Unusual: the Périgueux tourist office is going to resurrect the Chabot vintage, the drink of the “priest-bistro”

The Destination Périgueux tourist office has decided, in partnership with the Château de Monbazillac, to revive this rather special vintage, served at Coderc a century ago.

He wasn't the type to put (holy) water in his wine. Shunned by his superiors, Abbot Noé Chabot decided to mix wine and the divine and temporarily swap his cruets for barrels of Monbazillac. At the beginning of the 20th century, a priest officiated behind the counter of the bar located on Place du Coderc in Périgueux (Dordogne).

More than a hundred years later, the Coderc bar still exists, and the myth of the priest-bistro lives on. "This exceptional character is in the spirit of the city," insists Jean Siefert, director of the Destination Périgueux tourist office. He decided to revive the "Chabot vintage" after a discussion with a partner of the organization, the Château de Monbazillac. "They came to see us in April to work on our gourmet collection. We told them about the story of Father Chabot, and from this little joke, they made a prototype."

A dozen bottles were thus labeled. "They're not for sale," Jean Siefert hastened to add. A few samples were distributed to verify the product's viability. "I haven't tasted it yet," joked Christian Dutreuilh, the rector of Saint-Front Cathedral in Périgueux. The priest recalled that his distant colleague had returned to the righteous path at the end of his life, after having frontally attacked the clergy for many years.

In improbable satirical photographic postcards, Noé Chabot portrayed himself – always in a cassock – sometimes astride a bishop, sometimes perched on a barrel. One of them reads: "Neither gold nor grandeur make you happy, but the priest's Monbazillac, a famous wine, gives you cheerfulness in a healthy and agile body, the strength that allows you to have everything... And the rest!"

"Chabot produced white wines as well as red wines. We were actually inspired by an original photo for the bottle design," continues Jean Siefert. He hopes to be able to offer the Chabot vintage for sale after the harvest. It will be housed in the municipal tourist office, a building adjoining... the Coderc bar. Its current owner, Patrice Varachat, also intends to promote the priest's vintage. "I think this story is brilliant; customers still talk to me about it," insists the merchant.

Several frames hanging on the walls recall his illustrious predecessor. "I think it's one of the oldest IV licenses in Périgueux," continues Patrice Varachat. He adds, with a big smile: "I won't have any problems with the Church, I've been struck off the orders!"