The Estate
Rustic Elegance
Welcome to Domaine de la Barielle, a stunning 60 acre agricultural estate featuring a bastide, farmhouse, and cottage, nestled in the French countryside between the Alpilles and the Luberon in the authentic Provençal village of Noves.
Interlaced with small streams and planted with olive trees, fields of wheat or sunflowers, the estate is a bucolic haven, inspiring and soothing in equal measures.
From gentle morning birdsong to the sweet serenade of cicadas that accompany an afternoon nap to a stunning sunset over the olive grove, your days and evenings will be in harmony with nature and the slow, blissful rhythms of Provence, seducing you to stay and to return again and again.
Our Story
We are your hosts, François, a Frenchman born and raised in Avignon, and Jennifer, an American born and raised in Massachusetts, who met by way of California. The Domaine de la Barielle is the fruition of our dream to live and raise our children in Provence.
Like many love affairs, the estate was a meeting by chance. Enamored instantly by its history, we took an enormous leap of faith, left our life in California behind, and moved with our two small children to Provence, undertaking the unfathomable challenge of restoring the estate to its original majesty and rejuvenating its long agricultural history.
For us, the Domaine de la Barielle has always been a place destined to be shared with others. Twelve years later, we have opened our doors and we invite you to discover the same magic that enticed us to build our lives in beautiful Provence.
Agricultural Heritage
The long, rich agricultural history of the estate dates back to the late 18th century when the outbuildings housed a silk mill and the land was planted with mulberry trees, a vineyard, and expansive fields of wheat. The silk produced at the estate was dyed in Avignon at the Rue des Teinturiers, a cobblestoned, canal lined street with immense water wheels still visible today. Silk production eventually gave way to vibrant orchards of apples, pears, apricots, and nectarines until the fields, eventually, went untended for a decade.
We are proud to have restored the land to its former glory and to preserve the estate’s noble agricultural heritage, prioritizing biodiversity and organic crops.
Organic Olive Oil
Our certified organic, extra virgin olive oil, issued from olives grown on the estate beneath the provençal sun, harvested by hand, and locally pressed, exemplifies the true art de vivre provençal with every drop: slow and intentional, sumptuous and seasonal, generous and harmonious.
We consciously favor small scale production, harvesting our olives manually to preserve the integrity of the fruit, and take great care from pruning to press in order to craft an exquisite olive oil from Provence.
A cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet, our small batch antioxidant rich olive oil, available for sale at the estate or by contacting us directly.