The Black Mountains rear up behind the pretty village of Caunes-Minervois, 20 minutes north of Carcassonne.
The surroundings are heart-achingly idyllic, with rustic stone walls, Minervois vineyards, orchards and olive groves.
The medieval village is built around an abbey founded in the 700s, and historic quarries that provided the pink marble for the Louvre and Trianon Palace at Versailles.
The abbey is also replete with this stone: One of the most cherished parts of the building is the apse, which is from the 1000s and epitomises the modest romanesque style
