October 18, 2004

Merlot

Pronounced [mur-LO]

From the International Wine of the Month Club

Merlot is the red-wine success of the 1990s: its popularity has soared along with its acreage, and it seems wine lovers can't get enough of it. It dominates Bordeaux, except for the Medoc and Graves. Although it is mainly used as a supporting player in the Bordeaux blend, it can stand alone. In St. Emilion and Pomerol, especially, it produces noteworthy wines, culminating in Chateau Petrus - Bordeaux's most expensive wine. In Italy it's everywhere, though most of the Merlot there is light, unremarkable stuff. However, there are strong exceptions to that rule. Despite its popularity, its quality ranges only from good to very good most of the time, though there are a few stellar producers found around the world. Several styles of Merlot have emerged in California. One is a Cabernet-style Merlot, which includes a high percentage (up to 25 percent) of Cabernet blended into the Merlot. A second style is less reliant on Cabernet, so it yields a softer, suppler, medium-weight, less tannic wine that features more herb, cherry and chocolate flavors. A third style is a very light and simple wine; this type's sales are fueling Merlot's overall growth.

From WikiPedia

Merlot is a variety of wine grape used to create a popular red wine. Merlot-based wines usually have medium body with hints of berry, plum, and currant. Most connoisseurs consider it "easy to drink" when compared to other red wines, particularly its traditional blending partner Cabernet Sauvignon. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot an ideal grape to blend with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet. Many Merlots are made in a style popular with newer red wine drinkers (though to be clear, good Merlots accompanying appropriate food are popular with many regular wine drinkers as well). It is produced primarily in France and California, and on a lesser scale in Australia, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, Slovenia, and other parts of the United States. (Merlot from the state of Washington has been gaining recognition, and a small quantity of high-quality wine from this grape is also now being produced on the eastern end of Long Island, New York.) Most wines from Bordeaux contain at least some Merlot, and in the regions of Pomerol and Saint-Emilion it is not unusual for Merlot to comprise the majority of the blend. One of the most famous and rare wines in the world, Château Pétrus is almost all Merlot. White Merlot is made the same way as its more famous cousin, White Zinfandel. The grapes are crushed, and after very brief or even no skin contact, the resulting pink "must" ferments. Some producers of White Merlot include Sutter Home, Forest Glen, and Beringer. It normally has a hint of raspberry flavor. White Merlot was reputedly first marketed in the late 1990s.

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