Merlot

Merlot is the most planted grape in Bordeaux by a wide margin, and it is the most misunderstood fine wine grape in the world — a reputation almost entirely created by the volume of poor Merlot made everywhere else.

On the Right Bank of the Gironde, in Pomerol and Saint-Émilion, it is the dominant variety and produces some of the most expensive wine on earth. Pétrus is effectively pure Merlot. The cool, water-retentive blue clay of Pomerol suits it exactly: it buds and ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon, so it succeeds on cooler soils where Cabernet would not ripen at all.

The wine is medium to full bodied with plum, black cherry and blackberry, soft round tannins, moderate acidity and a plush, velvety texture. With age it develops truffle, leather, tobacco and dried fig. On the Left Bank it plays a supporting role, softening Cabernet Sauvignon and filling in the mid-palate.

Its weakness is its strength inverted. Merlot ripens quickly and loses acidity fast, and in warm climates at high yields it produces soft, sweet, characterless wine. An enormous amount of that was made in California and elsewhere during its boom in the 1990s, and the 2004 film Sideways, which put a memorable insult in the mouth of its protagonist, accelerated a collapse in American demand that was already coming.

It is genetically a child of Cabernet Franc and Magdeleine Noire des Charentes, making it a half-sibling of Cabernet Sauvignon.

The gap between Merlot's best and worst is wider than for almost any other major variety, and it comes down to two decisions. The first is where it is planted: on cool, water-retentive clay it retains acidity and structure, while on warm free-draining sites it ripens too fast and turns soft and sweet. The second is yield, since Merlot crops generously and dilutes readily.

It is also the most useful blending partner in the world. Merlot's soft tannin and mid-palate flesh fill exactly the gap Cabernet Sauvignon leaves, which is why the Bordeaux blend works and why it has been copied everywhere from Tuscany to Washington State.

For the drinker, the practical guidance is that good Merlot is a wine of texture rather than power. It should feel round and seamless rather than grippy, and it is generally ready to drink years before a Cabernet of the same vintage — one of the reasons it became so commercially popular in the first place.