Le Ponant

Cap Corse, Corsica

Ponant Deck

Corsica Domaine

Le Ponant

Les Dentelles de Montmirail, Rhône

Le Ponant Wine Cruise

31 August - 7 September 2011

Western Mediterranean Wine Cruise on Le Ponant

A&C are excited to announce our new small ship luxury wine cruise for late summer 2011 on this most beautiful sailing ship. Of all the ships that we have sailed on to date, since 1994, Le Ponant has been the most highly praised by our clients for its perfect size, elegance of line, comfort, cuisine and the overall professionalism of the Captain and his team.

The new itinerary takes in superb wines from the classic wine regions of the South of France, the ‘Super Tuscans’ of the Tuscan Coast and the great Barolos of Piemonte. There will be on-board tastings and visits ashore to taste a panoply of great wines. This is possibly one of the most “wine serious” wine cruises we have yet organised. It is also a rather lovely time to travel. The crowds will have just gone home, the sea will be warm, and the harvest will be about to begin.

Gourmet lunches and dinners are served on the delightful open deck at the stern in one sitting. Lunches are accompanied by the wines of the producers who join us or are included from the ships’ list. Dinners are served with superb wines from the regions along our route, selected and commented on by the wine guide.

A personally escorted cruise on a luxury ‘Super Yacht’ with Arblaster & Clarke is a wonderful experience. You visit small harbours and stop for impromtu swims. As the party size is small you soon get to know your fellow passengers and the crew and the atmosphere quickly becomes like a relaxed and very jolly ‘house party’.

Western Mediterranean Wine Cruise Itinerary

31 August
We meet in Nice in the late afternoon and set sail along the Côte d’Azur. Soon, we drop anchor for a swim off the ‘lido’ at the stern of Le Ponant.
We have our first wine tasting and enjoy a gourmet dinner with Tim Clarke’s selection of fine Provençal wines.

1 September
Arrive at St Louis Port de Rhône. We have an included full day out to the southern Rhône.
We are invited to join the owners at Domaine Font de Michelle in Châteauneuf-du-Pape where we visit the superb estate and enjoy their wines with lunch (Included lunch with wines). On our return to Le Ponant we set sail westwards, heading for Sète. We expect to arrive late this evening so you can go ashore for a late coffee as we will be moored up overnight.
Dinner is onboard, with wines from our favourite growers in the southern Rhône villages of Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Beaumes de Venise.

2 September
This morning we offer an optional wine visit to Mas de Daumas Gassac, one of the top wine estates, if not the top estate in the Languedoc. Lunch is back on board Le Ponant. There will be some time to explore the attractive harbour of Sète before we set sail in the afternoon.
We’ll taste a few of the most interesting wines from the Minnervois, Les Baux, Languedoc-Roussillon, Banyuls etc over dinner on board, served on the atmospheric open deck.

3 September
We sail east overnight to arrive just beyond Marseilles around breakfast-time at the pretty inlets known as ‘Les Calanques’. We moor up for a while here to swim. It’s a short sail to the pretty fishing village of Cassis which you have time to enjoy for a couple of hours. Then we’ll be joined on board by one of the leading vignerons of Bandol as we continue sailing west and enjoy their powerful reds and delightful whites over lunch.
We’ll arrive at the pretty island of Porquerolles in the afternoon where there is a superb beach and a nearby wine estate for an optional visit. Dinner is on board, with wines from the ship’s list.

4 September
We sail into the pretty yacht harbour of St Florent, at the base of Cap Corse, Corsica. A tasting of Corsica’s top region, Patrimonio is included onboard today. After lunch on board we set sail north around Cap Corse making a brief swim stop near a beautiful beach.
Dinner is onboard and with it we serve a flight of great wines from the Northern Rhône including Condrieu and Hermitage.

5 September
Arrive off the south Tuscan coast. This morning there is an optional visit ashore to taste some of the stunning ‘Super Tuscan’ wines at Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, one of the great Bolgheri wine estates. Lunch is back on board. We set sail north and plan to drop anchor for a swim stop in the afternoon.
Dinner on board with more superb Tuscan wines including our favourites from Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Vin Santo.

6 September
Morning arrival at a harbour on the west Ligurian coast. Today we have an optional wine excursion to the great Piemontese wine region of Barolo. We visit two of the best estates; first the dynamic Ascheri and then lunch with the family at Cordero di Montezemolo. Alternatively you may stay on Le Ponant for a relaxing day where lunch is included on board with the ship’s wines.
A gourmet dinner is on board with more Piemonte wines including fine Barbaresco. We set sail in the late evening.

7 September
Morning arrival in Nice and disembark. You can then return home or choose to extend your holiday.
We highly recommend the Château de Berne near Lorgues or Mougins as a delightful Provençal gourmet base for a couple of nights. We can book a couple of nights at either of these for you. Please call for prices.
You could equally choose to stay on in Nice or if you are travelling as a party, we can recommend some good villas in the area for a full week’s additional stay.

Please see the short clip below from our 2008 Wine Cruise from Nice to Venice on SY Ponant, kindly sent in by a client:

The Ship

The SY Le Ponant has four decks
The top deck is the Sun deck, equipped with deck chairs. The Antigua deck accommodates Cabins 1 to 5, the bridge and the panoramic restaurant where casual but delicious buffet lunches are served each day.

The St Barth deck is the main deck. This is where you will find the comfortable air-conditioned lounge and bar; the gastronomic restaurant, the reception desk and the ship boutique. The bar area leads out onto another covered deck space and the swimming platform.

The Marie Galante or lower deck has the remainder of the cabins. Cabins 10, 12 & 14 on this deck have fixed double beds, the rest can be double or twin beds.

Notes

Meal Plans All meals are included, with wines.

Wine Visits Most wine visits and tastings are included. Bolgheri and Piemonte are optional extras. Prices to be confirmed.

Flights As the airlines are unable to give us a confirmed price for this routing so far in advance, we have not included the flights or the transfers to and from the airport. As soon as the flights are in range, (11 months before the tour date), we will be in touch with you to confirm the flight and transfer arrangements that we can offer.

Extensions Of course, you can travel out before or stay on after the cruise. We can offer or advise on villas and hotels in Nice and the Provençal countryside.

Cabins The cabins are very comfortable and a good size for this type of craft. Please note that places on the cruise are extremely limited so do book as soon as possible.

Visit the Download Centre to download the Wine Cruise Brochure including deck plan now!