The word Argos conjures up images of a retail chain with an enormous catalogue and a strange ordering system involving small slips of paper and even smaller pens. However, I ended up on the back of a horse called Argos today in Bordeaux, and it was a million miles from the high street homeware store.
Argos and I ventured through the vineyard of Ch. Rieussec, owned by the Rothschild family, before trotting through LVMH-owned Ch. d’Yquem’s vines and then over the road to Suduiraut. Unfortunately Argos liked to eat constantly so the vines’ canopies are a bit patchy in places now. The horse also had a bit of a wind problem no doubt due to the non-stop munching. Greed and flatulence aside, horse riding through Sauternes turns out to be a great way to see the vineyards and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Check out Ferme Equestre
Not only did I have problems with the horse; the canoeing excursion in Sauternes was equally eventful. I paired up TV chef Dean Simpole-Clarke to paddle down the Cirons – the tributary that meets the Garonne river and is responsible for the famous fog that causes the noble rot essential to make Sauternes. Unfortunately, the canoe had a leak and we ended up sinking slowly. The other boats seemed sturdier and can be hired from the village of Bommes in the heart of the Sauternes region at www.bommes-nautique.new.fr
