Valréas, The World Cardboard Capital
The boxes are like little treasures. Open, unfold, unpack, unwrap... all...
When Jean-Louis Gourjon bought the Château Maravenne in 1980, the estate had fallen into disrepair. An exceptional location, fabulous terroir, and a crazy desire to give new life to a process over which men and woman had sweated blood and tears for generations were among the many obligations that naturally imposed themselves on the place’s new owner. The years that followed were filled with exhausting reconstruction work which didn’t just stop at the vines. Indeed Jean-Louis and his wife juggled numerous projects: renovating the old Provençal farmhouse and an elegant vaulted sales
At the heart of this beautiful winemaking country, Château Maravenne embraces its geological differences. Its vintages have a slate mineral quality, its vines lead one’s gaze towards the Porquerolles islands and the big blue sea, and its modern cellar is lined with Bormes stone… all this in addition to its astounding Hameau des Automates puppet theater. Let us introduce you.
By Jean-Dominique Dalloz - Photos José Nicolas - December 15, 2011
Discover
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room, restoring their own living space, a bit higher up the property, and creating an open-air theater…
And then this fantastic idea, this ultimate tribute to the winemakers who had preceded them on the estate, an astounding mechanized puppet theater the “Hameau des Automates,” a truly living world thought up by Jean-Luis Gourjon, which recounts a family story and reveals the difficult work of the winemaker. Almost fifty characters and animals come to life in front of your eyes, inside an authentic recreated setting. No detail has been forgotten and the soundtrack plunges you into the life of a
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a family of winemakers at the beginning of the 20th century. You become a privileged spectator to the grape harvest at Château Maravenne or the work of the cooper from Collobrières. The chickens fuss and cluck near an alembic that looks exactly like the real thing, while in the storehouses, two men look after lining up the barrels. A bit further on, in a room lit only by an old chandelier, a family commences a festive meal, under the gaze of their ancestors, immortalized in an old painting hung on the wall.
After an hour-long visit, we regretfully take leave of the family, as would have done distant cousins passing through. The epilogue to this family reunion comes in the shape of a wine tasting of the estate’s best vintages. Yes, the wines from Château Maravenne have lovely color and their luminous reflections that recount truly lovely stories.
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