Chateau de Mayragues

WELCOME

We look forward to sharing a few moments with you whether you are coming to taste our bio-dynamic wines, stay in one of our guest rooms in the Chateau or in our 'Gite', or to enjoy one of the concerts.
 

Crossroads

Mayragues sits at the crossroads between heaven and earth, between the past and the future. We cultivate our vines in accordance with the practices of Bio-Dynamics, probably very little changed from times when vines were first grown at Mayragues two thousand years ago. As the motto of Gaillac has it, "Wines of the future always have a past". In a deed of  purchase dated 1609, the vines are  mentioned (a description of the  property today would closely  resemble that of 400 years ago!) and  the discovery of bits of Roman  pottery and artifacts suggests that  vines were first grown at Mayragues  at the time the Romans are known to  have established the vines in the  Gaillac region

The Chateau

Built in the 13th and late 16th centuries, the Chateau de Mayragues is one of the few surviving examples of the local fortified architecture with an overhanging balcony running round the top of the building serving in ancient times as a defensive walkway. At the side there's a picturesque dovecote built on four columns and typical of the Languedoc region; the pigeon droppings were used as a fertilizer for the vines. We bought Mayragues in 1980 in a state of total ruin and have been restoring it ever since, with the help of local craftsmen and using only traditional materials. Our efforts were rewarded in 1998 with the Grand Prix of the Vieilles Maisons Françaises. Mayragues is listed as a Historic Building.

The Region

Mayragues is situated on the South West facing slopes of the right bank of the Tarn river surrounded by unspoiled rolling, wooded countryside where there is very little pollution of any sort: the sky at night incites a real sense of wonder. Picturesque hilltop villages such as Cordes-sur-Ciel, Castelnau de Montmiral, Bruniquel and Puycelci, as well as the county town of Albi are all less than half an hour's drive away. We are about 75 kilometers North-East of Toulouse, a rapidly expanding city that combines history and hi-tech; it has all the economic and cultural advantages of a large modern city while retaining the interest and charm of a town which was once the capital of an independent region of France. The climate is continental with hot summers and cold winters, but it also benefits from the maritime influences of both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.