Merlot: Back to Winemaking – Back to Grapes – Back to Countries
Top thirteen grapes:
Reds – Cabernet Franc – Cabernet Sauvignon – Malbec – Merlot –
Whites – Chardonnay – Gewürztraminer – Muscat –
Pinot blanc – Pinot gris – Riesling – Sauvignon blanc
Next twenty-five grapes:
Reds – Barbera – Carignan – Gamay – Grenache – Mourvèdre – Petit Verdot –
Sangiovese – Tannat – Tempranillo – Touriga Nacional – Zweigelt
Whites – Albariño – Aligoté – Arinto – Chenin blanc – Malvasia –
Müller-Thurgau – Muscat-Ottonel – Sémillon – Tămâioasă Românească –
Traminer – Ugni-blanc – Viognier – Welschriesling
– and Cava
| It originated in the Bordeaux area and was mentioned as early as 1783. It is one of the primary grapes used in Bordeaux wine – alongside Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Its name is said to have derived from merle (merlau, merlou), the French name for the blackbird, a reference to the grape’s colour and a bird that likes to eat the grapes on the vines. Two types exist: – the traditional Bordeaux style from a cooler climate. It maintains the acidity of the wine and has flavours of red fruits, they also practise early harvesting; – the New World version has warmer climates with later harvesting, so that it is full-bodied with higher alcohol, a smoother tannin, and flavours of blackberry and plum. In SW France, at Bordeaux, Bergerac and Cahors, it is frequently blended with Malbec.  In February 1956, a heavy frost hit France, destroying many Merlot and Malbec vines. Attempts to replant them in the following years were halted by disease and law. In 1970 the French government saw a developing EU ‘wine lake’, and banned all new plantings of Merlot vines. This lasted until 1975, thereafter the vine was permitted once more. DNA research at University of California, Davis, established that it is the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Magdeleine, and that it is a half-sibling to Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère. Prominent Merlot wines include: France: Pomerol and Saint-Émilion, USA: Columbia Valley and Napa Valley; Australia’s Margaret River; New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay |
 Image: www.vintageroots.co.uk Taste/smell: Fruity and smooth to full-bodied and sophisticated, often mistaken for its blending partner, Cabernet Sauvignon. Often described as having thinner skins reduces tannin during wine-making. Seeds contain harsher tannins, fewer of them also helps to reduce tannin. Less tannin means better taste on the palate. It is said to have aromas of fruits like blackberry, black cherry, cassis, plum and raspberry, plus chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, green peppers, liquorice, truffle, vanilla and violets.  Image source: www.totalwine.com Varieties/Mutations Merlot blanc is a variety through crossing it with Folle blanche. Mutation created a pink-skinned variety known as Merlot gris. |  Description: Image source: www.plantgrape.fr It has loose bunches of large round blue/black grapes. These feature thinner skins and fewer seeds than Cabernet Sauvignon. This creates a medium tannin wine. Its young shoots have a high number of prostrate hairs and green internodes.  Image source: www.plantgrape.fr Young leaves are green, adult leaves are dark-green with a wedge-shaped leaf of five to seven lobes. These have low/medium numbers of hairs on their underside. |
Merlot producing countries: Image source: OIV Big Five Producers: (overall 42% of vineyards, 64% of wine production and 41% of wine consumption – OIV 2022) Spain: Andalucia, Aragon, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Extremadura, Murcia and Valencia. France: Bordeaux and Languedoc. Italy: Abruzzo, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Tuscany and Umbria. USA: California, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. Chile: Maipo Valley. | OIV 2017 for vineyards: France: was its most grown wine variety at 112,000ha (13.9% of French vineyards) Italy – 24,000ha (3.5% of Italian…) USA – 21,000ha (4.7%) Chile – 12,000ha (5.6%) Romania – 12,000ha (6.3%) Australia [4th] – 8,000ha (5.4%) South Africa [8th] – 6,000ha (4.6%)  |
| Next Ten Largest Producers: (with big five, responsible overall for 75% of vineyards, 88% of wine production, 64% of wine consumption – OIV 2022) Argentina: Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Patagonia and Salta. Australia: Queensland, South West Australia,, Victoria and West Australia. China: Hebei, Ningxia, Shandong and Shanxi. Germany: Palatinate and Rheinhessen. India: Nashik. New Zealand: Auckland, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Northland. Portugal: Açores, Bairrada, Tejo, and Trás-os-Montes. Romania: Banat, Crisana, Danube, Dobruja, Moldova and Transylvania. South Africa: Cape South Coast, Cape Winelands, Coastal Region, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Olifants River. Turkey: Aegean and Marmara. | Grape is also known as: Alicante, Bégney, Bidal, Bidalhe, Bigney, Bigney rouge, Bini, Bini Ruzh, Bioney, Bordeleze Belcha, Bordò, Crabutet, Crabutet noir, Crabutet noir merlau, Hebigney, Higney, Higney rouge, Langon, Lecchumskij,Medoc noir, Merle, Merle Petite,Merlau rouge, Merle Petite, Merleau, Merlaut, Merlaut noir,Merlô, Merlot black, Merlot blauer, Merlot crni, Merlot nero, Merlot noir, Merlott, Merlou, Odzalesi, Odzhaleshi, Odzhaleshi Legkhumskii, Petit Merle, Picard, Pikard, Plan medre, Planet Medok, Plant du Médoc, Plant Médoc, Saint-Macaire,Same de la Canan, Same dou Flaube, Seme de la Canau, Seme dou Flube, Semilhoun rouge, Semilhoum rouge, Semillon rouge, Sud des Graves, Vidal, Vini Ticinesi, Vitrai, Vitraille. |
| Others countries growing Merlot: Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay… | FACTOIDS: It is the most widely planted red wine grape in Bordeaux France, and the second most popular red grape planted worldwide. The most expensive Merlot wine in the world is Château Petrus. It is from Bordeaux’s ‘right bank’ and within the Pomerol AOC. |
Saint-Émilion – Image source: www.wine-searcher.com
Merlot: Back to Winemaking – Back to Grapes – Back to Countries
Top thirteen grapes:
Reds – Cabernet Franc – Cabernet Sauvignon – Malbec – Merlot –
Whites – Chardonnay – Gewürztraminer – Muscat –
Pinot blanc – Pinot gris – Riesling – Sauvignon blanc
Next twenty-five grapes:
Reds – Barbera – Carignan – Gamay – Grenache – Mourvèdre – Petit Verdot –
Sangiovese – Tannat – Tempranillo – Touriga Nacional – Zweigelt
Whites – Albariño – Aligoté – Arinto – Chenin blanc – Malvasia –
Müller-Thurgau – Muscat-Ottonel – Sémillon – Tămâioasă Românească –
Traminer – Ugni-blanc – Viognier – Welschriesling
– and Cava
