Types of Merlot Wine
Whether or not you agree with the stinging vitriol directed at the Merlot grape in the 2004 film "Sideways," there's no denying the varietal's popularity. Light on tannins and distinctly fruit-forward, the wine that the Merlot grape produces is drinkable and easy-to-pair. As a varietal, it doesn't have a range of subtypes. Does this Spark an idea?
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History
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Merlot's roots are traceable to first-century France. At that point, the varietal diverged from another grape, Cabernet franc. It took many years for Merlot to reach its modern positioning as a venerable Bordeaux varietal (until the 1800's, to be more precise). Over the course of years, Merlot has been developed under many names: Petit Merle, Vitraille, Crabutet Noir and Bigney. Interestingly, there has been a flurry of controversy in Chile involving yards of Carmenère being mislabeled as Merlot.
Geography
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Merlot adapts more readily to cooler climates and drier terrain than its sister grape, Cabernet Sauvignon, but generally prefers a warmer growing environment. It's the most commonly planted grape in France's Bordeaux region. Other top world producers of the grape include South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as South American appellations in Chile and Argentina. American producers (outside of Napa and Sonoma, of course) include Washington State, Virginia and New York State's Long Island.
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Features
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Merlot shows many of the same aromatic and gustatory qualities as Cabernet Sauvignon, its "sister grape." Both demonstrate flavors of (depending on the vintage) ripe black cherry, currant, cedarwood, green olive, mint, leather, tobacco and black tea. It's softer, however, and a bit more fruit-forward. Before about 20 years ago, this synergy meant that Merlot was almost always used in cab-sauv blends, never on its own. Now, it's commonly found as a stand-alone varietal, beloved for its supple drinkability.
Benefits
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Merlot is a thin-skinned grape, which means that it tends to ripen about two weeks earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. Because of this slightly early ripening, Merlot is sometimes referred to as an "insurance varietal" in the wine industry: the winemaker has the option to fall back on the earlier-ripening crop if the later ripeners are damaged by an infestation or by weather. Of course, this safety net is precluded if the thin-skinned Merlot itself is compromised by spring frost or one of the other issues that tends to prey on the more tender fruits, such as shatter (potential fruit dropping from the vine during flowering) and fungus.
Fun Fact
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Merlot is, by and large, a relatively inexpensive wine, a fact that has greatly contributed to its popularity. Of course, there's always an exception to every rule-- and Merlot is a doozy. A 1990 bottling of Merlot from the world's most famous producer of the varietal, France's Chateau Petrus, costs a whopping $1,700.00 USD for one 750 ml bottle.
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