Aguilar is the castle people overlook, and that is its best feature. While coaches crawl up to Peyrepertuse and Quéribus, this one sits quietly on a low hill above vineyards just outside Tuchan, at the eastern edge of the Corbières, with a squat keep inside a hexagonal outer wall studded with small round towers. It is a modest fortress compared with its famous siblings, but you can walk around it in peace and the views over vines towards Mont Tauch are lovely, especially in the evening.
Like the other so-called Cathar castles of the region, Aguilar's history runs from local lords drawn into the Albigensian Crusade in the early thirteenth century to French royal control. Afterwards it was strengthened as part of the defensive line facing the kingdom of Aragon just to the south, and it fell into decline once the border moved after 1659. The outer wall with its corner towers is the most distinctive part, a solid example of thirteenth-century military architecture.
This is serious wine country. Tuchan lies at the heart of the Fitou appellation, one of the oldest in the Languedoc, and the slopes around the castle are covered with vines, garrigue and stone terraces. In late summer you will see harvest machines and tractors on the roads and smell crushed grapes in the villages. A tasting in Tuchan is a fine end to a day of riding, once the key is out of the ignition.
The roads here are wonderful. The D611 between Tuchan and the coast near Fitou winds through low hills and gorges, while the roads west towards Padern, Cucugnan and the Galamus gorge become tighter and more dramatic. Surfaces are generally good but narrow, with stone walls and ditches close to the edge. The tramontane wind can be ferocious, often gusting strongly enough to push the bike sideways on exposed ridges.
Tuchan is a decent-sized village with a café, a bakery and basic shops; you may find fuel, but Estagel, Salses-le-Château or Rivesaltes are safer options. The castle path is short but rough, and summer afternoons can be fiercely hot with little shade, so go early or late. Aguilar is a fine spot to start or finish a loop of the Corbières castles, quieter and gentler than the giants to the west.