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Some of the most important historical figures in the 5th century AD were well known in Narbonne. One of them, Sidonius Appollinaris, bishop of Clermont-Ferrand, visited Narbonne and its community when the city was at the height of its glory. Some of his Poems and Letters testify to his enthusiasm, especially when he relates memories of his stay at Narbonne. He was a guest of Consentius, who had held important posts under the Emperor Valentinian III. Consentius had a villa called Octaviana near to the city of Narbonne.Letter VIII-2 by Sidonius Appollinaris is worth reading :
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«Sidonius salutes his dear Consentius. Will God ever allow us, honoured lord, to see your famed ager octavianus once more? I call it yours, but it seems really to belong less to you than to your friends. Situated as it is near town and sea and river, for your guests it provides food and for you, it procures guests. Moreover, its aspect is charming, firstly because its walls are so cleverly designed in perfect architectural symmetry, and secondly |
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Today, its vats have capacity for 160,000 hectolitres. In 1976 and 1995 respectively, it built a barrel-aging cellar for foudres and another barrel-aging cellar for 1,500 barriques at its Gasparets site. In 1994, Ornaisons cooperative merged with the cooperative of Luc sur Orbieu, to become Les Vignerons du Mont Ténarel d'Octaviana. Mont Ténarel is the name of the hill where the vines tended by the two cooperatives grow; Octaviana is a reminder of the history of the locality, Ornaisons cooperative being situated on the land that belonged to the villa of that name. |
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Alas, at that period the Roman Empire was already in decline, and the Barbarian invasions that followed were to destroy these marvellous works of architecture. By the 12th century, all that was left of Octaviana was the chapel and the land. In 1177, the lands of Octabian are mentioned in an "act of donnation": Pons, archbishop of Narbonne, gave the church of Saint Estienne d'Octabian to Fontfroide Abbey. As for the vines, they never disappeared entirely. So it was that a new generation of winegrowers grew up in Octaviana, with a modern infrastructure, cutting-edge facilities and a range of wines encompassing AC Corbières and vins de pays made with quality grape varieties. Ornaisons cooperative was |
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because it gleams in the sunlight with its chapel, colonnade and baths conspicuous near and far! Then th ere is the amenity of its fields and waters, its vines 
