The 2015 Moulin A Vent la Rochelle is a little dark and broody at first but soon opens up with black cherry, black currants and blueberry. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, quite masculine and structured, with good grip on the finish that clearly needs three or four years in bottle to mellow. This is for serious Moulin A Vent lovers only (but hey, who isn't these days?)

Tasting the 2012 Moulin-à-Vent La Rochelle from Olivier Merlin one year on, it has improved on the nose, suggesting more cohesion and more fruit intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with tart red cherry fruit, red plum and slightly abrasive tannins. There is still a slight chalkiness toward the finish, although it feels more composed with an additional 12 months in bottle.

The 2011 Moulin-a-Vent La Rochelle has a more exotic bouquet compared to the Moulin-a-Vent, with spicy red berry fruit, perhaps with just a little more volatility in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a fleshy ripe opening, smooth in the mouth, with leathery red fruit. It is balanced but perhaps missing a little vivacity and charm on the finish. Drink now-2018. Readers will remember Olivier Merlin’s reviews in my Macon report last year, but Olivier also makes wines further south in Beaujolais. To be honest, I prefer Olivier’s wines from Macon to the four Beaujolais wines that I tasted, the indisputable pedigree in Macon not quite fully translated across the “border.” Importer: Le Serbet (A Becky Wasserman selection). For importers see www.leserbet.com. Available through Berry Brothers & Rudd in the UK.

Tasted from barrel in an approximation to the envisioned assemblage, Merlin’s 2009 Moulin-a-Vent La Rochelle – from vines planted in 1937 – displays complex aromas and flavors of cassis, blackberry, smoky-sweet machine oil, toasted nuts, peat, and graphite. Firm and substantial on the palate, it finishes with a fascinating interaction of fruit, mineral, and gamey carnal notes. Subsequent sulfuring and bottling may render this brighter and less low-toned. It displays a formidable streak of tannin, but I would be inclined to bet on its being worth following for a few years and perhaps even standing the test of a half dozen or more in bottle. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet (various importers); fax 011-333-80-24-29-70