98pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Even better than I remember it prior to bottling, the 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes—90% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre—boasts bold, concentrated aromas of black cherries, dark chocolate and red raspberries. It's full-bodied, rich and expansive, framed by silky tannins that ease into a long, elegant finish. Despite its size, there's a fine sense of proportion to this wine and a notable absence of alcohol-derived heat.

96pts Jeb Dunnuck

The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Vieilles Vignes comes all from the famed La Crau lieu-dit and is 90% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre that was brought up in a mix of demi-muids, tronconique tanks, and stainless steel. Awesome black cherry and currant fruits as well as licorice, roasted herbs, and peppery, meaty notes define this gorgeous 2020, and it's full-bodied, with wonderful purity of fruit, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's wonderfully done and should rank with the crème de la crème of the vintage.

94pts James Suckling

This amazing Chateauneuf has a stunning combination of opulence and concentration without any of this being in any way exaggerated. The richest red fruits you could imagine. Just a hint of warmth from alcohol at the finish, but there’s an explosion of herbal aromas there, too. A cuvee of 90% grenache and 10% mourvedre.

94pts Wine Spectator

A stylish, very enticing version, with an expressive mix of blackberry coulis and plum paste flavors. Violet and lavender notes bring lift, while the palate is mouthfilling and rich, with grilled apple wood smoldering in the backdrop. This has the structure to carry the ripeness, shored up firmly by graphite-edged tannins.

Winery Notes

It was in 1912 that Eugene Maret bought Domaine de la Charbonniere as a gift for his wife who was a native of Chateauneuf and the daughter of a winemaker. Their son Fernand Maret inherited a part of the Domaine and enlarged it upon the birth of his son Michel.

Today Michel Maret had over 16 hectares of vineyards located in the high plateaux of Les Brusquieres and La Crau both covered with the famous cailloux roulets and at Mourre des Perdix, sandy soil dotted with larger stones.

The passion and know-how of the winemaker, handpicking of the fruit, and careful sorting at the winery enable Michel Maret to optimize all the promise of a great terrior.

The vinification at the Domaine follows the classic style: no destemming, and three weeks fermentation in stainless steel vats, after which the wine is aged in large oak fourdes for 12-18 months.