Oenotourism at Château l’Hospitalet and L’Art de Vivre

Story | Renée S. Suen

Gazing out at the Mediterranean, I wonder how many other food and wine lovers know about this treasure. It’s summer in southwest France, and I’m near Narbonne in the Le Clape massif, attending winemaker Gérard Bertrand’s popular annual Jazz à l’Hospitalet Festival.

Besides being close to some of the country’s nicest beaches, and surrounded by stunning landscapes, the region is blessed with 300-plus, sun-soaked days a year.

I’m in Occitanie, well known for being France’s largest organic wine producer, although it was previously known for the production of cheap bulk wines. It is spearheaded by renowned independent winemaker Gérard Bertrand, aka the King of the Languedoc, who has 15 of his 16 wine-growing estates following the principles of biodynamic farming – encouraging biodiversity by using holistic and ecological approaches.

As the largest producer of biodynamic wines in the world, Bertrand has also captured best-in-the-world nods for his Château l’Hospitalet Grand Vin Rouge 2017 (International Wine Challenge 2019) and the illustrious World’s Best Rosé title for his Clos du Temple at UK’s Global Rosé Masters.

In addition to producing world-class wines, every summer the former professional rugby player welcomes spectators to five memorable open-air dinner concerts at the Hospitalet estate.

Each seafood-filled gala dinner is paired with a generous selection from the winemaker’s catalogue. The themed event starts as a beautiful sea of guests dining under the canopy of stars before being ushered to an open concert space, where a roster of prestigious international artists play well into the night.

For oenophiles seeking a fully immersive experience, the worldrenowned winemaker’s Château l’Hospitalet is dedicated to the art of living. Situated in the heart of the Narbonne regional park, in the protected La Clape mountain range, the property overlooks the Mediterranean, with the Pyrenees in the far distance. It’s in this soothing atmosphere that you’ll find Bertrand’s wine resort surrounded by pine trees and manicured vineyards.

Winner of the Wine Tourism Trophies Golden Prize 2020, the 1,000-hectare estate is a blend of nature and luxury, with an underlying theme focused on wines and their terroir. The wine resort’s traditional 16thcentury building opens into an inner courtyard that boasts of wine cellars with vintages of rare, sweet wines (Legend Vintage) from 1875 to 1977, and an art gallery. There’s a boutique with its own tasting area that offers workshops, guided tours of the estate and wine tastings where you’ll be able to discover the best of Bertrand’s wines.

There’s plenty to do around the property – be it hiking trails, guided walks or scooter tours. Or, you can work out in the resort’s fitness room, attend an organized yoga class, play a match on the tennis court, do a round on the putting green, or swim in the heated outdoor pool.

Those wishing to unwind, Spa Soleilla offers personalized treatments using Biologique Recherche’s skincare products and features a menu of massages and sauna.

For stays, the warm and chic ecological hotel offers 41 rooms (including 28 suites) that have recently been renovated and feature stone walls and contemporary finishes. Spread out among three two-storey buildings, Le Château’s 17 suites and 13 rooms each are named after wines from the south of France and may have their own private garden or jacuzzi.

With views towards the sea and a private swimming pool, Villa Soleilla’s 11 suites have a warm aesthetic, bursting of natural woods and a terracotta palette, elegant décor and large picture windows that seem to blend into the surrounding landscape. The premium Suite Soleilla has a garden terrace, lounge area with a sofa bed, dressing room and armchairs, a split-level bathroom and a euro-cave filled with exceptional bottles of Bertrand’s wines.

The property also features two restaurant options. Helmed by chef Lauren Chabert since 2014, L’Art de Vivre gourmet restaurant showcases refined modern Mediterranean cuisine that’s been recognized by L’Assiette Michelin and has been awarded two Toques from Gault & Millau. Using seasonal, local, and organic produce from Occitanie, including vegetables and herbs he grows in the kitchen garden or from the Massif de la Clape, the reservations-only restaurant’s menu also features Aubrac beef, Pyrenees lamb, Catalan sausage, Gruissan eel and fish from the Mediterranean.

Chabert’s dishes have been crafted to compliment Bertrand’s line of Chateaux and Domaine wines perfectly. Every Friday night, the restaurant showcases the “Les Vendredis du Jazz” and offers a threecourse, wine-pairing dinner that’s enjoyed with musical entertainment by local talents.

Newly opened Chez Paule serves traditional home-style provincial cuisine that’s cooked over a wood fire in the restaurant’s beautiful rotisserie-grill fireplace. Here, Chabert prepares regional dishes over selected woods, including delicate smoking with vine stocks, and features Languedoc recipes from Gérard’s grandmother, Paule Bertrand (who planted the now 100-year-old plot of Carignan that became the winery’s Villemajou estate).

Consider a free-range roast chicken dish that’s infused with thyme, rosemary and garlic, a grilled fish and a garden fig tart with honey ice cream and pine nuts served in elegant dishware from the early 1900s.

There’s even Mme Bertrand’s rabbit and mushroom dish, or a pot au feu (French beef stew). Besides a daily changing chalkboard menu that features seasonal specials and wines of the day, guests can also enjoy “Les Vendredis du Jazz” in the warm, convivial atmosphere.

Off  property and a few minutes drive from Château l’Hospitalet in Narbonne Plage, l’Hospitalet Beach offers guests 100 single deckchairs and four-poster beds (that require reservation and are subject to availability) along the Occitan coast during the summer. In addition to beach activities and rentals for paddleboarding, there is a large cocktail bar and a restaurant that offers both lunch and dinner service.

Expect fresh market fare like salads and poke bowls, oysters from the Bassin de Thau, fish tartare, a grilled veal chop from the Pyrenees or lamb chop with sage. There’s also an extensive list of Bertrand wines, including some great vintages that are available by the glass that can be savoured under the shade of the restaurant’s canopy, or while lounging on the beach’s fine sand. Indeed, few things can match the company of a jeroboam of Gris Blanc rosé while watching the sunset over the Mediterranean Sea.

However, for the truly exclusive, stay at nearby Clos du Temple, Bertrand’s newly constructed cellar at Cabrières that’s dedicated solely to the winemaker’s fine, award-wining grand cru rosé. Nestled into the hillside, the 12-hectare estate is surrounded by lush forest vegetation with evergreens and white oaks mingling with wild olive trees and fig trees that’s broken up with 11 parcels of vines. The winery is integrated into its surroundings and designed with Montpellier-based
architect François Fontès, whose work is known to respect nature while honouring a region’s cultural identity.

Here, the dry, barrel-fermented, Grenache-based rosé is made in a contemporary facility that taps into biodynamic practices. In addition to having a half-buried ground floor which takes advantage of thermal inertia, there’s plenty of skylights to permit natural light. Equipped with pyramid-shaped vats meant to represent the link between Earth and the cosmos, even the production follows the lunar calendar. Upstairs, there’s a sprawling reception area and wraparound patio that opens into unobstructed panoramic views of the landscape.

On the far side of the winery is Clos du Temple’s single suite, where guests can have the entire estate for their enjoyment at €5,000 (approx. $7,200) a night.

The exclusive experience includes a private chef-created dinner for two, a private concert in the panoramic room by a pianist, a tour of the estate and a visit to the cellar, including a vertical wine tasting with Benjamin Gadois, director of the estate.

Open from spring to October. Bookings available in February 2022. Rates start at €240 (€1500 for Suite Soleilla) and include breakfast. Clos du Temple is available for €5,000 a night.

Restaurant Chez Paule is open Tuesday to Saturday, lunch and dinner. Monday and Sunday, lunch only.

Restaurant l’Art de Vivre reopens in 2022.

Hospitalet Beach Restaurant is open Tuesdays to Sunday for lunch and dinner.

Château de l’Hospitalet
Route de Narbonne Plage, 11100 Narbonne
+33 (0)4 68 45 28 50
chateau-hospitalet.com