Saint-Émilion: The Underground Church and the Jurade
Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
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Jurade Taster
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250
XP
+100 France
= 350 total
1 day
Saint-Émilion: The Underground Church and the Jurade
250 + 100 XP
Tradition has the Breton monk Émilion settling as a hermit here in the 8th century, and the town of pale limestone grew on the slopes between the Dordogne and the Isle around his cave. Digging the church below it took nearly 15,000 cubic metres of rock out of the hillside. The town and its vineyards, where Merlot makes 60 to 70 per cent of the crop alongside Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, have been UNESCO-listed since 1999.
Required Activities
1
of 4
On the guided tour of the monolithic church, the largest underground church in Europe, find the inscription on the third pillar on the south side of the nave recording its dedication to Saint Émilion, and note how the church is not squared to the east because the hill dictated the cut
2
of 4
Climb the Tour du Roy, the keep Henry III of England had built in 1237 and the only Romanesque keep still standing in the Gironde, to the platform from which the Jurade proclaims the judgement of the new wine and the ban des vendanges
3
of 4
Walk out of the town up one of the tertres, the steep cobbled lanes cut into the south face of the limestone plateau the whole village was quarried from, to a château among the vines, and taste a Saint-Émilion made on the Merlot that carries 60 to 70 per cent of the appellation
4
of 4
Buy macarons de Saint-Émilion, made in the town since 1620, first by the Ursuline nuns and since by a handful of local families, from sweet and bitter almonds, fresh egg whites and sugar
On the guided tour of the monolithic church, the largest underground church in Europe, find the inscription on the third pillar on the south side of the nave recording its dedication to Saint Émilion, and note how the church is not squared to the east because the hill dictated the cut
Climb the Tour du Roy, the keep Henry III of England had built in 1237 and the only Romanesque keep still standing in the Gironde, to the platform from which the Jurade proclaims the judgement of the new wine and the ban des vendanges
Walk out of the town up one of the tertres, the steep cobbled lanes cut into the south face of the limestone plateau the whole village was quarried from, to a château among the vines, and taste a Saint-Émilion made on the Merlot that carries 60 to 70 per cent of the appellation
Buy macarons de Saint-Émilion, made in the town since 1620, first by the Ursuline nuns and since by a handful of local families, from sweet and bitter almonds, fresh egg whites and sugar
Before you go
The Jurade processes through the town in its red robes only twice a year: the third Sunday in June for the judgement of the new wine and the third Sunday in September for the ban des vendanges. The town takes around a million visitors a year, so the monolithic church tour and parking fill early in summer.
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About Nouvelle-Aquitaine
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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