Château-Bas d'Aumelas hosts seminars, team days and weddings for up to 300 guests, with sleeping space for about 50 people on the estate. The château stands in Aumelas, in the Hérault garrigue about 20 minutes west of Montpellier, at the center of a family wine estate farmed organically since its vines were replanted in 2002.
Seminars and company events
For a seminar, the estate offers a fully equipped main hall with exposed stone, plus two smaller rooms decorated in a 16th-century style that work as breakout rooms or for meals. The main hall opens onto a terrace. An in-house caterer serves meals and brunches made with organic and local products, so a group can stay on site from the morning session to dinner. Team activities take place on the estate itself: a treasure hunt around the grounds, mountain biking in the protected garrigue, a guided visit of the château and a tasting at the cellar.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings use the reception hall, a converted farmhouse of the château, and the French garden for the cocktail hour. A cedar more than a century old stands at the center of the garden. Part of the reception can move onto the large terrace, which looks over a Natura 2000 natural park and the hills of La Mourre. The estate also runs wine tastings and wine workshops that can be added to a wedding weekend.
Rooms and capacities
The reception hall seats 170 guests at tables, and more when the adjoining terrace is used. The seminar page lists the main hall for up to 300 people. The French garden takes 130 guests seated or 300 standing for a cocktail. The two smaller rooms carry no published capacity, so ask for figures when you plan workshops. A virtual tour on the official site shows the spaces.
Accommodation
The estate sleeps up to 50 people across three types of lodging. A renovated gîte has four bedrooms and two bathrooms for eight guests. Several suites take two to four people each. A dormitory with ten beds looks out over the French garden and suits a young team or a wedding party on a tighter budget.
Catering
The in-house caterer covers seminar meals and brunches and works with organic, local produce. The estate makes its own wines in two ranges, Château-Bas and Barathym, which can be served at dinner or poured during a cellar tasting. For weddings, confirm with the estate whether the in-house caterer is required or whether you can bring your own.
History and setting
The first castle of Aumelas was a medieval fortress on a rocky spur, built by the viscounts of Béziers and destroyed during the Wars of Religion in the 16th century. A sheepfold about a kilometer below was then turned into the present château, with two round towers, outbuildings and a French garden. The d'Albenas family acquired the estate in the 18th century and made it a wine property. The vines were pulled out in 1974, then replanted organically by two brothers from 2002, and restoration of the château as an event venue began in 2004. Sheep graze the vineyard in winter and about 200 beehives stand around the vines. The estate covers 22 hectares of vines and 800 hectares of garrigue.
Getting there
The estate lies about 20 minutes west of Montpellier by road. Montpellier Saint-Roch station and Montpellier Méditerranée airport are the nearest rail and air links, so plan a shuttle or cars from there.
