Le lau  

Welcome to Le Lau 

The house is located in Le Lau, a small and authentic Southern France mountain village, 40 km from Beziers and about 50 km from the Mediterranean. The village is placed in the Orb-valley, where the Orb-river ”cuts” through the massif Cevennes, only an hour from Montpellier and one and a half from Carcassonne.  

The Orb-valley is placed in the shade of the winds and has it’s own micro-climate. In the neighbouring village, Roquebrun, there is a Mimose-fête every year in February. The mountain ridge Caroux-Espinouse has heights up to 1148 meter and consists of beautiful, green, round mountains with sharp rock sides in between. The mountain sides are dominated of chestnut and cedar trees and wine yards. The drive up through the Orb-valley is picturesque and really magnificent. The area offers a history of wine- and chestnut production as well as mining with extraction of magnesium, silver and gold. So remember to look down when you are moving around in the territory :-)

Le Lau is situated in the wine-appelation AOC appelation St. Chinian, one of the 2 best in Coteaux du Languedoc, so there are good possibilities to visit the area and taste the splendid wine. The neighbouring village Roquebrun has a well known wine brand. You can buy good wines in Roquebrun, but the locals prefer wine from Berlou and the village St. Chinian.

Le Lau

The village Le Lau is situated in the district Languedoc-Roussillon in Southern France. There are about 20 houses in the hameau, as the Frenchmen call the small villages. Despite the size, there are 7 nationalities in the village, consisting of both resident and holiday homes. The majority, however, is French.
Le Lau is situated in a Valley created by the Orb-river, which runs down through the mountain ridge Caroux-Espinouse up from the Réservoir d'Avéne. In the valley you can take a shortcut over the hill to Lamalou-les-Bains and on this road you will find the villages Le Pin and Le Lau. After Le Lau the rise becomes steeper and makes a corkscrew road.
The people in Le Lau have earned there living by winemaking and making of products based on the eatable chestnut from the area. The vines have been growing on the mountainsides around and over the villages. The winemakers have cultivates the fields, picked and pressed the grapes to obtain a raw juice. The juice is then transported to the Coorperativ in Roquebrun, where the brewing and fermenting was and still is taking place.
The mountainsides around Le Lau are green all the year, and there are many chestnut trees, which drop chestnuts in the autumn. Earlier, the chestnuts were roasted in big ovens and often used as meal to produce bread. Chestnut is also a common ingredient in jams from the region. Today,  you often find roasted chestnuts in the at the street traders towns. You have to try these.