The weekend
Four days based in Perpignan, capital of French Catalonia, riding up the Agly valley into some of the most dramatic vineyard country in France: black schist and limestone crags, the Corbières rising to the north, and the ruined Cathar castles of Quéribus and Peyrepertuse on the skyline above Maury.
The three domaines you named sit in a neat line along that valley — Château de Jau at Cases-de-Pène, Domaine des Schistes at Estagel, and Mas Amiel at Maury — which turns them into a single day's ride rather than three separate expeditions. Better still, the département has just opened the Estagel–Maury section of the V81 voie verte: three metres wide, surfaced and car-free, covering exactly the stretch that used to mean sharing the D117 with lorries.
And Mas Amiel is worth the ride on its own. Two thousand-odd glass bonbonnes stand out in the open air for a full year, sun and frost doing the oxidising, before the Maury goes into barrel — a piece of theatre you can walk straight into, with the Serre de Vingrau behind and the vines running up to it.
A little history
Roussillon was Catalan long before it was French: it belonged to the Crown of Aragon and then to Spain, and only passed to France under the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 — which is why the language, the food and the flags are Catalan and the locals call it Catalunya Nord. Perpignan was briefly the mainland capital of the Kingdom of Majorca in the 13th and 14th centuries, and its fortress-palace survives. The high crags above Maury carry the Cathar castles — Quéribus, which held out until 1255 as one of the last refuges of the Cathar heresy, and Peyrepertuse strung along its ridge. Mas Amiel itself is said to have been won from the Bishop of Perpignan in a card game in 1816.
What it costs
Per person for the whole weekend, priced for a party of four — two twin rooms, or one whole place between you. Everything but the bed is fixed, so where you sleep is the only row that moves and the only one shown as a range.
| Per person | |
|---|---|
| Getting there, both ways | £100 |
| Three nights | £45–95 |
| Bikes and getting about | £36 |
| Eating, drinking and tastings | £170 |
| The weekend, per person | ~£350–400 |
Where to sleep
| Option | Per person |
|---|---|
| Hotels — two twin rooms | |
| One- and two-star hotels in the centre | €29 a night £75 for three |
| Mid-range hotels near the Castillet | €38 a night £95 for three |
| Airbnb and self-catering — one whole place | |
| Entry-level flats in Perpignan | €17 a night £45 for three |
| The stronger Perpignan listings | €24 a night £65 for three |
Eating and drinking
| What | Each |
|---|---|
| A menu du jour | €15–22 |
| Catalan cooking with a bottle of Côtes du Roussillon | €30–50 |
| Tastings, including the vins doux naturels | free to €10 |
The £170 above assumes the middle of this list: a cheap lunch, an ordinary dinner, one good one over the weekend, and wine throughout. It does not change with the room.
Day by day
Friday Arrive & Perpignan
- Late-morning flight to Perpignan; in the old town by early afternoon — the shortest airport transfer on the whole list.
- The Palace of the Kings of Majorca, a 13th-century fortress-palace from the brief period when Perpignan was a royal capital, and Le Castillet, the red-brick gate that is the city's emblem.
- Perpignan is emphatically Catalan — the street signs are bilingual, the flag is the Catalan quatre barres, and Dalí once declared the railway station the centre of the universe.
- Evening: Catalan cooking and a first glass of dry Côtes du Roussillon.
Saturday Over Calce to Maury, back down the Agly
- 73.3km with 418m of ascent, a loop from Perpignan. The big day, and the reason for the trip — but not the flat valley spin the region suggests.
- The climb comes first. West out of the city, then up into the hills to Calce at 17km — a tiny village at 233m in its own bowl of vines — and over the high point at 270m, 20km in. Roughly 230 metres of climbing in the opening third, and once it is done the rest of the day is downhill or flat.
- Drop into the Agly at Estagel, 25km, birthplace of the astronomer Arago. Domaine des Schistes is right there — the Sire family's estate, named for the black schist that gives the wines their smoky mineral grip.
- Latour-de-France at 30km, its own named appellation, on the V81 greenway: car-free, surfaced, three metres wide, and exactly the stretch that used to mean sharing the D117 with lorries.
- Mas Amiel at 36km, the far point and the destination. Two thousand-odd glass bonbonnes stand out in the open air for a full year, sun and frost doing the oxidising, before the Maury goes into barrel. The Cathar castle of Quéribus is on the ridge above. Book the cheese-and-old-vintage pairing in the cellar of foudres — five cheeses against aged Maury, an hour and a half, and the best possible argument for these wines.
- Then the long easy half, down the valley with the tramontane behind you — it blows towards the sea, so the way home is the gift. Château de Jau at 48km, a handsome estate under the cliffs of the Serre de Vingrau run by the Dauré family, who also own Clos de Paulilles on the Banyuls coast. It is the last tasting, with 25 flat kilometres left.
- Espira-de-l'Agly at 57km and Rivesaltes at 63km — Muscat country — then ten flat kilometres into Perpignan.
73.3 km · 419 m of ascent · 21–270 m
Sunday The coast out, the lagoons and Rivesaltes home
- 73.1km with 113m of ascent — the same distance as the Saturday and none of the climbing. The highest point of the whole day is 49m. If a flat day is what you want, this is as flat as European cycling gets. Ridden anticlockwise, so the sea comes first and the wine last.
- South-east out of Perpignan across the plain: Cabestany at 5km, Alénya at 11km, Saint-Nazaire at 20km.
- Étang de Canet-Saint-Nazaire at 22km — a coastal lagoon with reed fishermen’s huts, and flamingos on it for much of the year.
- North up the coast through Sainte-Marie-la-Mer at 28km to Le Barcarès at 37km: the sea, and lunch, at almost exactly half way.
- Inland along the Voie Verte de l’Agly — car-free, up the river dyke through riverbank, wetland and umbrella pine, with Canigou standing over the plain ahead of you. Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque at 43km, Claira at 47km.
- Domaine Cazes at 63km, at Rivesaltes, with ten kilometres left. 220 hectares farmed biodynamically for twenty-five years, and the place to taste an aged Rivesaltes Ambré. Visits from €9, minimum four people, so book it.
- Mémorial du Camp de Rivesaltes at 66km: a stark concrete building half-buried in the ground on the site of the internment camp that held Spanish Republicans, Jews and Roma. Sobering, superbly done, and not what anyone expects from a wine weekend. Closed Mondays. It sits at the end of the day now rather than the start, which is either right or wrong depending on the group — ride the loop the other way if you would rather take it first.
- Into Perpignan at 73km. Return bikes; last dinner in the old town.
73.1 km · 113 m of ascent · 0–48 m
Monday Collioure, then home
- Train south to Collioure (30 minutes) if the flight allows — the anchovy port where Matisse and Derain invented Fauvism in 1905, with Banyuls terraces climbing the hills behind and the sea usually still swimmable.
- Back to Perpignan and the short hop to the airport; evening flight to Stansted.
When to go
Spring — March to May
11–21°C, brilliant and dry, with the Canigou still snow-capped over the plain and the Agly valley green. The tramontane is at its strongest — plan the direction of travel around it.
Summer — June to August
20–30°C and relentlessly sunny, with the coast an easy ride away and the sea warm from June. Inland afternoons on the schist are punishing; ride early.
Autumn — September and October
13–24°C, the sunniest autumn on the list, harvest finished early, and the domaines relaxed. October afternoons are still shirtsleeves weather.
When to go
October. The heat has gone, the light is extraordinary, and the growers have time — but spring runs it close if you want green hills and snow on Canigou.
Festivals
None of this weekend assumes a festival. The rides work on any weekend of the year. If your dates land in November, the new wine is tasted on Saint Martin’s Day and the cargolades are lit — the thing to do is find one and give the evening to it rather than change the riding. The trade is worth stating plainly: on a festival weekend the growers are behind a stand in the square rather than showing visitors round a cellar, so book private tastings weeks ahead or accept that some will be shut, and expect beds to be scarcer, dearer and gone months in advance.
Spring
Procession de la Sanch, Perpignan — Good Friday
Hooded penitents in red and black carry the mysteries through the old town. Extraordinary, and utterly unlike the rest of France.
Summer
Les Guitares au Palais and summer festivals — August
Concerts in the courtyard of the Palace of the Kings of Majorca through the high summer.
Autumn
Visa pour l'Image, Perpignan — September
One of the world's great photojournalism festivals, filling the city's historic buildings with free exhibitions.
Cargolades and the Saint-Martin new wine — autumn into November
Hundreds of snails grilled over vine cuttings at long outdoor tables, and the traditional Catalan tasting of the new vintage on 11 November.
Getting there
From London, per person, assuming bikes are hired locally rather than flown. Fares checked September 2026 and converted at €1 to 86p.
| Leg | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| The flight | ||
| Ryanair, Stansted to Perpignan (PGF). Selected days rather than daily — check before assuming a Friday works | 2h 05 | £45 |
| Airport into the city | ||
| Perpignan airport is 6km out — the bus, or a €20 taxi. Comfortably the shortest transfer on the whole list | 0h 15 | £5 |
| Waiting | 0h 40 | — |
| Door to door, one way | 3h 00 | £50 |
| Both ways | £100 | |
If the schedule does not suit, fly to Barcelona and take the train north — 1h20 on the high-speed line. Girona, Toulouse and Montpellier all work too.
Bike hire
Assumes hybrids.
| Shop | Rate |
|---|---|
| Pignon sur Rue, Perpignan — by the hour, half-day, day or longer | rates on request |
| LocationVelos — delivers to where you are staying, across the Roussillon and down to Collioure | rates on request |
Getting about
| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| Bike hire, Saturday and Sunday | £26 |
| TER to Collioure and Céret, allow | £10 |
| Getting about, whole weekend | £36 |
The wineries
Mas Amiel
The estate you came for. Vintage and aged Maury, serious dry reds, and the extraordinary open-air field of bonbonnes where the wine spends a year oxidising under sun and frost.
Book the “Dégustation Maury millésimés et fromages” — around €35 a head, 1h30, a private group of two to six, held among the old foudres in the historic cellar: five cheeses set against old vintages of Maury, which is where these wines make the most sense. Blues against the sweetness, aged goat, a pressed tomme, a bloomy rind. It is the best-reviewed thing they do and the reason to make Maury the day’s destination rather than a stop.
Alternatives if the pairing is booked out: the free hour-long cellar tour and tasting, a free walk-in tasting of the range, or the €35 chocolate-and-vintage version. Bookable online through Rue des Vignerons; the pairing workshops are usually run in French, so say if the group needs English.
Domaine des Schistes
Named for the black schist beneath it, and making both taut dry Côtes du Roussillon Villages and superb old Maury. Welcoming, unpretentious, and directly on the route.
Château de Jau
A fine old estate under the cliffs of the Serre de Vingrau, 18km out and the first stop of the day. Côtes du Roussillon and Muscat de Rivesaltes here, Collioure and Banyuls from the family’s Clos de Paulilles on the coast. Tastings by arrangement — email ahead.
Lunch — Le Grill. The estate runs a grill restaurant on a shaded terrace over the pond and the vines: charcoal-grilled meat, one fixed menu, from about €47 a head, and much the most enjoyable lunch anywhere on this ride. The catch is the season — 18 April to 30 September, so it is shut for any October weekend. It only comes into play if the trip moves to late September, which would mean riding during the harvest. Worth knowing rather than worth planning around.
For an October Saturday, lunch instead at Estagel or Maury, eight and twenty kilometres further on — village restaurants, no bookings needed for a group this size, though a phone call on the morning does no harm.
Domaine Gauby or Le Soula
Gérard Gauby at Calce is one of the pioneers of the modern Roussillon and a cult name in natural wine circles. Small; email well in advance if the group is keen.
The wines
Grenache in all three colours on schist, gneiss and limestone, giving dry reds of real depth from Côtes du Roussillon Villages, Maury and Collioure. But the region's glory is the vins doux naturels — fortified wines whose fermentation is stopped with grape spirit: Maury, Banyuls and Rivesaltes, aged oxidatively for years, sometimes outdoors in glass demijohns as at Mas Amiel, developing the walnut-and-coffee character the French call rancio. Banyuls with dark chocolate is one of the great pairings.
Eat & drink
| Friday | Catalan dinner in Perpignan old town |
| Saturday | Village lunch at Estagel or Maury on the ride; cheese-and-old-Maury pairing at Mas Amiel in the afternoon |
| Sunday | Seafood at Le Barcarès; last dinner in Perpignan |
| Monday | Anchovies and a glass at Collioure before the flight |
The food
Catalan and generous: escalivada, boles de picolat (meatballs with olives and cèpes), cargolade, anchovies from Collioure, ollada soup, and crème catalane. Rousquilles — soft aniseed biscuits under white icing — with a glass of Rivesaltes. And Banyuls with chocolate, which is the correct end to any meal here.
Where to stay
Hôtel La Villa Duflot
An art-deco villa in two hectares of grounds just outside the centre — quiet, with a pool and a good kitchen.
Le Mas des Arcades
Comfortable and practical, with parking and easy access out towards the Agly for the Saturday ride.
Riberach
A converted co-operative cellar turned design hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant and its own vineyard — the splurge, and closer to the domaines if you would rather not base in the city.
Practical
- France allows cyclists 0.5 g/l of blood alcohol, the same limit as drivers — so one glass with lunch is the practical ceiling if you are riding afterwards. See the country-by-country table.
- Shortest airport transfer on the list — Perpignan airport is 6km from the middle of town.
- Check the Ryanair schedule first. Stansted–Perpignan runs on selected days rather than daily, and the whole plan hangs off it. Barcelona plus a 1h20 train is the fallback.
- Ride out, not back, into the wind. The tramontane blows down the Agly towards the sea, so the outbound leg is the work and the return is the reward — or book a minibus from Maury and skip the question.
- Three tastings in one day is a lot. Keep the pours small at Jau and Schistes and save the appetite — and the palate — for the cheese pairing at Mas Amiel. Book that one first and fit the rest of the day around its slot.
- Château de Jau's Grill runs from mid-April to the end of September. Grilled meat on a shaded terrace over the pond, one fixed menu — a real reason to come in spring or summer, and shut for an October trip, when lunch is at Estagel or Maury instead. The estate's contemporary art centre is summer-season too.
- Quéribus is above Maury if anyone fancies the Cathar castle — but it is a steep climb on top of a 38km day. A taxi from Maury is the civilised answer.
- Check sunset before you plan the last leg. Any day that finishes with a ride home wants an hour of light in hand, and that hour disappears fast either side of the equinoxes.
- Perpignan Tourism — official tourist office — the palace, Le Castillet, events
- Mas Amiel — the estate at Maury, its demijohns and visiting information
- Roussillon Wines (CIVR) — the official wine board — appellations, vins doux naturels, producers
- Voie Verte de l’Agly — the flat car-free greenway from Rivesaltes to the sea
- Pyrénées-Orientales — V81 Agly valley — the département site, including the new Estagel–Maury greenway section