If spring and summer are the most sought-after seasons here, autumn also brings its fair share of surprises. Firstly, for the colors that set nature ablaze like a setting sun. Then there's the bustle of life on the estate, in the midst of the grape harvest. And for the truffles that we go and find in the forest before tasting them. Not to mention the location, which captures all the charm of Provence.

From September to mid-October, the domaine is in full swing, both in the vineyards and in the winery, where all the grape varieties grown are harvested and vinified: syrah, mourvèdre, grenache, cinsault, roussanne, vermentino, muscat, viognier... The ideal time for gourmets and aesthetes who appreciate good food and a little freshness.

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Vineyard side

So you can visit the winery, watch the men at work or even take a pair of pruning shears and pick a few bunches yourself. More deliciously, you can enjoy a wine tasting in the cellar or in the vineyards, and take a course in oenology. And don't forget to sample the inspired cuisine of La Bastide deMarie's chef, François Martin, who has worked his way up through the ranks of Michelin-starred chefs. Every day, he creates dishes based on the seasons and the market, which he prepares every morning, using aromatic herbs and ancient vegetables grown in permaculture on the estate. For grapes, he uses sweet berries in juices, jellies and other mouth-watering dishes, such as his pan-fried foie gras with syrah jelly and roasted autumn fruits glazed in syrah juice (with syrah grapillons and other delicately candied seasonal fruits), or his sautoir-roasted rack of veal with oven-roasted potimarron and pan-fried chanterelles escorted by a citrus muscatel jelly.

Autumn is the perfect season for mushrooms, which the chef also sublimates in his tasty, refined cuisine: chanterelles, girolles, trompettes de la mort, porcini mushrooms...which he calls his "undergrowth harvest", he pans and then accompanies with a poultry jus and grated truffles.

The Luberon is above all the Mecca of this rare and highly coveted mushroom, with Vaucluse accounting for 60-70% of national production and being nothing less than the cradle of truffle cultivation.

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Truffle hunting

As the Sibuet family likes to do things by the book, it's with a truffle grower now in his 5th generation, Monsieur Robert Florent, that customers of La Bastide de Marie will go truffle hunting. All the more so as he is the only producer in the region to hunt truffles in the forest rather than on a plantation. A tailor-made stroll at the foot of the Luberon massif, to be enjoyed in the morning or late afternoon, as dogs don't slaver in full sun. Here, you follow the animal as it picks up the scent of ripe truffles and digs them out before you finish extracting them, which you can then enjoy with a good white or rosé wine. Of course, on the Bastide de Marie side, the chef signs off a host of dishes in which he sublimates this local treasure, working with tubera aestivum in summer and the more flavorful melanosporum in autumn-winter.

Like the truffle-flavored soft-boiled egg with sweet onion cream for starters, and pan-fried foie gras with truffle shavings and estate wine jus to follow, before, depending on the season, finishing with truffle and whole-milk ice cream and chocolate tartelette. A rare treat that will, in time, come directly from Domaine de Marie, the estate having been planted with truffle oaks as well as some 250 olive trees from which an extra virgin olive oil is already produced. And let's not forget the 15 beehives, recently installed, with their highly scented honey. For here, nature is more than just a setting, it's part of the estate's art of living.

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La Bastide or the charm of the South

The Bastide and its grounds are immediately captivating, with nature at work everywhere, in its most bucolic expression: lavender, cypress trees, rosebushes, olive groves and vines as far as the eye can see, all bordered by the forest. Adjacent to the bastide, two large stone basins invite you to relax, even in early autumn, when the sun is generous here. And when it's not, you can let yourself be seduced by the misty mornings that give the estate a touch of mystery. And it's not without pleasure that we take refuge in La Bastide, a superb 18th-century stone building decorated with a taste for beautiful, authentic and refined things. The décor is romantic and timeless, with a mix of baroque and antiques, light and pastel hues, canopies, rough and wrought woodwork. Just like when you come back from a walk, after having lost yourself in the charming villages of the Luberon, or gone for a stroll in the vineyards or forest to hunt for truffles, and you curl up happily in the big, soft blue velvet sofas, facing the big fireplace. With a book gleaned from one of the shelves, which are overflowing with them, right next to the beautiful objects weathered by time, while enjoying a delicious snack.

Of course, you'll want to stay and enjoy the place to the full, whatever the season. To be visited by bicycle, with a Montand tune in mind...

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