Midalidare’s grape varieties: Merlot - The variety and the terroirs

Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. It is the second-most planted grape in the entire world (Cabernet Sauvignon is number one). Merlot is the most planted variety in Bordeaux.

The earliest recorded mention of Merlot (under the synonym of Merlau) was in the notes of a local Bordeaux official who in 1784 labeled wine made from the grape in the Libournais region as one of the area's best. In 1824, the word Merlot itself appeared in an article on Medoc wine where it was described that the grape was named after the local black bird (called merlau in the local variant of Occitan language, merle in standard) who liked eating the ripe grapes on the vine.

In the late 1990s, researchers at University of California, Davis showed that Merlot is an offspring of Cabernet Franc and is a half-sibling of Carmenere, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. The identity of the second parent of Merlot wouldn't be discovered till the late 2000s when an obscure and unnamed variety, first sampled in 1996 from vines growing in an abandoned vineyard in Saint-Suliac in Brittany, was shown by DNA analysis to be the mother of Merlot.

This grape, later discovered in front of houses as a decorative vine in the villages in the Poitou-Charentes was colloquially known as Madeleina or Raisin de La Madeleine due to its propensity to be fully ripe and ready for harvest around the July 22nd feast day of Mary Magdalene. As the connection to Merlot became known, the grape was formally registered under the name Magdeleine Noire des Charentes. 

Grape breeders have used Merlot crossed with other grapes to create several new varieties including Carmine (an Olmo grape made by crossing a Carignan x Cabernet Sauvignon cross with Merlot), Ederena (with Abouriou), Evmolpia (with Mavrud), Fertilia (with Raboso Veronese), Mamaia (a Romanian wine grape made by crossing a Muscat Ottonel x Babeasca Negra cross with Merlot), Nigra (with Barbera), and Rebo (with Teroldego).

Over the years, Merlot has spawned a color mutation that is used commercially, a pink-skinned variety known as Merlot Gris. However, the variety known as Merlot Blanc is not a color mutation but rather an offspring variety of Merlot crossing with Folle Blanche.

Merlot is planted in nearly every wine-producing country in the world. In addition to such key players as France and the U.S., Merlot is found in Italy, Spain, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Switzerland, Bulgaria, and even China.

As the popularity of Bordeaux wine spread across the globe, so too did Merlot. When the grape arrived in California in the mid-nineteenth century, instead of being blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, American winemakers began making wines using 100% Merlot. The grape grew easily, and they discovered Americans really loved the softness of the fruit on its own, and that they enjoyed its low tannin levels.

Great Merlot starts in Bordeaux. Some of the best examples come from The Right Bank, specifically appellations of St. Emilion, Pomerol, and Fronsac, where it is the dominant grape. 

Bordeaux: Merlot was first discovered on the Right Bank of Bordeaux in 1784 and remains the most widely planted grape in the area. In contrast to its Left Bank counterpart Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot is thought to be fleshier, juicier, and more approachable at a younger age. While much of the region’s Merlot goes into value-driven and blended wines, some of the region’s most famous bottles, such as those of Château Pétrus, are Merlot-based and can develop for decades.

Merlot that’s planted in clay, as it is in many pockets of the famed Pomerol, tends to be broader and most robust, often verging on opulence. Merlot that is planted on limestone, as in St-Émilion, has more freshness and minerality. Merlot-based Bordeaux wines have much more prominent earth and minerality than those from any other region and can range from unoaked to swathed in concentrated amounts of new French oak.

Tuscany: Although Italy has hundreds of local grape varieties, international varieties play a big role in many of the country’s regions. Merlot is the fifth-most planted grape in Italy, and much of it is used in the Bolgheri DOC or Toscana IGT blends of Tuscany, more commonly known as Super Tuscans. These famed and often expensive wines can feature Merlot as a varietal wine or blended with other Bordeaux varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, local varieties like Sangiovese, or both. The warm Tuscan sun often plumps Merlot’s fruit and softens any harsh tannins, but bottles can range from big, oaky, and New World-styled to restrained, earthy, and long-developing.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia: Surprisingly, considering the fact that Italy’s northeastern Friuli-Venezia Giulia region has become well-known for indigenous white grape varieties, Merlot is the area’s most planted red grape. It is either blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc for Collio Rosso or produced as a single varietal wine. Some cult producers such as Miani produce extremely coveted, expensive cool-climate versions with nuances of anise, spice, stone, and more.

California: Merlot is currently the second-most popular red grape variety of California and is as wide-ranging as the state’s many regions and producers. It can range from cheap, sweet, grocery-store plonk to high-end, nuanced, ageable cuvées. Classic warm-climate regions include Napa Valley and Paso Robles, where wines are typically round and smooth, with lush and jammy fruit character, along with sweet spice and vanilla flavors from new oak. The best, such as Duckhorn, Darioush, and St. Supéry, are both elegant and concentrated at the same time. Some areas of California, such as Sonoma’s Bennett Valley, make a cooler-climate style of Merlot, with less fruit and richness.

Washington: During California’s Merlot boom, Washington winemakers were also enthralled with the grape, but unlike the former, Washington didn’t turn away from its signature variety in the mid-aughts. As Pinot Noir does in Oregon, Merlot from Washington combines the best of Old World and New World attributes, combining rich, lush cherry and berry fruit and body with crisp acidity and a tannic bite. The Columbia Valley is producing the largest quantities of Merlot, but the Walla Walla Valley, Horse Heaven Hills, and Red Mountain are producing particularly excellent versions.

Chile: Chile’s red wines have largely been based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère, but Merlot is gaining prominence. While some “Merlot” vines were actually incorrectly identified Carménère vines through the mid-1990s, many producers imported true cuttings after this was discovered, increasing the grape’s production. High-end, top-quality examples are being produced in the Colchagua Valley’s Apalta region, often similar to bold, richly-fruited, oaked versions from California.

Australia: Plantings of Merlot in Australia didn’t even register until the late 1980s, but the grape’s vineyard acreage has grown immensely over the last 30 years. The country’s vintners are still learning, however, which sites work best for the grape, and Australian Merlot still gets a bad reputation from areas in which Merlot doesn’t thrive. In the coming years, look for Merlot from Coonawarra, Margaret River, McLaren Vale, and the Barossa Valley.

Bulgaria: In Bulgaria, Merlot is widespread in all wine regions. The aroma of young wines is dominated by ripe cherry and plum shades. In some regions, there are detected also flowery nuances. They develop very well in contact with oak wood. Mature wines are characterized by a complex aroma with nuances of oak, candied fruits and smoke. Very typical for the aged Merlot wines is the flavour nuance of truffles.

In Mogilovo Merlot is of French origin and is planted on the Eastern parts of the Karaliets vineyard. Karaliets soils are alluvial, average to low sandy, with a high content of clay. The planting material is provided in accordance with the clayey soil profile, and the vines are on resistant rootstocks with a deep root system. Midalidare’s Merlot is extremely fruity and spicy, with the typical for the variety aromas of black cherries, blackberries, gooseberries and ripe plums. It comes from partly oaked (42/25 Merlot) through fully aged (Nota Bene) to barrel fermented and aged wines (Grande Cuvee).