Mas Jullien

Mas Jullien

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Mas Jullien is the absolute benchmark for red wines from the Terrasses du Larzac and the founding estate of quality Languedoc wine. Founded in 1985 by Olivier Jullien in Jonquières in the Hérault, farmed biodynamically across eighteen hectares of varied terroirs — limestone, schist, sandstone and marl — its age-worthy wines from the Languedoc are distributed by allocation worldwide. Its cuvées Carlan, La Brune and the white Blanc de Raisins Blancs are among the most sought-after rare wines of Languedoc-Roussillon by enthusiasts of the Languedoc. Alongside Grange des Pères and Mas Cal Demoura, Mas Jullien embodies the excellence of the great biodynamic wines of the Languedoc.
Among the most sought-after vintages: 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

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Mas Jullien: 1985, the founding act of the great wines of the Languedoc

To understand what Mas Jullien represents in the history of the Languedoc, one must go back to 1985. The region was then synonymous with mass production: astronomical yields, grapes sent to the cooperative, an international reputation close to zero. Almost no one believed that the terroirs of the Hérault could produce red wines from the Languedoc capable of rivalling the great French appellations.

It is in this context that Olivier Jullien, from a winemaking family in Jonquières, decided at the age of nineteen to buy a ruined mas and three hectares of abandoned vines on the foothills of the Larzac plateau. He produced his first vintage while continuing his oenology studies — alone, with no money, against the general consensus. Within a few years, the quality of his wines from the Terrasses du Larzac began to circulate among the finest sommeliers and critics in France. The Languedoc entered for the first time into the conversation of the world's great wines.

Forty years on, Mas Jullien has not changed address, nor philosophy. Olivier Jullien is still in Jonquières, still driven by the same conviction: that the Terrasses du Larzac are capable of producing age-worthy wines from the Languedoc that need not envy the greatest French references. Total production does not exceed 50,000 bottles per year — distributed by allocation to an international waiting list.

Jonquières and the Terrasses du Larzac: the terroir of the biodynamic wines of the Languedoc

The Mas Jullien vineyard covers eighteen hectares around Jonquières at altitudes ranging from 150 to over 400 metres. What sets it apart is the extraordinary diversity of its soils: limestone scree on the upper terraces, schist and ferruginous sandstone on the slopes, deep marl on certain lower plots. Each soil type produces a different red wine from the Languedoc — a mosaic that Olivier Jullien has spent decades mapping and expressing in his cuvées.

The microclimate of the Terrasses du Larzac plays a decisive role. The altitude slows ripening, nights remain cool even in the height of summer, and north-westerly winds preserve the natural acidity of the grapes. It is this structural freshness — rare in a southern vineyard — that explains the signature of the great wines of Mas Jullien: fine, tightly woven tannins, a long and vertical palate, a chalky minerality on the finish that is more reminiscent of great Burgundies or Northern Rhône wines than the generous reds of the Midi.

Biodynamics without certification: the philosophy of the wines of Mas Jullien

Olivier Jullien's relationship with certification says a great deal about his personality. Mas Jullien was previously certified in organic farming, then chose to stop displaying this — not out of any abandonment of principles, but to escape what he perceives as a constraining dogma. His practices remain entirely organic and biodynamic: no herbicides, no synthetic products, soil work by hand or by horse, homemade biodynamic preparations, manual harvesting plot by plot. A choice that distinguishes this biodynamic estate of the Languedoc from those who use certification as a marketing argument.

In the cellar, the same philosophy of minimal intervention: fermentation on indigenous yeasts, slow macerations, ageing in old large casks and demi-muids, without fining or filtration. Olivier Jullien continually explores new plots and new grape varieties — Chenin in his whites, an improbable Loire variety in the Terrasses du Larzac, being the most striking example. A freedom that produces some of the most singular and sought-after biodynamic wines of the Languedoc in the entire region.

The great references of the Languedoc

The influence of Mas Jullien on contemporary Languedoc is difficult to overstate. By demonstrating as early as the 1990s that a rigorous winemaker could produce in the Terrasses du Larzac age-worthy wines from the Languedoc capable of standing up to the greatest French crus, Olivier Jullien opened a breach into which an entire generation has poured. Mas Cal Demoura — founded on the lands of Jonquières by Olivier's father, Jean-Pierre Jullien — is the direct family continuation.

Domaine Alain Chabanon, Domaine de Montcalmès and Grange des Pères share this same intellectual lineage: the conviction that the Languedoc deserves better than its historical reputation. For the collector of rare wines from Languedoc-Roussillon, the cuvées of Mas Jullien are among the most reliable in terms of ageing potential. Often closed in their youth, they open up after five to eight years to reveal an aromatic complexity of rare finesse: dried black fruits, liquorice, thyme, garrigue, damp chalk. The 2015 and 2018 vintages are now at their peak. The 2019, 2021 and 2022 vintages still deserve a few more years of patience.

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