Traveling to a suburb of Montpellier for close to a month at the end of June.
Can anyone recommend wineries, restaurants in the region ?
Thanks in advance.
A lot of Languedoc wineries should be pretty close: eg Domaine de l’hortus, Grange des pères (a bit of a cult producer).
To the north, the new kid on the block is Puech-Haut, in Saint-Drézéry. Their Closiere du Pic Rouge just got a monster score from Robert Parker, and it was very well deserved.
http://puech-haut.fr/en/contact-information/
https://www.bing.com/maps?q=Saint-Drézéry%2c+France
To the south, in St. Pargoire, the Grand Old Dame would be Marlène Soria, but my understanding is that just about 100% of her production now goes to Michelin-starred restaurants, and getting an appointment with her might be very, very difficult.
https://www.bing.com/maps?q=St.+Pargoire%2c+France
And even further to the south, you’ve got Pinet. I always imagined that it would be a blast to grab a blanket and an ice chest with some Picpoul and have a picnic down by the sea.
Chateau de la Negly is within reach. I went there several years back and really enjoyed it. The wines are a bit pricey and polarizing, but it’s a fun place to visit because they produce a pretty good variety including Carignan, Rose, etc.
If you are up for a 45 mins drive one of my favorite restaurants in France is in the Camargue: Chez Bob (http://restaurantbob.fr/) . Rather than add my own words, just go and read the reviews online - it’s got quite a cult following. The Spanish pork dish I had there was truly outstanding.
Cote de taureau? Well OK, à chacun son gout!
Lots of possibilites in the neighbourhood. Terrasses du Larzac is especially hot these days. Many new producers making great wine. Next door Montpeyroux has some good ones. Be sure to stop by Restaurant de Lauzun in Gignac for lunch. Also in St.-Georges-d’Orques just in the suburbs of Montpellier there is some great producers and Pic-St.-Loup is a very pretty visit.
FWIW, this is one of my very favorite wine regions to visit, too…the Pic St. Loup The wines of Pic St Loup, a leading Languedoc wine region
From what I can tell, Puech-Haut is just off on the eastern portion of that map:
I was just in the area two weeks ago. We visited Puech-Haut to the north-east and Mas de Daumas Gassac to the west. Both were very nice visits.
Thanks so much to everyone who chimed in!!!
I will report back as we try them all.
The thought of eating freshly caught oysters with a picpoul sounds pretty damn good right now !!!
Careful because it’s not the season now in Europe for oysters…
Off the top of my head:
- Pic Saint Loup: Ermitage du PSL (beautiful location as well), Christophe Peyrus
- Aniane, Puéchabon, Montpeyrous: Grange des Pères (you can try your luck, getting entry is based mostly on luck since getting an appointment is nearly impossible), Mas de la Séranne (the nicest people making great wines at very good prices), Montcalmès, Terrasse d’Elise (great single grapes wines, try their Mourvèdre for instance, great stuff!), d’Aupilhac, Mas Jullien…
The only issue is that in late June or July, there might not be much wine left to buy.
I don’t think you can visit Peyre Rose, and in any case you cannot buy wine at the estate.
A very good restaurant in St Jean de Fos near Aniane: La Pourpre et les Oliviers.
There is also a Michelin 1* in Gignac, but I’ve never been to. Heard great reviews though.
Go and visit Saint Guilhem le Désert, one of the most beautiful village I’ve been to in France.
And a must do if you’re there: “Circulade vigneronne des Terrasses du Larzac”, basically you walk in the wines all day long and stop at different wineries and taste their products.
More info: http://www.terrasses-du-larzac.com/tourisme-vigneron/circulade-vigneronne-terrasses-larzac
Hope you have a great time!
Alain