Set off to discover the vineyards, with the theme of Appellations d'Origine Contrôlée (A.O.C.)! Saint-Émilion has two of them, but this walk will take you further afield, to the borders of the vineyard, to learn more about other neighbouring and lesser-known A.O.C.s.
The stages
At the car park opposite the Ch. Boutisse, cross the road (watch out for traffic) then turn into the street opposite. Take the path on the left that runs behind the château. Continue through the vines and take the first path on the left. You will then reach the tarmac road.
Turn right for about 100 metres.
Cross the road to take the next left. You are now in the courtyard of a house. Pass to the right of the building and walk along the grassy path.
You will come to a tarmac road. Cross it and follow the grassy path opposite, which looks like a ditch. Walk straight ahead between the vines and trees. Go around the ditch to the right (you will pass between two green markers).
Cross the tarmac road. Continue straight ahead on the grassy path (green markers). Walk down the slope to the small pond.
At the road, turn left as far as the ‘3.5 tonnes except deliveries’ sign. Turn right just before the sign (green markers) into the vineyard path. Continue straight ahead along the vines until you reach the road.
Cross the road (watch out for traffic). Continue straight ahead along the path alongside the trees on your left (green waymarkers).
At the end of the plot, continue straight ahead (green signpost). A sloping path leads you into a wood. Further on, you will come to a signpost indicating ‘Chemin des Leyques à la Mouleyre’.
Turn right onto the tarmac road. You'll have a magnificent view of Saint-Genès-de-Castillon and Puisseguin.
At the next crossroads, turn right. Continue to the right towards ‘Côte de Mouleyre, Ch.Faugères, Ch. Mangot’ (green signpost). Follow this tarmac road for about 1 km until you find a path on the left-hand side (marked by a green arrow on a signpost).
Turn left into the vineyards. Continue along this road until you reach a tennis court. Go past the Ch. Mangot and continue along the road.
At the green signpost, turn right. You will be walking alongside the former Carthusian monastery of Ch. Faugères.
Turn left into the Ch. Faugères courtyard. Turn right into the driveway leading back to the road.
At the road, turn left. Take the first turning on the right to reach the modern Faugères winery on the hill. At the chai, turn left and continue for about 150m.
At the monumental cross, walk along the vineyard and pass to the right of the high-voltage transformer substation, then descend to the road.
Back on the road, turn right as far as the entrance to the village of St-Étienne-de-Lisse. Continue as far as the church (towards St-Laurent-des-Combes).
On the right, a few metres after the church, take the path that climbs up through the trees.
Continue up the hill, keeping to the left. Don't stop until you reach the top of the hill.
Once you reach the top, the path continues straight ahead. Don't miss the magnificent view from the Croix de Tourans, at the end of the copse on your left. Then retrace your steps and continue left through the vines (green-yellow markers).
Go straight on and you will come to a beige wine storehouse. Walk past it and continue straight ahead. At the end of the path, turn right to return to your starting point.