"Bon Jovi has slept here several times," they explain to me as we walk along the small path that leads from the main building of Château L'Hospitalet to the suites of Villa Soleilla, from which you can see an infinite field of vineyards and from there to the nearby sea. If the singer has chosen this place, I think, it can't be bad, not even regular. We hit. It is a ten that I would not want to leave, oh, who had several gold records.
Later we will discover that Bon Jovi is not only still in love with these fields, but also his son, Jesse Bongiovi, and that both have associated with Gérard Bertrand, lord of these lands and holder of the Légion d'Honneur for the use of viticulturism. what he makes of them, to make one of the wines that would take us with our eyes closed to Languedoc if it weren't for the fact that you have to keep your eyes and other senses wide open to not miss anything.
The motto of the house is “natural luxury”, and that is exactly what it is. Gérard Bertrand, a third generation of winegrowers, combines his work with the wines that we will later enjoy with the rehabilitation and conversion of houses and castles into five-star hotels, including this L'Hospitalet. We arrive when spring has already filled the space between the rows of vines with flowers and the reddish sunset with perfume; tomorrow, with that light that never lacks here, we will be able to visit the biodiverse garden-orchard, from which some of the vegetables that will later end up on our plates come out, in the restaurants Chez Paule or L'art de vivre, a planetary experience, and no, we are not exaggerating.
The Moon Room, the new l'art de vivre proposal, is based precisely on the influence that the planets exert on nature and all living beings, an ascendant that the wisdom of the peasants has taken into account when planting , irrigate or harvest and that is now recovered under the concept of biodynamic crops.
It is not a question of tasting a gastronomic menu, but of doing so under special conditions, in a room where the planets illuminate the dishes that it inspires, in a holistic cycle of light, music and choreography that lasts three hours and from which the Signatory here came out convinced that if there is no life on other planets, at least there is on this one. Let's keep it.
When the aroma of thyme and rosemary from La Garriga gives way to the summer heat, it is the turn of L'Hospitalet Beach, on the nearby beach, to which we will conveniently be led if we do not say so for that healthy practice that consists of walking . If you're lucky, or if you plan ahead, you can coincide with the Jazz festival that they organize every year and that attracts a large audience (I ask for July 17 with Nile Rogers and Chic, let's see if it works).
Before we leave, a treatment at the Villa Soleilla spa, which leaves your face ironed in a good way, a feeling that intensifies if you've been to the winery before. Gérard Bertrand has recently been named Master Winemaker of the World by the specialized magazine The Drink Business for his organic wines, of which he is the leading exporter in France.
A way to enjoy life also to export.
