March 2026 – Insider Tasting

Monumental, sums up the new Sources de Caudalie adventure in Burgundy. A huge, historical monument brought back to life thanks to a brilliant team led by Alice and Jérome Tourbier.

In 2022, the Tourbiers purchased the rather old-fashioned chain Les Grandes Etapes Françaises. The sixth century former Cistercian priory, a listed historical monument (challenging for any renovation) has been restored to its former glory thanks to architects Chevalier & Guillemot.

It’s daring, not only crossing from Bordeaux to Burgundy but, also taking such a huge property, that could easily be austere, and making it into somewhere welcoming and comfortable.

The Tourbiers are no strangers to wine based hospitality. The first of the Sources Hotels opened in 1999, in the vines of Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux and in 2020, they opened Les Sources de Cheverny, in the heart of the Loire Valley.

The original Sources in Bordeaux is now classified ‘ Palace’ since 2016, whereas Les Sources de Cheverny feels more homely but all three offer five-star accommodation and service and enjoy the same clever blend of sustainability and discreet luxury. Although with less rooms than Bordeaux, Les Sources de Vougeot feels more ambitious.

Perfectly placed

I first stayed at the Château de Gilly back in 2008 with French Wine Explorers. We used it as a base to discover the vineyards of the region. It is perfectly placed for wine tourism, in the village Gilly-lès-Cîteaux at the heart of the Grands Cru vineyards of the Côte de Nuits. Midway between Beaune and Dijon and just 25 minutes from the Dijon high speed TGV train station, making it three hours from Paris. Les Sources de Vougeot is perfectly placed to discover the vineyards of the Côte d’Or base for visiting the vineyards of Burgundy.

Signature style

The impressive monastic architecture is softened by the Tourbiers’ signature style – wine and regional books are scattered around the rooms and, working with interior decorators A S L, an eclectic choice of furniture gives the impression of someone’s (rather grand) family home rather than a formulaic hotel.

Welcome

You enter the property from the village via a stone bridge over the old moat into a courtyard dominated by the church. The hotel entrance is a surprisingly small, almost secret, ancient oak door which opens into a spectacular lobby. This vaulted space sets the tone: once the priory’s kitchen, it is dominated by a huge double fireplace with a welcoming fire and huge sofas between the thick stone columns.

The Chateau Bar, just off the reception, is draped in green velvet, a cosy setting for a glass of local wine from an interesting Burgundy by-the-glass selection.

The rooms

The 49 bedrooms and suites are shared between the main château and ancient former outbuildings across the site. One side of the Château is serviced by a lift, not the other. The ancient stone stairs, may be atmospheric, but might be challenging for some, do let them know if you can’t manage.

Our room under the eaves, had lovely, exposed beams with a mix of old charm and modern comfort. The bathroom married classic style with function, I do love a heated bathroom floor. lovely linens – and those signature slippers.

Food and wine

Across the courtyard, the two restaurants are overseen by Burgundian Chef Julien Martin, who honed his expertise at both Les Sources de Caudalie and Les Sources de Cheverny: The fine-dining ‘gastronomique’ restaurant is Le Clos de la Tour and the more relaxed brasserie L’Auberge des Cîteaux. The Brasserie was buzzing when we were there, lots of curious locals coming to discover the new offering alongside hotel guests. There’s clearly a lot of local goodwill. With open kitchens and floor-to-ceiling windows it overlooks a terrace in the courtyard for warmer days. Between the two, Le Comptoir offers another option for a glass of wine before lunch or dinner. The remarkable local wine list, includes an excellent selection of wines by the glass.

Breakfast is served in the sun-drenched, east-facing glass Orangery overlooking the formal gardens. From here you can walk across another stone bridge over the moat to discover the formal gardens at the back of the property.

View across the gardens and the Orangery

Grounds for discovery

The setting is idyllic, the Vouge River runs alongside the château, bubbling over weirs and past the charming old mill (now a private suite). It makes for a lovely walk. They were still putting finishing touches to the property when I was there. I’m sure the wet winter hasn’t helped the garden project, but it will be spectacular. Flanked by ancient stone basins there’s a pool and tennis court tucked away behind a high hedge at the bottom of the grounds. Nearby ‘Le Pavillon des Jours’ has several bedrooms acting as a private residence in the elegant park.

Bicycles were being delivered as I left. I can see guests enjoying the region ‘à bicyclette’

Wine and wellness

The original vaulted wine cellar, previously the restaurant, is now home to the Caudalie spa. Twin pools between stone columns offer the option to swim lengths or enjoy the massaging water jets as you gaze up at the impressive, vaulted ceilings.

Upstairs, a warm, wood-panelled relaxation salon leads to treatment rooms that dispense the signature grape based and polyphenols infused treatments.

The service was excellent, the staff are terrific, keen to share their local knowledge and all clearly thrilled to be part of this new adventure.

Next ?

Hardly finished with this project, the Tourbiers are already embarking on the renovation of their next property – Le Château d’Isenbourg near Colmar in the wine region of Alsace.

If you want to test drive The Sources de Vougeot, now is the time; there’s a special opening offer until the end of April. For more information – www.sources-vougeot.com Tel + 33 (0)3 80 23 22 22 reservations@sources-vougeot.com

Thanks for reading, if you find this useful and think other wine lovers would too, please share especially with anyone planning a trippy to Burgundy. Sign up here to receive future posts directly to your inbox. For more about Bordeaux read the new Green Edition of Bordeaux Bootcamp, and explore Wine and Wellness, with The Drinking Woman’s Diet or just say hi here.

Iconic names reach across the Bordeaux divide

Bordeaux is a tale of two wine markets: the top end is perceived as expensive and rare, luxury wines destined for privileged collectors. But, these classified growths, or their equivalents only represent about 5% of Bordeaux production (although 20% of the value). On the other hand, the vast majority of Bordeaux is affordable, offering value for money and increasingly consistent quality. This silent majority remains all too often overlooked, even by the trade.

The leaders take the spotlight, especially in export markets, giving Bordeaux an image of inaccessibility. They should be a locomotive for the wines of the region, but the magic hasn’t always filtered down. Four iconic Bordeaux names are rising to this challenge, determined to make a difference, putting their notable weight, experience and resources behind an initiative that reaches across this divide.

Solidarity

Created in 2024 by Châteaux Cheval Blanc, Lafite Rothschild, Petrus and Yquem, Vignerons AVenir is a voluntary initiative aimed at boosting young, dynamic winemakers across the region. For the 2025 vintage, each property mentored an up-and-coming winemaker, making the competence and experience of their teams available to the mentees for a whole year.

After a rigorous selection process, each partnership was created to work towards a specific goal or project of the mentee. Leading Bordeaux wine consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt, known for championing young winemakers, also volunteered his time and technical expertise. He underlined that today, it’s not enough for a winemaker simply to make great wine; they must be, and do, so much more: a grower, a communicator, a manager, a sales force – it’s a lot for one person or even for a small family team.

That’s where these larger properties can help. They have specialists with expertise in each area, not only in production. They also have an a broader, longer-term vision, so valuable for a small company with its head down in day-to-day tasks and decisions.

The candidates were chosen for the economic viability and originality of their projects, their environmental criteria and commitment to ongoing evolution, as well as their contribution to the image of Bordeaux wines. This was not to be a one-off, but a launching pad to support talented and ambitious small craft winemakers.

The chosen few

Fabien Lapeyre, vigneron at Château Lapeyre, was mentored by Château d’Yquem. Also, in the Entre-Deux-Mers Étienne and Antoine Carteyron of Château Penin were mentored by Château Petrus. Guillaume Pouvaret of Château Grand Maison in Bourg was mentored by the team at Château Cheval Blanc and Mathieu Eyheramouno of Château Prieuré de Byzac in the Haut-Médoc by Château Lafite Rothschild. Mathieu Eyheramouno found the experience to be an accelerator: ‘thanks to their advice and experience, we achieved in six months what would otherwise have taken at least 18 months’.

Château Penin’s red vines are dominated by Merlot, so you can imagine their pleasure at being selected by the most iconic Merlot in Bordeaux. Together they worked on defining the ‘aesthetic’ of their wine, starting in the vineyard and finishing with the winemaking. Antoine Carteyron explained how the Petrus team “helped us create a detailed technical itinerary from vineyard to cellar, looking at soil management, intra-plot selection right down to the clones of each variety through massal selection”. They also worked together on winemaking, focusing on precision, tasting together, helping with the harvest date and even lending technical equipment. “They really committed, generously bringing both time and technical expertise. They reinforced some of our intuitions but, through their scientific approach, explained what would and what would not work”.

Guillaume Pouvaret of Château Grand Maison underlined the almost daily support given to their project by the Cheval Blanc team.

Better together

These ‘Grands Châteaux’ committed to at least 50 hours of face-to-face time throughout the year, free of charge, and a minimum of a monthly meeting. Such was the enthusiasm for sharing their skills and experience that this ended up being far more: they were totally invested in helping young winemakers. Try and find some of the these wines in the 2025 vintage when they come to markets in a year or so.

Call for candidates

If you are a talented Bordeaux winemaker, either already well established or just starting out, and you need help with a viable and ambitious long-term project, apply now for the 2026 vintage. They are looking for projects that are unique and that contribute to the dynamism and positive image of Bordeaux. It could be for a new product or product range, or diversification in viticulture or winemaking.

Candidates should also be environmentally engaged, with a continued desire for improvement. The successful candidates will be mentored from April 2026 to April 2027, covering the full viticultural year, winemaking and ageing. Sign up now!

Places are open until 15 March. Dossiers will be studied and pre-selected in April, when the selected candidates will be invited to present their projects in person, with the winners for the 2026 vintage announced at the end of April. This is a fantastic initiative, but the 2025 cohort was very male – and there are so many dynamic women in wine in Bordeaux. Ladies, you have until 15 March to enter the fray! Whoever you are, don’t leave it to the last minute – there’s a lot to think about if you’re in it to win it.

More details at Vignerons AVenir

If you know anyone who really should apply, do forward this to them. If you want to know more about what’s going on behind the scenes in Bordeaux sign up here to be sure not to miss future blog posts.

The title photo from left to right : Antoine Carteyron, Chateau Penin, Mathieu Eyhéromouno, Château Prieuré de Byzac, Fabien Lapeyre, Château Lapeyre, Guillaume Pouvaret, Château Grand-Maison, Etienne Carteyron, Château Penin

Insider Tasting

with Wendy Narby

Month: March 2026

Les Sources de Vougeot – a monumental Burgundy adventure for Les Sources Group.

Vignerons Avenir – building the future of Bordeaux

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