MERLIN

We are confidently optimistic as to the quality of the 2007 vintage, both reds and whites. The whites will be attractive and well-built; the reds will have fruit, lusciousness, and a clean, well-defined nose.

After a summer of chancy weather (rain, cold), picking began on September 1st and was complete by the 22nd. An unprecedentedly long stretch of magnificent weather in September - as sunny as one could wish - meant the best possible balance between maturity and acidity in each plot and for each grape variety, in both the Mâconnais and Beaujolais districts.  At the vatting house, strict triage was the order of the day, with an eight-strong team to eliminate all sub-standard grapes. 20% of the Pinot crop was rejected.

Red wines

Intense colour with purplish highlights, expressive palate with well-marked fruit, aromatically pure and well-defined - these are the characteristics of the wines as they are at present, both Pinot Noir and Gamay. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation have run their course. Following malolactic fermentation, acidity fell off, yielding wines with a round, meaty profile.

In early December we carried out a first racking on two cuvées of Moulin à Vent, a Beaujolais cru, to preserve its fruit and freshness. A great many cuvées had finished their alcoholic fermentation and the remainder were continuing a leisurely fermentation. No malolactic fermentations were yet under way. The 2007 vintage is delivering classic white wines, well-structured and "close to the wines of the eighties and early nineties" in the words of Olivier Merlin.

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