The Domaine de la Baume estate in Provence
The promise of an enchanting stroll in the terraces with centuries-old olive trees
Discover the estate
The Domaine de la Baume estate in Provence
The place
It is in the Haute Provence, in Tourtour, one of the most beautiful villages in France, also called "the village in the sky", that the Domaine de la Baume welcomes you in an idyllic natural setting at the Gorges du Verdon gates.
Facing south, your gaze embraces as far as the eye can see an exceptional panorama of the hills and valleys of Provence with the Esterel, the Maures, the Sainte Baume and the Sainte Victoire mountains on the horizon.
Located 600 meters above sea level, the 40 hectares of the estate spreads out over 100-metre elevation, in a string of pretty terraces of forests, scrubland and olive trees coiled on the hillside in a natural amphitheatre gorged with sun.
At the heart of the estate, the Baume River distills its sweet sound by traversing a succession of waterfalls and natural tuff ponds lined with century-old oaks.
Land of culture
In this exceptional terroir of the Haute-Provence, where thymes, rosemary and wild lavender perfume the air with the scent of garrigue, olive trees have been king for many centuries.
The Domaine de la Baume has more than 1000 olive trees spread over pretty restanques that meander on the hillside, facing south where a sea of trees extends to the distant horizon. Lulled by the song of cicadas and the gentle sound of the Baume river, they have been sunbathing in this paradise in Provence for centuries.
Petit Ribier, Bouteillan, Verdale de Tourtour, among the thousand olive trees of the Domaine de la Baume, some of the thousand olive trees on the Domaine de la Baume are over 500 years old; they have withstood frosts and fires, and each time have started up again, today forming cheerful circles of six or eight trunks around a matte and old burnt stumps.
Generations of farmers have tended, pruned and nurtured these olive trees with patience and common sense, and in return they have received their precious green gold.
We continue the work of our elders with respect and humility, practicing ancestral cultivation methods, by hand, organically, without treatment or irrigation. And so, we continue to venerate this sacred tree, emblem of Provence, symbol of peace, wisdom and perseverance.
"The hill farmer is a man who straddles insects, he knows twenty languages, he had to talk to a blackbird, (...) he explained a whole long road to a lost swarm, (...) he laughed and said to me:
it comes from the heart.”
Jean Giono
Land of Biodiversity
Domaine de la Baume is home to exceptional biodiversity.
The meadows of Cistus, Rosemary, Lavender and Broom, with their cheerful, fragrant blooms from February to July, alternate with holm oak and pine forests.
Here, a spring gushes out to form a reedy pond where herons and wild ducks come to rest.
Further on, in the heart of a magical forest of majestic oaks, the Baume river has sculpted tufa massifs draped in moss and aquatic weeds, and hollowed out natural caves that provide refuge for numerous animals.
The Domaine de la Baume is part of the Natura 2000 protected site Sources et tufs from Haut-Var, a natural home rich in biodiversity and rare and endangered species, particularly bats.
Preserving this richness is also our priority here, and serves as a common thread running through our farming practices: organic farming, eco-pasturing, maintenance of wild open meadows, preservation of water resources, beekeeping, etc.
Land of stories
If the age of the oldest olive trees is anything to go by, as well as that of pottery fragments and stone mortars found at the beginning of the last century embedded in deep tufa layers, this land has been inhabited since Antiquity and continued to be so during the Middle Ages.
And it was in the early 18th century that the beautiful yellow-ochre building at the heart of the estate was built. It belonged to the successive lords of Tourtour: the Castellanes and then the Renom de la Baume family, who lived there from 1783 to 1920.
La Baume owes its name to the cave (baumo in Provençal) carved into the 30-metre tufa cliff at the top of the estate.
The grotto is home to an ancient oratory dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, "the apostle of the apostles", who, according to certain stories and popular tradition, crossed the Mediterranean and landed at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer to escape Herod's persecution. She then evangelized Provence before taking refuge in a grotto in the Sainte-Baume massif to lead a penitential life.
The Domaine de la Baume was also the source of inspiration and final refuge for painter Bernard Buffet, and would be one of his favorite subjects at the end of his life.
Driven by an intense creative energy, the artist portrayed the Provençal home he loved so much from every angle, making it eternal.
"And on the easel sat our house.Bernard had decided to paint landscapes and interior views, in the manner of a detailed portrait of someone you love... He wanted to capture its atmosphere and beauty, perhaps to explain his love for it."
Annabel Buffet
