School For Pleasure

On the edge of Pauillac, in the heart of the Medoc, Chateau Cordeillan-Bages is the sort of place avid wine-drinkers could find serial excuses to visit. Not only is this sweet little 17th-century chateau a Michelin-starred restaurant, serving deft, innovative food by Thierry Marx; it's also a small Relais et Chateau hotel which acts as the HQ for the Ecole de Bordeaux, a wine school for both amateurs and professionals, supported by more than a score of top Bordeaux proprietors. What a place to learn! Lynch-Bages, Latour, Lafite, Mouton, Pichon-Longueville, Pichon-Lalande and other high kings are on the doorstep. Tel 0033 5 5659 2424, fax 00 33 5 5659 0189, email cordeillan@relaischateaux.fr