"Maury - a roadside village surrounded by vines" Maury by TygerLyn

As readers of my travel pages will know, I am a huge fan of the local red wine from this part of the world. Maury sits between the Corbierre and Pyrenees and is part of the growing and successful Caramany syndicate. Although they do produce white wines and several muscats I am unable to comment as I dislike white wine. However, their reds are strong, tannic, earthy and taste of blackcurrants (as do many of the wine produced around here), a slightly sharper more tannic Fitou (which is in the same region). However, their speciality is Maury,a fortified wine similar to the type you get in Banyuls. It is much more like a port than a wine. The fortified wines are made from Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris and Carignan grapes. The genuine article usually has a label shaped like the arched window inside Queribus.

Several caves produce Maury wine, Mas Amiel being the most famous. You can purchase Mas Amiel Maury in the UK from various wine merchants. There is also a large cave in the centre of Maury that produces a large range of wines. But my favourite (and I don't know why I tell everyone this) is Marc Majoral who is just outside Maury on the way to St Paul. He not only produces the best red wine ever (Nectar is it's name and that is what it tastes of) but he make Maury in 3 different strengths.. The Ancienne is mind blowing!

Maury lies in a valley to the west of Perpignan in the Roussillon. It straddles the dusty road leading from Perpignan to Biaritz and it's saving grace is the fact that you can view the splendid Queribus from it's dusty streets. Maury is small but is very proud of it's team of Pompiers who take part in all sorts of challenges for charity. It is a very close knit community who will drop everything to arrange and participate in a festival. From Pancake day (Mardi Gras) to New Year they will find something to celebrate.

View from Maury

I have never stayed in Maury so I cannot recommend anywhere but any website for the area will tell you about hotels, Gites and holiday homes. I have to be honest and say that, like Estagel (much bigger) and St Paul (slightly bigger) it suffers from have a busy main road running through it and would not be my choice of holiday destination. But the views from Queribus and Peyrepeteuse are stunning. If you can stay in Cucugnan (pretty and great restaraunts) then great but Maury is not so bad on the side roads and you can get some great views of Queribus from there.

Corbiere View

For those who have tasted the lovely fortified wines of Maury - great news! You can buy Maury from Berry Bros & Rudd in Basingstoke (don't laugh, it is not a cultural desert) and London. If you have read about other wines I have consumed (I can't say tasted) it is also possible to buy Boudau wines (cave near Queribus) and the sparkling Limoux from Berry Bros.

• Pros:Good wine, lovely friendly people
• Cons:Busy main road
• In a nutshell:Great central point for Cathar castle visiting