Author: Alexis Steinman / Source: Atlas Obscura
“Tu n’abandonnes jamais les tiens, ni au combat, ni dans la vie.” These words grace the back label of Esprit de Corps Grand Cuvée, a Vermentino from Côtes de Provence Sainte–Victoire.
It means, “You never abandon your own, not in combat, nor in life.”The phrase references Article VII of the French Foreign Legion’s Code of Honor, which is a hint at the bottle’s unlikely provenance: a retirement home for former legionnaires. Nestled in postcard-perfect vineyards in Provence, the Domaine du Capitaine Danjou winery is the antithesis of abandonment. It provides lodging, purpose, and, most importantly, brotherhood. Leave it to the land of grands crus to properly care for its veterans through wine—sales of Esprit de Corps Grand Cuvée and other bottles help pay for the institution.
Set off the main road from the medieval village of Puyloubier, the Domaine has 100 acres of vines spread on gentle slopes around the estate. Along the Champs Elysees, the cheekily named path that extends between the vineyards, the Syrah vines are tidily trellised, stretching uniformly in straight rows. Further out, the Grenache grapes hang from gnarled, solitary bush vines. Armed with secateurs, men work with military precision, clipping off dead branches. The work is methodical, physical, and particularly challenging on days when the ferocious mistral wind whips through. But the men are undaunted; they belong, after all, to an elite military force.
“All their life they’ve been ordered around … go here, do that,” explains vineyard manager Adjutant-Chef Alan Lonjarret.
The French Foreign Legion has been a unique institution since King Louis-Philippe created it in 1831. Its initial composition of criminals and foreigners on the run—soldiers get a new identity and French citizenship in exchange for three years of service—fed its reputation as a rowdy band of mercenaries. Hardened by training and punishments, which included being tied to a wagon and dragged for falling behind on 40-kilometer marches, the soldiers were even brute in play: In the drinking game Buffalo, two men down a bottle of vermouth, then charge each other head on, resulting in severe concussions or death. The modern version of this notorious multi-national military cadre (soldiers hail from 150 countries, and 12% are French-born) is less savage, yet still embodies the fierce fraternité born from men leaving their homelands to pledge allegiance to the Legion.
How did the Legion go from battling enemies to bottling wine? In 1954, the First Indochina War left hundreds of young legionnaires injured. These soldiers, who were mostly German, Czech, and Hungarian, were too injured to return home, but in unfamiliar territory in France. In response, the Legion opened IILE, Institution des Invalides de la Légion Étrangère, to care for their brothers in need. They purchased a 17th-century chateau set beneath Sainte-Victoire, the stunning limestone mountain ridge made famous in Cezanne’s paintings. When they discovered the vineyards surrounding the sprawling estate were prime terroir, they stopped growing wheat and started making wine. The name, Domaine du Capitaine Danjou, comes from the revered officer who shared a bottle of wine with his soldiers before dying in the famed Battle of Camarón—a seminal event in the Legion’s history that is commemorated each year.
Today, the IILE lodges 74 pensionnaires between 32 and 99 years of age. They are here voluntarily, craving the camaraderie they enjoyed as legionnaires. “We are offering [the soldiers] eternity here, because you are already dead if no one thinks about you,” explains IILE’s new head, Lieutenant-Colonel Gilles Normand.
To live in wine country, a veteran must have completed his service with a good behavior certificate, be single, respect the rules of communal living, and participate in the center’s activities, which include bookbinding, ceramics, a uniform museum, and winemaking. These projects keep the soldiers’ brains and bodies busy while helping to fund the center—Lonjarret describes the life and work as occupational therapy.
Many countries’ veterans struggle to integrate back into civilian life…
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