Located in the village of La Roche-Vineuse, a few kilometres from Mâcon in southern Burgundy, Domaine Merlin has been writing its history since 1977, when Olivier Merlin discovered and developed a passion for vine-growing and winemaking while harvesting grapes at an estate in the Mâconnais region.
After gaining a BTS in viticulture and oenology at the Lycée Viticole in Beaune, Olivier Merlin spent two years working for a cooperative in the Jura region, before taking over the winemaking of a Californian estate in Napa Valley in 1985. On 1 January 1987, Olivier Merlin and his wife Corinne took over the 4.5 hectares of the Vieux Saint-Sorlin estate, which had remained in the same family since 1750, with the intuition that this rebuilt vineyard could produce great wines.
Olivier and Corinne Merlin describe themselves as "wine craftsmen" and pay particular attention to both the vineyard (specific tillage depending on the plot, use of organic fertiliser to encourage microbial life, manual harvesting) and the vinification (long pressings of whole bunches, fermentation and ageing in oak barrels), in order to produce environmentally-friendly red and white Burgundy wines that authentically express the specific characteristics of this historic terroir.
Domaine Merlin has grown steadily over the vintages, notably in 2005 with the acquisition of 4 hectares of Domaine Arcelin in La Roche-Vineuse, the purchase of 2 hectares of Moulin-à-Vent in 2006, the construction of a new cellar in 2009 and then in 2012 the creation of the company "Châteaux des Quarts" and the acquisition of 2.5 hectares of Pouilly-Fuissé.
Produced in the Saint-Véran, Mâcon-La Roche-Vineuse, Pouilly-Fuissé and Pouilly-Vinzelles appellations, Domaine Merlin's white wines entice with their rich aromatic palette, elegance and complexity. Some of the cuvées made from the estate's oldest vines will delight wine-lovers with their balance and minerality.
At the end of 2017, Théo and Paul Merlin, their two sons, both graduates of a BTS in viti-oenology, with a passion for wine and a wealth of experience in international vineyards, joined forces with their parents to take over 8 hectares of old vines in Mâcon, Saint-Véran and Pouilly-Fuissé.
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