Villa Baulieu: A Vineyard Castle in Provence

Glimpsed from a country road in the lush vineyard country just northwest of Aix-en-Provence, Villa Baulieu, a majestic 17th-century Italianate Provençal manor, might easily be taken for a sumptuous private home. That’s precisely what the current owners, the Guénant family, had in mind, since their newly opened 11-room guesthouse bears little resemblance to a hotel. After a meticulous seven-year restoration, the 740-acre vineyard estate—built on an enormous volcano crater—and its mini-castle, which once belonged to the Counts of Provence, has been transformed into a jewelbox mansion filled with the family’s private collection of museum-quality antiques and art from all over the Mediterranean basin. Each of the extremely comfortable rooms and spacious suites is unique, with decor ranging from English, Portuguese and Venetian to Louis XIV, along with huge marble bathrooms with antique tubs, sweeping views of the gardens with their 18th-century Temple d’Amour, and the rocky blue-gray range of the Alpilles.

Thirty-something Bérangère Guénant, a passionate art lover and car enthusiast, is the gracious maîtresse de maison, and she also oversees the adjacent winery (try the superb award-winning white Cuvée Bérangère). Copious breakfasts are served in the glassed-in Orangerie or in the courtyard, and the two multi-talented majordomos, Christophe Le Calvez and David Ripetti (former grand sommelier and maître fromager at the luxury boutique hotel La Mirande in Avignon) will occasionally whip up delicious Provençal dinners at the table d’hôte, as well as host wine-tasting sessions and oenology lessons. If ever guests tire of the pastoral tranquility—lazing at the stone pool in the garden, soaking in the rooftop jacuzzi or biking through the vines—beautiful Aix-en-Provence is only a 20-minute drive away, and big-city Marseilles only a little more than twice that far.

Villa Baulieu, Rognes, 04.42.60.39.40. www.villabaulieu.com. Doubles €420–€1,370.

Originally published in the September 2012 issue of France Today