Aspiran Postcard

Four à Chaux

2011-11-03T02:54:00.000-07:00

The detailed IGN map of the area indicates "le Four à Chaux Ruines" wedged between the road to Paulhan and Adissan soon after they fork near where electricity pylons cross. Four à Chaux is a lime kiln. Limestone would have been heated in an oven to produce lime principally for use as a building material. Lime mortar is still the material of choice today for renovating old stone house walls. According to the document "Guide d'interprétation des paysages viticoles : exemple de 50 communes en Coeur d'Hérault - décembre 2005" from Observatoire viticole there are seven Four à Chaux remains in the 50 communes surveyed. Along with Aspiran are one in Cabrières and Fontès plus four from Caux - all virtually neighbours. Given that Caux is Occitan for Chaux then such popularity is perhaps appropriate.

There are indeed ruins at the Aspiran site. The above was taken at the spot indicated on the IGN map and is the only "ruin" in the vicinity, although little remains to indicate it was a kiln beyond piles and ridges of white stones. 100m to the north is more convincing evidence, a pit dug in limestone and reaching well into the current water table. These two features are indicated by the paddle markers on the Google map above.

Rain, floods and river levels

2011-11-01T04:05:00.000-07:00

Two days of rain in the last week of October, the first of any real significance since March, is a reminder that the Hérault floods and will be of special concern to those around the Aspiran Gare sector. This link plots real-time levels for the Hérault at Aspiran. The home page www.vigicrues.ecologie.gouv.fr displays river flood warnings for the whole of France - click on the map to zoom into the Languedoc.

The weir on the Hérault at Aspiran Gare

Village wine makers

2011-10-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

Saturday 15th October saw the village fair of associations take place at the Boulodrome. As France were beating Wales in the Rugby World Cup semi-final that morning proceedings made a calm start with a late rush. Many of the stalls were selling children's vide grenier (literally empty the loft) wares, but of adult interest was the presence of four wine producers.

I described in this post how the Cave Cooperative has at last joined a group of neighbouring cooperatives called Clochers et Terroirs this year and their stand showed a range of well made wines. I particularly liked the Chardonnay - quite crisp and not too overbearing.

At the other end of the wine making spectrum were three small independent producers - David Caer (Clos Mathelisse), Jacques Fanet (Mas d'Arlenques) and Régis Pichon (Domaine Ribiera). My grape picking exploits at Domaine Ribiera are described here.

David Caer gauges the reaction to his sublime Coeur de Pépite white and Exorde red from Clos Mathelisse.

The Mairie Jean-Noël Satger demonstrates suave glass holding technique while engaging with Jacques Fanet who make a hearty and gutsy red from his new Mas d'Arlenques. Régis Pichon is in the background, presumably discussing his expressive Domaine Ribiera red Causse Toujours.

Unfortunately these grower's wines are not retailed locally. David Caer exports his production to Switzerland and Canada. Much of Domaine Ribiera goes to Paris and beyond. As hand-crafted small production wines expect to pay €7 and up.

That said, they'll be delighted to receive visitors and will have a few bottles to sell. Contact details can be found in seconds using the on-line directory Pages Blanches - simply enter a surname and Aspiran 34800.

Cave Cooperative - a new future

2011-10-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

Like many Cave Cooperetives in the region, Aspiran's has been in decline. Wine hasn't been bottled for pushing a decade, no doubt because a massive investment in wine making equipment is required to make wine to modern standards. It hasn't always been like that. 1957 saw the first, at least for a Languedoc cooperative, Vaslin horizontal presses installed (replaced in 1975). As recently as 1988 was another first when a Bucher pneumatic press was acquired.

There are similar stories in the area. The cooperative at nearby Caux closed several years ago and is already a decaying building - the grapes go down the road to Les Caves Molière at Pézenas. Nizas has a similar tale.

The trend has been for cooperatives to combine to create even greater economies of scale, but there are notable local exceptions. Fontès and Cabrières seem to be doing well and certainly do better at marketing. Fontès boasts the best rosé in the area and a new customer reception salon has been constructed this year. Cabrières uses their reception space to host art exhibitions and has managed to maintain a reputation for its wine. Further south at Florensac a light and airy tasting and sales space has been created with an excellent and popular attached restaurant Bistro d'Alex serving their wine at near retail price. Neighbour Adissan has more land suited to growing Clairette and their bottles line the shelves of the regions supermarkets. Much will also be supplied to make Noilly Prat in Marseillan (my blog entry is here).

Nevertheless, things are looking up for the grape growers of Aspiran to obtain a higher price. Between 1963 and 2003 eight villages, including Nébian and Paulhan on the Aspiran side of the river Hérault, combined to produce wine under the Clochers et Terroirs branding. An enormous modern facility at Puilacher now makes all the wine and at last the Aspiran cooperative has joined them. The cooperative building survives for now as the harvested grapes are still received and have their stems removed before being tankered off to Puilacher.

To buy Clochers et Terroirs wines visit the marketing suites at Nebian and Paulhan.

Commune fires

2011-10-04T01:11:00.000-07:00

I am aware of three fires in the commune this year, relatively small at less than a hectare and fortunately dealt with quickly and efficiently. This is the most recent and closest to the village at less than 100m from occupied property.

I fear there will be an increased fire risk in the coming years as the trend is for the surface area under vine to reduce. Vineyards don't easily catch fire and being large make excellent fire breaks. In 2004 50% of the surface area of the commune, amounting to just over 8 square kms, was vineyards. In the 5 years to 2009 this has reduced to just over 40% (source Observatoire viticole for the Hérault). The fire at this site, and at least one of the others, involved vines that had recently been pulled up and the field seemingly abandoned.

Pampas Grass

2011-10-03T01:10:00.000-07:00

Until recently this field off the road to Paulhan was a vineyard. Grubbed up with the land earmarked for expansion of the village is one story. Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana native to southern South America) has appeared, presumably having spread from a domestic garden across the road.

The past two months has seen little more than a few drops of rain. While ideal for the vendanges, the land is parched and time is running out for a second "spring" where rain brings on a wave of autumn flowers and a splash of colour. For now, this Pampas grass is the most interesting obvious floral feature.

Cave Cooperative - end of vendanges

2011-09-27T06:10:00.000-07:00

Notice on the office of the Cave Cooperative stating the last time for receiving wine - the 2011 harvest I presume, but with such sad decline over the years on never knows.

The list below states the grape varieties and parcels being accepted on each day, although the conflict with the notice above seems to indicate a determination to take Friday 24th off.

Vendange 2011

2011-09-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

I spent my first day grape picking this year at Régis and Christine Pichon's Domaine Ribiera in my village Aspiran. 7 am start yes, but at least there was no commute involved. To my surprise it was going to be Grenache and the 22nd August was believed to be the earliest recorded day for a Grenache harvest the village had know. That said, the objective was to make a fresh and expressive wine for drinking young which is not too rich and not too alcoholic. To achieve this the Grenache was being picked "early" and the instructions were to discard all unripe bunches that, by my estimation, amounted to 30% of the crop. Once it starts to ripen Grenache apparently ripens quickly so waiting until those 30% of bunches were ripe would mean 70% were overripe.

It occurred to me that passing through the vineyard a second time at a later date was an option, but as the photo shows, healthy leaf growth makes it near impossible to see and assess the ripeness of an individual bunch without actually cutting it away from the vine. The discarded bunches will return their goodness to the soil and vines so no waste, just loss. At least ideal spring flowering conditions ensured a good crop.

The team were clearly experienced locals with the classy smooth action of hairdressers and speed of champion sheep shearers. 6 hours of picking had just one pause café when I managed to snatch this picture of the team (Christine had popped back to the cave).

No doubt I was expected to make my apologies but kept going and even helped with the destemming of the last batch before a very late lunch. Here the destemmed grapes will be pumped directly from the base of the machine into the cuve, a system that minimises exposure of the juice to the air.

Look what fell down the chimney

2011-07-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

This cicada, locally called a Cigale Grise, ended it's days in our fireplace. They've been singing away in all the trees since mid-June this year, it all depends on how soon the soil warms up to 20ºC apparently. They have a curious life-cycle living deep underground for 10 months to several years and emerging on "their year" to metamorphosis into this 2.5cm long adult.

Know your crosses

2011-07-06T07:20:00.000-07:00

These are the crosses I've found in the commune. My search was started by the excellent booklet Mémoire de pierres published in 2003 by the Aspiran Groupe Mémoire. This describes eight crosses with some clue as to their location in their name. I have yet to locate the Croix du chemin des Aspes. The Croix du St Georges has been destroyed, seeming when a vineyard was pulled up - I have used a photograph I took back in 2004. Others I have found on the IGN map (2643E Série Bleue) or simply spotted them on walks.

Quarry

2011-06-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

This former basalt quarry is sited at the end of the lava flow (see millstone quarry post) that forms the wooded ridge seen from the route past the cemetery and on to the main road for Clermont l'Hérault. It can be glimpsed in favourable light just below the white water tower.

The vertical black roots and horizontal trunk of this Holm oak are embedded in columns of basalt.

Industrial Heritage

2011-05-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Spanish broom (Genêt d'Espagne Spartium junceum) and the factory in the background have a strong connection. The Usine de Garrigues at Aspiran Gare operated until the 1950s and employed some 200 people. Spanish broom was grown throughout the area and processed in the factory to make everything from thread and cord to sacks for transporting goods such as coal. Today the factory area is used to process wood.

Vampire free hillside

2011-05-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

Wild garlic growing on a hillside overlooking the Hérault valley and Aspiran Gare. Also growing in the same place is Laitue Vivace (Lactuca perennis) which has a delicious tasting salad leaf.

Grand paon de nuit

2011-05-04T00:09:00.000-07:00

This large moth, known as the Grand paon de nuit (Saturnia pyri), was spotted at dusk on the wall of a friends house. The pot of busy lizzies gives some idea of the size of Europe's largest moth. The markings on the wings are to mimic the eyes of an owl and deter potential predators, although it blends well with the colour tones of the stone wall. Apparently it likes eating the leaves of almond trees.

Daily Markets

2011-04-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

Aspiran's market days are Monday and Thursday. Monday normally sees a Charcuterie van plus a fruit and veg stall (pictured). Thursday also has fruit and veg plus a fish van that calls mid-morning along with a shellfish van - listen out for the klaxon. Other stalls, vans and even a hardware lorry make cameo appearances on schedules I've yet to twig.

One can "do" markets every day of the week with several, unlike Aspiran, worthy of a trip. All are within 30 Km or so except Agde (a deceptive 40 Km).

Monday: Bedarieux - quite extensive, less touristy and good value, especially for non-food goods.
Tuesday: Canet - good for a couple of seasonal fruit and veg stalls and the excellent Amat Charcuterie van. Visit the terrific wood burning boulangerie for a Paillasse loaf to make the 11 Km round trip worthwhile. For something bigger try St-André-de-Sangonis further north (also in Thursday).
Wednesday: Clermont l'Herault is an archetypal market town market and the weekly market essential for any visitor. Slightly less hectic and fewer tourists than Pezenas (see Saturday).
Thursday: Paulhan's market is a handy size. Big enough for a fair choice of produce but small enough not to dominate the morning's activities. Worth it just for the apricots, peaches and melons etc. that grow near the Aspiran route - look out for the Sylvestre stall near the lowest point on the market street. The large fruit and veg stalls offer some of the best value for basics of any markets listed here.
Friday: Montagnac is a similar size to Paulhan but unless passing by save yourself for Pezenas on Saturday. For a bigger market try Agde, especially if heading to the coast, but note parking nearby is challenging.
Saturday: Pezenas, along with Clermont on Wednesday, are the market events of the week. Has a separate bio marche and a large excellent value fish stall at the top of town. If you're heading north then Lodève is an excellent alternative and Gignac is nearly as good.
Sunday: Meze is the only option for miles but is a good size and makes a pleasant morning out. Alternatively give food a miss and pop down to the Paulhan bric-a-brac market. For a car boot sale on a giant scale go beyond Meze to just inland from Marseillan-plage.

Best olives, pickles, dried fruit etc.

Pezenas fish stall

My market tips: -

Go early for the bigger markets, certainly before 10 am and earlier in summer, near Easter and the endless May holiday weekends. Obviously avoids the worst of the crowds and offers more choice of the best produce plus witness that many locals still shop at markets. It's also cooler early in high summer.

Buy from stalls that are there every week or are seasonal small holders. A must avoid is rip-off cheese stalls that usually push tasting samples. Mass produced dried sausage stalls can be in the same league. Olive and dried fruit prices vary enormously - stick to the big ones in Clermont and Pezenas (l'Olivette stall is the best). Bread from markets is invariably disappointing. In all cases watch where the locals queue.

Market aren't necessarily cheap although for food the quality and freshness is usually top notch - always select your own fruit and vegetable produce. When buying melons and peaches from specialist stalls do say, although the best will ask, how many days before you intend to consume them.

Noilly Prat

2011-04-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

Many of the vines growing in the commune are the Clairette variety and their wine is almost certainly still tankered down the road from the cave coopérative to Marseillan where for over 150 years the archetypal French dry vermouth Noilly Prat is produced. Mankind's relatively recent ability to make mass produced crisp dry white wines has rather dented the popularity of these quite alcoholic herb infused aperitifs, although the fashion for utilising vermouth in cocktails continues to prop up demand. I use several bottles a year for cooking whenever white wine is called for and especially in fish dishes. It has two big advantages - more flavour and an opened bottle keeps well.

When in Marseillan one can visit the production facility. The Clairette wine is blended with another local variety Picpoul along and flavourless spirit is added. Next it's piped into these old barrels and left outside for 12 months to oxidise. After that it goes indoors into larger barrels where the secret blend of herbs, roots, spices and the like are added for an infusion period. Finally the resulting vermouth is tankered across to the Rhone valley to be bottled.

Miniature Irises

2011-03-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

This field is blanketed in miniature yellow and purple Irises - they are just 10cm to 30cm tall. Known as Iris Nain, Iris des Garrigues or Iris Jaunâtre (Latin Iris Lutescens) they flower in early spring a few weeks before the more common and taller purple variety. The arid limestone soils known as Garrigue is their habitat, but seeing them in these numbers is fairly exceptional. The pictures were taken on the ridge that starts on the pine tree hill behind the village and borders the Hérault valley south-east towards Paulhan.

Olive Harvest

2010-11-23T15:30:00.000-08:00

I originally posted a version of this on my Languedoc wine blog but olives are also very relevant to Aspiran of course.

Olive groves have been sprouting up all over the commune and the central Hérault valley over the past decade. Many of these will have been given a start in life by EU vine grubbing up payments - sadly a blunt instrument of a policy that doesn't protect prime vineyards (and Aspiran has some of the best), but that's another subject.

Young olive trees overlooking the Hérault valley

The Clermont l'Hérault olive oil coopérative was founded in 1920 and is famous in the locality. It was one of the few "huileries" to survive the devastating frosts of January 1956 that killed or crippled all the trees (and quite a few vines) in the south of France for years. Recovery has been painfully slow but steady since the 1990s.

This year the trees are heaving with olives and picking for oil production started at the beginning of November (most eating olives are picked from September when green and not fully ripe). While wine overproduction is nothing new in the Languedoc the Clermont huilerie seems to have an oil overproduction crisis as well.

According to the region's Midi Libre daily paper they sell 80,000 litres of their member's oil a year. However, last years harvest generated 215,000 litres so to address this, and help keep the price to the growers at €8 a litre, 15% less olives will be accepted from their members this year (I assume in practice the olives are pressed but the surplus oil is returned). There are exceptions for producers of less than about 40 litres plus those who signed up to the special "Japan" cuvée who will have all their oil accepted.

The challenge for southern French olive oil is the climate is actually at the northern limits for the olive tree. While quality and finesse is excellent and sometimes unbeatable, the yield is low and variable - a fraction of that achievable in southern Spain, Algeria, Greece etc. A typical tree will give just 2 to 3 litres of oil and to be economic local oils need to retail at around €14 to €18 a litre.

Vines, Oliviers and Oaks

2010-11-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

The Aspiran wine cooperative is sadly in decline and this must be the dullest picture on this blog. Wine hasn't been bottled here for several years, it's just tankered away somewhere. Friends who live on the approach road report a decline in harvest traffic each year. Neighbouring villages Adissan, Fontes and Cabrières give the impression of doing better with sales both directly and to supermarkets backed by fair local reputations. Other neighbours Nébian, Paulhan and Belarga have joined forces with two other communes to become a super-cooperative under the Clochers et Terroirs brand. Several friends enjoy their everyday wine and a tempting loyalty scheme ensures they keep returning.

Better news is that Aspiran now has five independent wine producers, that I know of, from the well established Château Malautié (actually not a Château at all) to the relatively new such as the intriguing Ribiera. Some of the vineyard land is as fine as any in the Languedoc with several owned by reputed Domaines based outside the commune.

More good news is a tour round the chemins reveals a surprising number of new plantings at a time of overall vine decline. These are especially evident in the basalt rich soils such as this planting by the geologically recent lava flow described in my Volcanoes post.

Nevertheless, EU grubbing up cash incentive schemes have transformed many vineyards over the last 5 plus years over to growing visually dull cereals. This picture was taken before wheat was planted - poppies just love recently tilled soil.

Others have become attractive olive groves. In more sheltered spots where water is readily available orchards of peach, apricot, cherry and almond trees have appeared. Added to this are three bio vegetable growers in the commune, see my post on one of them La Ferme Lou Selces.

Most curious of all are plantations of oak trees like this one between the roads to Paulhan and Adissan soon after they fork. Acorns? Timber? No, truffle oaks.

For notes on a couple of wines from Aspiran see my wine blog posts on Domaine Ribiera and Château Malautié.

Spider from Mars

2010-11-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

Spotted in a vineyard.

It's purpose is to dispense fertiliser (I assume) into a tractor pulled trailer.

Salade Sauvage

2010-10-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

Poupier (Purslane)

Early spring is the main season for wild salad plants and I'll blog more on that next year. However, the period after the first autumn rains does bring on a few delights. These two are stars on four counts; they have an excellent taste, are fairly easy to find, are quick to pick and easy to prepare for the salad bowl.

Roquette (below) is the most common great wild salad here and also has a long season. It grows on the banks of most small lanes and, unlike many salad plants, the leaves are still tender after the delightful yellow flowers develop. It's more peppery than the shop bought stuff (rocket in the UK) so needs to be mixed with other leaves or just use as a garnish. There's a white variety called "false" roquette that loves the vineyards but has an inferior taste and texture.

Pourpier (above), known as Purslane in the UK, is often stocked by up market London grocers. It's a bit harder to find than roquette and while it also likes vineyards this source is best avoided unless known to be an organic. It has a great crunchy texture with a slightly sour and salty taste.

Roquette (Rocket)

Autumn Yellow Crocuses

2010-10-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

These wild autumn crocuses were spotted by the road to Peret. No doubt brought to life after a couple of days rain earlier in the week.

Location Location Location

2010-10-13T04:34:00.000-07:00

Before we'd ever heard of Aspiran we spent a week in a small Hamlet near Olargues in the Haut Languedoc. The views across and along the valley of chêne vert forested hills were spectacular and the 1000m plus high Espinouse could be walked up from the back door. Pretty idyllic, but the modest remoteness had drawbacks. The boulangerie was a 20 minute round trip. It took 5 minutes to reach the main east-west valley road and the options were turn left or right. The supermarket was nearly half an hour away. Going north to nowhere, or south to Beziers, involved seriously scenic but narrow winding roads.

By complete contrast, Aspiran sits it rolling foothills nicely between Clermont l'Herault and Pézenas. Montpellier's tramway is just over half an hours drive away, as is central Béziers.

Five roads leave the village and seven neighbouring villages are reached directly without passing through others. An eighth, Belarga, counts when the Herault is low enough to walk over the weir. The A75 (Clermont Ferrand via Millau to Beziers autoroute) skirts the commune but is well away from the village and ensures the RN9 is a quiet local road. There are oak woods, a pine tree wood, garrigue and, of course, vines. Along with a baker are a few other commerces, tabac, post office, pharmacy and two bars. Supermarkets and brico sheds at Clermont are 10 minutes away.

Overall a pretty ideal compromise between open spaces, scenery, services and access to the department's facilities.

Pommettes

2010-10-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

At the end of September what looks like a hawthorn tree produces fingertip sized pink-red fruits known around here as Pommettes. They have a sweet and quite intense apple taste and the tree, l'Azérolier (Crataegus azarolus), is actually a Mediterranean species of hawthorn and closely related to the apple.

Pommette trees are quite common along the side of chemins (lanes) but it is unusual to find one like this in a relatively exposed windswept location - most of the pommettes have blow off.

We eat them as a sort of dessert equivalent of olives - they have a core of two grape pip like stones.

They can also be cooked and sieved to make an equivalent of apple conserve.

Our Daily Bread and the definitive Pain Paillasse

2010-09-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago the rather lacklustre village boulangerie acquired new owners Nico and Anaïs and the bread is no longer a relative of cotton wool in brown paper. La Pétrie, which seems to be a franchise, supply decent flour along with the branding. Their Pétrisane is a tasty basic loaf of substance at a baguette price that keeps well, or at least longer than a baguette.

While Lou Pan Aspiranais is a solid village baker, the finest for some distance is at Canet 5.5 Km away. Their star loaf is the Paillasse, also known as Pain de Lodève. Paillasse is named after a large straw basket where the dough was left to rise in one large mass after kneading. It is only cut and formed into a twisted loaf immediately before going into the oven. Like sourdough, it's made from a starter rather than using yeast and the dough is particularly wet. All this results in some large holes forming and the need to sell the baked loaf by weight - about 1.30 to 2.40 €. Another secret is the wood burning oven that helps impart a delicious nutty toasted character to the crust - I always ask for "bien cuit".

So serious is this operation that they open at 4 a.m. Expect the Pailasses to be sold out by lunchtime.

There seems to be some controversy in the bread world over Paillasse. Pain de Lodève had been made since the middle ages but a Swiss baker, claiming to have developed the recipe independently, patented "Pain Paillasse" in the 1990s and has made a fortune out of selling it in hundreds of bakers. Everyone seems to agree it's basically Pain de Lodève.

Millstone Quarry and Basalt Capitelle walk

2010-09-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

Nine a.m. is quite an early start for Aspiranaises the morning after the July 13th annual village meal and general merriment, but there was a good if not prompt turnout for this balade patrimoine. We met at the archaeological site of St-Bézard marked "P" on the map - seem my post Oldest Winery in France for more on that.

The objective was the long abandoned site of a millstone quarry. The walk took us up a lane to a col in the basalt lava flow I described in my volcanoes post. We then headed right along an ancient trading route, although according to my book on Drailles probably not the Roman Cami Ferrat as suggested by the girls leading the walk. The track soon enters the wooded whale-back ridge with the arrow in the picture, taken from the start, indicating the quarry.

Half way along the ridge is this basalt capitelle, typically a shepherd's refuge. While common in the area dark basalt ones are rare.

Just before the capitelle find a right turn along a path that passes next to a rather sad semi-abandoned caravan. This weaves through the oak tree trunks and starts to descend, eventually emerging at the millstone quarry occupying a tree free area the size of a few tennis courts. This overlooks a steeper drop to vineyards below.

At the quarry the dark basalt has given way to a pale conglomerate rock. The basalt was formed less than a million years ago from a lava which flowed like a river to fill what was then a valley. Subsequent erosion washed away the softer surrounding sedimentary rocks to leave the basalt on a ridge and exposing this rock at it's edge.

The first photo, with snippets of feet indicating the scale of things, show a millstone that was never extracted - perhaps as it split. The second outlines where one was extracted.

Millstones from this quarry were known to be used in moulins à eau (water mills) along the Hérault valley.

Nebian Fire

2010-08-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

In the early hours of Wednesday 11th August there was a fire just before Mas de Roujou by the road to Villeneuvette. So serious was the perceived threat to life and property that, according to the paper Midi Libre, 28 fire engines, a helicopter and three Canadair water dropping planes fought the blaze which took some 6 hours after it started to extinguish. Ash landed in Aspiran 5Kms away. My photographs, taken a couple of weeks later from about 1.5 Km away, show the extent of the damage to the hillside.

The fire was quickly proven to have been started deliberately. The gendarmes suspect disputed hunting rights with the hunting season just weeks away - it follows a number of other (less serious) fires started in the area.

Know your Onions

2010-07-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

Lézignan-la-Cèbe is 9 Km south of Aspiran towards Pézenas. Cèbe is derived from the occitan for onion and the term was appended to the village name in the 17th century. The onions are renowned for their sweet white flesh and are particularly agreeable raw. The bulb is quite flat - more curling stone than tear shaped. They seem particularly suited to the irrigated flood plane soils between the village and the Hérault which flows 2 Km to the east. The soil is certainly richer here than upstream at Aspiran and beyond where vines start to dominate.

The A75 autoroute opened in 2002 and at a stroke eliminated the bulk of the passing trade but La Chaumière, on the N9 northern edge of the village, has a strong local following. They are one of the last producers of the Cèbe and their potager and fields at the back also grow excellent garlic, shallots and tomatoes. Roadside stalls are normally to be avoided but this one deserves an award.

The village has a "Foire à l'oignon doux" every July. For more information (in French) with pictures of these onions and the foire see this village growers site here.

Medieval music in the streets

2010-07-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

Flyers for this were well hidden, we spotted one in the baker that stated Sunday evening 21h for a tour of the medieval village with music by the group "Sabor". A small crowd gathered at the Place du Peyrou and soon a delay was announced due to storms in Montpellier. Over half and hour later there was the sound of distant thunder that soon became louder, but also took on a distinct beat. "Sabor" turned out to be a medieval band (flutes, horns, drums) who had marched up the Grand Rue in full pomp accompanied by torch bearers.

After the band's opening number a guide and local history expert from Pézenas introduced the village - fortunately he has a clear loud voice. What followed was nearly two hours of parading through streets (and at one stage the river bed) to music with pauses for dancing and, while the musicians gathered their breath, more discourse on historic sites - la Placette, Chapelle des Pénitents, ramparts, river Garelle, Chemin de sous Ville and Portes.

Quite an evening and clearly scheduled to be the first Sunday of the school summer holidays. It's also good to see people have such a good time without alcohol. Apparently this isn't an annual event, but maybe it will be.

Champ's Avenue & Vintage

2010-07-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

Update - sadly, but not surprisingly, Champ's did not open in 2011 and is for sale.

The unexpected happens, but when friends told us that a Champagne Bar had opened in the village it was both jaw-dropping disbelief and elation. The village has had a typical bar for years - table football, pool, big TV, sweet beer, pastis and, frankly, rough wine. Champ's is totally complementary, smart but not posh and where products of the vine take pride and place.

The owner Jean Paul was a vignerone in the Champagne region and sold up to presumably fulfil an ambition to run a wine bar. In the too narrow for vehicles Rue du Cazals what was once a shop has been totally renovated.

Original stonework has been exposed and cleaned. The entrance leads to three rooms with the bar in the back room. A small courtyard offers relief for smokers and atop an open spiral staircase is a delightful terrace.

Champagne obviously tops the bill and is extremely reasonably priced - go for the less well known names such as Waris Larmandier, Legras & Haas, Duchene and Villmart. There's also broad selection of nearby wines and beer if you must, but the licence prohibits spirits. While not a place for a full meal a selection of nibbles and tapas like dishes is on offer. Last but not least it's a cavist, so at last somewhere handy to buy a selection of wine and of course Champagne.

What's in a name

2010-06-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

How did Aspiran get its name? In the village library I borrowed a short booklet "Travers le Temps" which consists of notes made from the work of local historian François Bonnéry. It was published back in 1995 by the village projects group "L’Amical Laïque d’Aspiran".

The 2nd to 5th century AD was the Gallo-Roman period which finally broke down with barbarian invasions dawning the so called dark ages. The centre of village as we know it today didn't really exist, the area would have been a collection of small holdings sited where water was available. During that time one of the village inhabitants was called either ASPER or SPIRIUS and he had a small holding by the Croix du Coq (cross of the cockerel). This exists today and is by the raised junction on the way out of the village 100m past the cave coopérative - rather sadly next to recycling bins and wedged between a lamppost and give-way sign. At one time the river Garelle forded the road here, today it flows underneath.

The Latin suffix “ANUM” indicates ownership and this resulted in the name “ASPIRANUM” or “SPIRANUM”. As the “UM” is nearly silent this presumably evolved at some stage to “SPIRIAN”. The Occitan name for the village is “ESPIAN” – apparently in Occitan the “r” between the vowels is suppressed which supports the name being derived from “ESPIRAN”. In French it is of course “ASPIRAN”.

Capers

2010-06-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Caper bushes (Capparis spinosa in Latin and Capres in French) are native to the Mediterranean but seem relatively rare in this area. Now, thanks to neighbours in the village, I have been alerted to some growing by a chemin (country lane). The plants like to grow on walls, and while there are plenty of those, few sport capers. They're also hard to spot, except in June when the delicate short lived and highly attractive flowers flourish.

The khaki green buds are of course the caper most of us know pickled in tiny jars and dumped on pizzas or skate. One can be seen in the top-left of the above picture. A branch will have small buds forming near the tip that get progressively larger until flowering buds are reached towards the base. Small is best. Those less than 7 mm wide are classed as non pareil (literally unequalled) and the French capers, presumably as the climate is caper marginal, are small. I have some peppercorn to petite pois sized ones maturing in sherry vinegar and another batch in sea salt. Time will tell, but for now they're seriously potent.

Volcanoes

2010-06-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

Volcanism in the Hérault dates back at least 30 million years. The most recent active volcano was by the coast at Agde, today a familiar rounded hill topped with a fat transmitter tower, that finished erupting a relatively recent 0.5 million years ago. Agde marks the southern end of a line of volcanoes that started some 2.5 million years ago in the Larzac and Lodèvois. Less than 30 Km north of Agde around Aspiran the last eruptions have been dated at 0.7 million years ago.

Making a point. Philippe Martin of the Association of Ecologistes de l'Euzière and author of La nature méditerranéenne en France (see here on Amazon).

In his hand is a piece each of basalt and limestone.
On the left in the background is the Roc du Caylar.

Perhaps surprisingly, what remains from this activity is relatively unspectacular scenery for the area. The cliffs of the Roc du Caylar above Nebian (see picture above) and the tooth like Pic de Vissou above Cabrières are eye grabbing rocky landmarks, but were never volcanoes. All erosion has left is a couple of rounded hilltops 5 Km from Aspiran above Lieuran-Cabrières towards Peret.

Maluber (also known as Malhubert) is on the left and Maugno on the far right. The hill between them in the centre is unnamed. Aspiran is behind the camera.

Same view taken from the pine trees south of Aspiran.

Pic de Vissou from Maluber. Vissou is not a volcano but was formed by folding of the land - rather like a swiss roll bursting open when the sponge won't flex.

Maugno viewed from near the col between Maluber and Maugno.

In their day these were what are known as Strombolian volcanoes, picture postcard cone shaped and complete with craters. This type produce lava flows that cool to give relatively pure dark basalt rock. One particularly large flow went as far as the Hérault valley (5 Kms). Today it’s a mainly wooded whaleback ridge that can be seen on the left after one passes the cemetery on leaving Aspiran en route to the main road - the top ends near the water tower. During the eruption the lava would have flowed down the valley of the river Dourbie, but subsequent erosion has left the harder basalt rock as a ridge and the Dourbie now flows to the north east.

Aspiran from the 316m summit of Maugno. The lava flow is out of picture to the left.

The edge of an ancient quarry with Aspiran in the background.
Basalt is more durable stone than limestone, but for most less attractive. Buildings in the area are constructed using a mixture of both giving a speckled appearance, although much of Agde, including the large church, are entirely basalt giving the town a somewhat gloomy feel on dark wet days.

Further down the Hérault valley there’s a large working quarry at Lézignan-la-Cèbe where an even larger and longer 10 Km lava flow ends having emerged from the volcano Les Baumes above Fontès.

These vines are on the basalt lava flow about 500m from the end of the flow at the old quarry. Large boulders of basalt can be seen forming a bank at the back having been removed from the vineyard as they would wreck a plough. Sites like this are being sought after by modern wine makers as the basalt gives the grapes and resulting wine a refreshing acidity.

Close up these ancient volcanoes are more spectacular. There are areas with boulders of basalt like the vineyard picture above. In places volcanic “bombs” of rock are spewed all over the land like natural litter – the result of molten rock meeting water under the volcano. Elsewhere the basalt has weathered and been coated with attractive orange/yellow lichens, there are some specs on the quarry picture.

Botanically this is known as garrigue and is packed with herbs and flowers such as thyme, mint, camomile along with less well known Mediterranean species like thé de garrigue (Sideritis romana). A massive subject.

On the Bus

2010-06-02T04:55:00.000-07:00

Buses have always served outlying villages with school commuting based schedules. Back around the millennium time in London, the then Mayor Ken Livingstone revolutionised London's bus network by upping services, investing in new vehicles, introducing swipe cards for faster boarding and slashing fares.

Having previously researched buses as an option for airport or station transport it was possible if an early start, some waiting time and hardly bargain fares were accepted - around €6 plus per person just to get to Montpellier for example.

A bus revolution of perhaps equivalent proportions to London's happened in the Hérault this May. The buses have always been more like coaches, air conditioned and comfortable bar the cosy legroom in quite a few seats. Finding anything out about schedules was seriously challenging with fares treated like military secrets. Now timetables are available in tourist offices, posted on bus stops and are on-line at a new and informative Herault Transport website. The well advertised headline grabber is the €1 fare, including transfers to connecting services, for a carnet of 10 tickets (€1,50 for a single fare).

This made a day in Montpellier for two €4. This is less than the Mosson Parking Tramway deal we usually use and saves 80Km of car costs. OK, the journey takes 30 mins longer and you get to see quite a few villages and towns on the way, but otherwise well worth doing for a full day out.

Balloon and Blood on the Rooftops

2010-05-24T03:52:00.000-07:00

After a day with a long cycle ride for an even longer Sunday lunch, an evening on the terrace would perhaps be uneventful. Not so. First up was a hot air balloon. We've seen plenty over the years at the Bristol Balloon Festival, but can't recall ever seeing one in the Languedoc, perhaps because they only fly at dawn or dusk to avoid the worst of the regions notorious winds. Suitable landing sites must also be scarce. Dumping a sizeable basket supported by delicate fabric into a meadow or cornfield may be fine, but vinyards with their vine stumps and trailing wires don't bear thinking about.

This colourful balloon is decending into the sunset. The Hitchcokian black birds are Swallows doing their last circuits of the village before nightfall.

There's also a Swallow in this shot. It was nearly dark so the picture is grainy, but then that may be just as well for the faint hearted. A Kestrel has somehow caught and dragged a swallow onto some roof tiles and is about to crush its head before flying off with it, presumably to the nest.

Railway remains

2010-05-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

During the 1800s the Hérault was criss-crossed by the construction of a surprising number of railway lines. Aspiran was on a branch connecting Lodeve down to Beziers and Agde where the main coastal line still runs today. The stretch from the cost to Clermont l'Herault opened on 1858 and passed through the commune following a route next to that taken by the RN9 north from Paulhan today.

A couple of kilometres down the hill from the village is Aspiran Gare, a hamlet between the RN9 and the Hérault river. This picture is the remains of the station buildings, the line ran from near left to far right.

This remote section is where the line crossed the ravine of the Dourbie on its way to Clermont l'Herault. The viaduct is certainly the most pronounced rail legacy in the commune although vegetation precludes an interesting picture of the arch underneath. Its also just a stones throw from the the A75 autoroute opened in 2002.

At Paulhan the remains of the station and junction are still in strong evidence - this section going south was only closed in 1991. This is where the east-west line from Bédarieux and beyond to Montpellier crossed the Aspiran line. Further down, just past Lézignan-la-Cèbe, is a short branch to a quarry. Trains operated from here to the main line at Vias until the mid-2000s and will be restarting to provide stone for building the TGV line extension from Nîmes to Montpellier,

For more information seek out Chris Elliott's self published book The lost railway lines of l'Hérault, the text is in French and English. Chris can be contacted at christopher.elliott at club-intrnet.fr (email disguised to reduce spam)

Nesting Kestrels

2010-04-19T04:16:00.000-07:00

A pair of Kestrels (Faucon crécerelle, Falco tinnunculus) have taken up residence in Aspiran and appear to be eyeing up a nest site through a gap high up on the village church wall.

As originally and incorrectly posted here, these are not the rare Lesser Kestrels that have colonised the nearby village St Pons-de-Mauchiens.

One would hardly know of their presence if it wasn't for the frantic screeching (chai-chai-chai) that seems to be part of their bonding behaviour. While most of the time they're presumably away hunting they court and preen on this TV aerial, especially early morning and evening.

The pair seem quite young from the plumage and size - I estimate them to be around 24 cm head to tail given the width of this drain pipe is 11 cm.

Farm Bio Lous Selces

2009-09-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Going north up the hill from Aspiran towards Lieuran-Cabrières the road flattens out after 1.5 Km and to the right la ferme bio Lous Selces comes into view; the long polytunnel gives it away. The setting may look idyllic with views for miles around, but this must be the windiest place in the commune and natural shade is non-existent. The ground here is limestone – seashell fossils can be spotted everywhere in the rocks and soil. It needed compost, actually sourced from local recycled biodegradable waste, to make it fertile. An overriding reason for the location is the spring after which the farm is named, Lous Selces is Occitan and means the willow trees.

2007 was the first season for Roselène and Sirik Andringa who live on the spot with their two young boys, two dogs, several cats, occasional sheep and guinea fowl plus over 100 laying hens. Produce is seasonal – radishes, young garlic, lettuces, carrots, courgettes, aubergines, cucumbers, endless varieties of tomatoes, beans, peas, new potatoes to name a few. As well as the elements to battle crops are frequently attacked by moles, mice and rabbits.

You can buy produce late afternoon on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday’s. Sirik also runs a stall at the Pezanas Marché Bio Saturday mornings.

Figs

2009-09-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

The best wild fruit to be found around Aspiran is figs. They beat mulberries for diversity and speed of picking. Sadly apricots et al don’t seem to grow wild here. Quinces are insect riddled and pomegranates seriously seedy.

There are quite a few fig trees about, although many seemingly produce nothing or fruit that rots before it ripens. Edible figs are around from July to October and these six varieties were found on lane side trees within 3 Kms of the village in mid-September. Despite a book on figs and of course Internet searches, identifying species from pictures is challenging as appearance depends on the degree of ripeness; all figs start off a soft green colour. A visit to an arboretum of fig trees down the road at Nézignan-l'Évêque last year raised more doubts than answers on identification.

The bounty

The green ochre specimins on the top right could well be the Marseillaise variety and they’re delicious but prone to fermenting quickly when ripe (hours not days) so don't keep. The large ones on the bottom left match Madeleine des Deux Saisons characteristics because of their size and unbeatable sweet succulent eating. The grey cinder coloured figs top-centre look like photos of Grise de Saint-Jean and are also amazingly sweet. The central lime-green ones are harder to identify but I'll go for Sucre Vert as the trees are large and incredibly productive. They're also the last to ripen and go on producing the latest. With a slightly less sweet taste plus the quantity to be had they make fine jam.

The deep purple ones at the front could be one of several varieties, while the marble sized pile to their right are probably from a particularly water stressed tree. Either way, these noir varieties dry without fermenting making concentrated sweets to keep, if that's possible.

Vendages

2009-09-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

It hasn’t rained here significantly since sometime in June and August brought a mini canicule that's led to a prompt 2009 harvest. This is in stark contrast to 2008 when hail and heavy rain struck the commune on the night of 4th September after a relatively cool summer. The lack of rain has resulted in smaller grapes and for someone who scrumps wild figs the same botanical stress applies. The grape growers in the village who supply the declining co-op will be receiving less income as they are paid by volume and not for the quality of their harvest. Last year they would have at least had some compensation payment for the hail. Friends who live in the road to the co-operative say the number of tractors passing with their harvest has declined over the years.

One aspect I love is the heady grape and yeast fermentation smells oozing from the winery. This picture shows grape bunches being deposited on to a below-ground vat that weighs the grapes before gently transporting them to the winery to be pressed.

Another year, another discharge

Le Tour

2009-07-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

The Herault is blessed with the presence of the Tour de France more than most departments of France, passing through more years than not. Seeing it live had been an objective for years, despite all the first hand advice that after hours of waiting it's all over in a flash. Our first view was actually "Le Grand Depart" from London in 2007, a great festive weekend with Languedoc like weather to match; but rural France when the race comes to you it wasn't.

This YouTube video was taken by a neighbour the same year at Canet, 6 Km along the Herault valley from Aspiran. The cyclists are in a single bunch, called Le Peloton, and pass by in just 20 seconds.

I took these shots in 2008 on the climb out of Neffies. One idea behind choosing this location was that being uphill the riders would pass by more slowly, but these things are relative and they still whizzed by.

There is more to it. As well as a great day out party atmosphere there's entertainment from the "caravan" that passes a couple of hours before the race. This stream of advertising floats throw out all sorts of gifts of varying usefulness. What also amazes is the vast number of accompanying support cars, motorbikes and vans that sandwich the riders - not to mention the helicopters.

Will Le Tour pass by next year? We'll have to wait until next May to find out.

Scorpion

2009-06-25T01:10:00.000-07:00

"The first scorpions of the year are in our house" declared our neighbours the other day. The nearest to chez nous I've encountered one was outside the front door where this shot was taken. It may look lobster sized, but at most it was about 5 cm long.

Oldest Winery in France - at Aspiran

2009-05-05T02:01:00.000-07:00

As you go north on the main N9 road from Aspiran to Nebian and Clermont l'Herault you pass over the river Dourbie. To the left, just before the trees and bridge is the archaeological site of the oldest winery discovered in France.

The winery dates from the 10th year AD, the time of Emperor Augustus. The owner was the Roman Quintus Julius Primus - his name has been found inscribed on pottery made in kilns on the site.

The pictures show where enormous Dolias pots with a capacity of over 1200 liters were buried in the ground. The winery was sophisticated - water circulated around the Dolias to keep the wine cool, much like modern stainless steel tank systems.

The building included luxuaries such as a large indoor pool, toilets and piped fresh water.

Below his is the site of the pottery where the Dolias along with the smaller amphora (used to transport the wine) were made. The site is on the route to the north from Agde and the Via Domitia - the Roman coast road from Italy to Spain. Two amphora have been found in Rome inscribed "I am a white wine from Beziers" and suggest that wine was sent to Rome from here.

The archaeologists, from the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), have been staying at the old Aspiran school. Here a team is excavating an area that included a bakery, kitchen and supply store.

View of Canigou

2009-04-30T05:56:00.000-07:00

Mount Canigou in the Pyrenees is over 140 Km (87.5 miles) from the road between Apiran and Paulhan where this picture was taken on 16th April. There is still plenty of spring snow which makes it easier to see. The water tower is 3.5 Km away at Adissan. Despite the areas reputation for clear air, days this clear are relatively rare.

Aspiran buildings and ramparts

2009-04-03T03:53:00.000-07:00

	The 13th century bell tower of the Church St Julien at sunrise. The current church on this site dates from 1145 although the bell tower is built on Romanesque remains.
The Chapel of Pénitents with the church tower behind. The inside is now a beautifully restored hall and exhibition space. The bell tower was built in 1816.
	The ramparts date from the 12th century and still enclose much of the village with the old walls forming parts of many houses. At one time Aspiran had four portes (entrances) but only these two remain.

Aspiran fountains

2009-03-20T02:16:00.000-07:00


Aspiran has six drinking water founains in the village along with an ornamental one in the small communal park. The water is cool and delicious.

Introduction

2009-03-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

Aspiran is a wine village with a population of around 1250 on the western edge of the Hérault valley between Clermont l'Hérault and Pézenas.

There has been a settlement here since at least Roman times. Archaeologists have been excavating the site of France's oldest known winery dating from the 10th year AC.
Today Aspiran sits in a sea of vines along with olive, pine and oak trees.