The best wineries to visit in Saint Emilion – a local’s guide

Updated September 28, 2026

So you’ve decided to visit Saint-Émilion, and now you’re staring at a long list of châteaux with no idea which one to actually pick? I used to take visitors around Saint-Émilion myself, so this is the shortlist I’d give a friend.

There are more than 800 châteaux around the village, and plenty of them make wine I love, so this isn’t really a list about what’s best in the glass. It’s about the visit itself: the estates that are lovely to wander around, where you feel genuinely looked after, and where you come away glad you made the trip. Because once you’ve travelled all this way, it’s nice when the whole afternoon is worth it, not only the tasting at the end.

If you don’t want to go through a long list of wineries and just want one good option that’s easy to visit and book, go to Château Montlabert. If you want to learn more about it and discover other wineries on the list, keep reading. You can book it directly on the local platform Rue des Vignerons, where I usually find wineries to visit around France.
It also has good half-day and full-day wine trips to Saint-Émilion from Bordeaux, in case you would rather not plan it yourself.

And once you are here, do not treat it only as a wine stop. Saint-Émilion is a beautiful village in its own right, worth giving proper time to, so if you have a spare hour between visits, read my full Saint-Émilion day-trip guide for what else to see, and my Saint-Émilion audio walking tour will walk you through the streets, the cloître and the monolithic church at your own pace, like having a friend along.

A lot of people assume you need a car to visit wineries here, and that is not entirely true. Several of the best are a short walk from the centre: the Couvent des Jacobins, Château Villemaurine, Château Cadet Bon, Château Soutard and Château Coutet. Stick to those and you can have a full, good day without driving. I will go through each winery below so you can see what works best for you.

But if you do decide on spending a full day in the region, here’s a good website for renting a car that I use when traveling in Europe.

Best wineries to visit in Saint Emilion

Château Montlabert

Château Montlabert is my favourite on the list when it comes to modern architecture, a striking contemporary winery on the doorstep of the village, about a five-minute drive out on the route de Libourne. It was known in the 18th century as the Maison Noble de Montlabert, and it runs daily tours in English and French, from a short walk in the vines up to lunch visits and a cooking class, so it flexes to how much time you have. Visits from 15€, open Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 18:00. Address: 2624 route de Libourne, 33330 Saint-Émilion (map).
Book your visit here.

Château Bernateau

Château Bernateau was one of the first wineries I ever visited in this region, and I still love it and still send people there. It is a family estate, farmed organically by the Lavau family, and the tour takes you from the vineyard through to the glass over about an hour and a half. What I like is the family feel, the sense that you are being shown around a home rather than a business. It is in Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse, a neighbouring village about four kilometres out, so you will need to drive. Tastings from 12€, by appointment. Address: 195 route de Canterane, 33330 Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse (map).
Book your visit here.

Chateau de Pressac

Château de Pressac is the one that impresses people the most, thanks to the château itself and the view from its hill, which is one of the widest in the appellation. The estate dates back to the Middle Ages. The owner here is very involved, and there is a good chance you will meet him during your tour, which is not something you can say about many places. The standard visit is about an hour and a quarter with a tasting of four wines and something to nibble, for 28.50€, open daily. It is in Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse, so a car is needed. Address: 873 route de Pressac, 33330 Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse (map).
Book your visit here.

Couvent des Jacobins

Couvent des Jacobins is the rare estate right inside the village, on rue Guadet, so you can visit it without leaving the centre at all. It is an old Dominican convent, and the visit goes down into the monolithic cellars carved from the limestone and past the monks’ old bakery before the tasting. The garden is one of the prettier corners of the village, and there is a wine bar with a view of the bell tower of the monolithic church from the window.

The tours need booking, but you can drop into the wine bar without one. The vines themselves are outside the village, so this is more about the place and its story than a walk through the rows, but if you have already seen vineyards at another estate, that is no great loss. Visits from 28€ for about an hour, and a garden picnic option from 60€. It is an organic estate. Address: 10 rue Guadet, 33330 Saint-Émilion (map).
Book your visit here.

Chateau de Ferrand, Grand Cru Classé

Château de Ferrand is the one for art lovers. It belongs to the Bich family, of BIC pen fame, who are passionate about art and fill the estate with it, including their own “BIC Art” pieces, so a visit here is as much about what is on the walls as what is in the glass. It is one of the larger estates in Saint-Émilion at 32 hectares, in Saint-Hippolyte, with two recently renovated tasting rooms and a good line in blending workshops. Visits in the 40€ to 50€ range. About six kilometres out, so drive. Address: 339 allée de Saint-Poly, Saint-Hippolyte, 33330 Saint-Émilion (map).
Book your visit here.

Chateau Cadet Bon

Château Cadet Bon is a small 7-hectare estate that has been making classic Saint-Émilion since 1867. It sits about a kilometre from the village, so roughly a fifteen-minute walk or a couple of minutes by car, which makes it a good pick if you do not want to drive. Visits are around 45 minutes for 15€, open through the week. Address: 38 route de Montagne, 33330 Saint-Émilion (map).
Book your visit here.

Château La Croizzille

Château La Croizille is the modern one, a striking glass-and-steel winery in Saint-Laurent-des-Combes with big vineyard views from the tasting room, a nice contrast if you have already seen a few old stone cellars. It is run by a very active family who often put on events at the château, so it is worth checking what is on when you go. The discovery visit is an hour for 20€, with gourmet and picnic options up to 48€, and a short walk in the vines from 10€. Open every day, 10:00 to 18:00. A car is easiest.
Address: 810 route du Tertre, 33330 Saint-Laurent-des-Combes (map).
Book your visit here.

Château Soutard

Château Soutard is an impressive 18th-century property about a fifteen-minute walk out of the village on the route de Saint-Christophe, and it does far more than a standard tasting: blending workshops, walking trails through the vines, gourmet picnics in the grounds. One thing to set expectations: if what you are after is a small, personal visit where you get to know the owner and the family, this is not that one. It is a large estate with a lot of staff, so the visit is polished and genuinely interesting but less intimate than a family château. Visits run from 45 minutes to two hours, from 23€.
Address: 465 route de Saint-Christophe, 33330 Saint-Émilion (map).
Book your visit here.

Château Coutet

Château Coutet has been in the same family for around 400 years, and it feels it, in a good way. There is a château garden with a pond and ducks, which small children tend to remember longer than any cellar. It is about a 25-minute walk out through the vines from the village, or a couple of minutes by car. The Tradition tour is an hour with a cellar visit and two tastings for 9€, one of the better-value visits on this list, with longer buggy tours up to 120€. Open Monday to Saturday, closed Sundays. Address: 1514 route du Milieu, 33330 Saint-Émilion (map).
Book your visit here.

Château Villemaurine

Château Villemaurine is a few steps from the centre, just past the village, so an easy walk. Its real draw is underground: the visit takes you through the historic limestone quarries and a monolithic cellar beneath the vines, which is something the bigger names out in the countryside cannot offer. The tour runs about an hour to an hour and a quarter, 25€ for adults and 12€ for children aged three to eighteen. It closes on Wednesdays all year, and on Sundays in the low season from December to mid-April. Address: lieu-dit Villemaurine, 33330 Saint-Émilion (map).
Book your visit here.

Visiting Saint-Émilion wineries with kids

If you are visiting with children and worried a cellar tour will bore them, take the little tourist train. It leaves every 45 minutes from Espace Villemaurine, next to the bus parking, and the 35-minute loop takes you through the vineyards and past the big châteaux. You can also take the version that stops at a château for a short visit, which is a gentle way to see one without committing to a full hour indoors. That is actually how I first visited Saint-Émilion myself, on the train, travelling with a one-year-old.

Beyond the train, a few estates suit families better than others. Coutet has the garden with the pond and ducks, Soutard has walking trails through the vines to stretch little legs, and the buggy tours some estates run, like the ones at Coutet, tend to go down well because they feel like a ride rather than a lecture. If you are planning the trip around what works with children, I have gathered more options across the region in my guide to kid-friendly wineries in Bordeaux.

A few practical questions before you go

Learn about the Bordeaux wine region with my detailed guides:
Best wineries to visit in Bordeaux
The harvest season in Saint Emilion
How to get to Saint Emilion from Bordeaux
Best wine tours from Bordeaux
Wineries to visit in Medoc
Wineries to visit in Sauternes
How to visit wineries without a car
Best wineries to visit by public transport
Family-friendly wineries in Bordeaux
Open doors in the wineries of Bordeaux

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