Chateau Hotel & private rental villas with spa and restaurants in Narbonne, France

History of the estate
Introduced by the Greeks in the 5th Century BC winemaking in the Languedoc was further developed by the Romans who established Narbonne in 118BC. Located at a strategic intersection of the Via Acquitania route to the Atlantic and the Via Domitia connecting Italy to Spain, Colonia Narbo Martius (Narbonne) soon became the prosperous capital of Roman Gaul from where wine and honey and many other products were shipped across the Roman Empire.

At this time La Clape was a peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean dotted with small lakes thus earning its ancient name Insula Lacquis – the Peninsula of the Lakes.  Surrounding these lakes were vineyards, many owned by victorious legionnaires upon whom Caesar had bestowed lands on the peninsula suitable for cultivating vines.  It is thought Capitoul was likely one of these early bequests, though the first known citation of the estate as a producer of wine is from a Latin parchment dated 26th May, 1324.

Throughout the first millennium Narbonne remained an important city, a seat of agriculture and learning and a melting pot of cultures from across the Mediterranean and beyond.  The city and surrounds went into decline in the 14th Century, largely but not exclusively due to the silting up of the Graus (Inlets) which provided access from the sea to the city.

During this period it was the monasteries and other religious orders which keep the winemaking tradition alive – as much a factor of economic power as it was of Eucharistic necessity. Indeed it was in a Dominican monastery in Limoux around 1530 that sparkling wine was invented, a technique transplanted to the Champagne region a century later by a monk named Dom Perignon.
By the 15th Century Capitoul was also owned by religious - the canons of the Cathedral of St Just (The Cathedral visible from the Western windows of the Château).  It is probably around this time the estate was christened with a derivative of its current name, derived from the Latin Chapitre, Capitulaire, Capitulum.

Gradually however, wine production in the region reduced significantly, becoming over time a locally oriented activity with little export and even less vitality. Little is known about Capitoul during this period, though the estate continues to appear on maps throughout the middle ages and into the 17th and 18th centuries.
Fortunes changed in the second half of the 19th century when the period known as the Eldorado du Vin began. With a huge spike in demand driven by industrialization and the need to hydrate factory workers with a daily ration of sterile low alcohol wine a reinvigorated wine market emerged.

In 1867 European vines were attacked by phylloxera, an aphid which decimated vine roots, causing production to collapse right across Europe. While the Languedoc was badly hit, paradoxically the infestation set the conditions for the acceleration of the market: With sandy soils capable of repelling the mite, and the discovery that the grafting of American root stock onto French vines circumvented the problem, production restarted briskly and the Languedoc found itself with perfect market conditions: a spike in demand and a dearth of supply. With the opening of the railway line from Béziers to Paris reducing transport time from four days to one, a fully-fledged boom took hold as vast wine fortunes were made, centered on Béziers which by the turn of the century was the wealthiest city in France.

In 1898 the Riviere family, then owners of Capitoul and beneficiaries of a significant wine fortune created during the boom period commissioned the restoration and transformation of the estate, works which took place from 1898-190 creating in the process the buildings that stand today. Capitoul soon re-emerged as one of the most important estates in the region.

The turn of the century proved to be the highpoint however, with overproduction and cheap imports of Algerian wine soon caused prices to collapse. A clean water supply, two world wars, changing tastes and the emergence of New World wines brought waves of competitive pressure to bear on the industry. Capitoul, like many others, gradually declined into stately moribundity, continuing to produce as it always had, but selling into a mostly indifferent market which oversaw its gradual decline.

In 1962 the estate was purchased by Fernand Aupecle as part of a portfolio of Southern estates assembled upon his return from Algeria in 1962. The estate remained in his family until 2011 when, convinced by its potential as a winery and wine tourism destination, it was purchased by the Bonfils family. The initial phase of the restoration was primarily focussed on the vineyards and winery, with the replantation of the vines and the enlargement of the estate and the overhaul of the range. In parallel a long process to secure permission to create a premium wine tourism destination was pursued as was the acquisition of a shareholding in Domaine & Demeure, specialists in the restoration and operation of wine estates as exceptional tourism destinations.

With this partnership in place and the planning permissions secured, works began in 2018, heralding the renaissance of this venerable estate and securing its viability for generations to come.