A 7-ha former farm with a 17th-century Provencal farmhouse, a manor, outbuildings and a 19th-century wine storehouse, in between Montpellier and Nîmes
A 7-ha former farm with a 17th-century Provencal farmhouse, a manor, outbuildings and a 19th-century wine storehouse, in between Montpellier and Nîmes.
Extending along the base of the Cévennes mountains, the property is located in the Gard department, while, nearby, the small town of Quissac, located at the crossroads between Nîmes (30 kilometres), Alès (25 kilometres) and Montpellier (40 kilometres), as well as less than one hour from the Mediterranean, provides access to these larger cities and their train stations thanks to regular buses. In addition, Quissac also boasts a clinic, health centres, primary schools, a lower secondary school, an aquatic centre, a multimedia library, cultural and athletic organisations, as well as all local shops.
Although its piedmont slopes were once the epicentre of Cévennes silkworm farming during the 18th century, this region was also the site of significant wine production on its more favourably oriented hillsides.
Today, this area has happily taken on a new role as an eco-tourism hub, thanks to its breath-taking natural heritage, made up of four protected areas: the Banassou River's marlstone hillsides, the Rouvière dam, the plains of Pompignan and the Vidourle River, as well as the Vidourle River valley, which stretches from the town of Sauve all the way to the Petite Camargue's wetlands.
Less than one kilometre from Quissac, the 7-hectare estate extends to the east and the west, on either side of four buildings grouped together into a private hamlet: a wine storehouse, an immense farm, known as "the large Provencal farmhouse", a dovecote and the wine-grower's dwelling.
As for the property, it is accessible via the road to the former farmyard, while the manor house, nestled within a bucolic landscape and facing the surrounding vineyards and woods, is located on the other side of the B road.
Thanks to the layout of its different edifices, the property, which has evidently played several different roles over the years, bears evidence to its wine-growing past, while an artisanal silkworm farming activity may have preceded its wine-growing function before land divisions put a stop to it. Afterwards, other uses followed suit and thus its wine storehouse has, today, been transformed into a number of different workshops as well as a reception venue.
Nestled within the Cévennes foothills, the buildings, quite simple in appearance, were constructed according to the laws that labour and rural life have dictated over time, while the eras of the various constructions differ from one to the next and primarily alternate between the early and late 19th century, before additional architectural interventions took place in order to unify the property's different buildings in the 20th and 21st centuries.
In addition, the manor house, built in the late 19th century, has, rather curiously, adopted the model of local silkworm farms, understated in its appearance and primarily facing south, whereas the wine storehouse, from the same era, was reconverted after a portion of its central roof collapsed.
As for the "large Provencal farmhouse", in all likelihood once a rural dwelling with its low vaulted rooms, it provides an obvious example of a building constructed over earlier vestiges, most likely from the late 17th or early 18th centuries, while the dovecote, built out of red briquettes and perched atop the roof of one of the outbuildings, dates to the early 20th century. The latter, now converted into living quarters, is surrounded by a series of small adjacent buildings, which are currently used as rental accommodations.
Lastly, the property, whose appeal is all the greater thanks to its natural environment, has been saved from various forms of damage and provides captivating evidence of daily life as a wine-grower in the Cévennes foothills, whereas its contemporary renovation, which still needs to be completed in certain sections, has provided it with ...
