Bordeaux
Rendez-Vous au Château / Frédéric Borliachon
Private Wine Guide · Bordeaux, France
Credentials
20+ years as cellar master, vineyard manager, wine broker, and sommelier
Languages
English · French
Tour style
Private only
Frédéric is the son of a winemaker and grew up outside Saint-Émilion. He spent more than 20 years working inside the wine trade, as a cellar master, vineyard manager, wine broker, and sommelier, before founding Rendez-Vous au Château in 2007. Frédéric came to guiding from making wine, and that background shapes the conversations at every estate visit. Tours are private, led by Frédéric personally, and cover Bordeaux appellations on both banks.
At the châteaux worth visiting in Bordeaux, the conversation goes past the tasting script and the winemaker is often in the room. Those estates tend to receive guides they already know. Frédéric's more than 20 years in the wine trade have given him those relationships across both banks.
- Médoc appellations from Margaux through Saint-Estèphe, combining classified properties with smaller family-run estates.
- Right Bank Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, and surrounding appellations, the area where Frédéric grew up.
- Sauternes and Graves producers on the Left Bank, covering Bordeaux's sweet wines and its dry whites.
- Organic estates in Saint-Émilion and the Graves for guests interested in producers working outside conventional viticulture.
- Harvest season access to vineyard work and cellar operations for guests visiting Bordeaux during the vendange.
Frédéric leads tours personally, meeting guests at their hotel in Bordeaux, and builds each itinerary around the appellations and styles the guest wants to explore. Groups typically run between two and six people. Most itineraries pair a smaller family producer with a classified château, so the contrast in scale and approach is part of the day. Frédéric guides in French and English.
Private visits only · By inquiry
Send an inquiry →This operator was personally evaluated by Michelle Ryan: WSET Level 3, French Wine Scholar, owner of an IATAN-accredited travel agency. Vetting criteria: guide credentials, access to producers not available through public booking platforms, and knowledge intake process. Not every operator we evaluate makes it onto this site.