ARMAGNAC
Wine-tasting
and gastronomy breaks
Eating
and drinking have always gone together in France and our short
breaks range from serious tasting of the 'grand crus' in the
Bordeaux region to a more leisurely introduction to the oldest
French spirit - Armagnac - in deepest Gascony.
Gascony - the details
Toulouse and Bordeaux airports are about 110 minutes
away.
| Price per person in EUROS, car
hire cat 'C' included (base 2 people sharing) |
|
HOTEL BELLEVUE***
3 nights half-board |
01/05 to 31/05
20/08 to 31/10 |
01/06 to19/08 |
| Package
in 'Chatelain' double room and 'gourmet' dinner the 3rd evening |
€415 |
€432 |
BOOKING ENQUIRIES
other wine-tasting packages
Cahors - the 'black wine' of the Lot Valley
Corbières - Languedoc's answer to Bordeaux
Bordeaux - the real thing
Gaillac - Albi and the Tarn: interesting wines
Cognac - the 'other' great French spirit
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Armagnac
and good French food in Gascony
The Château
lies in the heart of the Armagnac region, in a quiet
Gascony village.
The hotel is housed
in a Napoleonic manor-house which embodies both modernity and authenticity.
The owner, Michèle Consolaro, extends a personal welcome
to her guests and she, and her staff, do everything to make their
guests feel at home.
 
Rooms
Each room is decorated in a different style but in harmony with
the 19th century feel of the building.
Bars
and restaurant
In the evening , guests have the opportunity to taste the local
spirit, Armagnac, at the bar, which boats a large selection of
the best vintages. The Armagnac vineyards are close to the
hotel and may be visited.
Gourmet Restaurant : «La cuisine de Charlotte»
Leisure :
Away from the busy world, one can enjoy reading, swimming,
strolling in the park ... in a word, relaxing… or
just sitting in the shade of hundred-year-old cedars and lime trees,
or having a cocktail by the swimming pool.
Armagnac visits
Armagnac is the oldest brandy in France. Reputed
for its therapeutic virtues in the Middle Ages, it enjoyed considerable
success in the 16th century and went on to become a truly commercial
product.
Charles de Batz (better known as D’Artagnan) was probably
the first person to export armagnac - he is known to have had a
few flasks with him at the battle of Maastricht.
The
Armagnac region in South West France is unique, as it is the
only place in the world where Armagnac is produced.
It consists
of three areas, Haut-Armagnac to the east, Bas-Armagnac to the
west and Ténarèze in the centre. The official AOC
Armagnac region covers two thirds of the Gers department, as well
as some of the Lot-et-Garonne and the Landes. Nowadays, however,
actual production takes place mainly in Bas-Armagnac and Ténarèze,
in the Gers.
One of the most beautiful estates is that of Chateau
de Busca-Maniban in the Ténarèze area. Now classed as an ancient monument the Chateau
dominates 200 hectares of vines, mainly planted in 'Ugni Blanc',
the grape type most associated with the typicity of Armagnac.
Wine South-East
of Cazaubon lies the Madiran vineyard, an AOC of highly tannic
wines which are dry and closed when young but develop slowly into
extraordinary full-bodied and rich red wines. The best is, in our
view, the Chateau Montus.
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