Domaine Merlin : Mâcon La Roche Vineuse "Les Cras" 2022

TOP VALUE Tasted from barrel, this complex, delicious wine boasted ripe pear, apricot and quince aromas with a pleasant floral cast. The texture is rich and dense in keeping with the sunny vintage, but is always in balance. Grapes from 0.8ha of 60-year-old vines on a modest slope at 265m, fermented in 20% new cask and aged for 18 months to deliver this stylish wine.

The 2022 Mâcon La Roche Vineuse Les Cras was bottled a month before my visit. This is richer on the nose than the Vieilles Vignes and a touch more exotic in style. The palate is medium-bodied with a smooth, slightly honeyed texture, with lower acidity than the 2021. It has a pure, waxy-textured finish. Fine.