An enveloping sense of peace dominates the landscapes dotted with vineyards that surround Bélesta, a tiny medieval village in Roussillon with narrow streets and stone houses aged by the passing of the years. In the shelter of the Canigó, sacred mountain of the Catalans, the nature swept by the Tramuntana takes on an almost wild beauty.
The Pyrenees-Orientales - the French department that borders Alt Empordà - has been a land of wine since the time of the Greeks. It extends from the shores of the Mediterranean to the mountains of the Pyrenees, hoarding a geological variety that allows it to continue producing its unique wines in cooperatives and small wineries scattered throughout the region.
In Bélesta, the wine tradition is more alive than ever thanks to Luc Richard and Karin Pühringer, a couple of architects who decided almost two decades ago to give a second life to the old local cooperative, abandoned after 85 years of activity. Their project was groundbreaking: rehabilitate the old facilities and convert them into what it is today, Domaine Riberach, a consolidated ecological wine tourism complex that includes a hotel, spa, restaurant and winery.
Concerned with retaining its original industrial spirit, the owners opted for a design that respected the structural elements of the old building - a solid century-old stone construction - offering them new uses and creating welcoming spaces, with minimal environmental impact. Therefore, the facilities use geothermal energy, solar panels, water filters, natural ventilation and waste treatment.
The establishment follows the logic of wine production: the customer entrance is in the space where the grapes were originally received; The pressing area occupies the restaurant, while the old tanks in which the wine rested have been transformed into 18 rooms and suites, each with a particular decoration and some of them with views of a wild landscape that invites reflection.
“Life is getting off your bike and watching yourself pedal,” Richard states with conviction, emphasizing slow life, a philosophy that he has tried to capture in each and every detail of Domaine Riberach. The large terrace-lounge, the Mediterranean garden dotted with roses, the natural pool - known as the biotope pool -, the sophisticated spa that occupies five winemaking vats, or the vineyards are spaces that offer these moments of intimacy and contemplation. In short, the art of well-being.
The complex has a renowned restaurant, La Coopérative, run by the young chef Julien Montassié, recognized last year with a green Michelin star for his commitment to ethics and sustainability. The best way to try their dishes based on local products is to accompany them with one of the wines from the winery itself.
With names as interesting as Synthèse, Hypothèse or Antithèse, all of them are made with an organic approach by the same team that undertook the project with Luc Richard: the winemakers Guilhem Soulignac and Patrick Rodrigues and the owner of the vineyard, Jean-Michel Mailloles. Its terroir, of stones and terraces and its Pyrenean height, give wines of great freshness and minerality.
In addition to the hotel facilities, guests can enjoy different activities related to wine such as tastings, vine safaris through the twelve hectares of family vineyards, or trekking through the area, located only half an hour from Perpignan and just an hour from La Jonquera.
