Arrive in the city of Bordeaux and check into your hotel. We recommend the chic Yndō Hôtel, a hideaway in a 19th-century townhouse just outside Bordeaux’s old center. Should its contemporary décor not appeal, the larger InterContinental Bordeaux – Le Grand Hôtel, which faces the Place de la Comédie and the imposing opera house, is the best alternative.

Take the afternoon to explore Bordeaux’s old center, visiting its impressive cathedral, the magnificent neoclassical Place de la Bourse facing the river, and the many appealing lanes and squares in between.

The following day, head to the strikingly contemporary wine museum Cité du Vin, the “city of wine,” built on the river just northeast of the center. Inside, interactive exhibits entertainingly explain all things wine. I especially enjoyed reading about ancient techniques and trying out some of the aroma displays. The museum also hosts workshops and tastings, but most are in French.

Spend the rest of the afternoon continuing to explore central Bordeaux. Be sure to stop in my favorite cognac shop, Cognac Only, located between the Yndō and InterContinental hotels.

Although it’s certainly possible to rent a car, it seems more sensible to hire a driver for the remainder of the itinerary. It makes things a bit more expensive, but also safer and less stressful. The Andrew Harper Travel Office can help coordinate arrangements with Porthos, our Wine Concierge, who has contacts at top wineries across the region.

Start on the Left Bank, tasting through the top communes of the Médoc, renowned for its Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends.

Begin your Bordeaux winery visits with a bang, stopping at the extravagant Château Margaux, about 45 minutes north of the city. Walk through the formal gardens, which have a Palladian-style palace at their center, and then enjoy a tasting in what is one of the most iconic wineries in the world.

If Château Margaux sounds a bit over the top, consider Château d’Issan nearby, which has a similarly grand mansion at its heart and prices that aren’t quite as heart-stopping. It’s one of Porthos’ favorite lesser-known gems in the region.

Have lunch and continue north to into Saint-Julien. This commune may be small, but it’s a powerhouse. I recommend a tasting at Château Leoville Las Cases, one of Saint-Julien’s most acclaimed wineries. On my last visit to the low-slung château, the polished Grand Vin and plush Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases (the winery’s second label) were two of my favorite wines I tasted over the course of the entire trip to Bordeaux.

Continue north a short distance into the Pauillac commune and your home for the next two nights, the Château Cordeillan-Bages, a converted 17th-century monastery set amid Cabernet vineyards.

The commune of Pauillac has no fewer than three of Bordeaux’s five first-growth châteaux: Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild and Latour. It goes almost without saying that a tasting at any (or better yet all) of these would be an experience to remember for a lifetime. If I were forced to choose just one, it would be Latour.

I also recommend considering a tour and tasting at Château Pichon Baron. The winery is classed as a second growth, but after tasting no fewer than 12 vintages in a row, I concluded that Pichon Baron can stand toe-to-toe with Bordeaux’s greatest names. Looking over my tasting notes, I see phrases like “the very definition of fine-grained tannins.”

Adjacent to Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe is the northernmost of the top four communes in the Médoc. Its most famous winery is Cos d’Estournel, and certainly a tasting here would be rewarding. The family that owns Château Cordeillan-Bages also owns the acclaimed Ormes de Pez and can arrange visits there. And I had a delightful tasting once at Château Phélan Ségur, which produces age-worthy wines full of spiciness and hefty, well-integrated tannins.

In addition to visiting wineries, take some time in the village of Bages, which was revitalized in recent years by the family that owns your hotel. Shop for wine and decorative objects in the bazaar, or take a wine-tasting class in the Cercle Lynch-Bages school. Ride bikes around in the vineyards — Bordeaux is relatively flat — and take a gourmet picnic lunch with you (the hotel can prepare it).

It would also be great fun to make your own “bespoke barrel” (288 bottles) of Bordeaux at Viniv, also run by the Château Cordeillan-Bages. With professional assistance, fortunate participants blend their own wine, which is then bottled and marked with their own customized labels.

It’s time to have a short break from winery visits and tastings; it will refresh the palate and the liver.

Check out of the Château de Cordeillan-Bages, take the ferry across the Gironde estuary at Lamarque and continue on to Blaye, a transfer that takes about an hour. Visit the bluff-top Citadel of Blaye, one of three major fortifications defending the Gironde and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Continue a half-hour southeast to the hamlet of Prignac-et-Marcamps, home to the extraordinary Grotte de Pair-non-Pair. This cave contains artifacts indicating some 60,000 years of human presence. Most spectacular are etchings of animals, dating back approximately 30,000 years, including memorable representations of extinct species.

About 45 minutes farther southeast is Bordeaux’s most picturesque wine town, Saint-Émilion. It is home to one of my favorite hotels in France, the Hôtel de Pavie, formerly the Hostellerie de Plaisance. Check in, and take the rest of the day to relax, enjoying the hotel’s gardens and panoramic terrace.

After breakfast on the terrace, take a guided walking tour of Saint-Émilion, including its remarkable 12th-century monolithic church, with a vast interior some 40 feet high.

It’s time to get back to wine tasting. In contrast to the Left Bank, the wineries of the Right Bank include mostly Merlot in their red blends. They therefore tend to be more approachable in their youth, but the best are nevertheless quite age-worthy.

Head out of town to Château Troplong Mondot, which neighbors the famous Château Pavie. Sit down to lunch in its gourmet restaurant, which will reopen after a renovation in 2021, and get an introduction to the château’s wines. After a tour of Troplong Mondot’s vineyards in a Land Rover, visit the winery and engage in a tasting. Because the château lacks Pavie’s name recognition, its wines tend to be excellent values.

Pomerol is the Right Bank’s other great commune, bordering Saint-Émilion to the northwest. The most famous name here is Château Pétrus, although tiny Le Pin has also shot to stardom, with demand far outstripping its minuscule production. A tasting at either would of course be quite memorable, if more-than-usually expensive to arrange.

A fine lower-key alternative would be Château Petit-Village, a less-well-known winery within sight of both Pétrus and Le Pin. When we visited one spring, horses were working in the rows of 80-year-old Merlot vines, because they had been planted too close together for a tractor to fit between them. We tasted three vintages, all of which exhibited impressive structure, suppleness and focus.

This afternoon, I recommend splurging on a tasting at Château Cheval Blanc, which has a dramatic swooping winery near Saint-Émilion’s border with Pomerol. One of the most highly regarded wineries in the world, Cheval Blanc produces exquisite blends of Merlot and Cabernet Franc that can age for decades.

For a rather more casual experience, a delightful alternative would be Tertre Rôteboeuf, a less-famous winery but one with a well-deserved reputation for excellence.

Head southwest a half-hour to the evocative ruins of the Abbaye de La Sauve-Majeure near the village of La Sauve. Because of the beauty and significance of its Romanesque architecture, the collection of ruins has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Another 40-minute drive to the west brings you to Les Sources de Caudalie, an epicurean spa resort set amid the vineyards of Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Pessac-Léognan.

Check in and have lunch, and then head 30 minutes north to the greatest winery of the appellation, the historic Château Haut-Brion. Suburbs now surround the château, with many former vineyards having been subsumed by the Bordeaux suburbs. Only the best remain.

After your tasting, return to Les Sources de Caudalie to relax.

It only makes sense to finish this grand wine tour with dessert, so head this morning to Sauternes, the last of Bordeaux’s great communes that you have yet to visit. Sweet wines aren’t especially fashionable, which makes the complex wines of Sauternes underpriced in my estimation (although not inexpensive). The best Sauternes have honeyed richness balanced by racy acidity and spiciness, and they are eminently age-worthy. Sauternes is, quite simply, one of the most extravagant wines in the world, and it’s one of my favorites.

The most famous producer is Château d’Yquem, and its wines can indeed be magical. Arranging visits can be a bit difficult, however, and it’s smart to have a back-up plan. On my last visit to Sauternes, I had a splendid tour and tasting at Château Suduiraut, which has enviable vineyards adjacent to those of Yquem.

Have lunch in the village of Sauternes before returning to Les Sources de Caudalie, about 30 minutes away.

I recommend leaving time in the afternoon to indulge in a treatment in the resort’s sybaritic vinotherapy-based spa. Alternatively, or in addition, the resort can arrange for a tour and tasting at Château Smith Haut Lafitte, a short walk from the hotel.

If time permits, another day to enjoy the many amenities of Les Sources de Caudalie would hardly be wasted. Otherwise, transfer to Bordeaux’s airport, a drive of less than a half-hour, and depart.