The oldest document in our possession in which a "Domaine de Panéry" is mentioned dates from 1670 – for further information I would need to consult the Archives Départementales in Nîmes (Gard).
The locality is known as "Panély", as on the Michelin maps, and the domaine as "Panéry". This not a printing error : according to some sources, "panély" in Provençal meant "bread farm" and became "Panéry" in French. When questioned on the subject, M. TOSCANO, a professor of Occitan, came up with "PANERI" de "panier" (bread basket).
At the time, wheat was in fact the main crop on the Domaine. It was at the beginning of the 19th century that the first vines were planted, although in a compois (record) of 1667, a certain George de Picon, Seigneur de Pouzilhac, already had vines. One of his ancestors took part in the First Crusade (1096-1099) ; might he have brought back with him a few Syrah vine stocks ?
The oldest buildings date from the 18th century, among them the "Mas de la Ferme" and although each year some part of it collapses, most of the walls are still standing. This ruin is situated in a part of the Domaine called the "Forêt de St-Martin". And by a quite extraordinary coincidence, that is also the name of my eldest son !
In the 19th century, one of the landowners of the time had had a bad harvest. Now, he had promised the Virgin Mary that he would erect two statues in her effigy if she granted him a good grape harvest – a vow fulfilled in 1898. And whilst the Madonna of Tavel has since disappeared, the Panéry Madonna is still regularly adorned with flowers by passers-by.
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Owner is Dutchman Rutger Gryseels (photo: left), who leads the beautiful domaine with enthusiasm and passion.
The Domaine de Panéry occupies 528 hectares, of which 72 are given over to vines. The other areas include:
- 70 ha of wheat for seeds and pasta
- 40 ha of sunflowers (for the oil)
- 4 ha of recently planted truffle oaks
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