Château de Minière is on the western edge of Ingrandes de Touraine. Sigurd and Kathleen Mareels – Van den Berghe, a Belgian couple, bought the estate in September 2010 from the previous owners – Bertrand et Evelyne de Mascarel, who had owned the estate since 1995. The domaine has 18 hectares of vines and is in the process of coverting to organic viticulture.
It hasn't yet been possible to arrange a time to visit the new owners but as we were in AC Bourgueil yesterday, we dropped past to take some photos. There is extensive work going on – replacing roofs and renovation work on the main house.
What business do Belgian seem to have with the French vineyard?
ReplyDeleteIt’s always the same with those guys. They make an appearance, work their butt out, think they know it better, don’t respect time-tested “experience and tradition” and end up making ... acceptable wine altogether.
Methink it is a revenge on Napoleon or even on more ancient history. Clovis, this very paradigm of France, was actually born in Tournai and “stolen” by French historians from their national patrimony. To top the bill, Reims cathedral – the place of his crowning – is celebrating its 800th anniversary just now ?!? Yes, you read me well: born in 461, made a king some 20 years later and the building is “only” 800 years old ?
“Mitis depone colla, Sicamber ...”
I guess Luc that it is particularly notable that they even set up in the depths of Roussillon!
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