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This vinotherapy spa has treatments based on the bits left over from wine-making, the pips and the skins. It is a place where you can have a Pulp Friction or a Sauvignon massage, a Merlot body wrap or a Crushed Cabernet scrub; where you can bathe in wine and smooth it over your body as well as sipping it. Well, not quite, but you can opt for a Red-Vine bath (a hydrotherapy massage using the water from the estate's own source to which red-vine extracts have been added) or a Wine-Barrel version of the same, in which extracts from the skin, stalk and pulp of crushed grapes have been added to the water for a gentle exfoliation.
The spa's location on the Smith Haut-Lafitte vineyard is ideal for wine enthusiasts: when you get bored with being scrubbed, you can take yourself off on a tasting tour of neighbouring vineyards, before returning for a light detox at the spa. The vineyard also has its own four-star hotel with two restaurants where you can opt for a light meal or a gourmet extravaganza accompanied by the appropriate wines. Research into the contents of grape seeds has discovered they are rich in polyphenols, antioxidants that are 50 times more powerful than vitamin E in the fight against ageing. As a result, Caudalie has become one of the fastest-selling skincare ranges in France, with everyone from Madonna to Isabelle Adjani using it. Whether the Sauvignon massage and the Merlot
wrap are more effective than their aromatherapy equivalents is a matter of taste and opinion, but it's a great way to spend a few days in Bordeaux.
CONTACT
Les Sources de Caudalie, Chemin de Smith Haut-Lafitte, 33650 Bordeaux-Martillac, France (00 33 5 57 83 83 83; fax: 83 83 84; www.sources-caudalie.com). Doubles from around £122. Massages from around £39; facials from around £32; Merlot body wrap from around £32; Red-Vine bath from around £32. Two-night Relaxation package from around £350 per person (based on two sharing). All prices correct at time of going to press.
GETTING THERE
Air France (0845 359 1000; www.airfrance.com/uk) flies daily from Gatwick to Bordeaux from as little as £80 return. Alternatively, try www.cheapflights.co.uk for a variety of low-cost options from as little as £69. It's a 20-minute drive from the airport
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