Maison Du Vins

Description

Maison du Vins used to be a wine making chateau (hence the name!) until the early 1900's and now has been transformed into a luxury rustic French country house with all the mod cons. It sits in 3 acres of mature parkland/garden with a large heated pool.
The property is very close to Pichon, which is a small wine making hamlet and only a 10 minutes' drive from St. Emilion and Pomerol.
Maison du Vins is kitted out to the highest standard with a fully fitted kitchen with all the amenities, there is a terrace for those warmer evenings or the farmhouse' kitchen table is perfect for big family meals.

There are 6 king size bedrooms with 4 en suite bathroom/shower rooms and one large family bathroom with a stand alone bath and walk in shower.


#### Features
Ground floor
3 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms:
Master suite with en-suite (with a door onto main corridor so can be used as family bathroom) - bedroom has an emperor bed with antique 18C furniture.
Bathroom includes double sinks, freestanding bath with overhead shower and toilet. Shuttered double doors onto garden in both bedroom and bathroom.

Blue bedroom with en-suite shower/toilet - bedroom has emperor bed which can be split to create two large metric singles. Rooms includes full size cot (which can be moved from room to room). Shuttered windows with views out to rolling countryside and vineyards.
White bedroom with en-suite shower/toilet - as with blue bedroom has emperor bed which can be split to two large metric singles. Shuttered windows with views onto countryside/vineyards.
Two reception rooms
Red sitting room - with grand working fireplace - seating for six plus great stereo system - perfect room for withdrawing post dinner.
Shuttered windows with views onto outdoor terrace, boules pitch and garden
Yellow sitting room - working fireplace - seating for 7/8 plus large flat screen TV, cable/DVD player (with extensive DVDs library for both adults and children to borrow) - perfect family room - with double doors onto main corridor.
Dining/Kitchen Kitchen/Dining room - very large, double height open plan area. With dining table and seating for 12 (plus high chairs). Kitchen has a double oven La Canache range cooker, plus all equipment including microwave, coffee maker, smoothie maker, hand and full size blenders, pots/pans etc.
Utility room (attached to the kitchen) - dishwasher, washing machine and separate dryer.
Downstairs has a cloakroom with toilet.
1st floor:
3 bedrooms: Double bedroom - bright airy bedroom with sky lights (with electric blind) with double bed and furnished. Shuttered windows with views over garden.
Yellow bedroom - as with some bedrooms downstairs, furnished with emperor bed that can be split to two large single beds. Shuttered window and mini balcony with views over garden. This bedroom is directly opposite to main family bathroom.
Family bathroom - with bath, walk-in shower, sink and toilet. Airy and bright with skylight.
Master bedroom with en-suite shower room. Large airy bedroom with emperor bed plus 18C antique furniture. The bathroom is converted from the pigeonniere. shuttered window plus further windows with views over garden and outdoor terrace.
Family/open plan sitting room - with seating for 4/5, furnished with TV, books, toys. It is directly off the main upstairs corridor.
All the en suites have loos. There is a family bathroom / shower room upstairs which also has a loo
The property also features a great 13mx6m pool with roman steps and a barbecue.

#### Location
Maison du Vins provides a great base to explore the famous vineyards and Chateaux of Bordeaux - St Emilion is a 10 minute drive away and Bordeaux itself is around 45 minutes away.
The coast and famous dunes of Aquitaine are just 1.5 - 2 hours away.
The property is close to great restaurants and bars plus a variety of activities including two 18 hole golf courses and boats on the lakes making those family days out even more adventurous.

There are also lots of local markets- there's a food market for every day of the week, now that's impressive!

It is also a short drive to some big hypermarkets, plus the local village Lussac has a number of shops for food, chemist, garage and even flowers.
Wine
Maison Du Vins is perfectly placed for planning some adventures in wine - exploring, tasting and perhaps stocking up in one of the world's most famous wine producing regions of Bordeaux. As an area it is constantly evolving, and as Andrew Jefford the wine writer wrote, "it is now a region of experiment, ambition and grand stylistic diversity". And Maison Du Vin sits bang slap in the middle of the action.
So a leisurely 10 minutes drive to the picturesque town St Emilion and the magnificent Grand Cru Chateaux of the Right Bank. Angelus, Ausone, Petrus among the greats to name check and book tours (but you may have to sell the family silver to buy in any quantity!). However there are so many other Chateaux to discover, many are more reasonably priced. Knock on the door of our local neighbour just outside Lussac called Chateaux Lucas to buy great wine direct from the grower.
In recent years some Chateaux have made it impossible not to visit, with their own restaurants serving great food alongside their wines within their grounds. Visit Trolong Mondot and La Dominque. Both on the edge of St Emilion. They are surprisingly well priced, good food, stunning locations, but still a little undiscovered. So go, but keep it a secret between us.
And whilst on the subject of furtive forays, explore the wines of Castillon. Described as Cotes de Bordeaux, but don't be fooled as the area hides many sparkling gems. There's a great bar restaurant at St Gene de Castillon owned by a well known Brit called Laithwaite which offers a wise and well edited selection to sample with lunch or take away. Mrs Laithwaite makes a superb and affordable champagne by the way.
And finally, there's the Left Bank wines of Bordeaux to discover. A little further away, about 45 minutes drive, and a whole new chapter. Where to start? Best to rebook another holiday at the house and we'll supply the second instalment...