FRANCE A LA CARTE

WINING & DINING

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.

Cahors - the details

Toulouse and Rodez airports are about 100 minutes away.

BOOKING ENQUIRIES

other wine-tasting packages

Gascony - a real French spirt - Armagnac

Corbières - Languedoc's answer to Bordeaux

Bordeaux - the real thing

Gaillac - Albi and the Tarn: interesting wines

Cognac - the 'other' great French spirit

CAHORS - Château Mercuès

The Lot river valley is one of the many steep-sided valleys winding down from the massif central to the Ocean at Bordeaux. As it links the important wine-producing area of Cahors to that of Bordeaux and Bergerac, the river traffic was protected in ancient times by castles and fortresses along its banks.

Château Mercuès, on a hillside over-looking the river, the vineyards and the small town of Cahors is the perfect base for exploring the Lot region. From St Cirq-la-Popie to the east through Cahors itself to the vineyards to the west, there is a wealth of detail to see, an abundance of good food and any number of new wines to discover.

FRANCE A LA CARTE has arranged 3 night/ 4 day half-board stays in this jewel of a chateau as well as visits to the top two Cahors chateaux: Haute Serre and ... Mercuès. These wines also accompany your dinner each evening.

The chateaux has 'four star luxury' grading - the top grading in France.

a bit of history...

In 1212 the Albigensian Crusade tore France apart, and the Bishops of Cahors decided to build the castle of Mercues to defend the town of Cahors.

After the Hundred Years War when Mercuès was in the hands of the English, the Château of Mercuès regained its freedom under the aegis of Bishop Guillaume VII of Arpajon.

From 1550, during the Wars of Religion, Mercuès was attacked, pillaged from top to bottom and burnt down.

It was only in 1627 with the arrival at Mercuès of Bishop Pierre Habert that the Château rose from its ashes: it then became a pleasure château where the Bishops of Cahors resided until the Revolution. The terraces, gardens and orchards were created during this period.

The Château of Mercuès was bought by Monsignor Grimardias in 1861 and he further extended and embellished it until his death.

In 1904, the separation of Church and State obliged the Bishop of Cahors to abandon Mercuès. It was bought by Professor Jean-Louis Faure in 1914; at his death, his two daughters decided to make Mercuès into a comfortable and welcoming hotel.

In fact it was Georges Héreil, the father of the Caravelle, who really gave the château its new destiny when he acquired it in 1966. He undertook vast building work including the huge swimming pool at the bottom of the park and the lift, discreetly concealed in the 13th century edifice.

After his death in 1980, the Château was closed and gradually sank into oblivion.

Georges Vigouroux became the owner of Mercuès in September 1983 and, by dint of a lot of hard work and much investment, has transformed the castle into the splendid hotel and winery.

reservation and enquiries