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La Bastide du Laval: visit of an olive oil mill and olive oil tasting in southern Luberon

Olive oil growers in south Luberon since 1998, producers of award-winning olive oil, Carine and Roland Coupat have now turned to milling. It’s the culmination of an adventure which started out as a return to nature, giving them full control over production quality.

They welcome groups and individual visitors to their bastide in Cadenet, for guided tours of the mill and the olive grove along marked trails, tasting sessions and an introduction to the various fruity tastes of olive oil, training courses to learn about olive growing, cookery lessons, etc.
It’s the story of a couple who first threw themselves into various businesses in connection with tourism, first in France, then in the US for a dozen or so years. Until in 1998 when Roland (grandson of a wine-grower) and Carine (granddaughter of farmers) decided to sell up and return to France for a more meaningful lifestyle, working the soil. In Cadenet, a small village in south Luberon, they fell in love with a vineyard alongside a bubbling brook, the Laval, and the sleepy medieval village overlooking it all. They were soon planting thousands of olive trees, and took up training courses on olive growing techniques. Roland even earned an olive growers diploma from the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Montpellier.

The green gold of Provence

Today, the 4,000 olive trees on the estate, the view of the Luberon hills and the 17th-century bastide village form the perfect backdrop to an educative approach to this “green gold” of Provence.

THERE ARE VARIOUS OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO VISITORS.

For individuals:

–          Visits are free. You can follow a marked trail through the olive groves, looking out for the panels explaining how the mill works and finishing with a free tasting session complete with commentary, sampling olive oils and wines from the boutique.

There are several options for groups:
 
Option 1 :

– Marked walk & audio guide in the olive grove
– Signposted tour and audio guide in the mill
– Tasting session with olive oils and wines from the boutique
 
Rate: Free
 
Option 2 :

– Guided tour of the mill with a presentation of extraction methods
– Introductory tasting session with olive oils and wines from the boutique
Duration: 45 min /  Rates: less than 10 pers. : €75 TTC, groups between 10 & 15 pers. : €90 TTC, groups between 16 et 20 pers. : €105 TTC, more than 20 pers. : €5 TTC / pers.

Option 3 :

– Educational tour of the olive groves
– Guided tour of the mill and a presentation of extraction methods
– Introductory tasting session with olive oils and wines from the boutique
Duration: 1hr 15 min / Rates: less than 10 pers. : €115 TTC, groups between 10 & 15 pers. : €135 TTC, groups between 16 et 20 pers. : €155 TTC, more than 20 pers. : €7 TTC / pers.

“Cruise” option :

– Welcome coffee, drinks and homemade chocolat fondant
– Guided tour of the mill and a presentation of extraction methods
– Introductory tasting session with olive oils and wines from the boutique
Duration: 1hr 30 min / Rates: less than 10 pers. : €150 TTC, groups between 10 & 15 pers. : €180 TTC, groups between 16 et 20 pers. : €200 TTC, more than 20 pers. : €10 TTC / pers.
Please note:

Premises well-suited to groups and persons of reduced mobility
Parking for coaches.
 
Languages spoke : French / English

La Bastide du Laval dégustation d'huile d'olive - ©bastide du laval

Address


La Bastide du Laval
La Royère
84160 Cadenet
T. 33 (0)4 90 08 95 80

bastidedulaval@orange.fr
Contact : Carine et Roland Coupat

GPS Coordinates

5.394668

43.742023