Matthieu Barret

A winemaker who is redesigning Cornas

From granite to bottle: an uncompromising vision

Established in the heart of the Cornas appellation since 1998, Matthieu Barret embodies a new generation of committed winemakers. Heir to the family estate, he quickly chose to break free from codes, preferring an instinctive, sensitive, and deeply respectful approach to life rather than interventionist oenology. On his 11 hectares of Syrah, cultivated on steep granite terraces, he produces free, whole wines that tell the story of a place and a vision. Under his care, Cornas becomes a terrain of exploration where the purity of the fruit rubs shoulders with mineral precision.

Regenerative agriculture serving the land

Certified organic since 2002 and biodynamic since 2004, the estate pushes logic far beyond labels. Working with horses, controlled grassing, integrated hedges and biodiversity: everything is done to allow the vines to draw from the granite soil the tension and verticality that characterize the greatest Cornas. Matthieu Barret sees his work as that of a guide: the earth is not a support, it is a living material to be revealed.

Slow, gentle and instinctive vinification

In the cellar, too, it's all about listening. Fermentations are carried out without yeast, extractions are gentle, never forced, to preserve the integrity of the fruit. The aging process adapts to the personality of each vintage: concrete eggs, stoneware jars, demi-muids... Each container is chosen for what it can offer the wine, never to impose a style. Sulfur, used sparingly, is only added when the wine demands it. The goal is not to correct, but to reveal—without makeup, without artifice.

Vintages of place and emotion

Brise Cailloux , Billes Noires , Pur Granit … Each vintage reflects a fragment of the vineyard, a personal interpretation of a demanding terroir. Matthieu Barret’s Cornas vibrate with energy: full-bodied, deep Syrahs with an intense freshness that make you want to sit down to eat. Alongside this, his Vin de France vintages like Petit Ours or Black Flag offer a more accessible entry into his world: juicy, indulgent wines, driven by lively fruit and a disarming sincerity.