St. Emilion Blends Vineyards, Medieval Beauty

Everything about this hill town, engulfed by vineyards east of Bordeaux, indicates its importance since before the Middle Ages as a religious center and major wine-producing village.

Although it received its name from a monk who arrived from Brittany in the 8th Century as a “wandering confessor,” the vineyards date back at least to a Roman poet-consul who cultivated these slopes many centuries earlier.

St. Emilion was a stopping point for pilgrims on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostella in Spain as early as the 9th Century.

But it is the town’s old walls, sprouting wild roses and figs, plus the innumerable medieval buildings, gates and ruins, wines and food that have fixed it in our memory for many years.

St. Emilion’s wines are full bodied, ruby in color and open to a marvelous bouquet, virtues attested to by the 14th-Century English king who allowed the occupied town to elect its own mayor on the condition that by Easter it send to him in London 50 barrels of its “clear, pure, good wine.”

Here to there: Fly Air France nonstop to Paris. Air Canada, American, Pan Am, Delta, TWA and Continental get there with stops. Take Air Inter on to Bordeaux, then a train or bus the 40 minutes to St. Emilion. Or use a non-consecutive days France Vacances rail pass to visit towns throughout France.

How long/how much? At least a full day for the town, perhaps another for visiting and tasting at nearby chateaux. Lodging costs are moderate, but dining exceptionally well is usually high-moderate to expensive anywhere in France.

Few fast facts: The franc was recently worth about six to the dollar. Go any time from late spring until autumn, but July-August is very crowded. Bring a raincoat in spring; light showers always a possibility.

Settling in: Auberge de la Commanderie ($42 U.S. double) is the original 18th-Century home of a religious order. It’s in the village, simple and pleasant, with a 10-foot armoire in the lobby and other traditional furniture throughout. Bedroom decor is very French, baths small but modern. The dining room is a delight, with copper pots on huge sideboards and lovely old ceramics over the fireplace. Fixed-price menus start at about $16.

Palais Cardinal ($56 double) is built into the old city walls overlooking the moat, a bright and sparkling place with a handsome lounge and parking across the street. Bedrooms are small and attractive, with private balconies overlooking the pool and rose-filled patio. In the charming dining room you’ll find a fixed-price menu for $15: oysters or trout to start, then coq au vin (chicken in wine), steak or confit de canard (duck preserved in its own fat), ending with a selection of cheeses.

Hostellerie de Plaisance ($72-$104) is a hilltop medieval building at town center with a spacious terrace that looks down on the tile roofs and cobbled streets. Everything about the 12 rooms here is marvelous. You can have your breakfast on the terrace with one of the best views in France. Some rooms with four-posters, others with balconies, all furnished exquisitely. The dining room rates raves (more on that below).

Regional food and drink: Locals surely must dine as well as anyone in France, starting with their white garlic soup or garbure bearnaise, a vegetable soup laced with confit d’oie (goose) or ham and served with croutons. Then comes a choice of oysters served with local sausages, lamprey cooked in vintage St. Emilion, plus trout, shad, cepes, wood pigeon stew, sweetbread kebabs grilled over vine prunings and, of course, sirloin bordelaise.

St. Emilion’s wines, from nearly 1,000 chateaux, are classified at four levels--from those only allowed to carry the St. Emilion appellation on their labels to Grand Cru. Macaroons are sold everywhere and they’re delicious.

Moderate-cost dining: The restaurants in the village are either good or very good. One of the very good ones, and least expensive, is Auberge de la Monolithe on shady Market Square beneath the church tower. Limestone walls, a beamed ceiling, tile floors, a gigantic fireplace and wildflowers on blue-checked tablecloths set the ambiance for this very traditional place, which also has an old wine press in the corner. Three of us ate like royalty here for a tab of $49, including a bottle of 1980 St. Emilion.

We had the rillons de canard (a firm pate) with grilled country bread and a fresh mushroom salad with sour cream and lemon as first courses, followed by a faux fillet (loin cut of beef) with shallots and a rabbit ragout with wine.

Restaurant Francis Goullee is a shade pricier and most enchanting, with gigantic flower arrangements, lovely place settings on pink linens and burnished traditional furniture that sparkles by candlelight in the evening. Even the facade of this place is beautiful.

Chef Goullee has a sure hand with such as quail with wild mushrooms and sweet garlic and scallop of goose liver grilled with cabbage. The wine list offers 40 St. Emilions, plus a sprinkling of others.

The dining room at Hostellerie de Plaisance is as about as elegant as you can get: crocheted table covers over pink cloths, fresh bouquets on each table with larger arrangements here and there, views from the windows.

Both the regular and gastronomic menus ($17 and $36, three and four courses) are a listing of the area’s specialties and France’s best dishes, all done with great finesse.

On your own: You can walk anywhere in the village, but some of the “monuments” must be unlocked by a tourist office guide.

Be sure to visit the monolithic church with its tower on the crest of the hill. The church was carved from stone during the 9th to 12th centuries, an austere edifice probably begun from caves of prehistoric man, converted into a pagan temple and eventually finished by Benedictines. It’s an awesome structure, with catacombs carved deep to accept the bones of monks dropped in chutes from above.

Also visit the Collegiate Church and its magnificent 14th-Century cloisters, perhaps the loveliest sight in town. Then wander the sloping streets and alleys and imagine that you’re walking in the time of Charlemagne or Richelieu.

The tourist office at the crest of the hill can advise you about visits to the vineyards and their chateaux, some of which require reservations. Adjacent to the office is the town’s Maison du Vin, where you can buy local wines. But be advised that they must be consumed in France . . . not an unbearable thought, what with all the marvelous picnic sites around.

For more information: Call the French Government Tourist Office at (213) 271-6665, or write to 9454 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 303, Beverly Hills 90212, for a brochure on the Bordeaux area, another on southwest France, plus maps and a list of hotels. Ask for the St. Emilion package. French National Railroads at (213) 274-6934 will send you information on its France Vacances passes.