La Chapelle de Guiraud is located on the Château Guiraud wine estate (classified as the first Sauternes grand cru in 1855) and the approach to this magnificent property leaves you gasping at first sight. It’s simply stunning. The sun was shining, the strong smell of perfumed flora filled the air and the sheer utter peace and tranquility of it all made for a little slice of heaven.
You can either choose to sit outside in the courtyard during the warmer months, or inside a rather spectacular dining room which is housed in a former 18th century chapel. The restaurant, with all its natural light pouring in offers views of the estate through big glass patio windows and above – large wooden beams are adorned with chandeliers.
We opted for the lunchtime menu, which priced at just €25 for three courses was an absolute bargain – given the quality, setting and beautiful converted building. We took a seat on the terrace, ordered a bottle of local white wine and quickly arrived was some fantastic homemade bread, as well as some small amuse bouches of something creamy. We’d only been here a few minutes and already we knew we wanted to come back.
Our starter as part of this set-lunch menu was perfect given the 32+ degree heat outside. A chilled petit pois gazpacho, with balls of creamy mozzarella, drizzling of olive oil and garnished with pea shoots. It wasn’t a particularly complex dish, but it was exactly what we wanted.
For our main, a very rustic looking but beautifully executed piece of veal, so tender it was falling to pieces at just the sight of my fork. Served with a lovely rich herb scented gravy and vegetables from the Chateau/restaurants grounds. It’s so rural and rustic around the vineyards of Sauternes that dish seemed so fitting.
Highlight for me was the sensational cheesecake we finished on. Officially now my favourite dessert, this variation was a real treat. A surprisingly lighter cheesecake than I’m normally used to but it worked so well. A layer of rich, dark berry fruits made for he topping and a large ginger laced biscuit at the bottom which was perfectly crunchy. A lovely way to end our meal.
As we sipped the last of our wine and basked in the sun, we took a short walk just a few seconds from the property and found even more beauty with more lush green vineyards and trees adoring the exit driveway. If you fancy staying even longer at this Chateau, book a tour of the cellars followed by a guided wine tasting. It’s quite something.
We feel completely in love with La Chapelle de Guiraud and for anyone else who visits and doesn’t – must be absolutely mad. The food is simple, but well-executed, the wine list is stunning and the setting is like something out of wine fulled fairytale. The latter I wish existed in real life. Would we come back? Absolutely!
