Description :

This ‘Petite Vadrouille’ (‘Little Jaunt’) invites you to join in and pick the fruits of this wine-growing village of the Haute Corbière with its old well, its cabanòt (small cottage), its wine cellar and the local wines.

Descriptif détaillé :

From the stone stele onward, walk uphill in the rue du Château.
On the heights of the village, you’ll walk in the middle of ancient fields. (1) At the ancient well used for watering the lands, cross the D10 between the village and Massac. Underneath the stone ship the mountain Le Carla resembles, below, this hike shares with you a view of a giant “gargoyle” draining the rainwater as well as the water of the surrounding creeks and streams. At the top of the Baîral waterfall (2), you’ll walk along the Coumobello stream, in this beautiful little valley, surrounded by oak trees and box trees, protected by the rock hollowed out by erosion (3).
Coming out of the wood, you’ll arrive on the plateau of Lacamp (4), a patch of grazing moorland characterized by the fragrances of thyme and lavender, dotted with the remains of sheepfold or Jasses.
At the intersection with the rural path, walk along the electric fence. You’ll enter the la Coste holm oak stand through a gate. (5) The Camp Rouge offers you a nice view on the village.
At the Pique Rouge estate (6), the furrows show you where the vine stocks have been grubbed. You are in the middle of a hilly landscape, a succession of open patches of moorland and copses of coniferous trees, varying from a dull grey to a darker green.
You now get back to the D10 going from Dernacueillette to Davejean. The vineyards before you are situated at heights ranging from 300 to 500 m (7). Up ahead, the village of Montgaillard, overlooking the valley of the Torgan, is firmly rooted in its limestone hill.
“Outdoor houses”, as the vineyard huts are called, are built to shelter from the bad weather and to stock tools and materials (8). In order to master production and allow mechanical grape-picking, vines are lyre-trained or u-shaped (9), which gives the landscape its characteristic look. Nature, of course, replies to human effort. The gnarled and lumpy vines are exposed to the dominating winds which bend the trees (10). The Cers, a searing north-west wind, provides a cure for the vineyard’s diseases, whereas the Grec (Greek wind) and Marin (sea-wind), both southern winds, bring the rain and the grease which help the grapes mature.
On your return to the village, walking along the Torgan in the shade provided by the riparian forest, you may be startled by a couple of grey herons taking flight. The extraction of schist (11), the crumbly rock which quite easily yields in leaf-like form, contributes to reinforce the rural tracks and landscape the plots.
In the ancient cellar of the castle (12), with its rustic architecture, wine is still produced. Don’t be afraid to knock on the door and get acquainted with Guillaume and his Corbières wines.
Finally, take a walk through the twisting streets of the village. When passing by the Saint-Jacques church, you may hear the sound of a procession chant or a prayer for a good harvest: “Saint-Antoine sec et beau remplit cave et tonneaux”. [Regional saying - “Saint-Anthony (13 June), dry and beautiful, will fill our cellars and our casks”.]