Charlotte de Béarn

The historic estate of Château de Jonquières, in Terrasses du Larzac, has been farmed continuously by the same family for 900 years. Documents held in the archives from the 13th century describe the suitability of its soils for viticulture. It’s likely the oldest continuously producing wine estate in Languedoc.

In the 1960s, the family owners pivoted from making wine to selling their fruit to the co-op. But in 1975, when 31st-generation François de Cabissole inherited the estate from his father and uncle, he set about to renovate both vineyard and winemaking. In 1992, along with his wife, Isabelle, he resumed bottling wine.

Charlotte is one of their three children, the 32nd generation of owner-winemakers. In 2012, having completed studies in economics and English and a Master’s in Reims, she returned to Jonquières with her husband, Clément de Béarn. The couple worked with their parents for two years to gain expertise, then in 2014 formally took the reins.

They farm their 8HA using organic methods. Their white grapes are Grenache blanc and, somewhat unusual for this region, Chenin, and their red grapes are Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, and an an old-vine Carignan planted by Charlotte’s great grandmother in the 1940s. They make red, white, and rosé wines, all certified organic.

At a tasting and supper in the field in June 2024, I asked Charlotte to pose with one of her wines, La Baronnie Blanc. It’s a mix of Grenache blanc and Chenin vinified in wood, with twelve months of barrel aging. It is a mouthful of beeswax, honey, lemon, and salt, silken yet crunchy and refreshing. The June light at our picnic site was penetrating, intense, but the breeze was strong — the breeze that keeps the vines of Terrasses du Larzac fresh and healthy.