Château des Vigiers, Monestier

2014-08-11 20.15.24

Château des Vigiers is the product of some forward-thinking Swedish (and possibly Danish) wealthy-folk who decided to rescue a decaying château surrounded by enough vineyard and fruit groves to plough a championship standard 27 hole golf course through it without spoiling the view.  They also turned the old piles of stones (ahem, château) into a spectacular hotel and spa.  I’m lucky that my dad likes to play golf, this is one of the best courses around this area of South West France and he is a member here.  The three loops of nine holes provide a rigorous test of anyone’s golfing abilities, whilst offering the tourist a quintessential French golfing experience.  They also run a great brasserie, managed by the enigmatic and charming Nils.

Brasserie Le Chai

Tonight’s steak was excellent, as was Vigiers own rosé which complimented the balmy summer evening and three times cooked chips perfectly.  And naturellement, the dessert menu provided the opportunity to continue the quest…  Again, as seems to be the way when in France, presenting brûlées in a wide but shallow ramekin appears to the de facto method.  This delight offered a lemon infused custard which was refreshing light and smooth which reminded me of those classic homemade lemonades.  The sugaring was light but not completely caramelised as evidenced by the lightness of the finish, but had it been more heavy burned it probably would have overtaken the subtly of the lemon custard. A good effort in a lovely location deserving a respectable 6/10.