Chateau Hopping in France ...

Our roving wine correspondent Tracy Claridge reports back from a summer spent in pursuit of the finer things... 

My youngest daughter Alice, post GCSEs, my partner Deborah and I headed off for la belle France this summer for what might best be described as a busman’s holiday.  A beautiful 19th century property (www.chateau-orignac.com), like most in need of repair and some TLC, it boasts 100ha of vines and sunflowers and cereals and dairy, sitting in the Fins Bois Cognac region, and is owned by the Meyer family, famous for Commander Meyer, who persuaded the Germans not to blow up La Rochelle at the end of the last war.  

I had intended to leave all UK news behind, but Brexit was the first question as we sat down for supper with Yvan Meyer, my great friend and colleague, head winemaker and technical director at Maison Sichel. Everywhere we went it was the same.The love/hate relationship has always existed with France. Now they are worried that we are leaving, if indeed we ever do?  We picked up my other daughter Emily from Bordeaux airport, and after three days at Orignac we headed to the other side of the city, to Chateau Biac (www.chateaubiac.com), a Lebanese-owned property overlooking the Garonne at Langoiran.We stayed in Vieux Biac, a 17th-century house that has been tastefully converted into gites.  They are available to rent and I would highly recommend them.  

We spent a day in Perigord before heading south, arriving at Domaine St Hilaire, 15 minutes from Pezenas, at teatime. It was once owned by one of Napoleon’s generals, Baron Hilaire Reynaud, but is now a 70ha estate owned by English couple Nick and Lisa Kent (www.domainesaint-hilaire.com).  Nick has given it the attention it requires and although the winery is a work in progress, like many previously run-down properties, the wines are improving under careful management and are all available in the UK. The accommodation is 5* and available to rent.  

We headed back up the other side of France, spending a night in the beautiful town of Beaune in Burgundy and then Reims before the short journey home. Even with the poor exchange rate, good/better value was to be found everywhere on the food and wine front. I came back to Brexit nonsense, found myself not knowing what to believe and who to trust anymore, but what I do know is that I love France and their certain je ne sais quoi de vivre. Sante.