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The renewed Château

The Cave, the old winebarn, we renovated is about 200 years old and has been used as a storage for years. The wines were stored in huge wooden barrels and concrete tanks.
For the last 60 years the old Cave was empty and building was poorly maintained. About 2 years the ago, the roof collapsed and soon after we had the opportunity to buy it. We did, and started planning the needed renovation. In the meantime the building has been renovated and it stayed in the orginal style as much as possible.
On Thursday November 15, 2007 we started the renovation of the old winebarn, the Cave. After a lot of hard work it has become a beautiful building.

The project consists of 5 parts:


Renovation and extension of the productioncave
Château de l’Horte expands, and its productional capacity expands with it.That is why we’ve bought quite some brand new oakwooden barrels for the 2007 harvest, to be able to make more wines like the Marquis de St. Felix, Reserve Speciale and Grande Reserve. The demand for this series of wines is increasing. This year we’ve invested in twice as many barrels because the quality of the 2007 harvest is so superb, we aim to make more wines like the Reserve Speciale, and also because we want to use part of it to produce new wines. This is one of the reasons we chose to keep the production of the Rosé 2007 to a minimum and use the largest part of the harvest to make red wines. The existing building has been expanded, which is why we have to move complete tanks and the press we use for the harvest will get a new place. In the cave we use traditional vinification methods with the most modern equippment. Recently we have purchased stainless steel tanks.

3 Inox tanks a 75 Hectolitres for temporary wine storage
1 Inox tank a 10 Hectolitres for storing wine for adding to the barrels
1 Inox tank a 50 Hectolitres for storage of wine in the bottling department
3 Inox tanks a 150 Hectolitres for vinification in the wine cellar

All the tanks are temperature controlled, and provided with the latest techniques. There is a new washing facility where materials and the barrels are being cleaned, and a shelter for the vehicles such as the tractors and the company cars. Also, the load- and unloadingzone for the productioncave has been renovated, the road has been asphalted and there now is a square with a beautiful olive tree surrounded by lavender, rosemary and thyme, de vegetation of the “Garrigue”, the herbs from the area. And the entire complex has been sprayed with “crepy”, which is a kind of coarse structurepaint. This crepy is a mixture of clay from the soil around Château de l’Horte. The framework of the doors and the corners of the buildings are constructed with special stones, which are similar to the style of the old winebarn; the renewed Château de l’Horte.

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Renovation of the old winebarn
The old, decayed winebarn which is next to Château de l’Horte, is completely renovated. The building was in a bad shape; the roof had caved in, there were tears in the walls, inside everything was ruined and the old winetanks inside were unusable. The building is about 200 years old and has been empty for the last 60 years and hasn’t been used at all.

The building proved to be fantastic, the walls are almost 1 metre in width and the building is still very strong and stable. After foundation was applied to the inside of the building, the inside walls were opened up and a floor was added on top. The walls have been strenghtened and renovated once more by professionals and then new windows were installed and existing windows were enlarged. Professionals have also replaced the roof and provided special roof tiles in the Languedoc style. All the big wooden ledgers that support the roof were replaced but we wanted to keep the same old look and feel of the building, so this is a very precise job. Fortunately we found the right people to do the job for us wonderfully and the building now looks spectacular. All the rooms have a high ceiling, the building is tall and enormous now. The space where the wine cellar was made for the storage of the wine barrels is open, which makes it possible to see it looking up from standing on the ground floor, about a height of twelve metres. You also have a view of the roof when you stand on the ground floor.

There have been made many alterations in the building:

Ground floor


  • hallway at entrance - Chai (storage of the wine barrels)
  • toiletgroup - wine cellar with old vintages etc.
  • foyer and tasting room - kantoor
  • dining room - storage for stainless steel tanks
  • kitchen - metal staircase in old style to the first floor

1st floor


  • apartment with own entrenace, large living room and an open kitchen
  • 2 bedrooms with each their own bathroom and toilet for the apartment
  • 4 rooms with kitchen an own bathroom and toilet
  • hallway with the view of the Chai with its winebarrels
  • seating area to read and relax with a good glass of wine
  • storage room for things like linen with washer and dryer and such
  • technical room with boilers and such

Outside


  • staircases made of stone in old style leading down to the terrace and the apartment
  • seperate access road, entrance and terrace with pergola and barbecue in front of the apartment
  • swimming pool of 8 x 4 metres
  • wooden terrace around the swimming pool with a metal fence
  • terrace with concrete old roof tiles for decorational purpose
  • 2 pergolas on the terrace to provide shade
  • walls of old stones surrounding the terrace
  • pétanque court
  • woorden fence with plants for privacy
  • enormous barbecue with wood storage in the old Cave style
  • poolhouse/changing room/outdoor shower at the swimming pool
  • parking spaces
  • re-arrangememt of the site with drainage, new soil coverage, hardening and grit
  • greening in regional style
  • lightning to light the building
  • an old and original Roman waterreservoir with a well and the small house have been restored, next to the building
  • entrance road is renewed

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Turn the old winebarn into Châmbres d'Hôtes

Because wine and tourism in the Languedoc-Rousillon are getting more popular, and because Château de l’Horte attracts more visitors each year, we have created Chambres d’Hotes on the top floor of the old winebarn. As of the Summer of 2008 it is possible to stay at the Château as well as visit it. Château de l’Horte is an ideal place to stay when you want to explore the area. We have built several facilities to make your stay truly special. For instance, we now have a swimming pool and a beautiful terrace with barbecue. We also have rooms that are not only spacious, but also provide privacy. You can chose to visit the Château privately or visit with a group of other guests and make use of all the facilities that are available. The rooms are convient, and include a fully equipped kitchen, a bathroom with a spacious shower and sink and each room has its own toilet. There is one apartment with a large fully equipped living room and kitchen. The apartment has its own entrance and garden, terrace and barbecue with a seperate entrance to the swimming pool and the terrace. The apartment has 2 bedrooms, which both have their own spacious shower, sink and toilet. The apartment is ideal for a longer stay. Our guests mean a lot to us at Château de l’Horte and we provide a tour, winetasting, on request breakfast and even a meal with dishes from the area. We also have bicycles for rent, as well as extra beds in the rooms, cots, etc. If you want a relaxed stay at a Château with everything on hand, then Château de l’Horte is the place to stay.

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Arrange the new wine cellar, taste- and foyer, dining room, storage space and a new office
The winecellar has two spaces:
·  the Millesimé
·  the Chai de Barriques

The Millesimé is a space where we keep old vintages of the Château de l’Horte wines. Some of these are so rare that they aren’t for sale. There are also some special blends, such as wines that we’ve custom made of different types of grapes, with a special label, magnum bottles, winebarrels produced at request, etc. This space is locked with a heavy metal barred fence, and beautifully lit.

The Chai de Barriques is a large open space where most of the oakwooden winebarrels are. All the barrels are filled with wines to be blended later on, in a certain style like the Reserve Speciale or the Grande Reserve. There are also winebarrels filled with blends that are ready, but are being ripened further. We also have some barrels here were we experiment with, for example a barrel filled with wine solely made of the grape Syrah. There are brand new oakwooden winebarrels, but also barrels of 1, 2 or even 3 years old, that we re-use for certain types of wine. The space if filled with the intense aromas of oakwood and vanilla. This space is beautifully lit and has a unique, romantic atmosphere.

Tastingroom and foyer
This is where we welcome our guests. Both our guests who come to visit us for a tour, a winetasting or to buy our wines, as well as the guests who stay at the Château. This room is spacious and there are several tables that are used for winetasting. All our wines are on display here, as well as a large assortment of Vacu Vin products. Vacu Vin macufactures products that are ideal to keep wines fresh, among other handy items. We have a bar where we serve and illustrate our wines.

We also use this space to sell our wines and also start our tours from this point. There’s a kidscorner where children can play with toys, draw in coloring books and even create their own wine label while their parents can enjoy the winetasting.

Dining room
In this room there are several tables where meals are served. On request and by reservation guests can have breakfast or diner here. There is an open, professional kitchen where Jean-Pierre prepares the most wonderful regional dishes. Both Johanna and Jean-Pierre are very good cooks, and are able to create an amazing meal from just a few simple ingredients, that go great with Château de l’Horte wines.

Storage
In this space the bottled, and often already labelled, wines are stored. Usually these wines are ripened in the bottles before they are transported to our customers. There are also 3 large stainless steel tanks where we store wines in large quantities. The temperature is very important, it can’t be too warm or too cold, it has to be just right. Because of the thick walls, the temperature of this building is constant.

New office
At the new office, we process all our orders and keep our administration. The office was built above the Millesimé and the Salon on the 1st floor. It has its own entrance and windows facing the entrance road, and a view on the Chai de Barriques, the tasting room and foyer.

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Renovation and rearrangement of the sites
The sites surrounding Château de l’Horte are provided with drainage and a thick layer of grit. There are also fences with plants and bushes growing against them. We’ve also used old winebarrels and potted plants to decorate the fences.
The site had to be rearranged because mainly the the loading- and unloadingzone is extended. There are also additional parking spaces created. The old trees around the Château are restored and there has been added a thick layer of grit on the entrance way.

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