This is a highly progressive domaine that in the last few years has established itself as one of the very best. Michel Maret has duly gained deserved recognition but he has no desire to rest on his laurels. He has recently finished the construction of a new temperature-controlled cellar and further progress looks assured.

The ‘basic’ Châteauneuf is a blend of 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah and a healthy 15% Mourvèdre, a varietal is gorgeous when fully ripe. The Vieilles Vignes, as the name implies, is made from a parcel of very old vines (about 80 years of age), mainly Grenache and sees a small amount of new oak. It is perhaps slightly flashier in youth than the Cuvée Hautes Brusquières, which features much more Syrah (about 40%) and comes from vines planted up on the Brusquières plateau. Both are superb. These wines are not flashy (a good thing) but are wonderfully controlled, balanced and complex.

TASTING NOTES