"Having spent several days meandering along deserted country lanes, we now have an appointment that takes us on to the busy Route Minervoise linking Béziers to Carcassonne. An ancient stone inn beside the Canal du Midi, Le Relais de Pigasse is an organic vineyard and Michelin-starred restaurant. The owner, Robert Eden, is passionate about preserving the local eco-system in the production of his well- respected Comte Cathare wines, with 50p from each bottle sold going to the Rainforest Foundation. He makes wines based on chardonnay, cabernet, and two syrah blends, but before any planting, harvesting or cultivating is done, the position of the sun, moon and planets are taken into consideration. A bit of a character he may be, but Eden was brought up knowing about wine and has made his own here for the past 11 years. His unorthodox, elegant viticulture produces deliciously light results.
The restaurant interior is no hokey, rustic affair, either. It's a cool symphony of neutral shades, natural fibres and elegant furniture designed to complement the pale, exposed stone walls.
As for the Michelin-starred food, it's often as exciting, innovative and beautiful to look at as that which comes from the kitchens of Gordon Ramsay or Heston Blumenthal. Millefeuilles of beef with artichokes; selle d'agneau en crepinette; foie gras de canard with jus viande à la truffe; apricots in muscat de Saint Jean de Minervois served with basil glacé; tobacco-flavoured ice cream made in the shape of a Havana cigar. It's not cheap compared with the rustic food we have been eating all week, but the same standard of food in Britain would probably cost twice as much. The fantastic four-course set menu seems a bargain at €39 (£27) a head, excluding wines. It's the kind of meal that lingers in the mind, as well as on the palate, throughout the long drive home."
The Independent
