Chasing A Good Year

About an hour and a half north west of Monaco lies the rugged landscape of the Luberon. Known for seemingly endless rows of Lavender, expansive views from hilltop towns accompanied by incredible Provencal natural light, it also makes pretty good wine. In 1988 the area received AOC recognition and is one of approximately 30 appellations that make up the greater Rhone Wine Region.

Then, in 2006 Hollywood came calling with Ridley Scott's film adaptation of Peter Mayle's 2004 novel "A Good Year". The movie stars Russell Crowe, Marion Cotillard and Albert Finney and while it didn't perform well at the box office and was largely panned by critics, it happens to be one of my all-time favorite romcoms. Yes, the story is predictable and lacks intrigue, but the scenery throughout is stunning and what plot there is weaves some of the beauty of wine making into the story. When we decided to drive through southern France, I made the point of scheduling a day to visit some of the film locations.

Our first stop was the village of Cucuron to take lunch by the Bassin de l'etang where Max and Fanny have their first date under the impressive plain trees just as a storm roles in and sends the band and all other patrons running indoors. In the movie it appears too perfect to exist in real life, but as the pictures tell this setting is real.

There was a decent burger too!

After lunch we strolled the little village for a few minutes before zipping up to our next stop.

We arrived at the primary filming location of the movie (Chateau La Canorgue, Bonnieux) having survived the winding roads and ready to stretch our legs a bit more. The estate home is still in use by the family so we were obviously not able to go trapesing around their property for a few photos but they do have a tasting room that is set just below the Chateau terrace, so we were able to get a few distance pictures of the building and walk a bit of the vineyard grounds.

This is the driveway that Max speeds past as he is arriving back at "La Siroque" for the first time since he was a kid
... ignore the no photo sign on the pillar, Amanda apparently did.

Exterior of the tasting room

Olivia says she could live & play here!

In the end, I bought a couple bottles, including the mythical garage label from the movie "Coin Perdu" which as the film progresses you come to learn....(nope, not going to spoil it for you!). The girls also got some very stylish hats out of the visit so they were pleased as well.

Our last stop of the movie tour was the hilltop town of Gordes. Only a few scenes were filmed here (Max meeting the Notiaire, Fanny Chanel's cafe and the bus stop scene where Max hands "his book" to Christie Roberts just before she leaves for California). Getting into the town was proving difficult and the under 10 crowd was getting restless, so I settled for some amazing shots of the town and it's surrounding valley.

With the tour of "A Good Year" filming locations complete we made our way to a little countryside B&B just outside of Avignon. We had dinner on the patio and enjoyed a quiet evening before the long drive to Andorra the next morning.

We had no idea what games google maps was trying to play that night!

But before we could make our way to Andorra we had to stop at Avignon. Once home to the Avignon Papacy (1309 - 1376). I'd always heard that it was a picturesque city, and even though we didn't have time to tour the Palace the girls still managed to find a café for breakfast, a merry-go-round in the heart of the city and a tree lined Main Street.

Next stop, Andorra!