St Emilion is a lovely ancient walled town 20 miles from Bordeaux. A Right Bank AC, meaning it's on the right of the Dordogne River & the Gironde Estuary. Steep cobbled streets are lined with picturesque crumbling limestone buildings cut from the surrounding terroir the vines love so much. The clay deposits suit the smooth, accessible Merlot grape which is the vine of choice around here (70%). Others are grown to make up the blend but the late ripening Cabernet Sav bunches (the Left Bank vine of choice) don't generally do that well. This of course gives the Right Bank wines their own distinctive style and character, inevitably leading to much puffed up banter by Bordeaux buffs as to which style is superior. I generally like both but it is true that the weather can sometimes favour the Left or Right Bank due to the differences in soil and outlook. St Emilion bustles with charming restaurants, cafes and wine shops. It is well worth a visit especially at harvest time when the scarlet robed Town Officials ("The Jurade") ascend the monolithic old church tower and herald the Ban De Vendanges (time to start picking!) with glorious overblown pageantry. The vinyards come right up to the town wall - this land is too precious to waste! Many of the Chateau give tours of their cellars and free tastings. These are generally small properties as opposed to the huge aristocratic estates on the Left Bank. The wines are all pretty good and the St Emilion standard is kept high by frequent reclassifications - the threat of demotion is a strong deterrent against taking your eye off the ball! This is not the case on the Left Bank which hasn't been re-classified since 1855. The rankings go as follows from bottom to top: St Emilion, St Emilion Grand Cru, St Emilion Grand Cru Classe, St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe, St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe B, St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe A. There are only 2 class A's: Ch Ausone and Ch Cheval Blanc and their wine is extremely rare, sought after and of course expensive! I don't have any of those currently but I do have some other top names....