Determined to keep the rural heritage alive, Janoueix is personally financing renovation of the rustic hamlet of Sarpe at the gates of his estate. "I want it to have the atmosphere of the past," he said as a mason meticulously restored a nearby facade.
True to his vision, the village takes one back in time. An original "rural post office" sign clings to a wall, though no-one can quite remember when the building last sold stamps.
Guests can visit an 18th-century windmill and a kitsch 1950s nightclub built for the grape pickers. In Haut Sarpe's cellars, he offers wine tastings amid a collection of antique tools and equipment.
A few steps away, a farmhouse provides room and board to modern-day pilgrims walking the historic Santiago de Compostela, or the Way of St James, to the Spanish site 658 miles away where tradition holds that the apostle is buried. Soon, an old-fashioned bakery will open on the square.
