Merlot. It is one of the most popular red wine. Due to its soft textures and rich flavors it tastes very good with food. Merlot is the most widely planted red grape in France and it’s the second most planted wine grape around the world. Only Cabernet Sauvignon has more vines planted.
Beyond France Merlot is also grown in Italy and many other European countries as well as in California.
The Merlot grape is related to Cabernet France and Carmenere.
Its color is a nice dark blue, close to the blackbird “Merle” in French from whom it takes its name.
Merlot is now so popular, it has its own holiday. International Merlot Day is celebrated every November 7.
Merlot thrives best in the clay and limestone soils of Pomerol, St. Emilion and Lalande de Pomerol. In those soils, Merlot delivers a unique expression characterized by voluptuous, generosity and distinction. While most Bordeaux wines are blends, there are a few estates in Pomerol that produce a 100% Merlot wine, most notably Petrus. Merlot is the widely planted grape in Bordeaux. 62% of all Bordeaux vineyards are planted to Merlot. Merlot is the dominant grape in the Right Bank. Its unique ability to tame the strong tannins and structure found in the Cabernet Sauvignon make it the ideal blending grape.
Merlot, due to its higher sugar levels and perforce, increased percentage of alcohol is sweeter than Cabernet Sauvignon. It also ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. Due to the fact that the Merlot harvest can take place two weeks before Cabernet Sauvignon is picked, wines from Pomerol and St. Emilion can be more successful than their counterparts in rain plagued vintages.
In character, Merlot offers flavors of chocolate, plums, black cherries, black raspberries, cassis and blackberries, which depends on the levels of ripeness the fruit was allowed to achieve. It is round, fleshy and can be opulent in texture.
Merlot wine matches with a wide variety of foods because of its position in the middle of the red wine spectrum. In general Merlot pairs well with chicken and other light meats as well as lightly-spiced dark meats.
