Saint Veran La Cote Rotie•2022

Racy and finely textured, Olivier Merlin’s 2022 Saint-Véran La Côte Rôtie shows bright citrus and stone-fruit flavours layered over a distinctly chalky, mineral core, with well-judged oak sitting in the background. The balance of ripeness and acidity keeps it precise and refreshing, yet there’s enough density and glide on the palate to recall a small-scale Pouilly-Fuissé. It gains complexity with air, suggesting extra nuance will emerge over the next few years in bottle.