Beaulieu, The Charm of a Provençal Château Perfected by Pierre Guénant

Twenty minutes from Aix-en-Provence, Château de Beaulieu has seen many prestigious families pass through its walls and its lands. Established as a fief by Henri III in 1576, the estate long remained in the hands of the Counts of Provence. Nestled in the crater of an ancient volcano now dotted with lavender, vineyards and olive groves, the building proudly displays its Mediterranean air, with influences from both the region and the Alps. Pierre Guénant (1950-2022) took possession of the estate in 2001. The industrialist from the Charente Limousine region, who was President of the MEDEF (French employers' federation) from 2004 to 2010, had made his fortune in the automotive industry, starting with Heuliez and then Citroën , before becoming France's and Europe's leading automotive distributor. In 2000, he sold control of his group— which had sales of up to €3 billion—to the Porsche family, and was probably already thinking about a career in wine . Château de Beaulieu, on the slopes of Aix-en-Provence, in the village of Rognes, offered him an unhoped-for opportunity to turn this dream into reality. Pierre Guénant has transformed the 17th-century Renaissance -style building into a high-end wine tourism venue with eleven guest rooms. He brought together furniture specially chosen for the site, in a "gilded wood" design that could be described as Italian-Provençal, dominated by Baroque and rococo lines. Today, nearly one hundred lots are up for auction, for a total estimate of €400,000/500,000.   Italy, Venice, mid-18th…