Blaye

River Chanson at Blaye

Blaye (pronounced Bly) is the site of a fortress, originally built by the Romans, but today the medieval and 18th century fortress is primarily visible. The 18th century fortress was designed by Vauban, who built over 160 fortresses around France for Louis XIV. This one was primarily built (along with a fortress in the river and the opposite bank) to protect Bordeaux from warships coming down the estuary from the Atlantic. He designed this fortress in 1685 in 10 days, incorporating the medieval fortress which already existed. It was built in three years with over 2000 workers. While the previous fortress had been invaded 12 times, no one successfully took this fort. Within the walls were a monastery, hospital, bakery, and everything needed to withstand a siege. We saw the remains of the 12 century castle, which was leveled in the 19th century to handle extra cannon. Rather than the circular towers of previous years, here they used the triangular shape so that they didn't have a blind spot under the tower. There are 3 levels of fortification with 2 large moats between them. If the enemy took the first level, they were exposed to cannon fire from the second and so on.

Blaye's Fortress

In the afternoon, we visited Chateau L'Esperance, a family owner vineyard of 18 acres. It had been bought in 2010 by a South African Family. Over 90% of their product is exported. Here the grapes are picked either by hand for their top wine or by machine. We're on the opposite side of the Estuary, so the primary grape is Merlot, balanced with Cabernet Franc and a little bit of Malbec for the blended wine.

New cask system at Chateau L'Esperance