Cadillac, la Porte de la Mer (Circa 1315) – Extra Info

Cadillac, la Porte de la Mer (Circa 1315) The ville is considered a bastide.
Most of the original wall and towers remain. Construite a partir de 1315, etaita l’origine dans alignement du mur.

In 1280 Jean de Grailly as a representative of the English king, founded the town with a charter giving the inhabitants privileges including equal distribution of parcels of land.
Built as a model cite, intended to be an ideal town the Geometric layout of Jean de Grailly’s town is still in use today. The Porte de la Mer (not spelt Mere) was founded in 1315 and is liable to be flooded, as witnesses by the information recorded in the archways which includes flood marks in la porte:

Cues de la Garonne.
Rapportees a l’etiage 1900
07.04.1770 = 12.6m
16.02.1981 = 10.75m
Defendue par trois archeres et dans machicoulis encore visibles au rivers.

 

I found everyone in Cadillac welcoming, friendly and polite, the food varied, inexpensive and very good.
The wines of Cadillac, both white and red surprised me, both being much better quality than I expected, the whites warmly flavoured, almost sweet, not unlike Sauternes and the reds rich, light and mellow, eminently drinkable.
You can try them at the nearby La Closiere, east of the town overlooking the main Bordeaux Langon road, look for La maison des Vins des premier Cotes de Bordeaux.

The restaurant featured here is the Palais Gourmand and offers “Cuisine et Saveurs”.

For wines try Syndicat Viticole des Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux et Cadilac

Office de Tourisme e mail cadillac at entredeuxmers dot com