guides, joining us at different points along our cruise to lead tours and give important context. “Well, actually, Paris looks like Bordeaux. The architecture there is so famous, but 19th-century Paris was modelled on 18th-century Bordeaux.”

Our visit falls on Sunday and the Latin Mass is being sung as we stroll by the Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux, the bishop’s rich tenor ringing out into the square before the congregation responds. There’s free time in the afternoon, so I take one of Scenic’s complimentary e-bikes and cycle through the city, ending up at the public garden. It’s filled with families picnicking, old men playing pétanque (like bocce), children laughing and couples dancing to lively jazz music. It’s the perfect picture, exuding joie de vivre – I find a shady spot and join them, cracking open my book for an hour, before biking back to the ship.

The wider region is equally lovely. One of my favourite stops is Saint-Émilion, a well-preserved medieval town near Libourne, which is home to two major drawcards. The first and most obvious is the viticulture, because the vineyards are on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The second, located in the town centre, is an extraordinary monolithic church that dates back to the 12th century. The enormous 12m-high space was carved into a limestone plateau and supports an impressive 68m-tall bell tower.

Bordeaux is home to 65 different appellations, or distinct geographic areas – which are famous for red wine. We’re a stone’s throw from the Atlantic, so the climate is moderate, and while the region’s “left bank” has gravel-based soil, the “right bank” is home to limestone and clay.

The best way to understand the terroir, naturally, is a tasting. This area is famous for Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s an art to growing it – we’re told it needs heat, it needs tough soil, it needs to suffer a little bit. If the vine is stressed, it spends less energy producing leaves, more energy producing fruit.

We roll through the vineyards, oohing and aahing at the magnificent estates, before crunching down the gravel driveway of Château Prieuré-Lichine, in the Margaux appellation. Most of Scenic’s wine-tasting experiences are at Grand Cru Classé estates, which is a quality classification system – it means the wine has been excellent since at least 1855. At this point, we’ve been sampling beautiful French wines every day on the ship – including a careful selection matched with dinner every night, as well as a seven-course degustation at Table La Rive, which is an invite-only long table in the ship’s main dining room.

Needless to say, the bar is very high.

Our host, Ana, pours the glasses and talks us through the bouquet. Phwoar – to be fair, that’s not a word typically used to describe wine, but the perfume is powerful. Even before we taste it, it’s safe to say this isn’t your average vino. And then we sip, tasting the sunshine, the soil, and the je ne sais quoi.

Yes, I can taste Bordeaux in the bottle, and yes, this region and its wine are incredibly special.

The writer travelled as a guest of Scenic.

Create stories for life with Scenic’s ultra-luxury cruising, as you explore the Garonne and Dordogne rivers in beautiful Bordeaux. Plan your journey.

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