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Laurent LE STUNFF

rural holyday cottages.

Visits : Between 15 April and 31 October.

Regions : Nebbiu - Capi Corsu

Categories : Restaurants & guest houses, farm & cottage holidays

Agricultural sectors : Corsican wines

The Domaine de Catarelli estate dominates the gulf of San Fiurenzu. On a clear day, you can see the outline of the superb beach in Saleccia, as Laurent Le Stunff appreciated when he came back here in 1990 following his studies in œnology in Montpellier. The vineyard reached the sea when his great-grandparents were alive! “It is very rare for vines to be by the sea. Very healthy too, thanks to the sanitising effect of the sea air on the vine. The air also gives the vine a unique aroma.” Laurent admits that the exposure to the sea has its limitations. Strong winds can burn the smaller bunches of grapes, or the surrounding vegetation. He’s not the first one to have to respect the vine – the estate’s 20 acres  have existed since 1880.

As a child, Laurent helped his father bottle the wine. As a teenager, he used to help with the harvest and welcome visitors. “Managing a vine involves observing it and watching it grow with you.” He is currently involved in producing a wine of great merit, using a recognised and well-respected family tradition. His usually quiet manner changes quickly with the memory of receiving the prize in Bastia, in 1950, for a bottle of Impassito, a renowned sweet wine. “It was not just any medal – it was the first gold medal in Patrimonio [the first Corsican wine region to receive AOC status]!”

Laurent has set up a few camping spots in the shade of the estate’s tall pine trees, between the purple green of the vines and the blue of the sea – allowing visitors to savour beauty first with their eyes and then from the bottle.