Maison du Minervois

Bicycle rentals

Derek — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:55:57 +0000

Bicycle Rentals around Caunes

1. Velocation HOMPS

tel: 06 37 07 05 00

Tarifs: 1h 5€ ½ day 15€ 1 day 25€

2. Cycles de Minervois, PEPIEUX

tel : 04 68 91 69 50

Tarifs : ½ day 10€

1 day 15€

3. Le Rivasel Restuarant, LA REDORTE

tel : 04 68 32 35 90

Tarifs : 1 hour 5€ ½ day 12€ 1 day 20€ 1 week 80€

4. Location de vélos TREBES

tel: 04 68 78 68 81/06 88 06 54 26

Tarifs : 1 hour 5€ ½ day 10€ 1 day 15€ 1 week 75€

5. Location VTC et VTT, CARCASSONNE

tel : 06 09 59 30 85 Julian Chiron

email: julien@generation-vtt.com / www.generation-vtt.com

Tarifs: 2 hours 10€ ½ day 12€ 1 day 18€ or for a minimum of 4 bikes rate can be 1€ per km

6. Mellow Velos, PARAZA

Tel: 04 68 43 38 21

Mobile: o6 50 50 01 49

Tarifs: From 18€ a day

www.mellowvelos.com

Vineyard Tours

Derek — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:43:31 +0000

Vin en Vacances is a vineyard tour company run by Wendy Gedney an English woman with a passion for this wonderful area and its wines. Wendy is a wine teacher and during the tours not only will you have a thoroughly enjoyable day, you will also learn a great deal about wine and tasting. Her aim is to provide you with an experience that you can’t easily create for yourself and during the day you will explore the regions, meet some of the most interesting vignerons, taste their wines and enjoy a superb lunch.

http://www.thewinewisecompany.com/wine_holidays/

Wendy is a qualified wine teacher and runs an Approved WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) wine school in the UK. WSET is the leading wine education body in the world. Wendy is qualified to the highest level within the WSET which is Diploma level — one step away from Master of Wine. After qualifying she chose to specialise in the wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon and over the past 3 years she has spent a lot of time in the region getting to know a lot of wine makers and learning more about the region. This year she has decided to take the leap and move to France where she will be running vineyard tours and also courses about the wines of the region. She has chosen to live in the village of Caunes-Minervois and is offering her services to residents and visitors to the village and the surrounding areas.

Relevant Reading

Derek — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:10:58 +0000

If you are lucky as well as small-child free, holidays are a chance to read (among other things). And if your penchant is for reading books that relate to the location in which you find yourself with uncustomary free time, then this is where you can get a head start into potential tomes that will not only while-away the time but assist you in generating valuable insights into you new context.

Relevance must begin closest to home (taking home to be, for a week at least, Maison

A tale of people and places uncannily like those in Caunes

Minervois). A local author, Christopher Hope, has written ‘a non-fiction book’ centred on the fictional Languedoc village of Kissac which the author claims “is a mixture of villages I know and love in Languedoc.” For the reader resident in Caunes, Signs of the Heart: love and death in Languedoc (1999) quickly suggests that the ‘mixture’ is ninety-some percent Caunes. Both people and places in the village slot smoothly into characters and locations in the book, respectively of course. So while enjoying the author’s undoubted mastery of English prose together with a cold beer outside the La Fontaine bar, the reader will not fail to detect an uncanny resemblance to Hope’s Lapin Fou bar in Kissac. And from there the game continues: the book’s Hotel des Cathares with its enigmatic patron, Nicolas, are also easy spots. But the mappings get trickier, and add an unusual twist between fiction and reality.

Eventually relevance stretches perhaps to all of France, and the French way of life. At the thoroughly serious end sit the various guides to the country. Passing over the wealth of more selective commentaries on the peculiarities of this people just off-shore (for Brits), we reach the pure entertainment (and some enlightening insights) of Talk to the Snail (2006) and others by Stephen Clarke.

A tongue-in-cheek Ten Commandments for Understanding the French

“Have you ever walked into a half-empty Parisian restaurant, only to be told that it’s ‘complet’? Attempted to say “merci beaucoup” and accidentally complimented someone’s physique? Been overlooked at the boulangerie due to your adherence to the bizarre foreign custom of waiting in line? Well, you’re not alone. The internationally bestselling author of A Year in the Merde and In the Merde for Love has been there too, and he is here to help. In Talk to the Snail, Stephen Clarke distills the fruits of years spent in the French trenches into a truly handy (and hilarious) book of advice. Read this book, and find out how to get good service from the grumpiest waiter; be exquisitely polite and brutally rude at the same time; and employ the language of l’amour and le sexe. Everything you need is here in this funny, informative, and seriously useful guide to getting what you really want from the French.”

More focused on Languedoc and offering a historical perspective on the many ruined fortresses perched defensively on crags as well as the many fortified towns and villages, there is a wealth of books that get to grips with the 13^th century heresy of the Cathars — where some books on Cathar history are summarized.

The so-called Albigensian heresy was a languedocian interpretation, in the land of Occitan, of Jesus’ teachings of purity of spirit and humility; a prohibition on killing made vegetarianism a requirement of “The Perfects” with fish it seems classed as a slippery vegetable. Spirit was the Good, and the body the Evil. Pushing on with this offensive against the body: Cathar “Perfects” had to eschew women as well as meat, but their flock was not required to be so abstemious. For although the teaching was that the only sacremental marriage was between ones soul and God, marriages of the flesh (i.e. man and wife stuff), being merely a union for intercourse without shame, was more sinful than extramarital sex. A viewpoint that may go some way towards accounting for the speed of growth of the Cathar resurgence in the early 14th century up in the Pyrenean mountain villages as well as the abundance of illegitimate offspring. We know these details and many more only because of the unique preservation of the records of the Inquisition that was set up to stamp out this new Cathar uprising. A number of authors have set out this fascinating insight into medieval village life:

Montaillou by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, translated from the French and published by Penguin in 1980.

The Last Cathars by René Weis, published by Penguin in 2001.

One of the Inquisitors to put in an appearance to quash the Cathar resurgence was Bernard Gui who has gained fame in his crossover to fiction as the satanic Inquisitor in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose — a tale of medievil murder, mystery and literary antics in an isolated community of monks.

The first rise of Catharism around the opening of the 13th century was a reversion to a Christian fundamentalism that so irked the papal powers that the Pope invited the northern barons to move in and claim fresh territory for God and France (and thenselves, of course) which they duly did, but not without considerable fighting followed by roasting the losers.

Kate Mosse’s hit novel Labyrinth is set amongst the Cathars. It largely bypases the blood and guts side and focuses on the demise of their first flowering in conjunction with the local myth that the Holy Grail is buried hereabouts. Her newer offering, Sepulchre (Orion, 2007), is also ‘split-time’ tale o f murder, mystery and love underlpinned by ancient and diabolical rites and practices. It is set in Carcassonne and the Languedocian countryside south of Limoux, the rugged mountainous terrain of smashed Cathar fotresses towards the Pyrenees.

A tale of archeology and intrigue in Occitania

Romans in the Minervois

Derek — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:56:18 +0000

Following the Greeks who established the trading town of Massilia (Marseilles) in about 600 BC, Southern France was subjected to classical influences for many centuries. Gaul (i.e. France) as a whole consisted of three regions: the lands of the Belgae in the north and east of the rivers Marne and Seine; the Aquitani south and west of the river Garonne; and in between the people we call Gauls, although they called themselves Celts, occupied much of present day Languedoc.

After they defeated the Carthaginians in 202 BC Rome had the beginnings of an overseas empire in Spain, but communications with it had to be by sea. Land travel round the Ligurian coast from Pisa to Nice was very difficult, and though the Greek colony of Massilia (Marseille) was friendly to Rome, its Celtic neighbours, the Gauls of the hinterland, were very unpredictable. Eventually, in a series of campaigns between 125 and 120 BC, the Romans conquered the whole of what is now southern France between the Alps, the Cevennes and the Pyrenees;they founded a colonial outpost of Roman citizens at Narbonne (the new province was called ‘Narbonese Gaul’), and built a road around the coast to link up with their Italian road system at Genoa.

In the Languedoc roman Narbonensis surrounded the important roman city of Narbo (modern Narbonne). It was part of the province of southern Gaul, a land of the olive and the fig that rose to great prosperity and rich urban development under the Roman Imperial Government. The amphitheatres, temples and bridges still standing today, particularly in and around Nemausus (Nîmes), bear witness to this past grandeur.

The southern province of Gaul, around Massilia (Marseilles), was, in earlier times, deeply Hellenic, and despite the unstoppable progress of Romanisation, this portion of Gaul always remained a seat of Hellenism.

“The romanising of the south of Gaul had not in the republican period advanced so far as that of the south of Spain. The 80 years lying between the two conquests were not to be rapidly overtaken; the military camps in Spain were far stronger an more permanent than in Gaul; Here doubtless in the time of the Gracchi and under their influence Narbo had been founded, the first burgess-colony proper beyond the sea; but it remained isolated, and, though a rival of Massilia in commercial intercourse, to all appearance by no means equal to it in importance. But when Caesar began to guide the destinies of Rome, here above all – in this land of his choice and his star – neglect was retrieved. The colony of Narbo was strengthened, and was under Tiberius the most populous city in Gaul” p. 86

The strategically crucial route from Narbonne through Carcassonne to the headwaters of the Garonne – the shortest way you could get from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic – was in the territory of a Gallic people called the Volcae Tectosages, whose main centre was at Toulouse (Latin Tolosa).

The first thing we know about the Tectosages is that they were one of the contingents under the Gallic war-leader Brennus who had invaded Greece in 279 BC and sacked Apollo’s sanctuary at Delphi. They were supposed to have brought back immense plunder from that expedition, but the story went that as soon as they returned the whole tribe was struck by a mysterious and deadly epidemic, and that the priests declared that the sacrilegious loot should be dumped in a nearby lake.

Other versions say the plunder was installed in temples, which were the normal treasure-houses in ancient times;however, the Gauls notoriously worshipped in the open air, and it’s quite possible that the lake, like sacred woods and groves, was dedicated to some deity, and that the story of the plague was just Roman rationalisation. Anyway, the treasure was there, in the lake. One version says it was 100,000 pounds’ weight of gold and 10,000 of silver; another, five million pounds’ weight of gold, 110,000 of silver.

Whether or not it was from Delphi, it was certainly spoils of war; that was the way Gallic tribes made their wealth. As such, it must have been dedicated to the god Esus, whom the Romans equated with Mars. Julius Caesar, in his description of Gallic customs, says that all booty won in war was sacred to Esus, and any warrior who was discovered failing to declare his loot was tortured to death. Esus was evidently a jealous god, not used to being cheated of his rights.

One inhabitant of Toulouse became well-known to history: Marcus Antonius Primus, described by the historian Tacitus as ‘energetic, a fast talker, good at putting the blame on others, given to theft and bribery, a villain in peace-time but not to be despised in war’. He was expelled from the Senate in AD 61 for forging a will, got himself reinstated during the civil wars of 68-9, and as commander of the seventh legion was an important part of the military campaign that led to Vespasian’s victory; the grateful emperor rewarded him with honorary consular rank, and in due course he returned home for a long and peaceful retirement. The poet Martial calls him ‘the glory of Tolosa, Minerva’s city’, a reference to the level of culture the Narbonese cities had now achieved.

The only known senator from Narbonne was a much less colourful character. Lucius Aemilius Arcanus held commissions in three different legions – X Gemina (stationed at Vienna), I Minervia (at Bonn) and II Augusta (at Caerleon) – before coming home and doing his duty in the local magistracies of his native city. Hadrian made him a senator, but we would never have heard of him if one of his dependants hadn’t set up an honorific statue, of which the inscribed base survives. Narbonne, the original colonial settlement, was the provincial capital and centre of the imperial cult, but it seems to have been a bit overshadowed by the wealthier cities which were on the sites of historic tribal lands.

The Roman peace lasted for three centuries. Our area evidently belonged to the short-lived breakaway ‘Gallic empire’ of Tetricus in AD 271-4 (milestones with his name on are known from Béziers, Carcassonne and near Toulouse), and by the early fifth century it was again defending itself – this time unsuccessfully – against invaders from outside the empire. Narbonne and Toulouse were captured by the Visigoth Athaulf in 414, and by about 475 the Burgundians were in control of the whole area between the Rhone and the Pyrenees.

Despite the dominance of wine production today throughout the Languedoc, during Roman times the culture of the vine was developed slowly due to suspicion of the “Gallic winter.” This prejudice was reinforced by the disinclination of Italian wine producers to encourage any competition. Indeed, the Roman republic placed under police prohibition any culture of the vine and the olive on the south coast of Gaul. In the Augustan age (a few decades either side of AD 0) wine was still unknown in the northern part of the Narbonese province. For centuries it remained restricted to the Narbonensis and southern Aquitania; the Gallic wines of this time were only Allobrogian (Burgundian) and Biturigian (Bordeaux). It was only in the third century, when the Italians lost control of the empire, that this changed. Probus (AD 276-282) opened up wine-making throughout Gaul.

Parts of the modern A9 highway are founded on the road laid down by the Romans in about 118BC. The 257km Via Domitia was the first Roman road to be built in Gaul, and the area around is peppered with evidence of Roman life. On the 8km stretch between Beaucaire and Nîmes there are still Roman milestones in place. Further south are the ruins of the settlement of Ambrussum with the remains of a Roman bridge spanning the River Vidourle.

Narbonne, capital of the Roman province Gallia Narbonensis, has an archaeological museum (00 33 4 68 90 30 54; set in the Archbishop’s Palace and open Tues-Sun 10am-noon and 2-5pm; adults ¤5.20/ £4.30). Here you gaze at an absorbing Roman collection of stone carvings, paintings and more.

In recent years, the passages and chambers of a Roman horreum (literally, a granary) have been discovered, and made accessible to the public, running under the streets of central Narbonne.

But the most spectacular Roman sites are concentrated in the Nîmes area. The city itself holds two truly spectacular Classical constructions. Right in the heart of Nîmes, dominating the square that was once the forum, is the small and perfectly formed temple known as the Maison Carrée (open daily 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm; adults ¤4.50/£3.75). With its elegant pediment and Corinthian columns, it is beautifully preserved – and will remain so thanks to conservation work now taking place. Only priests were once allowed entry but today tourists can take a look inside – where they see a 3D film about Roman life, its dialogue spoken in Latin, with French and English subtitles. Equally impressive and considerably larger is the city’s Roman amphitheatre south west of the temple (except for special events, open daily 9.30am-5pm; adults ¤7.70/£6.50 including a lively audio guide).

The Romans significantly developed the infrastructure of Languedoc-Roussillon: not merely miraculous surviving structures such as the Pont du Gard, but by creating the tracks that many still follow – both in the street plans of the hearts of Nîmes, Montpellier and Perpignan, and in the ancient superhighways that still carve across the region. But over the centuries since then, many more thoroughfares have imposed themselves over the landscapes, from old mule paths to 21st-century high-speed rail tracks. And some of the Languedoc-Roussillon trails are perfect for exploring on two legs, two wheels, or four legs – or, while sitting down and taking in some superb scenery and engineering. More modest examples of architectural traces of the Romans in and around Caunes have been collected to constitute the Romanesque Art Tour of the Minervois.

“Through gusts of flamboyance and riots, the great histories of Languedoc have shaped the Languedoc as we know it today. Greeks, Romans, Benedictines, Cathars, all left their marks to build, layer after layer, a powerful identity: the Civilisation of Languedoc.”

Walks around Caunes

Derek — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:01:30 +0000

There is a range of marked walks into the foothills of the Montagne Noir starting and ending in Caunes. They range from a short stroll up to the marble quarries (if you elect to drive up the Allées des Carrières and park) to a considerable hike up to the village of Citou and back. Plans of these walks, provided by the local authorities, can be found on a notice board opposite the school and on the edge of the small park beside the river in the centre of Caunes. They are reproduced below for your convenience.

The (not-so) Scarce Swallowtail

These paths up into the foothills of the Black Mountains offer panoramic views of Caunes and across the Minervois to the Pyrenees. At the other extreme, wild flowers, birds and butterflies abound in this countryside. In the Spring and early summer wild orchids, minature iris and tiny daffodils, rock roses, herbs and wild asparagus sprawl alongside (and even across) these walking tracks. Bee orchids (an English rarity), for example, are commonly encountered almost before the village has been left behind.

Colourful birds and butterflies (again many rare exotics to British eyes) are encountered around Caunes, and even within the village. As for birds, the splendidly-crested black-and-white Hoopoe has been seen consistently on the walls of Maison du Midi, and the Black Redstart appears most days. Once into the countryside, the European Roller and Bee-eater, both exotic outlyers of their tropical African cousins, are easily spotted if they happen to be around.

A Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Caunes Sept 2009

Among the more obvious insects swallowtail butterflies are common in and around Caunes. One species is a very local and rare British resident, but they readily visits garden flowers in the village and are commonly seen fluttering along the roadsides where they lay eggs on the wild fennel. The highly entertaining humming-bird hawkmoth is also a regular visitor to nectar-rich flowers, and the large and dramatic Emperor moth must live closeby as one was recently snapped sleeping away the daytime sunshine sitting on the drainpipe of the front wall of Maison du Midi.

A sleeping Emperor moth, May 2009

The walks all start/end at the cluster of small roads off the Avenue du Minervois just a few minutes up the hill from the houses.

South of Caunes, the walker or jogger can launch into the endless paths that criss-cross the vineyards, or follow the Argent Double watercourse down to Peyriac.

Where the walks begin/end

A short walk to the marble quarries

A hike up to the plateau of La Matte

Up one side of the Argent Double valley, across, and down the other

The hike to Citou and back

Minervois Tours

Derek — Sun, 31 May 2009 12:24:58 +0000

Caunes in the Minervois & four local tours - click twice to enlarge

The official details of the four tours have disappeared, so we have constructed our interpretations of Tours 3 and 4, and these are given below. Tour 1, essentially a wine tour, could include almost every village in the Minervois because Caves and Chateaux are thick on the ground throughout this region. Tour 2 was designed, we presume, to encompass churches and perhaps prehistoric monuments; this is a work in progress.

Tour No. 3: Olives & Muscat

24: Saint-Jean de Minervois

Saint-Jean de Minervois, between Saint Chinian and Minervois proper, is a patch of brilliant white limestone and the home of the Muscat grape. From this delicious grape a natural sweet wine, both subtle and fruity is produced. This national star in France’s galaxy of fine wines is also known and appreciated on the world stage. This luscious golden wine is light enough for an aperitif as well as an accompaniment for dessert. According to The Wine Society the best producer is Raymond Miquel of Domaine de Barroubio.

23: Argeliers (a few kilometres off the tour)

Marcelin Albert, leader of the 1907 Languedoc wine-makers uprising, was born in 1851 in Argeliers.^[2] He died in 1921 and is buried in the cemetery in the village. A village square is named in his honour.

In 1907, Marcelin Albert, a simple café-owner and winegrower in the village of Argeliers, triggered one of France’s biggest popular uprisings: the Revolt of the Winegrowers. Above and beyond any political, religious or social issue, it expressed the desire of a people who wanted to live by working their land. Marcelin Albert set out to fight the swindlers who made artificial wine cheaply, using sugar and chemicals. He launched a peaceful and modern movement with a simple motto: wine must be a natural product, made by fermenting the juice of fresh grapes.

He set off with a group of 87 protesters from Argeliers, organising events from village to village and creating a protest paper called “Le Tocsin” (or “Sound the Alarm”). After Sallèles, Bize, Ouveillan, Coursan, Capestang and Lézignan, 100,000 people went to demonstrate in Narbonne.

Marcelin Albert brought the whole department to a standstill. Units of the French army, ordered to disperse the winegrowers, mutinied instead and it took weeks of negotiation by the home minister, Georges Clemenceau, to reach a compromise

22: Bize en Minervois — The Oulibo Olive Cooperative is located just outside the village of Bize on the D607 a few hundreds yards before the junction with the D5.

The L’Oulibo Cooperative was founded in 1942 in the heart of the Minervois region.
It was a tough start. L’Oulibo survived the devastating freeze of 1956 that destroyed all but 5% of French olive orchards. It not only survived, but emerged stronger. The Cooperative replanted the best local varieties of olive trees, the Olivière and the Picholine varieties, along with others selected for their flavoursome qualities: the Bouteillan and Aglandau. Later, under the influence of its director Pierre-André Marty, it concentrated production on the Lucques of Bize. This exceptional green olive is produced exclusively in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. In keeping with this pioneering attitude, the cooperative L’Oulibo has built its reputation in the South of France around this concept, that of being the specialists in the Lucques variety.

L’Oulibo is constantly adding to its range of products as part of a desire to widen its circle of connoisseurs for its olives, oils, tapenades and olive pastes.

Today the visitor can tour their extensive displays, built around the impressive stone crushing mill, and sample the vast range of products available for purchase.

Cooperative l’Oulibo, Cabezac. 11120 Bize Minervois www.loulibo.com

21: Ginestas

The village boasts a number of fine 19^th century buildings as well as St Luc’s church with the exceptional 17^th century altar of gilded wood which was restored in 1962. Chateau Le Vergel is a centuries old wine producer noted for its intense reds: from €6 to €10 their deep ruby reds present fruits and spices blended with soft tannins.

20: Sallèles d’Aude

In the centre of vast vineyards and at the junction of canals, this village provides the visitor with a reconstruction of village life and, in particular, wine making and pottery.

Museum of old Sallèles

In the exceptional setting of an old ramonétage ( vine-growing estate manager’s house ) the stable, wine cellar and living quarters have been restored and accommodate three collections :

- ancient crafts

- wine and winemaking

- daily life

More than 1,200 tools, machines and various objects have been restored.

More than 2000 years ago potters settled on the territory of the present-day commune of Sallèles. For three centuries they produced en masse amphorae, tiles, bricks, pipes, crockery and oil lamps.

How these potters of Antiquity lived and worked is shown in the museum that is built like a veritable bridge over the archaeological site where the dig was begun some 20 years ago. In 1997, an exact replica of a gallo-roman kiln was built with identical materials and tools. Indeed, the building in which it is housed was also built by artisans. So, there are now regular firings in this kiln.

Open from May to September inclusive

Saturdays and Sundays : 2.30pm – 6.30pm

Open every day by reservation for groups of 10 and more. Guided tours available.

Musée du Vieux Sallèles

5, av. Marcellin Albert

11590 Sallèles d’Aude

Tel 04 68 46 93 40 – 04 68 46 95 53

Tour No. 4: Romanesque Art

6: Caunes-Minervois - Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Caunes

This Benedictine Abbey was founded in 780 by Benedict of Aniane (750–821) who was born into a noble family but at the age of twenty, he experienced a conversion and became a monk at Saint-Seine, near Dijon. After about three years, seeking a more solitary life, he became a hermit on his own estate by the river Aniane. Here he was joined by other hermits: they lived (it was said) on bread and water only, except on Sundays and feast days. Extreme poverty and solitude were prominent at this stage of his monastic life, but both were somewhat modified later; he became an Abbot and was a prominent figure in the reform of monastic life. His Abbey at Caunes is representative of the best southern Roman art.

It is reputed to be the only abbey in Cathar country with a crypt that is open to the public, and with a double-level cloister (12^th and 18^th centuries). The Apse is particularly remarkable: it is a jewel of early southern French Romanesque architecture. In addition, the fine marble decoration (from the quarries of Caunes) is an outstanding feature with truly local connections.

The red marble of Caunes has been used since ancient times but was forgotten in the Middle Ages; in the 17^th century it was rediscovered and used to ornament a number of churches, such as St Peter’s in Rome, the Paris Opera and the columns of the Grand Trianon of Versailles. Today a short, but vigorous, walk up and out of Caunes (on the Allée des Carrières a left branch at the top up of the village on the main road towards Trausse – for route details, see map) takes the visitor into the foothills of the Black Mountains and up to a selection of quarries, both old and still-worked. A return down to the main road leads you to Trausse.

35: Trausse

Set among vineyards and cherry orchards, Trausse holds its annual cherry festival in late May.

34: Peyriac-Minervois

On the route towards Rieux, the Tour St Martin, wine cooperative is well worth a visit for anyone interested in the range of wines produced in this locality – from good soft reds, such as Chateau de Peyriac, refreshing rosés, such as Chateau Pautard as well as the Tour St Martin range, dry white Muscat Sec and the more complex Viognier. In addition, a small range of very cheap and quite drinkable wines are sold loose (or by the box if you fail to bring a receptacle). All of their wines can be sampled before prospective purchase.

33: Rieux-Minervois

In the old village of Rieux Minervois (just 15 minutes from Caunes) you will discover a roman church dedicated to Saint Mary. The seven-sided rotunda (XIth-XIIth century) is built (some will say) according to a reference in the Book of Proverbs, Chapter 9: “Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars.” The seven-pointed star is a recurring mystic symbol in the Midi, and so many other ‘explanations’ for the design of this church have been offered, and many puzzles stated. Why, for example, is the central heptagon surrounding the altar composed of four squat pilasters and three pillars?

This odd church can be explored with, or without, a guide. Unique in the world by virtue of its architecture and sculptures, its dome, composed of seven sections, tops a wonderful assembly decorated with the sculptures of the Master of Cabestany – a famous sculptor of the XIIth century.

32: Felines-Minervois

31: La Livinière

This little village of the Haut Minervois was the first Languedoc village to achieve AOC status for its wine. Despite its size it has three churches that exhibit the full range of epochs of church architecture, and the basilica here has an unusual domed bell tower. In addition, the vestiges of the Medieval fortifications are still extant here and there.

30: Siran

North of Siran the 13^th century Chapelle de Centeilles, a unique survival, sits amid cypress, holm oaks and the vineyards. The inside is entirely covered with frescoes from the 13^th-15^th centuries, and it houses a fragment of 3^rd century Roman mosaic found in Siran.

29: Pépieux

28: Cesseras

On the D168 from Cesseras to Minerve take the left turn to Fauzan, nesting in a grove of Pine trees you will find the Romanesque chapel of St Germain which is of particular interest because of its decorated apse.

27: Minerve (see Restaurant Guide, Relais Chantovent)

Named after the goddess Minerva, this picturesque village gives its name to the whole area, and is best known for the five-week siege in 1210 by Simon de Montfort and 7,000 men. The sheltering Cathars capitulated and some 180 ‘unrepentant’ heretics were slaughtered. But its history, of course, extends back centuries before this. Of Romanesque interest there is the small church of St Etienne, primarily an 11^th century apse and a 12^th century nave. An inscription on the high-altar table indicates that it was consecrated 456 by the Bishop of Narbonne, St Rustique. It is said that about 100 5^th -9^th century graffiti can be found on the building. In addition, various parts of the early double curtain defensive walls remain – the guidebooks mention a 12^th century section and the pointed archway of the southern postern gate. A small museum contains artefacts from prehistory up to the Roman age.

26: La Caunette (see Restaurant Guide, Le Picou)

Within La Caunette, the old centre of the village, la Carambelle, is still entered via a medieval gateway from the 13^th century. The defensive ramparts of this ancient village are still visible on the western side between the caves of the limestone cliffs and the river Cesse.

En route from La Caunette the village of Aigne is of particular interest because of its medieval circular, or snail-like, structure – known as a circulade – and hence the name of its excellent restaurant, Le Cagarol (the Ammonite? – see Restaurant Guide).

Also en route is Mailhac which has a famous archaeological site developed by two local inhabitants. It is focused on the first Iron Age of Languedoc. In addition, a number of vestiges of medieval life have been preserved.

25: Pouzols

The Cave Cooperative in Puzols maintains the Garden of Bacchus in which they grow nearly 100 different grape varieties. In addition, there is a museum housing many of the curiosities of wine-making through the centuries.

Castles & Ruins

Maison du Minervois — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:11:50 +0000

The Minervois is littered with ruined castles in addition to the spectacularly ‘repaired’ old fortress city of ancient Carcassonne, La Cité.

“the famous words of Gustave Nadaud: Il ne faut pas mourir sans avoir vu Carcassonne” are brought to mind by one of the characters in Kate Mosse’s book Sepulchre (Orion, 2007) page 420. This 19th century French songwriter certainly waxed lyrical in one of his later songs about the tragedy of approaching senility while still not having seen Carcassonne. With considerable poetic licence he compares its castle walls to those of Babylon. Although La Cité is a magical place (provided one can block out the endless shops purveying plastic tourist tat), the more worldly-wise visitor might feel that other wonders, such as Machu Picchu, have a strong claim to be alongside, if not in front of, Carcassonne on your list of places to visit before you die. Still, if you’re holidaying in the Languedoc then it would clearly be more sensible to tick Carcassonne off your list than to make it wait its turn.

Even closer to Caunes, and far less visited and developed, although equally spectacular in a less brash and touristy way, are the four ruined castles of Lastours (about 20 minutes drive from Caunes — head out towards Carcassonne but soon take the right turn to Villeneuve and follow signs heading for Lastours). With ruins dating from the Bronze Age, 6th century Visigoth settlement, and inevitably the Cathars who resisted repeated assaults by Simon de Montfort’s troops in 1209 but negotiated a capitulation to the northern Barons in 1229. In the 16th century the Protestants occupied the castles which were abandoned after The Revolution.

Carcassonne Market

Maison du Minervois — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:56:16 +0000

Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings this large fruit, flowers, herbs and vegetables market is held in the Place Carnot — the centre of modern Carcassonne. Car parking is available all around this central area, but from Caunes a handy, quick and congestion-free strategy is to drive in along the D118 coming from Caunes on the Mazamet road. Take the 3rd exit off the roundabout on the periferique road, adjacent to the huge red Cap Rouge cinema complex — D6113, signed La Cité. Quite quickly you come to new roundabout: take first exit, D118, signed Carcassonne centre. Follow this road alongside the canal (which offers fine views of La Cité on top of its hill to your left) until you reach the canal-side parking just before the railway bridge, park, and walk under the bridge; turn left at end, cross main road and walk straight down to the Place Carnot , about 10 minutes in total (if you drive too far and go under the bridge there is a mini-roundabout that permits you to return and look for a space to park in).

Local Scenery

Maison du Minervois — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:38:53 +0000

The Canal du Midi, which is a major part of the waterway connecting the Meditterranean with the Atlantic, snakes through the Minervois. Apart from the obvious boating pleasures, its shaded towpaths provide delightful walking and cycling routes.

It is, however, vineyards that dominate the Minervois landscape, but not unrelenting vast-scale plantings. The patchwork of vineyards is peppered with olive groves, and fruit orchards (cherry orchards are a feature around Caunes), asparagus fields, and open countryside often affording fine views of the Pyrenees far to the south and west.

Lac Jouarres, near the village of Homps (15 mins. away), is used for swimming and water sports, such as wind surfing. The attractively landscaped lakeside also contains a restaurant. Lac de La Cavayère near Carcassonne is another similar location with many associated entertainments. The close-by village of Peyriac has a municipal swimming pool.

Wine guide to the Minervois, and the Languedoc

Derek — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 11:16:04 +0000

The Sud de France/Languedoc-Roussillon area is the world’s largest single wine-producing region, representing a third of the volume of France’s wine production. Its production, about two billion bottles a year, exceeds that of South Africa and Chile combined.

Historically, Languedoc was the sleeping giant of the wine world. Previously known for producing large amounts of poor-quality wine, the region is now making a wide range of world-class wines, thanks to its clement climate, excellent terroir, a policy of replanting grape varieties, and the sustained efforts of a growing number of dedicated, passionate vignerons.

The Sud de France region boasts a diverse range of wines – including red, white, rose, sweet, sparkling wines, with a choice of Appellations d’Origine Contrôlées (AOCs), Vin de Pays, single variety and blends – which can be matched to a variety of occasions.

The vinyards of Languedoc, stretching from the edge of Nîmes to the Spanish border, offers a large variety of named specialities: one can find the AOCs, Corbières, Corbières-Boutenac, Languedoc, Malepère, Minervois, Minervois La Livinière, Saint-Chinian, Faugères, Limoux, Blanquette de Limoux, Crémant de Limoux, Blanquette Méthode Ancestrale, Clairette du Languedoc, Cabardès, Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois, Muscat de Lunel, Muscat de Mireval et Muscat de Frontignan.

The very last of the AOCs awarded was the AOC Languedoc. It was the emergence, in May 2007, of this new region-wide appellation that marked an essential step in the development of the Languedoc as a major player in wine production. It unified the whole region of Languedoc-Roussillon, from Nîmes to Spain, in which these other appellations already existed.

The soils and the climate are the principal factors from which the diversity of wines originate. It is diversity that characterizes the languedocian soils, and so accordingly the diversity of appellations produced: vast pebble terraces, sandstone and marnes, calcareous and schists, clay soils, powdery, sandy soils, sticky, etc. It is this wide variety of assets that give the terroirs of the Languedoc the necessary specificity for each appellation. A terroir, from ‘earth’ (terre in French), is more than just soil; it is a complete context for the growing of grapes — so soil may be the essential anchor but the winds, the light, the rain, (in a word) climate is part of a terroir too.

It is the development of the Mediterranean grape varieties, such as Grenache, the Mourvèdre or the Syrah, in Languedoc in the last 30 years that have led to a profound restructuring of the vineyeards.

The Grenache grape, introduced into France in the Middle Ages, allows production of the naturally-sweet wines (such as Banyuls, Maury…) and the very grand wines for laying down, structured and aromatic as a result of carefully controlled production (associated with the grape varieties containing more tannin, such Syrah or Mourvèdre).

Above all, it is about the Picpoul blanc; A grape variety originated in the Midi. It is mostly cultivated in the Department of Hérault. This variety has given its name to an AOC Coteaux du Languedoc “Picpoul de Pinet” , the production of which is situated around the lake of Thau. It allows the production of dry white wines, edgy and enjoyable.

The Minervois and other major wine regions of the Languedoc

A palette of wines with the tastes of Languedoc

Reds, Whites, Rosés, bubbly wines, the AOCs of Languedoc come in a variety of colours and a wide variety of tastes. Here are some notes on some of the specialities of the different appellations found in Languedoc, and we begin with the Minervois.

MINERVOIS

Wonderfully placed between the Montagne Noir and the Canal du Midi, the plain of Minervois vineyards are enveloped in a microclimate of sea winds perfumed by wild rosemary and the herbs of the adjoining garrigue (into which some vineyards have crept). The Minervois is

known for white, red and rosé wines, as well as its delightful Muscats and “vins nobles.” It received AOC classification in 1985.

Grape varieties : Mourvèdre and Syrah bring full aromatic complexity and finesse to the Grenaches noirs. Carignan and Cinsault are for red and rosé wines. White varieties are numerous: Grenache, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Maccabeu, Rolle and Muscat.

three local wines

Vineyards : Located within a triangle delimited by Carcassonne, Narbonne and Béziers, the vineyards stretch in terraces over 18,000 hectares, 5000 of which are in production.

Wines : The East of the Minervois produces well-structured reds of a handsome, ruby colour. The centre offers distinguished, supple wines, while the whites are fresh and rich in floral aromas. To the West, reds are lively and aromatic, and whites are drier. Higher up, reds have more body while whites are more inspired by fragrances of heather. Saint-Jean de Minervois is the home of the Muscat, a natural sweet wine, both subtle and fruity.

CABARDÈS

With a distant view of the ramparts of medieval Carcassonne, the hills and slopes of Cabardès grow both Mediterannean and Atlantic grape varieties from which to compose their unusual wines. Cabardès was awarded AOC recognition in 1998.

Grape varieties: A unique combination of two families of grape varieties: the Atlantic varieties of Merlot, Cabernet, Cot and the Mediterranean varieties of Grenache and Syrah.

Vineyards : The Cabardés, both a Region and a Vineyard, bordered by the Canal du Midi in the south, is located between Carcassonne and the Pic de Nore (1210 m) on the gentle slopes of the Montagne Noire, in the heart of Languedoc between Toulouse and the Mediterranean. Here the chosen varieties thrive in the sun and the white stones of the chalky foothills. This terroir is composed of four different types of soil — granites and terraces in the south; chalky marl on the slopes; and siliceous formations of the Montagne Noire to the North — and is subjected to both east and west winds.

Wines : The blending of these grape varieties makes the wines of Cabardés rich, complex and well-balanced.

CORBIÈRES

Running past the ruined Cathar citadels, cut through by opposing winds, the massif of Corbières produces wines markedly intense, spicy and full-flavoured. Corbières received the AOC classification in 1985.

Grape varieties : Syrah, Grenache noir, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cinsault for reds and rosés. Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache blanc, Maccabeu, Bourboulenc for whites.

Vineyards : A landscape of gorges and wild hill slopes flooded with sunlight, the Corbières mountain range towering over the Golfe du Lion and its string of lakes stretches over 23000 hectares, 19000 of which have received AOC classification. This is the largest appellation in Languedoc.

Wines : The reds are intense, round and full-bodied, with hints of pepper and spice. The tannic structure is rich and blended, giving the Corbières wines genuine aging potential. Whites are fine and floral, bringing together their unctuousness and liveliness in perfect harmony. The rosés are lively and pleasant.

FITOU

A unified region with two distinct aspects: there is the Fitou of the maritime lagoons, and the Fitou of the dryer back country. There are notes of cloves and of bay emanating from dark ruby-red wines. It received the AOC classification in 1948, and is the oldest of the AOC reds in Languedoc.

Grape varieties : The main grape varieties are the Carignan grown on its favourite soil, ideally completed by the Grenache noir. The Syrah and Mourvèdre bring flavour and persistence in the mouth.

Vineyards : The vineyards of Fitou are divided into two production areas. The steep hills in the South East of the Corbières mountains, and the terroir along the coast, home of Fitou which gave its name to the appellation. The vineyards stretch over 2500 hectares.

Wines : There is generosity in these potent wines. Some need 4 or 5 years to fully mature.

LIMOUX

Cuvee Expression an Antech Cremant de Limoux

Along the high valley of the River Aude and probing into the hills, the vineyards of Limoux produce the fizzy Blanquettes and Cremants as well as still white wines. South of Carcassonne, this verdant valley of the Aude is cool and subject to the Atlantic. Bordeaux grapes thrive here. There is even a little pinot noir but historically the best wines are sparkling Crémant de Limoux, once made only from the local mauzac grape but now with more chardonnay and chenin. “Best producer by far is Françoise Antech”, says The Wine Society, and from our limited testing we agree – in particular, we recommend this middle-range offering (about €8 in Intermarché but sometimes only €5-6 in Spar at Peyriac).

Grape varieties : Mauzac, Chenin and Chardonnay.

Vineyards : 3000 hectares around Limoux, where the Atlantic and Mediterranean influences rub shoulders.

Wines : Blanquette de Limoux was awarded AOC status in 1938. It is mainly produced from the Mauzac grape variety, and aged for at least 9 months. Best served brut throughout the meal or demi sec for dessert.

Crémant de Limoux attained its AOC in 1990. It is composed of no more than 70% Mauzac and no less than 30% Chardonnay and Chenin, and aged for 12 months. Best served brut for apéritif or to accompany fish or white meat.

The Blanquette Méthode Ancestrale, also gained AOC status in 1938 (Limoux AOC in 1993), is produced by a second fermentation in the bottle which is due to the sugar contained in the Mauzac at harvest. This wine can reach 6/7° and is an ideal companion for sweet desserts.

MALEPÈRE

A densely wooded massif, Malepère marks out the west of the Aude in an exuberant mosaic of vineyards. It presents a successful union of diverse influences, both Mediterranean and oceanic, which results in the miraculous microclimate of the Malepère.

Grape varieties : In reds, Merlot is the dominant variety, associated with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Cot, Grenache and Cinsault bring their Mediterranean touch.

Vineyards : At the centre of the triangle of Carcassonne, Limoux and Castelnaudary, these are the most westerly of Languedoc vineyards. From the Mont Naut, it’s a succession of hills and vales. These are vineyards, on lime-clay hills and gravelly terraces, are gifted with wonderful varieties and a unique personality.

Wines : The combination of grape varieties contributes in giving the wines of Malepère originality; these are well-structured wines to accompany Cassoulet (the local speciality casserole), red meats, game or cheeses. Younger wines give off aromas of red fruits and blackcurrant; older wines have notes of spices, vanilla and roasting.