A Grand Cru Tasting Masterclass in Bordeaux

Taste your way across Bordeaux's Left and Right Banks with an expert educator at a small table, glass by glass.

Bordeaux, Explained Properly

Bordeaux keeps its long story in vaulted cellars, old vines and centuries-old bottles of Left Bank red. Understanding it takes an expert, a few friends and an unhurried tasting where the experience matters as much as the facts. Each session can be shaped around your interests so it’s as rewarding, and as enjoyable, as it can be.

Sixty Appellations and an 1855 Ranking

The region is a tangle of geography and strict designation: more than 60 appellations and a classification that goes back to 1855. It’s fascinating and, for newcomers, seemingly endless, which is exactly what a wine professional can untangle for you.

At the top sit the Grands Crus Classés, the “Great Classified Growths”, a ranking born of Napoleonic ambition and confirmed over generations. These wines are prized for their taste and for the pedigree of the estates behind them. Telling Saint-Julien from Pomerol, or knowing how Margaux’s gravel differs from Saint-Émilion’s clay, takes more than a good palate. It takes context, time and the right person leading you.

Around One Table

It’s intimate by design. Instead of trailing a coach party through tasting rooms, you sit around a shared table, usually with no more than eight people. Your educator, Hugo, Antoine or Gaspard, reads the room and pitches the session to what you already know. Nothing is scripted. Ask anything, spit or don’t, and swirl as long as you like; it’s a true masterclass, lively and paced to dwell on the details.

It works especially well for a group of friends who’d like the table to themselves, or a couple who love their wine.

Six Glasses, Two Banks

Six glasses are poured. First comes a white, usually a structured Pessac-Léognan or Graves, then five reds chosen to show off Bordeaux’s two great banks. A Saint-Émilion Grand Cru might stand beside a Third Growth from the Médoc so you can compare tannin, bouquet and depth.

Local cheeses, often Ossau-Iraty or Comté, and charcuterie play a real part in the story of pairing. Taste a powerful Pauillac, then a piece of cured duck, and you’ll see why wine is about more than what’s in the glass, especially with an expert talking you through each note and match.

Beyond the Cellar Door

Without a session like this, visitors often rely on cellar doors that explain little, or pour with no context at all. At many châteaux time is short and access is closely guarded, and the bigger questions about classification, oak aging or vintage variation go unanswered. Learning how the wine is made from an expert, privately and among close friends, lets you give the flavors and pairings your full attention.

How Out Of Office Arranges It

Out Of Office works with trusted local sommeliers and independent wine schools that offer more than the usual access, and every part of the session, from the educator to the wines poured, is vetted for quality and relevance. Sessions are held away from peak hours, often late morning or late afternoon, when the city is calmer. Private transfers can be added, as can estate visits or shipping for anyone who wants to take Bordeaux further, and your LGBTQ+ travel specialist can pair it all with a welcoming hotel in the city.