Several years back while visiting my belle France, took a ride into this area. Not aware had some older paper picture in my vault and glad to found them! Not back since but left a nice impression ,and hope to be back, eventually. Not the best quality pictures but is all I have for the memories of always. I like to tell you a bit about this town taking advantage of these much older pictures. Therefore, here is my take on this is Cassaigne !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The village of Cassaigne is located in the dept no 32 of Gers in the Occitanie region of my belle France. On the historical and cultural level, the village is in the Condomois, a former district of the province of Gascogne having title of county. It has about 231 persons, It is 4 km from Mouchan, 7 km from Condom, 79 km Mont de Marsan, 112 km from Pau, 137 km from Cahors, 120 km from Toulouse, 665 km from Versailles, and 642 km from my current house.
The Château de Cassaigne is the old country and summer residence of the bishops of Condom. It was also a refuge during troubled periods. The castle was built at the beginning of the 16C on the walls of an old Gascon castle. The first castle was built in 1247 and it was able to participate in the line of defense of the French, with the castles of Mansencôme and Lagardère, in front of the territories defended by the English and their allies, it was protected by a drawbridge and 12-meters-wide ditch dug into the rock. The 16C castle was later revised. It is possible to visit the Armagnac cellars fitted out in the old arms room as well as the kitchen of the 16C, vaulted in oven. The latter is remarkable by its bread oven, her gallows where the pigs and the big game were cut, her turns on three levels, dishes, tins, brass and earthenware. The Château de Cassaigne was put up for auction on 13 April 1791 for the sale of national goods under the French revolution, In 1840, the then Owners decided to tear two medieval -looking towers and undertook a large-scale renovation. They built an apartment, decorated the staircase and ceilings, hung tapestries, created windows, a distillery etc. The old castle became a bourgeois residence which employed seven or eight maids. The following generations continue to keep it, up to the current owner, Henri Faget.
One of the highlights of our short visit was for tasting the nice good wines here, The bit of story is that from the 13C onwards, the bishops were already producing wine for their own consumption and to trade for other merchandise. In those days, however, wine aged poorly! To preserve production, the wine was distilled and turned into white wine spirit, the ancestor of Armagnac. The Armagnacs are classified according to the age of the youngest wine spirit in the blend. Château de Cassaigne Armagnac is a traditionally called AOC, Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, All years are available since 1942 , Nowadays, 20% of Cassaigne vines are devoted to producing Armagnac, while the other 80% are used to make red, white and rosé Côtes de Gascogne. The grape varieties such as Ugni Blanc and Folle Blanche were replanted on lands formerly used to produce only Armagnac. Red grape varieties were introduced: Merlot, Syrah and Manseng Noir. Other grapes Colombard, Gros Manseng, Syrah, and Sauvignon, are here too, While 90% of grape varieties in the Côtes de Gascogne IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) are white, the Condom terroir is home to 70% white grape varieties and 30% red grape varieties. What makes Cassaigne stand out is its good balance between red and white grape varieties, The castle houses a small vine museum within its walls. The castle welcomed Blaise de Monluc, author of the comments which according to Henri IV constituted “the best military work” ever written “. Jean du Chemin, contemporary poet of Du Bellay and Ronsard, also lived at the castle.
Another thing to see here with more time than wine tasting is the Church of the Nativity of Notre Dame,
The official Château de Cassaigne : https://www.chateaudecassaigne.com/en/
The local Gers-Armagnac tourist office on the village of Cassaigne : https://en.gers-armagnac.com/explorer/sites-a-visiter-2/6925554_village-de-cassaigne/
The Gers dept 32 tourist office on the castle : https://www.tourisme-gers.com/chateau-de-cassaigne-cassaigne-51421
There you go folks, another spot in my world map or rather France’s map. Glad to have found the old pictures to give credit to Cassaigne in my blog; good for the memories of always. Again, hope you enjoy the post on this is Cassaigne as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Published by pedmar10
I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world.
My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting.
Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers
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