The Domain
The Corbières terroir, has produced wine since the 2nd century BC and has developed since Roman times. Now it is a major producer of quality wines. Located in the heart of the Corbières, in the commune of Lézignan Corbières, the Château du Grand Caumont is one of the largest estates in the appellation with some 105 hectares of vines.
We cultivate and vinify with passion and a great concern for the preservation of the environment, beautiful, aromatic and warm cuvées.
HISTORY
The estate has existed since Roman times, when it was known as “Villa Manzanetto”. It is now planted with a mixture of grape varieties and covers an area of nearly 1,000 hectares.
Subsequently, the area was renamed “Grand Caumont”, after the garrigue which overlooks the château. This hill is covered by thyme, rosemary and southern scrubs was called “Capus Monti” which means in Latin “the head of the hill” gave its name to Grand Caumont.
In the 9th century the domain belonged to the French King Charles Le Chauve who gave the estate to his nephew in 847.
During the French Revolution the château and its outbuildings were completely down. Only a few vestiges of the old buildings remain such as the tower and the two gateways.
In 1850 the domain is bought by Auguste Sarda. At that time it became an experimental vineyard in the region which was presented as a model and was rewarded with an Honorary Award by the Region.
In 1906 Louis Rigal, founder of the famous Rigal Roquefort cheese production, bought the estate, decides to leave there and cultivate the vines there for more than 30 years. 
In 1945 he transferred the estate to his son, also named Louis, who, with his wife Françoise, continued the activity until the end of the 1970s.
From the beginning of the 1980’s, his wife Françoise Rigal took over with passion and enthusiasm, managed and modernized the estate in began to market the wines in bottles.
In 2003 her daughter Laurence joined her to help run the estate, having spent fifteen years in marketing, advertising and communications in Paris. Rich in her advertising experience and her commercial sense, Laurence Rigal is now showing her distinctive, elegant and fragrant wines to customers around the world.
an ecological commitment
Supported by a team that has been with us for many years, we ensure the preservation of the environment.
We are committed to maintaining and developing soil biodiversity and to conducting environmentally friendly cultures for rich and authentic wines. We have just started the High Environmental Level 3 approach. Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVA). Working to attain the highest level of Bio production.
… from the vine to the winery and the cellar
At Château du Grand Caumont, the harvest takes place between the end of August and the beginning of October over a period of about a month and a half.
We taste the grapes in each parcel of vines until the ripeness is ideal, with the sufficient degree of alcohol, very ripe grapes full of sun and sugar.
We harvest the white grape varieties: Grenache blanc and Vermentino first, then Cinsault and Grenache for the Rosé. For the best preservation of aromas these parcels are harvested from midnight to six in the morning to benefit from the freshness of the night.
Next we harvest the different red grape varieties, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon for the Vins de Pays and then the Corbières grapes, Syrah, Grenache noir and old vines of Carignan. The old vines of Cariagnan have been manually harvested with the same team for more than fifteen years.
Then we begin the decisive period of vinification in our quality oak barrels.
STAY AT THE CHÂTEAU
Charming ground floor apartment for rent for 6/8 people with a surface area of 100 m2.
Would you like to spend a few days at the Château? Château du Grand Caumont, is situated between Narbonne and Carcassonne and 7kms from Lézignan Corbières; in the heart of the Cathar country. Surrounded by the peace of the countryside and in the middle of the 100ha of vineyards, come and enjoy our ground floor apartment! There is 100 square meters of living space, a terrace, a barbecue, a private garden with trees and access to our swimming pool among the pines.
Within an easy drive is Carcassonne and its medieval city renowned worldwide for its ramparts and its castle. We are also close to Narbonne rich in Roman history, and the beaches of Gruissan which was an ancient fishing village, Narbonne Plage and St Pierre La Mer. If it’s Spain you want to pay a short visit to, it’s one hour to the Spanish boarder. We are ideally situated to the sea, lots of places of history and magnificent scenery, that’s apart from the vines and the wine! We are an ideal place to spend holidays with family or friends.
Access to the A61 motorway is approximately a 5 minute drive. Here at Château du Grand Caumont you will be in the ideal place to visit the heritage of the Aude.
