Frederic Dumoulin, Valais (Switzerland) Merlot 2016

 This delicious wine won’t accord with everyone’s sense of Merlot, but that is a good thing, in my view, as it will stretch your understanding of what this potentially great variety can show from a new place with distinctive growing conditions.  Although the finished wine is undoubtedly fully ripe (there’s not the slightest hint of green-ness), the brightness of the fruit shows the influence of a relatively cool climate.  The fruit flavors are very intense, with red berries and fresh plums coming first to mind, and there’s almost no impression of wood or even of savory undertones–this is all about fresh fruit that just bursts out of the glass and across the palate.  The flavors have lots of linear energy, and will likely pick up more depth and nuance with time, but it will be hard to resist this with grilled light meats on a warm summer evening.