Back in the game with a stellar white Burgundy

Dear Friends, 

I fell off the face of the earth for awhile – but have decided that life takes work, so I’m back to writing the wine newsletter. Actually I’ve quite missed reaching out, and so I hope you will welcome these well-researched missives.

Have spent the last several weeks in Australia, seeing my best friend get married and trekking across Tasmania – flopped around in wine country and in fun Aussi spots including young, robust Melbourne – just before the fires broke out (no, I didn’t start any) but I want to express my solidarity with those people who are unduly suffering – and will bring you some great wines from Australia in notes to come. But today I’m back in Beaune and happily back to drinking Burgundy.

Olivier Merlin Macon La Roche Vineuse 2006 :

Olivier Merlin, a humble and focused Maconnais winemaker, brings to the world wines I have loved since I started this wine trail a decade ago. I’ve talked about the great work going on in the Macon from others such as the Bret Brothers, and Merlin is right within that realm of being one of the few vignerons who aim to bring the wines of Pouilly-Fuisse and surroundings into the connoisseur level. And happily it has been working; Allen Meadows has given Merlin wines scores upwards of 92 points. For quality to price ratio, if your budget doesn’t call for Chassagne-Montrachet this month, here is your man. I find that the majority of Chardonnays at this price tend to have a lot of make up – it is easy to find a fair bit of manufactured ripe, bursty sweetness and heavyness. By contrast, this Chardonnay is completely mineral driven – almost a golden flecked color, with depth, but not manipulatively dense, earthy and vigorous – a charming hint of oak (15% is used); a most pure example of a ready to drink white Burgundy.

Olivier and his wife Corinne took over this old domain just over 20 years ago. They have since had the advantage of understanding the individual terroirs and exactly how to express each plot by way of gentle, natural winemaking. Everything is hand done, from picking and trimming to careful lees management. No herbicides or fertilizers are used. There is a light racking and gentle filtration, though never any fining. True attention to these small individual vineyards is considered the true aim here. 2006 was a complicated year in it's general heaviness, but this appellation shows freshness and focus and should be delightful to drink immediately. 

So, voila – please let me know by simply responding to this email if you are interested.

$18.50 per bottle – 3 bottle minimum. 

No sales tax for out of state shipments. Otherwise New York tax applies. Delivery and shipping not included.

Just a post note: It takes a lot of verve to build a list and get the word out when starting a business such as this – so if you have received this email, and you are not interested, please simply unsubscribe below. Or better yet, please refer some friends and build your wine collection with gorgeous wines such as this.

Slainte, 

Mary Taylor 

ThoreauWineSociety.com