Breathing new life into the chateâux of France’s Languedoc wine region

Late 19th century châteaux in the sun-soaked Languedoc region of southern France once served as country homes for nobility and were essentially small villages that housed chaplains, stable masters, farm managers and an array of other staff.

Much of the focus was on wine production. Languedoc accounts for about a quarter of all vineyard acreage in France. Many have fallen into disrepair, opening up new opportunities to invest in some unique properties.

Languedoc-based Domaine&Demeure has gained a reputation for restoring and revitalising these chateaux, with two successful projects completed and a third, Château Capitoul, set to launch soon. Company founder Karl O’Hanlon’s father was a wine journalist who covered the region and tracked its growth from bulk wine producer to an area of global renown.

Though the châteaux have diminished, the wine production has remained.

“What you had were wine facilities where the vines were working very well, but the way of life around them had changed,” says O’Hanlon, who realised there was potential for new communities centred around wine production.

O’Hanlon moved to the Languedoc region in 2000 and established Domaine&Demeure eight years later.

In the ageing walls of his first project, Château Les Carrasses, he saw a formula for the perfect holiday property: a luxurious retreat for owners that doubled as a low-maintenance investment. “We realised we should buy those crumbling châteaux and install the facilities of a hotel – the restaurant, the bar, the pool, the spa – but with the accommodation and charm of luxury villas, all wrapped up in the service of a private club,” he says.

O’Hanlon oversees the real-estate side of the business and his partner invests in the vines, creating properties that export wine while attracting guests. In his first two projects, 60 properties sold out within a year to buyers from 17 countries, while just seven units out of 45 remain unsold in Château Capitoul.