This is the Mourvèdre-dominant cuvée of the Mas de Libian line-up, finessed by 10% Grenache—a unique wine that we believe deserves a wider audience. Granted, it is labelled as a humble Côtes du Rhône, yet it offers the depth and class usually associated with a top Gigondas, Rasteau or Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Calade is old Provençal patois for a steep, stony path, which gives you an insight into the terroir for this wine. It comes from a very low-yielding parcel of 50-year-old vines grown in galets roulés that run between 1.5 and three metres deep. Almost half of this wine is vinified in glass and porcelain jars, which Hélène believes brings more freshness than oak or steel, as well as helping to avoid reduction. The remainder sees time in in 600L Stockinger demi-muids and cement.
All class and swagger, it delivers blue-fruited freshness as well as the savoury and earthy dimensions one would expect from the dominant variety. Sourced from a single hectare of fruit and sitting at a rather unlikely 13% abv, the tannin profile certainly contrasts with the previous two wines—here they are more assertive and mouth-filling. The acid is spliced in seamlessly and the spicy, mouth-coating texture combines in an almost sorcerous way. That ever-present iodine minerality gives a wave from the background—all components in this wine are playing their parts beautifully. It has impeccable length and unbelievable purity, a triumph in its class.