Mas Platon, agriculture and heritage

Let's go for a guided visit

‘Reborn after many years of neglect, Mas Platon has since 2023 been the focus of an organic micro-farm project, bringing together people with a passion for architecture, heritage and environmentally-friendly farming’ says Ménélik Plojoux, who initiated the project with Dario Da Silva.

'After restoring the Carolingian “Sarrazine” tower (a vestige of Montaren's first fort, built around the year 1000) from 2012 to 2017, transformed into tourist accommodation, we discovered, from a plane the former Château de Jols and its small neglected estate. We literally fell in love with it. This new project, which has nothing in common with the Sarrazine tower, is the answer for our family and the young farmers we have welcomed to an ambition combining agriculture and heritage' add Ménélik and Dario.

In addition to the work involved in restoring the buildings (under the supervision of a heritage architect), the owners of Mas Platon GFA (groupement foncier agricole - Agricultural Land Holding) have joined forces, via a number of SCEAs (sociétés civiles d'exploitation agricole - Civil Farming Company), with young farmers who were unable to find available land in the Uzège region for their new projects. Mas Platon provides them with all the equipment they need, while supporting the rebirth of the estate.

Before long, Mas Platon will once again be an example of what the rich food-producing farms around the town of Uzès were for centuries, providing food for the local population. It will also create permanent jobs that cannot be relocated.

Since last April, Thomas Rodts, the market gardener and his partner Manon Gasseng have been ‘developing diversified production and organic farming on a 2 hectare plot’ at the entrance to the estate. As for Amandine Eckert, a breeder with a herd of 80 Le Rove goats, after working in Corsica and the Vaucluse, she has set down her shepherd's crook on the estate, enabling her goats to make the most of the garrigue of the Gard, an excellent pasture that produces fragrant, tasty milk, the raw material for her brousses and cheeses.

The farm, located close to the château and currently being restored, is one of the cornerstones of the project... 'Indeed. When the farm is restored, it will house a milking parlour, the cheese dairy, the cellar and the honey house (garrigue, lavender and chestnut honey) that we're building, and perhaps also an extension to the farm shop so that we can offer educational activities to help people discover our farming practices' adds Dario.

But that's not all. The 25 hectares of carefully cleared land are also fertile ground for the young olive grove - the first oils are eagerly awaited - the truffle oaks and soon the very first vines on a veritable ‘palette of tastes that slopes gently towards the south’, the promise of what we hope will be a generous harvest. This winemaking touch is provided by Raphaël Gonzales, who has been passionate about wine since he was 15 years old. After taking a specialised course in viticulture and oenology, he was a winemaker for 10 years in the Drôme provençale, near Vaison-la-Romaine before joining the project.

'While I'm waiting for the Mas Platon plantings to produce, I've taken over some vines in production at Vallabrix this year. The wines will be made without inputs, as high-quality natural wines. The first bottles, with a white, a rosé and two reds, will be available from March 2026‘ says Raphaël, who rightly emphasises that he ’appreciates all the more the exceptional opportunity to set up in the Uzège region that the Plojoux-Philipps & Da Silva family's project represents'.

Gîtes, farm shop for a historic rural agritourism...

Mas Platon is due to open its doors to the public in 2026. In the meantime, the Jardins de Platon are already open, offering sales at the estate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

'Our ambition is that Mas Platon, like other virtuous farms in the Uzège region such as Domaine de Malaïgue, La ferme des Clos d'Uzès and Panéry, should serve as models for the regeneration of former food-producing estates whose agricultural vocation is unfortunately often ignored and neglected... This is also what agritourism is all about. It's not just about holidaying in the South of France, it's also about enhancing the value of the land and the living world by supporting courageous and necessary work carried out by the farmers' clarifie the owners.

‘In addition to the gîtes, we will also be opening up the courtyard and enclosed grounds of the château for cultural events, or even exhibitions and seminars in our chapel, for example, which we are also refurbishing, as well as the dovecote, located at one of the entrances to the Mas, which could become a reception and educational area’.

What about local partnerships?

'Of course, regional partnerships are part of our daily routine. It includes working with a number of restaurants in the Uzège region (such as AbrixBar in Vallabrix, Cap'Mas in la Capelle-et-Masmolène, Le Pèbre d'aï, Café Quentine in Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie and Domaine de Panéry). These places, which celebrate our terroir so well, are a showcase for our project, as is the Tuesday farmers' market in Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie, which the town council has invited us to take part in, and where we will soon be bringing our fruit and vegetables, goat's cheese and brousses, as well as our honeys and eggs.

The Communauté des Communes du Pays d'Uzès (CCPU) has also contacted us as part of a study it is carrying out with a view to putting in place shared solutions to supply the region's stakeholders with short-distance produce. It's an excellent initiative, which we hope will be widely supported by all the producers in the Pays d'Uzès'.

Good to know: The organic farm market, Les jardins de Platon (cheeses, eggs, vegetables, honeys) is held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 4pm to 7pm.

Many thanks to Ménélik Plojoux and Dario Da Silva for their collaboration on this article and the guided tour of the estate.

The right address: Mas Platon, Chemin de la Platone, 30700 Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie. Contact: info@masplaton.com, 06 51 25 77 38.