Mas Jullien Terrasses du Larzac Magnum 2011

Before Beaujolais clawed its way back from industrial excess and Jura burst into the spotlight, the Languedoc was the original French wine redemption story. Among its truest pioneers is Olivier Jullien, who spent decades acquiring vineyards northwest of Montpellier before focusing on the eighteen or so hectares he farms today. His Mas Jullien wines have never been more assured.

Olivier founded Mas Jullien in 1985, and successfully lobbied for a new, specific appellation: Terrasses du Larzac, a name he coined himself. The range features a mixture of southern French varieties for the reds, while the white is old-vine Carignan Blanc alongside Chenin, a Loire import that's found an unlikely second home here.

His flagship red, now known as 'Autour de Jonquières', is a plush but deeply mineral blend. At the top of the red range sit remote, brutally hard-to-farm sites, including St Privat, the highest point in the whole appellation, previously abandoned for being too difficult to work, which gives the supremely elegant 'Lous Rougeos'; and Carlan, a vertiginous vineyard enclosed by forest, which gives a silken synthesis of power and finesse. The white, from limestone terraces as high as 450m, is one of the most age-worthy in the Languedoc.

With each vintage, Olivier Jullien increases his mastery of his unique terroir.