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Merlot is a red grape variety with strong historic ties to Bordeaux and the south-west of France. It is the predominant variety in most wines from Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, an area which is often seen as the home of Merlot. The variety is now widely planted in wine regions across the world, and in terms of the volumes of wine produced internationally, it is rivaled only by another Bordeaux companion, Cabernet Sauvignon.
In France Merlot is the most widely planted red wine variety of all, and it is also extremely popular in northern Italy and the warmer areas of southern Switzerland. The popularity of Merlot in the United States saw a significant increase in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, particularly in California and Washington on the country’s west coast. Although Merlot-based wines were the height of fashion then, popularity has since dropped significantly in favor of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir. Further south in the Americas is Chile, a country which has long been known as a source of good value wine - a reputation built in no small part on its Merlot-based cuvees. The country has made good use of Merlot in both the high-production wines and some of its finer wines, particularly those from Apalta and the wider Colchagua Valley.
Investigations into the genetics of Merlot, to establish its place in the vitis vinifera family tree suggest that it is closely related to Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, its Bordeaux blending partners. Carmenere, an historic member of the extended ‘Bordeaux variety is also a close relative of Merlot, for which it was mistaken for many years in the vineyards of Chile.
The precise flavors which Merlot imparts to a wine are not easily grouped. It is a grape used for producing wines of a particular texture, rather than a particular taste, relying on organoleptic properties other than just flavor and aroma. Smooth, rounded and ‘easy-drinking’ are common descriptions of Merlot wines. The main reason for this is that Merlot grapes are relatively large in relation to their pips and skin thickness, where the tannins are to be found. For this reason, the variety is used to soften wines made from more tannic varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon (in the Medoc) or Malbec (in Cahors). It is also used in cooler vintages to balance the austerity of under-ripe grapes and to make the wines more approachable at an earlier age.
Merlot might be seen as the ‘reliable’ grape variety, or as an insurance policy. Not only will it soften wines and make them more widely appealing, but it is also an early-maturing variety meaning that it ripens even in slightly cooler climates. Its key drawback however, is that the early-developing flowers are more susceptible to frost damage in spring.
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