News (updating on February 21, 2005)

February 2005

White and rosé wines of 2004 are ready !They will be available in March : white and rosé Château des Monges, white Saint Pierre de Serjac and rosé Instant de Vin.

And a new wine will complete range.... You'll know all in March...

January 2005

We send you our best wishes for a Happy New Year 2005 !

December 2004

Our customers could taste for Christmas with our wines a typical Provençal dessert "les 13 desserts de Noël" : Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, dates, prunes with almond paste and various cookies were very appreciated.

Grapes picking 2004 went off smoothly ! The vintage 2004 promises typical wines of the La Clape with caracteristic aromas and scents of the garrigue.

"Nature" week-end in the La Clape mountains

The La Clape region can also be described as a "closed club" of about thirty passionately run wineries. At Abbaye des Monges there is a 13th century chapel left over from the Cistercian women's abbey once located here. When visiting it you can listen to Baron Paul de Chefdebien talk about how Roman centurions from the 10th legion were given the land in La Clape and planted Malvoisie (about which Pliny the Elder said, " it gives wisdom to all who drink it,"). After hearing this you'll feel like you've been initiated to the club. Furthermore when this charming man, full of all kinds of historical and botanical information, smiles and tells you after the wine-tasting that the "Malvoisie has survived as the Bourboulenc grape: and that this grape is the best white grape variety from the La Clape region with a very intense fresh citrus and mineral flavor," who would gainsay him ?

Stops : Abbaye des Monges (Monges Abbey): the cozy charm of a vacation home in the garrigue (three rooms; week-end rate 220€). Telephone: + 33 (0) 4 68 32 26 61

"Le Monde" article dated January 15, 2004

A new departure for Abbaye des Monges

Meet Paul and Marie-Claude de Chefdebien who have decided to take a chance.

When you drive by on the road from Narbonne to Gruissan you won't see much of the Monges Winery except for a few buildings and parts of the roofs sticking up through the trees. No one, excluding a select few, ever suspected that almost 800 years ago there was a Bernardine convent near here belonging to the Cistercian order. That is no one ever suspected it until now since a new sign with "Abbaye des Monges'' written on it was put up to give them a hint.

Abbaye des Monges belonged to Charles Mock (Chateau de Capitoul) until Paul and Marie-Claude de Chefdebien bought it in early 1997. Marie-Claude de Chefdebien, an architect in Narbonne told us that the abbey actually dates back to 1204 when "Jean Bistan, a wealthy man from Narbonne who had made his fortune in maritime trade, gave what was then called the Olieux Winery to the monks at Fontfroide under the condition that they found a Cistercian monastery for women.".

And so it was done. The first list of abbesses drafted by Languedoc historians dates back to 1257. However the abbey was occupied earlier than that. The monastery took the name Olieux and its church Notre Dame de Grace (Our Lady of Mercy). While the abbey prospered to a certain extent, in particular during the 13th century, the abbesses often had to seek refuge in Narbonne in 1614.

Currently nothing remains from this time except a little chapel built in the Cistercian style at the foot of the low-lying La Clape mountains. One of the four bays of the chapel, which was probably in terrible condition, was demolished in 1834 and a wall was built to support the neighboring arch. The three remaining bays have ribbed vaults and the keystones are decorated with sculpted plates. One represents a hand giving a blessing, another the Pascal lamb while the third is unfortunately too damaged to recognize what is on it. This chapel was added to the List of Historical Monuments in 1951.

In addition to this chapel which has over the years been used as a stable, hayloft or garage, Monges Winery has several other buildings used for residences and wine-making purposes. It also has 30ha of vines and 65ha of fields and garrigue.
Paul and Marie-Claude de Chefdebien's first concern after buying the winery was to make a few urgent repairs to prevent any further damage, in particular treating some of the buildings for termites and getting the vineyard manager's residence back into good condition. As far as the vineyard itself was concerned two hectares were planted with Merlot while a lot of others need to be replanted with new grape varieties. Paul de Chefdebien, who owns another winery in the Herault region, told us that "all the vines above the road are in the AOC zone, while the vines below it are not." He added, "We are going to concentrate on the AOC of course, but we are also going to make grape variety wines. They go well together."

The owners estimate that getting Monges Winery back into good shape should take "at least ten years." "It's a financially difficult undertaking and you can't afford to make any mistakes," explained Paul de Chefdebien. "You have to avoid ruining what can be saved as well as carefully think about the intended use of a building before starting any work. You have to set a goal while remaining flexible at the same time."
The couple plans to live at the winery in the long run and are also planning on building top of the line vacation homes in the existing buildings. They are also considering building one in a collapsed old animal-pen. "After we do that we will consider what the best possible use for the chapel could be. It all depends on what happens. We might even build a covered path between the wine cellar and the chapel."

Quick historical footnote: the de Chefdebien name has finally come back to Abbaye des Monges. Jeanne, Marguerite and Gressinde de Chefdebien were among the nuns listed as living at Olieux monastery in 1657.

Midi-Libre - Article 1998

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