Each year Hélène Thibon sends her clients a newsletter recounting the theme of the past vintage and a roundup of exciting news at her domaine. “It’s a vintage from my childhood”, starts Thibon, referring to the classical leanings of 2021 before almost raining on her own parade with tales of frost, hail and torrential downpours. Fortunately, Thibon’s story has a happy ending, signing off; “We have no reason to lament because the vats are full of very pretty wines!” As Thibon alludes to, 2021 saw a dramatic departure from the high-octane, solar-fuelled vintages that have marked the Southern Rhône over the last decade. Not that Mas de Libian’s vocation has ever been for anything other than brightness, elegance and purity. Yet, at this address, 2021 is far from a skinny or underdone vintage. Instead, Thibon’s wines translate in the glass as joyously fragrant and medium-bodied; their bright and silky palates underpinned by crunchy tension. From the vivaciously fruited Bout d’Zan to the chewier and denser La Calade (from Mourvèdre situated at its northern limit), each wine acts as a vehicle for this estate’s earth-to-glass philosophy and exceptional vineyard sites. To paraphrase the great Claudia Roden, these are wines that resonate like a landscape in a bottle. Factor in the pricing, and once again we are reminded of how blessed we are to work with a fabulous domaine that really ‘gets it’. For full information on Mas de Libian and to see the full range, click here.