Les Sources de Caudalie: a five-star experience among the vineyards of Bordeaux
Les Sources de Caudalie: a five-star experience among the vineyards of Bordeaux
Amongst the vines of the Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Grand Cru Classé de Graves, the “Les Sources de Caudalie” hotel establishment emerged in 1999. Alice and Jérôme Tourbier have continued to develop this charming 5-star hotel with 61 bedrooms and suites, three restaurants and the Vinothérapie® spa, a therapeutic combination of hot spring water and vine and grape extracts… The couple’s work and passion have provided this site with the warmth of a family home, while cultivating the attention to detail of the greatest luxury hotels.
The French Paradox as a motto
Les Sources de Caudalie has made the “French Paradox” a full-blown way of life. This theory is supported by numerous dieticians and cardiologists from around the world, recognizing the preventative qualities of red wine, thanks to anti-oxidants which limit the development of cardiovascular diseases. To give expression to this idea of the French Paradox, Les Sources de Caudalie is dedicated to a way of life amongst the vines. The communion with the environment and local traditions, as well as a permanent quest for quality, have helped build a site to serve nature, tastes, senses and well-being.
In this enchanting environment, where the vine is the landscape’s architect, Les Sources de Caudalie represents a hamlet of six houses, whose lines allude to the traditional Aquitaine style. The architect, Yves Collet, designed a place that is in perfect harmony with the environment. This collection of timeless buildings appears to have always been a part of the landscape, thanks to the use of raw, ancient, and recycled materials. The wooden structures of the La Table du Lavoir rural inn and the indoor pool were made using 18th century wood, recovered from the wine cellars of neighbouring châteaux.
Throughout your stay at Les Sources de Caudalie, your curiosity will be roused and awakened by an exclusive atmosphere and decoration. Outside, the works of art scattered here and there throughout the gardens, vines and the Forêt des Sens (“The Forest of the Senses”) invite you to take a cultural path where world-renowned artists rub shoulders with the work of young creators from the Bordeaux area. The Venus Bordeaux by Jim Dine, the Hospitality hare sculpture by Barry Flanagan, and La Grappe de la Terre Promise by Ivan Theimer stand proudly before us. And if you fancy lounging by the indoor pool, you’ll find a macroscopic view of a photograph by Mathilde de l’Ecotais – representing berries – submerged at the bottom of the pool.
In the indoor spaces, the decoration that is both warm and timeless, created by Alice Tourbier and Delphine Sauvaget, transforms the hotel into a family home where one feels good. Somewhere revitalising, modern and elegant, with sleek lines, without losing the traditional charm. The materials used are always noble but never ostentatious. Wood holds an important place within the hotel. The furniture and decoration accessories were carefully selected to provide contemporary touches. Customised creations enhance the décor and place art at the core of the experience. We can see, for example in the reception, a majestic rug created by Lia Rochas and tailor made by Ateliers Pinton, or the Hiromi and Condition Origin lights, designed especially for the hotel.
The hotel bar was designed as a separate room. A place where you’d want to sit down and enjoy a nice glass of this precious nectar. To create this intimate room, Delphine Sauvaget covered the walls with cherry wood to create a warm container. Three wood species run across the floor, passing each other and criss-crossing in a pattern that reminds us the floor of the Necchi villa in Milan. To round this cocoon off, a large bench seat in khaki velvet and armchairs with wood and cords refine the décor.
In the bedrooms, the decoration is both inspired and inspiring. The furniture recovered from antique shops co-exists in harmony with the works of art and objects created especially for the house. The ash headboards emphasize the walls in mineral shades for some and earthy shades for others. Bruder Fabrics’ precious textiles, whether woven, weft-knitted, or pile fabrics, provide warmth and softness. Accompanied by the Galerie Française, Delphine Sauvaget offers a selection of unique paintings in each bedroom.
As a whole, a harmonious unity is created. Discreet luxury for refinement down to the smallest detail. Each bedroom has its own name and echoes the history of Aquitaine, its region and its vineyards. From La Plage des Américains to la Part des Anges, as well as Les Chartrons, they all allude to the wealth of the local heritage.
La Grand’Vigne
Chef Nicolas Masse has rediscovered his terroir, his «Land of Vines», and his aspirations have been refined and honed. From this hibernation and reawakening a clear way forward has emerged, the logical harmony between this Terre des Vignes, this terroir, the people who work it, the produce it yields and the chef.
The 5- and 7-course menus offered provide an immersion into the Graves vineyard, into Nicolas’s world. Taken by the hand and guided, as in a wine tasting, to discover the very essence of the terroir.
In 2015, the vegetable garden, the beehives and the small Jardin des Abeilles farm were created in order to reduce the amount of produce imported and to supply the kitchens with fresh eggs, fruit, vegetables and edible flowers: maximum freshness on the plate with zero food miles.
La Table du Lavoir
At La Table du Lavoir, the chef pays tribute to the « terroir » and offers delicious and bistro-style food. In the 19thcentury, winegrower’s wives would come here to use a wash house that has since been rebuilt. The roof structure was built with 18th century beams recovered from Medoc wineries, and the glass doors can be opened, weather permitting, to enjoy meals on the covered terrace.
During winter time, fire crackles in the period large fireplace. The unmatched cutlery, purchased by weight, sits atop traditional and antique tablecloths.
First Vinothérapie® Spa
The Caudalie cosmetics brand was created at family-owned Château Smith Haut Lafitte, from the discovery of a new way of using active polyphenol components found in grape pips. Pioneer of a concept invented in France a decade ago, at a time when only beauty centres and thalassotherapy centres existed, the Vinothérapie® Spa continues to combine the virtues of naturally warm spring water (that comes from a depth of over 540 metres) combined with vine and grape extracts.
This 1,500 m2 Spa offers exclusive well-being treatments based on vine and grape-based products, such as the famous Crushed Cabernet scrub, Honey and Wine Wrap, Barrel Bath, and Winemaker’s Massage.
This spacious, beautiful, wood and stone building is not unlike a tobacco curing barn and fits in perfectly with its vineyard setting. The interior design is attractive and contemporary. The lighting, both natural and indirect, is flattering without overwhelming. Sound and colour add to the overall impression of luxury. The zen atmosphere and the wood and marble décor procure a feeling of peace, as well as physical and mental well-being.
One enters the Spa from the hotel via a charming covered outer passageway with a view of the outdoor swimming pool, and changing rooms overlooking the relaxing area and indoor pool. This room affords a panoramic view of the Smith Haut Lafitte vineyards.
A berry bath
The old Merlot leaves give way to a brand new underwater work of art by Mathilde de l’Ecotais. Les Sources de Caudalie and the artist naturally chose a grape berry photo. With this openly macroscopic sight, the imprint of Bordeaux’s version of caviar grains seems to be digitized, frozen in time. But why a grape? Here in Martillac, vines and grapes are the root of everything that surrounds us: the Château Smith Haut Lafitte, les Sources de Caudalie, Vinothérapie and everything that goes with it.
Combining the raw timber of the pool’s structure with this photo of berries was a return to the surrounding nature for Mathilde, a poetic analysis of the elements that make up a vine stock. An unusual way to discover all the abundance of a grape: its veins, its juice, its pips. This work on living organisms and organic material is fully in keeping with Mathilde de l’Ecotais’s artistic work.
A unique experience of diving into the heart of a work of art. Observing the evolution and changes in the sunlight, and beneath the rippling water. Seeing it unfold beneath our feet and come alive as we move.
Les Sources de Caudalie
