Domaine de la Charbonnière was purchased by Eugene Maret in 1912. 90 years it is still a family-owned affair. The taciturn Michel Maret is a man of the soil, his reticence more than compensated by the eloquence of his wines, on the one hand, and the loquacious nature of his wife on the other.

The two charming daughters, Véronique and Caroline, have found respective niches in the vineyard and the commercial function. All in all a complete and happy team, a facet once again echoed in the wines.

Domaine de la Charbonniere owns 17.5 hectares of vineyards in the Châteauneuf du Pape appellation, as well as 4 hectares in Vacqueyras. Michel produces wonderfully well-balanced wines that combine the intensity and depth of fruit with finesse and elegance. Michel Maret produces a number of different cuvees all from low yields and all bottled without filtration. His village Cuvee is one of the best value wines in the appellation while the Cuvée Traditionnelle is a model of balance and purity of fruit.

The Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is produced from La Crau and is silkily rich with marvelous aging potential while the Hautes Brusquières is a perennial favorite, atypical as it is with its high Syrah component.

This is now one of Châteauneuf’s leading domains and one can expect the quality to improve even more in the future if past results are any kind of guide.