{"id":72843,"date":"2014-04-17T12:54:59","date_gmt":"2014-04-17T02:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/?p=72843"},"modified":"2014-04-17T13:52:25","modified_gmt":"2014-04-17T03:52:25","slug":"chateau-la-coste-provence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/2014\/04\/17\/chateau-la-coste-provence\/","title":{"rendered":"Ch\u00e2teau La Coste: a secret place in Provence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chateau<\/a><\/b>I\u2019d wanted to go to Ch\u00e2teau La Coste<\/a>, a 20-minute drive from Aix-en-Provence, for several weeks, but the weather had other ideas. <\/b><\/p>\n

Winter was endlessly grey.\u00a0<\/b>It rained; one day merged into another, forcing me to postpone my visit. I cursed the showers, which are so rare in these parts.<\/b><\/p>\n

Cliquez ici<\/a>\u00a0pour lire cet article en fran\u00e7ais.<\/span><\/address>\n

But last Saturday the sun finally returned, shining and unpleasantly warm, as if it were trying to avenge itself against the bad weather. The opportunity was too good to miss, and I made lunch reservations: \u201cA table in the sun, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

I know what is awaiting me, I know the place – but every time I\u2019m surprised by its beauty; its natural refinement.<\/p>\n

Ch\u00e2teau La Coste: a special, secret place
\n<\/b><\/h3>\n

A country location as sophisticated<\/strong> as any capital city; a manicured landscape, groomed like a racehorse. This place is worlds apart<\/a>; so prized, and so secret.<\/p>\n

\"Provence<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Provence<\/a><\/p>\n

An open-air museum of contemporary art<\/h3>\n

Nestled amongst the greenery<\/strong>, vines and scrubland, the world\u2019s greatest artists and architects have taken over the premises. They were given the freedom to conceive a work of art for the estate<\/a> and to choose the spot where it would be placed.<\/p>\n

\"Provence<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Provence<\/a><\/p>\n

A walk through the vines is strewn with unique installations. I\u2019m moved from surprise to astonishment, from reverie to experimentation<\/strong>: the art is to be played with and experienced.<\/p>\n

An Irish businessman\u2019s crazy dream<\/h3>\n

\"Provence<\/a>When I first heard about the art I thought it was an exaggeration. How could such a thing be possible when nothing on this scale exists throughout the world? Why here – in the middle of the countryside\u00a0?<\/p>\n

Is it another story of Southern French charm? The appeal of C\u00e9zanne country; the dream of a fantasised<\/strong> Provence, where it would be good to live?<\/p>\n

Who was this mysterious foreigner who invested colossal sums<\/a> in this ancient estate? An Irishman, a businessman, and mad about modern art, his life\u2019s ambition? Culminating in a masterpiece?<\/b><\/p>\n

The discrete proprietor, Patrick McKillen, was looking for a wine-producing estate. When he discovered the place in 2000, he fell in love with it. He quickly had to the idea to transform this ancient Roman vineyard into a centre for art, thereby fusing his passions for \u2018art, architecture and wine.\u2019<\/p>\n

I like the idea, so beloved of the 19th Century Dandys<\/a>, of making one\u2019s life a work of art. I imagine a modern-day aristocrat<\/strong> in love with a mad dream, a modern utopia; a place to visit dedicated to wine the world\u2019s greatest contemporary artists.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Chateau<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Provence<\/a><\/b><\/h3>\n

An estate that produces excellent vintages<\/h3>\n

My mind wanders while we order a bottle of the marvellous<\/strong> \u2018ros\u00e9 d\u2019une nuit\u2019, an organic wine made on the estate<\/a>. The sun casts its rays on Calder\u2019s mobile. A breeze makes it move gently backwards and forwards, making the piece seem alive.<\/p>\n

The peace and quiet, the grandiose<\/strong> architecture and the breathtaking beauty of the surrounds give this moment a particular sweetness. It\u2019s one of those which will be etched on our memory, because we know that perfection doesn\u2019t often look us in the face. We still want this moment to last.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n
Ch\u00e2teau La Coste<\/a> is located at 2750 Route de la Cride, 13610 Le Puy Sainte R\u00e9parade, Provence. The ch\u00e2teau, caf\u00e9, and wine shop are open throughout the year and visits in French or English are available by reservation.\u00a0<\/address>\n

<\/h2>\n

Have you had the chance to visit the magnificent vineyards of Provence?\u00a0<\/b>Share your experience with us in the comments below.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n
Images \u00a9 Julie Gu\u00e9gan<\/span><\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A country location as sophisticated as any capital city; a manicured landscape, groomed like a racehorse. Ch\u00e2teau La Coste is worlds apart; so prized, and so secret.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3772,"featured_media":72904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[1132,1081],"tags":[381,384,397,436,1393,98,172,213,236,255,281,373],"class_list":["post-72843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations","category-escapades","tag-photography","tag-places-to-go","tag-provence","tag-things-to-do","tag-museum","tag-art","tag-culture","tag-france","tag-french-guide","tag-french-travel","tag-in-english","tag-passion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3772"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}