Les Sources de Caudalie

Bordeaux, Martillac

Martillac, in the southern part of the Gironde, a few kilometers from Bordeaux, is in the heart of the oldest wine growing regions in Bordeaux country, the Graves. The landscape is characterized by small rock deposits known as “graves”, and it’s this rather poor soil that has produced the grapes for this world famous vintage wine. Vines have been cultivated here since the Roman era. In the Middle Ages, after the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to King Henry of England, Graves wines were exported to England, and to Pope Clement V. At the end of the 17^th century, the notion of the vintage wine or “grand cru” was born, and in the 18^th century, the names of the wines were attached to the property, and the great wine producing chateaux were mentioned on the label of the bottle. A number of these chateaux are near Martillac. Some of them belonged to illustrious families like that of the philosopher, Montesquieu. Others go back as far as the Crusades. They all however, have remained family properties where families live and receive visitors.

A family type palace

It’s in this spirit of family like conviviality that Les Sources de Caudalie was conceived. Built in the heart of the Smith Haut Laffite family property, Les Sources de Caudalie consists of five houses containing a total of forty rooms and nine suites, each decorated differently and all inspired by the Aquitaine region, its land, its history, its people and its professions.

In the rooms, the tone is set by the antique furniture and the warm colored fabrics. The Thomas Jefferson suite retraces its colonial past, the Espelette suite invokes the Basque country and the Lys suite in the valley has a romantic décor and a Balzac type charm. The surprising Ile aux Oiseaux or Bird Island suite, an exact reproduction of a cabin on stilts in the Arcachon Basin was entirely decorated by the very avant-garde creator, Martin Margirla. The contrast between the rustic exterior and the minimalist design of the interior with white and gray tones is striking.

The same inspiration can be found in the restaurant where chef Nicolas Masse proposes a menu using products from all over the region. The history of the site is in total harmony with its environment and is closely linked to the vineyards and the wine. Les Sources de Caudalie is actually the first wine therapy center in the world. Its spa offers a wide range of exclusive treatments combining the benefits of a hot spring with the benefits of the grape. The name, “Caudalie” borrowed from the vocabulary of wine specialists, invokes the taste of the wine. As proof that the atmosphere of these family properties is still present, it was the daughter of the domain’s owners who originated the concept and her sister who runs the daily operations and makes Les Sources de Caudalie an exceptionally warm place to stay and to relax, and take advantage of the surrounding nature.

The small town of Martillac has a centuries old twenty-meter high oak tree with a seven-meter circumference under whose leaves the philosopher Montesquieu would come to rest.