MERLIN

Beaujolais: the Moulin à Vent, tasted in barrel, is dense and meaty and brings out the fruit of the Gamay. In the mouth, suppleness is the dominant impression. The acidity that was conspicuously present at an earlier stage of maturation has fallen off noticeably thanks to malolactic fermentation.

Mâconnais: the Pinot Noir needed very strict sorting both at the moment of picking and again at the vatting-house to eliminate damaged fruit, yielding irreproachably healthy fruit. Result: clean, well-defined, attractively-coloured wines. Acidity is still high but malolactic fermentation has yet to work its magic. Olivier Merlin's choice for the best expression of the 2008 vintage would be the  "Les Cras", an appellation only used in exceptional years.

The Chardonnays - Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint-Véran, Viré-Clessé, Mâcon, Bourgogne - were picked last to allow them to get the full benefit of 2008's autumn sun. The secateurs were busy until October 7th. As of today, the wines exhale notes of pear and white peach. With maturity have come wines that are mouth-filling, ripe, and with good length.

"I'm very optimistic," says Olivier Merlin, "as to the quality of our 2008, both reds and whites, given that they come from a year of capricious weather conditions. Flowering was spread over three weeks with some millerendage as a result, the flowers producing only dwarfed fruit. Summer saw a succession of wet spells - there wasn't a week without some rain. There was heavy pressure from mildew and ripening was late. The timing of the harvest was critical and only finally decided on after over a hundred test-pickings. But sunshine in September and November with the wind in the north made it possible for the grapes to gain in concentration and achieve full ripeness." Picking started on the Merlin domaine on 23rd September.

The combined effect of these conditions, plus rigorous triage to eliminate less-than-perfect grapes, meant that yields were low: 40hl/ha for the Beaujolais, 30-35hl/ha for the Pinot Noir, and under 50hl/ha for the Chardonnay.

retour