Mas Jullien, Carignan/Mourvèdre/Syrah "Autour de Jonquières" Terrasses du Larzac, Côteaux du Languedoc, France 2016

40% Carignan, 40% Mourvèdre, 20% Syrah

Both rugged and refined, tenacious and supple, with a harmony of elements that suggests great cellaring potential, this wine is the most serious of the Mas Jullien estate. It will undoubtedly reveal increasingly complex pleasures over the next two decades at least. For its complexity, profound terroir expression, visceral pleasure, and long age-ability, we wager that there are few greater values for serious red wine to be found in all of France than Mas Jullien.

The Mas Jullien is a young estate with a long history deeply rooted in the hillsides of Languedoc. Olivier Jullien grew up in the vineyards that his father and grandfather worked.

Built on the back of old-vines Mourvèdre planted in poor limestone soils, this cuvee contains Carignan and Syrah as well, also from very old, minuscule-yielding vines. This 2016 displays that uncanny combination of elegance and power that characterizes so many of France’s truly great wines. Although this wine is by no means tough or difficult at the moment, it will undoubtedly reveal increasingly complex pleasures over the next two decades at least—as bottle after bottle of Mas Jullien pulled from our collection over the years has so emphatically proven.

Organic and Biodynamic.