Hotel Chateau de Berne ****, Lorgues (nr. Draguinan), Var, Provence, France

zoom+ View of the bedroom and restaurant annex from across the vineyards of the chateau's winery.
The infinity view pool that looks out over the vineyards. zoom+ View of the lunch restaurant on the left and the room annex and restaurant on the right. The modern bar and the new (in 2010) "solarium" restaurant through the arch. The "caves" and the wine making fermentation.		An old cart that decorates the open courtyard between the hotel and the owner's chateau. Some of the Chateau de Berne wines in their distinctive square bottles at their tasting rooms and boutique. The Winery tasting bar.
Photos by Peter D'Aprix © 2010

This is a great place to get away from that "maddening crowd" and de-stress, unless, of course, you love the maddening crowd. Here you will find the pastoral peace and quiet of the Provencal countryside. Sleep in a delightful room with blue shutters on the outside and a fireplace facing the bed on the inside. The view out your window is the quilt of the forest, vines, courtyards or gardens with their water works. Maximum relaxation guaranteed between games of tennis umpired by the olive trees, all-terrain vehicle excursions, cooking classes and meals on the terrace beneath the pergola interspersed with visits to the winery at the bottom of the drive with a marvelous selection of wines all in the distinctive square bottles particular to Chateau de Berne.

Here you can be as active or slothful as fancy dictates - or both. With so much countryside surrounding the chateau, the available mountain bikes let you cover the rough terrain or ride the smooth private lane that leads to town. Tennis, hiking, swimming (or sunbathing on the surrounding teak deck) overlooking the vineyards below. The Spa can sooth out physical and emotional kinks. The cuisine, matched with estate wines, can sooth the soul. The coast is not far away, and yet, far away enough to avoid the crowds of summer.

The winery is more than just a tasting room. It is also a lovely boutique with all sorts of things culinary from joyful plates and cutlery for your dining room to furnishings and furniture and everything between. There is a club room with overstuffed sofas and blazing fire place. To be sure, the tasting bar is extensive and excellent with views out over the cave with its fermentation tanks in the background and its rows of barrels in the foreground.

Our standard room. Bathroom of the full suite.		Junior suite. A treatment room in the Spa.
Peter D'Aprix © 2010

The rooms in the specially built, modern annex are charming, decorated with antiques and muted, distinctive fabrics. They are serene with peaceful views that catch the early morning sun. Each one is individually designed and furnished and range from their spacious two room suite (that was home to Brad and Jolie on their honeymoon) to more basic rooms but all spacious with that country house feeling that makes you feel you are visiting with friends in their Provencal home rather than a hotel. While the bathroom in our room was a touch cramped with no soap in the shower and with worn hardware in the bath/shower and no room at all for a sponge bag or razor, most seemed more accommodating to their guests. We also applaud the eco-friendly environment they provide.

The estate has hosted events for such large international companies as Mazda, L’Oreal, Ferrari not to mention the honeymoons, holidays and happy events for couples and families.

Cooking classes are conducted by chef Sebastien Nouveau himself in a charming little detached Provencal villa sitting between the pool and the tennis court that is fully equipped with a teaching kitchen and plenty of room to work, then sit outside and consume the results.

And then there is the cuisine. There are two main restaurants at the hotel and a snack bar down at the winery. "L'Orangerie" is the flag ship of the hotel serving dinner in a lovely new Victorian styled solarium that lets in the sun on fine days and protects you from the wind and rain on less than perfect days but always provides a lovely view of falling twilight as you enjoy the concoctions of chef Sébastien Nouveau who is also responsible for the less formal "La Bouscarelle" restaurant across the way located in the former winery building that serves outside on the restaurant's terrace or inside in a couple marvelously individual dining rooms. We started lunch outside in the sunshine but darkening skies and a sudden wind whipped rain drove us inside to the cozy dining room.

The meats and fish are cooked under the overhanging roof on a wood fire place (probably old vines finding a second life). Whether you are in the mood for a Salade Nicoise or a more robust lunch, this is a great place to come even if you are not staying at the hotel. In fact, it is about the only good restaurant in the area, so it enjoys a considerable local clientele.

Visitors come even further to enjoy the cuisine at "L'Orangerie" in the evenings. The sommellier is very knowledgable about both the wines of the Chateau as well as which wines will complement the different dishes on the menu. We put ourselves in his hands and were mostly delighted with the results.

Cuisine: Dinner at L'Orangerie
Evening view of the restaurant to the right in its new "solarium" home, rooms above and the owner's chateau at the far end of the open courtyard.
Palette teasers of bite sized breads with mousse of zucchini. Tartare of St. Jacques with veggies in shell fish jelly seasoned with mustard and truffle shavings. Roasted and Confit of Lamb Apple confit with honey and mascarpone cream, violet jelly.		Confit de tomate with tapenade coupled with Tartare of Daurade with onion confit. Agnolotis - green peas, lightly panned squid & poached egg with truffle meat juice. Turbot with violet artichokes with a lemon confit pulp and a Barigoule garnish. A lovely estate late harvest dessert wine to finish.
Peter D'Aprix © 2010

The meal started romantically with the sun low in the sky and ended with just the faintest remnants of light over the vineyards. Sébastien Nouveau is an instinctive and creative chef. He has worked in the kitchens of such notable chefs as Jacques Chibois at Bastide St. Antoine just down the coast. He has a passion for only the freshest of ingredients and came to Chateau de Berne in part because of the extensive kitchen garden (Located between the private chapel and the thousand-year-old olive tree…a reconstruction of an ancestral kitchen garden built out of stones, wrought iron, sand, and of course full of unknown, forgotten and natural flowers, herbs, vines, olive trees, vegetables and fruit.) where he works with the full time gardener to produce the most succulent ingredients, picked just before meal preparation.

With all of this to draw on, we wish we could sing higher praises for his cuisine. But, as good as it is, and it is, we think he is trying too hard to be original and his recipes have a complexity of tastes that fall over themselves in trying to be clever instead of allowing the fabulous quality of the ingredients to shine forth. Now this is a personal preference and we are sure others will just love the cuisine as it is. And some dishes are much more successful than others. My starter of a soup of petits pois and squid with an olive paste (a tad too salty) topped with a poached egg was excellent then my roast lamb, for example, paired with a confit of lamb and crispy potatoes in a vegetable broth were delicious. However, Linda's Tartar of St. Jacques with a brunoise of vegetables in shellfish jelly with a cap of foie gras was damaged by a strong mustard sauce that diminished and over powered the rest of the ingredients. Then her delicate, steamed Turbot with Provencal violet artichokes with a lemon confit pulp was overwhelmed by the "Barigoule" garnish.

You may notice that I did a bit better here than Linda; usually it is the other way around. Despite not being on the menu, Linda did enjoy a fruit salad while I enjoyed my dessert of Apple confit with honey and mascarpone cream, violet jelly. The wines, with the exception of a rather sharp merlot, were delightful and plentiful and complemented the dishes very nicely. The Cinsault late season harvest dessert wine made a perfect finish. We were left feeling that if this talented chef were to just stop trying too hard, he would have a superb and cohesive menu.

Lunch at "La Bouscarelle"
« Salade Nicoise », mix greens and garden herbs salad, tuna, egg & vinaigrette.		Vegetable Tureen Sous Chef in front of his open wood fire for the meats.
Veal in a mushroom sauce with a baked dish of Provenal vegetables

This is a small, intimate hotel, that will be a perfect location to either sit back and enjoy a vacation or provide a great base from which to be as active as you want with beaches in one direction, mountains and the Gorges de Verdon (the French Grand Canyon) in the other and right at your feet a vibrant winery with tours, tastings and wine lessons. Nearby there is golf, equestrian, formula 1 track and many more activities. There are cultural and music events at the winery's outdoor arena that doubles as a helipad during the day And you need never leave to eat unless you want too. The Spa provides hours of relaxation and beauty restoratives and you can bone up on your cooking skills at the cooking school. The Chateau offers many different packages to choose from as well as a la carte stays. You really can't go wrong. There is too much to cover for our publication but go to their site below and see for yourself.