Burgundy is a place most British people drive through or where
they stop for a night on the way to somewhere else. You turn
left off the A6 at Chalon Nord to go skiing in the Alps. You
turn right at Chalon Sud to go west towards the centre of
France. Or you can head south on the A6, the Autoroute du
Soleil, thundering to the fleshpots of the Mediterranean coast.
However, any turning to the right between Dijon and Beaune
will lead you to a village familiar from a lifetime of perusing
wine lists.
Burgundy isn’t so much a place as a name on a wine bottle.
If you pull off the autoroute you will be surprised to discover
villages that you already know if you frequent wine bars:
Fixin, Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle- Musigny, Nuits St Georges
and Vosne-Romanée. Except for this small area, it is
surprising how few vineyards you see, unless you go looking
for them. Otherwise the countryside is reminiscent of parts
of the Cotswolds, with hills, forests and large fields. |
|
Fiona
De Wulf has spent the past six years restoring one of
Burgundy’s finest chateaux, Château de Créancey.
When she and her French husband, Bruno, first saw the derelict
building, it was more out of curiosity. “It was a wet
afternoon in January,” she recalls. “The estate agent said, ‘What else are you going
to do on a day like this?’ so we went along for a look.
And we fell in love with it.”
They
paid £250,000 for the property and spent a further £600,000
turning it into an elegant home. It has high ceilings, beautiful
furniture and an eclectic mix of antiques and modern paintings.
Bruno has five children from a previous marriage and each
of them has their own bedroom with en-suite bathroom, which
can be rented out as bed-and-breakfast accommodation when
the children are not there. There is also a cottage in the
garden that has been converted into a gîte, and its
situation makes it perfect for British visitors to use for
a few days’ escape, or en route to the Alps or the Côte
d’Azur. “Burgundy is the best place I have ever
lived,” says De Wulf. “The countryside is great.
There is a very good mix of people, from the old Burgundians
to new people who have moved into the area. Depending on what
sort of mood you are in, you can have dinner with any kind
of person.” |
Avant
la passion, il y a eu le coup de coeur... Tout commence en
1993 lorsque Fiona, anglaise par sa naisance à Surrey,
au sud de Londres, et son mari, Bruno de Wulf, gros propriétaire
terrien et industriel en Seine et Marne sont invités
pour une fête par des amis, dans un château près
de Montbard dont ils viennent de faire l'acquisition. [...]
"on est arrivé devant le portail, et quand on
a vu le château, ce fut immédiatement le coup
de foudre. J'ai dit : il faut l'acheter, commente Bruno. Et
ce, malgré l'état de délabrement dans
lequel il se trouvait. D'offre en contre offre, de réfléxion
en emprunt possible, l'acte est signé et l'aventure
commence [...]
