Itinerary
We have created a range of exciting WineHunters tours to the Languedoc and soon
to other wine regions and other countries.
Here are some examples of typical adventures you could expect with WineHunters –
your views and ideas are of course also welcome.
Day One: Corbieres
We will leave your chosen destination after breakfast and travel through vineyards
to Olonzac and then from the valley of the Aude towards the low ridge Montagne d’Alaric
and then through more vineyards to Lagrasse.
Lagrasse is the largest and most beautiful village of the Corbieres highlands and
the views over this compact walled hamlet are stunning.
Dominated by the Benedictine Abbey on the far side and hugging the right bank of
the shallow river Orbieu, this makes an idyllic setting for a wine adventure.
We will first visit Chateau Prieure Borde-Rouge and enjoy a tasting hosted by Anne
Lauvige and wine maker Olivier.
Olivier helped create the wines with the original owner Alain Quenehen, who unfortunately
is no longer with us, but the new owners have vowed to continue this legacy of craftsmanship,
particularly with their wine masterpiece, cuvee Ange.
We will have lunch in Lagrasse in a restaurant where the owner is famed for her
Foie Gras, and then if you wish explore the narrow streets, its arcaded place and
the magnificent Abbey Ste Marie d’Orbieu.
This abbey is one of the regions oldest monastic houses, founded when it was a dangerous
under populated frontier of the eighteenth-century Carolingian empire.
Lagrasse seems to have escaped the tourist industry and is wonderfully short of
gift shops, with the grid of cobbled streets in the old town being almost strictly
residential.
It is a pleasure to walk through the covered market with flowers cascading from
the windows of the houses that hem the streets and surround the ancient fort-like
church, with its eleventh-century bridge spanning the town’s ancient riverside fortifications.
We will then return to our Chateau, change at our leisure for dinner and leave for
another haut cuisine experience in a top local restaurant.
We will leave only when fully satisfied and return to slumber, dreaming only of
what has gone before and what further adventures tomorrow may be in store.
Day Two: Minervois
After breakfast we will travel by luxury coach though vineyards to the tiny medieval
hamlet of Minerve. Located at the cirque where the deep gorge of the river Cesse
doubles back on itself, this former Cathar stronghold is a stunning dramatic location.
Only a single pile of stones remains of its fortress, which resisted Simon de Montfort
for 5 months in 1210. When it was finally taken, 140 Cathars who refused to deny
their religion voluntarily jumped from the ramparts into the fires that the Crusaders
had prepared for them.
From here we will continue to the ancient town of Caunes-Minervois, the centre of
which is dominated by its rambling abbey, you can visit if you wish.
Lunch will be in a typical restaurant of this area, owned and run by the family
where ‘maman’ is the chef, and the food is ‘Minervoise cuisine’ prepared from the
finest local produce.
The afternoon will be devoted to tasting the wines of Villa Serra, a small single
vineyard of 2 hectares, owned by Claude and Anne Serra.
The wines Claude and Anne produce are a great example of the Minervois, created
from 4 grape varieties, Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan and Mouvedre.
These are very individual and superbly crafted wines.
Dinner this evening will be in the Bastide of Chateau Cabezac in Bize Minervois,
a local restaurant famous for its quality cuisine.
We shall taste the wines from Chateau Cabezac over dinner, particularly their top
cuvees, ‘Arthur’ and ‘Belveze’. These superb wines are world renowned, and grace
the wine lists of many Michelin starred restaurants including Le Gavroche and the
Aubergine, in London.
Day Three: La Clape
Sunday is a must to visit the bustling market in Narbonne, spanning the Canal de
la Robine in the shadows of the towering Cathedral, shop or just savour the atmosphere
over coffee and watch the converted barges as they slumber along the waterway.
Narbonne flourished as a port and communications area from ancient times into the
middle ages and was home to an important Jewish university in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries.
After the Jews were expelled and the plague struck in the mid 1300’s, the Black
Prince burned down the town, the dykes of the river Aude burst and the port silted
up, a series of disasters that brought ruin to the town’s economy.
However, prosperity returned in the late 1800’s with the renaissance of the wine
industry capitalising on the 2,600 years of history of wine production.
Also the closed food market, a mini version of the wonderful market in Barcelona,
is not to be missed and we shall be buying lunch from here to be eaten at Chateau
de Capitoul after our tasting. Everyone can choose from the Charcuterie, Boulangerie,
local Cheeses and fresh fruit, all local produce.
As we drive up the hill passed vineyards and Chateaux to Gruissan, out of the trees
and reaching for the sky is the spire of Chateau de Capitoul, a symbol of the aspirations,
expertise and dedication of Charles Mock and his family working to preserve the
traditions of his ancestors.
We will observe specific wine making techniques and learn about the history and
heritage of wine creation at Chateau de Capitoul, and of course taste Les Rocailles,
Les Lavandines, the top cuvee Maelma and if we are lucky, the sumptuous Oubliee.
We shall return then to our own ‘Chateau’ and if you are staying at d’Agel, we will
dine on our last night with the owners, in the dining room of this wonderful 13th
century castle.
The next morning, you will travel by luxury coach to your departure airport in good
time for your flight, already planning your next visit to discover more adventures
in Fitou, Pic St Loup, St Chinian and Rousillion.