INSPIRED BY VERSAILLES

Miren and Nicolas de Lorgeril's family have been making wine in Languedoc for 12 generations, their vintages finding favour with the royal residents of Versailles.

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So it's perhaps fitting that the dynasty's home, Château de Pennautier, evokes that iconic palace.

The similarity is no coincidence. It was Nicolas's ancestor Bernard Reich de Pennautier, treasurer of the States of Languedoc, who built the château back in 1620, and just two years later on 14 July 1622 - hosted Louis XIII when he visited southern France. We can be sure that Bernard's home made a good impression on the young King, because he left as a gift his personal fourposter bed and chairs.

Soon afterwards, His Majesty commanded work to begin on a new wonder of the world, the Palace of Versailles. This magnificent project was later completed by his heir, the Sun King Louis XIV. Bernard's own heir, Pierre-Louis, was so inspired by it that he decided to hire Le Vau, one of the architects of Versailles, to add two large wings to Pennautier and also hired the palace's landscapist, Le Nôtre, to create an elegant formal garden.

History records how the celebrated playwright Molière staged comedies at the château, how its wines continued to flourish and how, in 1919, thanks to Paule de Pennautier's marriage, the De Lorgeril name was woven into its story.

Fast-forward to today, when we join the current chatelaine, Miren, with Nicolas and their son Henri and daughter-in-law Marie Camille, to raise a toast to Pennautier’s remarkable past and future.