Flight of Fancy: A Merlot Tasting

All of the classic grape varieties are haunted by cheap versions that can put a drinker off for years, but none has been dragged down quite like Merlot. It's seen as the wine drunk by those who don't really like wine that much - lots of juicy, jammy fruits and not much else - yet Merlot is a vital component in some of the world's greatest wines and without it the world of wine would be a much poorer place.

fa-fa-fa-fashion

More than any other black grape, the popularity of Merlot has been subject to the whims of fashion, particularly in the States. In 1991, a television documentary called French Paradox was aired in response to neo-Prohibitionist health lobby groups which equated all forms of alcohol with all forms of drugs. The documentary discussed the claim that wine, particularly red, was a staple part of a meal and good for the heart. This helped transform Americans' drinking habits, turning them from white wine and sweet rosés, and Merlot suddenly became the wine to drink. 

Unfortunately, this resulted in a lot of cheap, commercial Merlot flooding the market. By the time of Sideways (2004), it was all too easy to joke about, and dismiss, Merlot. Despite the supposed Sideways effect, though, Merlot is still the third most popular varietal wine in the US after Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The real joke of Sideways is that any wine connossieur knows that Merlot is one of the great grapes and only an unthinking wine snob would automatically place Pinot Noir above Merlot. It's just that there's a lot more cheap Merlot around than there is Pinot.

where it's grown

The heartland of Merlot is Bordeaux, where it is the most planted grape. On the Left Bank, where Cabernet Sauvignon is the most important grape, Merlot is needed to soften the heavy tannins of Cabernet and to give the wines some fruity structure. On the Right Bank, it often stands on its own, or with small doses of Cabernet Franc, in famous appellations such as St-Emilion and Pomerol, producing wines that don't need as long to mature as their Left Bank counterparts and are full of ripe red fruits. The wines of Pomerol are particularly fashionable - and expensive - these days because the expressive, complex wines drink young yet age well.

In Italy, cheap and cheerful single-varietal Merlots are produced in Veneto and it can form part of expensive Bordeaux-style Super Tuscans. The unheralded Lazio region around Rome is also capable of producing high-quality Merlot. At their best, Italian Merlots are powerful oaky Bordeaux-style wines with Merlot on its own, with other Bordeaux grapes, or with Sangiovese.

Washington State is the best area in the US for Merlot. In 1991, having decided there was no point in competing with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, the Washington Wine Commission decided that Merlot would be "the Washington grape" - coincidentally just a few months before the French Paradox documentary was aired. The Washington wine industry boomed as a result, though with too many cheap, easy Merlots. Some great single-varietal Merlots were and are still produced, though as elsewhere I still think it's at its best as part of a blend with the Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc - and Washington produces some exceptional Bordeaux-style wines.

Chile produces wine from just about every major grape, but Merlot has been the most important in leading its boom in the last twenty years. However, a lot of the wine sold as Merlot has actually been another historic Bordeaux grape, Carmènere, or a mixture of the two. New Zealand has made its reputation on Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, but there are now many exciting wines coming out of the country from other grapes. Merlot is at its best to the north, particularly in and around Hawke's Bay.

what it tastes like

Merlot is a difficult grape to pin down. Its popularity, particularly in the US, is down to its"smoothness": that is, fruity and juicy and not really tasting of anything interesting, but at least it's good for your heart. More expensive and complex wines will have all sorts of flavours: strawberries, raspberries, plums, blackcurrants, and figs; cinnamon, cloves, and liquorice; game and chocolate. It all depends on where it's produced - a moderate climate like Bordeaux or a warm climate like Washington - and the aims of the producer - how much oak? single-varietal or blend? straightforward and juicy or complex and ageworthy?

 

what we tasted

My diploma starts officially on Monday, so I thought I would get in the mood with a flight of Merlot based wines. Although I knew what the wines were, they were presented to me blind, meaning I had to make an educated guess as to which wine was which.

Château Certan Marzelle Pomerol 2004 (Wine Society, £30)
There were three tell-tale signs that this was old school and not New World: the paler colour (medium ruby), the slightly lower alcohol (13.5%), and the high acidity. The garnet rim also suggested there was some age to it. Despite being nine years old, though, the fruits - plums, cherries, strawberries, and blackcurrants - were still fresh, ripe, and full of flavour. The grainy tannins, high acidity, and toasty oak all balanced perfectly. The spicy finish was long and lasting.
Verdict: outstanding. This wine is 100% Merlot - definitive proof that great wine can be made from Merlot on its own.

De Toren Z Stellenbosch 2010 (hangingditch, £30)
A really powerful wine and very different from the previous one. This time the proportion of Merlot was 55%, made up with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and a little bit of Petit Verdot. The oak was smoky rather than toasty, with lots of black fruits. There was also a minty herbaceousness to it, which I guessed came from the Cabernet Sauvignon but may actually have been the Merlot. Both this wine and the Pomerol could have done with decanting, as they both really improved as the night and following days wore on.
Verdict: very good. The alcohol was perhaps too high at 15% and the acidity not quite high enough, but this is an impressively expressive wine that will age for another five years at least.

J Lohr Merlot Paso Robles 2011 (hangingditch, £18.50)
The Pomerol was 100% Merlot, but given its subtle complexity you perhaps wouldn't have guessed it; with this wine, though, it was clear from the start. Lots of flavours, but all of them quite shallow: oak, cherries and plums, and cloves. There was also a greenness to it that at first reminded me of peas, but I eventually realised was underripe fruits.
Verdict: good. Simple flavours but lots of them; tannins lacking; not especially complex.

overall verdict

An outstanding wine, a very good wine, and a good wine: not a bad score for poor old Merlot. The tasting demonstrated how, rather than being a uniformly fruity, jammy wine, Merlot is capable of very different expressions in different areas, according to the winemaker, the climate, and the blend. I still think you need to choose a wine made from Merlot carefully, but if you do so, you will be surprisingly pleased by the complexity which you find in the bottle.