Domaine Riberach in Bélesta, a timeless refuge

Hotel rooms converted from old wine vats? Of course, we prefer to drink it, the wine, but our curiosity was piqued. Especially since this hotel, decidedly unlike any other, also promises great wine tasting. Direction therefore the eastern Pyrenees and the village of Bélesta, between Perpignan and Villefranche.

Before driving up to the village of Bélesta, a stop is essential: the visit of the organs of Ille. This geological curiosity is made up of cliffs with impressive shapes that change color depending on the time, the weather, the season.

These cliffs, nicknamed "fairy chimneys", "capped young ladies" and organ pipes, were sculpted by the wind, erosion by the water flowing from the plateau above towards the Tet river, the sun …

But Bélesta is waiting for us and we climb the small road, impatient to discover the Riberach estate, barely 30 minutes from Perpignan and yet out of time between Cathar country and Catalan lands.

Nothing spectacular at first sight, the establishment being built on the mountainside, it hides its game well! It is revealed as you descend the steps, revealing all the know-how and love for the site of the architects Luc Richard and Karin Pühringer, owners of the estate. They knew how to preserve the volumes while structuring the space, working with natural materials.

From the small cozy lounge, the gaze descends towards the restaurant set up in the former press room. Nothing hides the Eiffel frame. The industrial style is softened by plants and decoration of sober elegance.

Above and in the old concrete vats, Luc and Karin have furnished rooms with comfortable beds where every detail is taken care of with this concern for refined elegance. Oak and pebble parquet floors, silk panels, or slate floors and colored walls, shimmering fabrics...

From the windows, the sight opens on the scrubland, the vines, and a part of the village.

The garden descends towards the natural swimming pool which advantageously replaces the traditional swimming pool. Seen from there, the hotel appears like a boat looming in front of the sky.

It's relaxing, soothing

On the terrace, in the shade of an olive tree, we taste the wines of the estate. Because, if the cooperative closed many years ago, the old vats have been transformed into rooms, Luc Richard and his friends have given a new impetus to the site, producing a beautiful range of wines, generous, perfectly reflecting this terroir between land and sea so conducive to wine. The wines are all certified “Nature and Progress”. the cuvées have very surprising names: Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis, Fou-thesis, Hypothesis – enough to lose your Latin!

After this appetizer, we are curious to taste the cuisine of starred chef Laurent Lemal and his wife Julie, the talented pastry chef of La Coopérative (he left the hotel since our last visit, but the restaurant is still higly recommended).

A "ch'ti" (coming form the north of France) officiating on Catalan soil, its cuisine can only be surprising, inviting you on a gustatory journey that gives pride of place to regional producers and the seasons. Surprising, the KM0 menu, kilometer zero. This is the chef's philosophy: to offer the most "locavore" cuisine possible. One could not say better than the Michelin to characterize its cuisine: “modern, creative, Mediterranean, gastronomic. »

The next day, we leave for a “wine safari” with Luc Richard in person. From the Pic d'Aubeil the 360° view is breathtaking:

the Pyrenees chain and Mont Canigou, the Corbières and the Cathar castle of Quéribus, the Agly and Têt valleys, and, in the distance, Collioure, where the Pyrenees fall into the sea...

The Moli del Vent dolmen takes us back in time to 2500 BC. !

A little further on, the ruins of the pre-Romanesque chapel of Saint-Barthélémy de Jonquerolles transport us to the Middle Ages.

In the vineyards, we meet Jean-Michel Mailloles, the winemaker of the team around Luc Richard. He tells us about the terroir and its grape varieties: carignan, gray and black grenache, maccabeau, syrah.

Jean-Michel Mailloles, winemaker in Bélesta.

“We are not winegrowers but winegardeners. The Tramontana, a dry, cold wind, dries the grapes, which is perfect for working organically. Every two years, we pass with a brushcutter. We must limit the grass because the soil is very poor. There, this is a parcel of Carignan which dates from 1905.”

The plots that belonged to Jean-Michel's great-grandmother are difficult to work. Especially since, in the past, blending was done in the vineyard and not in the cellar. “Carignan and Grenache are planted on the same plot, which makes the harvest complicated: when the Carignan is ripe, the Grenache is already overripe! » explains Jean-Michel who, in the middle of these plots which are difficult to work, has laid out a large vegetable garden. “To work herre, you need to love the land,” says Luc Richard before uncorking a bottle, in the shade of a centuries-old plane tree, for a friendly aperitif.

Back at the hotel, he puts himself to the barbecue on the terrace to treat us to some beautiful Catalan grilled meats.

Luc Richard willingly improvises himself as the master of the barbecue.

In the adjacent shop, we discover all the wines of the estate. Wines full of subtlety and finesse, wines with a nice freshness. “The art of blending is the responsibility of Patrick, our oenologist, and our sommelier Moritz who is a true artist! For three days, they taste, discuss, to create the perfect blend!" smiles Luc Richard. “We work with about twenty winegrowers who all have strong characters…. For wines with character! »

The realization of the project of Luc Richard and Karine Pühringer, to create a cellar, to fit out an Ecolodge hotel with a gastronomic restaurant, has also revitalized the village.