LUBERON & VENTOUX

Captivating mountain views, welcoming châteaux and wines that match perfectly with the classic local cuisine. Look ahead to future holidays by planning a road trip through the beautiful countryside that straddles the regions of the Rhône Valley and Provence in southeast France, says Carolyn Boyd

- Carolyn Boyd

As I gaze down the avenue of plane trees towards Château Pesquié, I’m surrounded by much of what the diverse Vaucluse department in France’s southeastern country has to offer: verdant vineyards encircle the elegant château, and the white-peaked Mont Ventoux towers above a landscape that cradles the Luberon and Ventoux appellations. Nearby, sleepy Mormoiron is one of the many characterful villages to explore both here and to the south in the Luberon regional nature park. And, as if this wasn’t enough to spoil me, the vineyards in the prestigious smaller appellations of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, and Vacqueyras are within a 40-minute drive.

At Château Pesquié (www.chateaupesquie. com), brothers Frédéric and Alexandre Chaudière are the third generation of their family to make wine. They adore the location, with Mont Ventoux lying just to the northeast. ‘Here on the Rhône, we’re in a corridor between the mountains, but also close to the Mediterranean,’ explains Frédéric as he shows me around the vineyard. ‘Meanwhile, Mont Ventoux creates a kind of amphitheatre and, although the temperature is around 30°C in the day, it is much cooler at night, which allows for longer maturation – we’re one of the last to harvest in the whole area.’

We walk around the organically farmed vineyards, planted with parcels of 50-year-old Carignan vines, along with Cinsault, Grenache, and Mourvèdre, Clairette, Roussanne and Viognier, and admire the nine-year-old Syrah vineyards planted with bright yellow blooms of broom and gypsum to improve soil quality.