RICHARD FRISBIE - Chateau & Wine in Southern France

LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON REGION
“Vie de Château à la Française”
(or - April in France - Beautiful!)

I arrived at Montpellier International Airport from Paris at noon to meet with a representative of the Languedoc Roussillon Tourist Board, and begin my six day whirlwind tour of the Southeastern Mediterranean coast of France.

First up, lunch at the Welcomedia restaurant, which I barely remember because I’d been awake for 30 hours to get there. After lunch I checked-in to the Hôtel le Guilhem, a really quaint, but modernized building in the old, walking section of Monpellier. There was time for a shower before a tour of the neighborhood. The streets were narrow with barely room for the occasional compact car or motorbike to pass us as we walked. At 8 PM we had dinner at Restaurant Le Comptoir de l’Arche, and an early night, by French standards, because as the group assembled throughout the day we found we were all exhausted.

Tuesday dawned clear, with a forcast of continued unseasonably warm weather. It was sunny and in the 70s our entire stay. Our group split up - each with a different agenda - so I walked to the Fabre Museum, in the city center. It is one of the biggest museums in France, which reopened on February 4, 2007, after being closed for three years for refurbishment.   

The city highlights are: Place de la Comédie, Opéra Comédie, Palais des Congrès, Opéra Berlioz. The pedestrian areas, private mansions, Avenue Foch, with the triumphal Arch (Arc de Triomphe), the royal walk of the Peyrou. The Botanical Garden, classified as a Historical Monument and Protected Site, is in front of the Faculty of Medicine which is one of the oldest colleges in Europe. Montpellier will be one of the main cities on the route for the Tour de France in July, as well as host to a part of the Rugby World Cup in September. With a population of 400,000 and over 80,000 of them students in the many universities, it is a very young city.

A late lunch at the Restaurant Duo, Place de la Chapelle, was a real treat. The owner asked how we heard of his place since it only opened two weeks before. In fact, his architect was there still, directing workmen who were re-hanging the doors so they opened and closed more easily. The decor was beautiful and the food was GREAT. I told Nicolas (the owner) my usual - make me whatever you want - astound me - and he did! I ate the best calamari there, moist and tender - in a can-this-really-be-cooked way - that told me he knew how to cook squid.

We all connected for an afternoon tour of the Chateau de Flaugergues  on the edge of Monpellier. It dates back to the end of the XVII century, and is one of the so-called 'Follies', summer residences built in the countryside around Montpellier by aristocrats and wealthy merchants in the 17th & 18th centuries. The chateau has been in the Flaugergues family since 1696. Our host is the 10th generation to run the winery. While we there his daughter Rose was born to continue the tradition of a family-run destination winery, with gardens and a house tour.

Afterward we visited the Château de Raissac which was built on a roman villa's vestiges, situated in the heart of the Languedoc region, with different architectural modifications through the XVIIIth & XIXth centuries. It is also the home of the Faîence Museum, one of the largest collections of ceramics in France. We had dinner with the owners and spent the night, family-style, in their sumptuous home.In the morning I explored their glass house and green house. The Château de Raissac is a real old estate - in their family for 200 years. Then we visited of the estate’s vineyards and had a wine tasting, as if we hadn’t consumed enough the night before over a delightfully casual dinner.

We then traveled to the Château d’Agel (originally from the 12th century) which is a wine-producing property located in AOC of MINERVOIS in Languedoc, next to the Black Mountain and the limestone (Causse) of Saint Jean de Minervois. It is owned by the Ecal family since the mid-18th century.  We had lunch there and a tour of the vineyard. Of course we tasted their wines too.

We drove to dinner at la Bastide de Cabezac  where we stayed overnight. The owner was new, having purchased it only the month before, and the rooms were spare - almost like a monk’s cell - which I found a pleasant change from the rooms filled to overflowing with the detritus of centuries that we’d been frequenting. There is something to be said for a minimalist approach to decorating - enough said. We had a formal wine tasting there - almost a wine tasting school - that I really enjoyed, and a dinner that worked on the menu but did not quite come together on the plate. It almost seemed as if the chef didn’t want the food to be reviewed well - that many things went wrong. It was too bad. The owner is a very likable and hard working man. When he’s owned it awhile I’m sure all the seemingly disparate pieces will come together into one pleasant whole. I’d go back. Just down the street is a little dive with good draft beer and a man on the sidewalk selling fresh oysters - 3 Euro for a half dozen! Great buy and freshest oysters I’ve eaten. Perfect after finishing the book Big Oyster just before the trip.

Thursday morning we had a guided tour of Narbonne. It is located near the coast of one of the most popular tourist regions, which has the advantages of a seaside resort with a 5-kilometer (3-mile) beach and a marina.  Unfortunately, we never got out of the city to see it. City highlights: Saint Just and Saint Pasteur Cathedrals, a section of Roman road  called the Via Domitia, Horreum Romain, Palais des Archevêques, and a great Thursday market in the park where I found a nice tablecloth (linen is a local specialty) to bring home.

At noon we had another wine tasting at Palais des Vins, and then went downstairs to lunch at Restaurant La Table de St-Crescent  Chef Lionel Gerard invited me to sit at his table in the kitchen where some truly astounding culinary feats were accomplished. He really knows how to cook.
 
 After lunch we had a guided tour of the Abbey of Fontfroide, an old 11th century Cathar abbey which was purchased by local Frenchmen to keep it from being dismantled and taken to the US. Noted for it’s vaulted ceiling, with a height of 20 meters, it represents the simplicity of Cistercian architecture. The rose and herb gardens in the courtyards were spectacular.

From there we went to Carcassonne, and checked-in at the Hotel de la Cité.  Standing between two historic landmarks, the Romanesque Château Comtal and the Gothic Basilica of Saint-Nazaire, the Hôtel de la Cité is set in its own glorious gardens, and surrounded by a double fortification - massive stone walls. The pedestrian-only interior streets are filled with shops. This was my first real stay in a hotel/castle dating back to the 12th century. It was amazing - fully modernized on the interior - and fully lighted on the exterior. I got some great shots I’ll post with this when I catch my breath.

Diner at the hotel’s Restaurant La Barbacane was a mess of contradictions. The food was incredibly delicious - as it should be in a restaurant with a Michelin star, but the service - for the first time - made me think that the French really don’t like American tourists. It was an unfortunate breech of etiquette that almost marred a perfect meal. I don’t believe some of those servers are still employed there. However, the restaurant has spectacular views of the hotel's gardens and the citadel ramparts, with a glimpse of Carcassonne town over the walls in the distance.

The next morning we had a guided tour of the medieval walled city of Carcassonne with its 52 towers and 2 concentric enclosures - over 3 km of ramparts. Highlights: the major section of the Cité: the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire, the lists, the ramparts, the Porte Narbonnaise and Porte d'Aude, and life inside the walls. Of special note was the 3500 seat amphitheater where Sting performed last August in their annual music festival.

Midmorning was another wine tasting of the AOC wines from Aude’s department and wine tasting at the Comptoir des Vins et des Terroirs. Finally we got to taste some of the good wines too. Then we went to lunch at the Restaurant Le Parc Franck Putelat  which has one Michelin star.

For the afternoon we did something I’d been looking forward to all trip, we  took a boatride on the Canal du Midi, departing from the Carcassonne marina.  The canal connects the Atlantic coast with the Mediterranean, and was successful because it saved the long haul around the Iberian peninsula. Now it is strictly a tourist ride - a languorous and peaceful delight after a hectic schedule. I loved it!

Then we left the region to be back at Monpellier for an early morning departure where my wakeup call was for 6 AM. We barely had time for dinner - a very stylish restaurant well-know for its middle eastern cooking. I had my first tangine of lamb there and loved it. Those who have eaten it before said it was the best - so I’m lucky to have started there. I’ll definitely eat Moroccan food again.

There you have it - a taste of my itinerary - and a hint at the meals I’ll be telling you about over the next few weeks. But first - I have my bookshop business to take care of - and some well deserved rest to enjoy. I’ll upload pictures tomorrow or the next day so you can see what a beautiful section of France the Languedoc Roussillon region is.

www.sunfrance.com will take you to the Languedoc-Roussin Tourist Board website where representative Patricia de Pouzilhac  told me they have all the information to plan your own visit to this spectacular region of France.

Richard Frisbie, FOOD Correspondent:

  RICHARD FRISBIE is published twice a month to Gather Essentials: Food 
It is a food junkie's take on growing, raising, preparing and - above all else - eating food. Together we’ll explore the trends, addictions, equipment and regional specialties that make up the sometimes mundane and sometimes sublime cooking and dining experience. You can keep up with my other postings and Gather activity by joining my Gather network -- just click the orange “Connect” button on the upper left-hand side of this page --- I look forward to hearing from you.

BIO - Richard has been writing culinary travel articles for more than five years as a columnist for his local newspapers, and as a regular contributor to the many Hudson Valley, Catskill Mountain and other regional New York publications. His most recent addition to that list is a wine column called “Fruit of the Vine” for Life in the Finger Lakes magazine. Online, he writes frequent articles for EDGE publications and Travel Lady, as well as Gather.

You can read all of Richard's articles or find him with the other Food Correspondents, plus celebrity chef content and plenty of other Foodies at  http://foodtalk.gather.