Notes on the Dordogne — what to eat, where to go, what's worth knowing before you arrive. Occasional longer pieces on hospitality, heritage, and the strange business of running a 19th-century estate in the 21st century.
My cousin Patricia and her partner Geoffrey spend six months a year at Le Bost in Douchapt. The other six they're in England, selling what they bought. They've taught us almost everything we know — and most of it isn't in any guidebook.
Sixty years ago the fields around the estate held more vineyards and more tobacco than they do now. Both are mostly gone. A piece on phylloxera, the EU's regulatory shifts, and the bio pioneers planting Chardonnay, Chenin and Savagnin outside the AOC framework.
Pairing isn't intricate. The dish leads, not the course category. One long evening at the estate — Crémant de Bourgogne with oysters, Rully with scallops, Cahors with duck, and a 1995 Monbazillac for dessert if you're staying with us.
A walk through the cellar for the 2026 season — Bergerac at the centre, the Atlantic line running west, Jurançon climbing south, rosé reconsidered, and dessert wines that don't end the evening. Our actual producers, our actual recommendations.
Fourteen restaurants within a comfortable drive of the gate — Michelin-listed tables in Issigeac, bistros under 12th-century abbeys, and the ones we go back to. With real notes on which are worth the drive.
A rhythm to lean against, when you're on the terrace on a Monday morning and you can't be bothered to look anything up. Seven days of lunches, markets, and dinners across the Périgord Pourpre. The companion to the six destination kitchens.
The full market week around the estate — Sunday at Issigeac, Tuesday at Beaumont, Thursday night under the plane trees, Saturday at Villeréal, Sunday night at Monbazillac. Producers, coffee at Shabby Chic, and the pan of snails our girls ask for by name.
One of the prettiest squares in the Dordogne, anchored by a 12th-century Cistercian abbey. Thirty minutes from the gate, and one of the quieter great places of the region.
The Dordogne is still the best place in Europe to buy honest old French furniture — cheaper than Scandinavia, deeper inventory than Paris. A practical guide, including how to actually get a farmhouse table to Copenhagen.
In old Occitan, suquet means "hill." In Catalan, it's a seafood stew. The name of the estate carries both — elevation and nourishment — and it turns out to be a surprisingly good description of what the place is for.
Two summers of string quartet masterclasses and singing residencies have taught us that old stone is surprisingly good at chamber music. Notes on why, and on what kind of music events we now welcome.
A summer 2025 evening where the expected script — Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux — gave way to three quieter voices: a Pét-Nat from Gaillac, a Pineau d'Aunis from the Loire, and a Cahors Malbec.
A full day out from the estate — Pécharmant at Corbiac, the Thursday market at Saint-Astier, the Dronne valley road, lunch under the sequoias at Brantôme, dinner in the shadow of Saint-Front.
An hour east, clifftop boxwood gardens look down over La Roque-Gageac. On summer Thursdays, the paths are lit by two thousand candles. One of the best days this region does.
Bannes for sunrise, Bridoire as the medieval-game one for kids, Monbazillac as the only one worth going inside, and Biron with Monpazier as a half-day east. Most châteaux are better appreciated from outside. Here's how we send guests through them.
An hour northeast of the estate, a gentle river runs past 12th-century châteaux and 30,000-year-old cave dwellings. A two-hour paddle, a village lunch, a swim, dinner under soft yellow street lights.
Forty minutes west of the gate, through the sweet-wine hills of Monbazillac, a 27-hole country club with one nine-hole course genuinely worth the drive. The 18th on the Vines course is a boomerang that reveals the château on the final approach.
Notes on energy sovereignty, Sky Farming, and In The Dark — the book — live on ViviSolari.com. Different publication, same author, related themes.
