Saint Nazaire Cathedral and le Pont Vieux (the old
bridge) at Béziers
Domaine de
LA BARTHE
SIMPLICITY AND SINCERITY
Discovery awaits you with Yves and Viera Eychenne.
Their wines are
harmonious an
d powerful.
Yves Eychenne lives where he was born
some 73 years ago, at the Domaine de la
Barthe and says he will cultivate his vines
as long as he can, so don’t talk to him
about selling... it’s simply inconceivable!
He’s too attached to his land! Viera, who
has Slovak origins, likes to open the doors
of the estate to the world, and true to her
origins, has a weak spot for travellers
from central Europe.
It’s a joy to hear the story of how they
met in a Château-Hôtel in Bratislava,
between a diamond seller’s exhibition and
a presentation of American cosmetics.
These
humble
winegrowers
from
Languedoc had come to present their
wines and still don’t quite believe the
success they had and have in fact remained
friends with the director of the hotel where
they met and regularly return to. Another
happy memory is when Yves casually
recalls that film production designer,
Eugenio Caballero, who won an Oscar for
his set for Guillermo del Toro’s film, Pan’s
Labyrinth (he received his statuette from
Nicole Kidman!), travelled from where he
was staying with his wife near Barcelona
to taste the wines of La Barthe and ended
up staying with them for 3 days.
16
Or again, their fortuitous meeting with a
pilgrim coming back from Compostella
who wanted resupply himself with muscat
and decided to stop by, beginning what
would be a beautiful friendship. He was
none other than the famous Czech painter
Jiri Bouda, who paintings hang on the walls
of Yves and Viera’s living room. Hospitality
is not an empty word for the Eychennes,
“What I like is the relationship between
wine and life”, explains Yves and you
understand that the special attention both
of them bring to the creation of their
wines is the same they give to the people
they meet, always with the same wish for
quality and conviviality. They named their
favourite wine “Symphonie des cinq sens”
(Symphony of the 5 senses) with a nod to
Saint Saëns, the composer who created the
first opera ever staged in the amphitheatre
of Béziers. Here, once again, the name
originates from a wonderful encounter
with musicians who came to play at the
Béziers Medieval Music Festival and who
also extended their stay at the domaine
because the welcome was so special. They
are due to come back early this summer
to perform an evening event at La Barthe.
Yves and Viera receive visitors in their
little winery and offer, in addition to their
wonderful stories, some very good wines,
which, for the most part, are for laying
down. Their two children, Mathieu, who
lives in Glasgow, and Katya, who is in
Paris, never miss a harvest and support
their parents in their vineyard business.
Here, you’ll find a happy family, and this is
how life goes on in this little domaine with
a big heart.
14, ROUTE DE CAPESTANG - 34500 BÉZIERS
04 67 28 60 29 - domainedelabarthe.fr
Domaine de la Barthe
Winery shop open every day and year round.
An artefact from the Ensérune museum