Merlot

Merlot is a relatively recent grape assumed to be native to Bordeaux.  It can only be conclusively traced as far back as 1784, to the right bank of the Gironde, and by the mid-1800s had made its way across the river to the right bank.  It now accounts for over half of Bordeaux’s vineyards, which represent the world’s most extensive plantings.  The name is derived from “merle,” French for “blackbird,” either for the color of the fruit or because the blackbird is the first to eat the ripe grapes.

Research done by plant geneticist Carole Meredith at the University of California at Davis has suggested, though not conclusively at this writing, that Merlot may be a mutation of Cabernet Franc, though it also strongly resembles Carmenère.  It tolerates damp, cool, dense, clay soils but also thrives in well-drained gravel.  The vine is potentially highly prolific and buds early, leaving it vulnerable to both spring frost and coulure, or the failure of the flowers to develop into berries.

Merlot also ripens early even in moderately cool climates, which benefit the development of color and phenols in the fruit and protect its fairly low acidity, which in hot climates can evaporate easily.  The bunches are loosely knit with large, blue-violet berries high in color and sugar, not very tannic and thin-skinned, inviting the danger of rot in humid conditions. Deft cultivation is essential to a characterful wine.

In Bordeaux, Merlot has traditionally been blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, playing the role of rounding Cabernet's tannic austerity.  Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the blends of the Médoc and Graves, where the soils are warm and gravelly, while Merlot prevails in Pomerol and St.-Emilion, where clay and limestone are the dominant soil types.

Outside of France, Merlot usually stands on its own, with various results; if overcropped, it produces pale, thin, weedy, vegetal wines, but treated with care it can yield anything from plump, succulent wines to be drunk young to opulently massive, dense blockbusters.

Typified by silky, luscious blackberry and currant fruit with notes of spice, earth, tobacco and chocolate, its velvety tannins make even wines designed for aging approachable when young.  Merlot takes well to oak aging of up to two years in new oak for wines expected to age over the mid- to long-term, while wines intended to be consumed young may spend up to a year in casks of two to three years' use.  Also planted in Italy, California, Bulgaria, Chile, Argentina, Romania, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Washington and New York states.