Maison d’Été

Maison d’Été is a restored 18th Century wine growers house in the tiny, wine growing village of Babio. The country lane literally stops at Babio! Babio is a hamlet to a nearby village called La Caunette, here you will find a bar, restaurant and post office. 5 minutes on from La Caunette is Aigue Vives, here is a small supermarket and a boulangerie, serving fresh bread every day. Minerve one of the ‘beaux villages’ is a 10 minute drive this boasts 6 fabulous restaurants. Aigne is also a 10 minute drive, a pretty village with a good restaurant. Further afield you have Narbonne the Roman ville and Béziers with the 9 locks of the Canal du Midi (a UNESCO site) The Mediterranean Sea is 35 minutes at the pretty fortress village of Gruissan. The surrounding area boasts many Cathar Castles and the area is the largest wine/grape producer in the world. 

The  house many of the original details have been retained. The internal areas have been lime rendered to follow the undulating nature of the stone walls. The kitchen retains its original marble sink (now used as a secondary washing area). The front door has been restored and keeps its original door furniture. The windows and staircase have been built by a local artisan carpenter from the trunk of an extremely old local Oak tree. Part of the house faces North protecting it from the summer sunshine. It is partly attached at the rear to a vigneron’s property allowing all windows to enjoy far reaching views of the open countryside. Like many ancient village houses the garden is separated from the house. A twenty pace walk across the village placette leads to the entrance of the secluded garden with swimming pool, terrace and summer kitchen housed in a hundred year old stone clad village water tank. The views from the garden are breathtaking…a valley with vineyards and olive groves with the Mountains Noirs in the background.