Dr. David Muhleman

The-Wine-Educator    WINE & SPIRITS EDUCATION AND CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE CONSUMER AND THE PROFESSIONAL

Merlot

Vine plantings at Château Quinault L’Enclos are nearly three-quarters Merlot, the balance in Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. (The blend of grape varieties in each vintage varies, mostly as a function of weather, but by all accounts 2005 was a picture-perfect Merlot harvest.)

Though we call Cabernet Sauvignon the red grape of Bordeaux, Merlot is more widely planted there (56% overall). The Médoc is home to a quarter of all Bordeaux Merlot; most of the rest is in St-Emilion and Pomerol (and the outlying Côtes), where it shines, sometimes all by itself.

That is because Merlot prefers cool soils (versus warm, well-drained soils such as those of the Médoc), something guaranteed it by the clay-heavy, moisture-retaining soils of the Right Bank. Most of Bordeaux’s new garagistes are located in both St-Emilion and Pomerol and have invested heavily in Merlot in order to make their low yield, ultra-ripe, high-extract reds.

People love Merlot because it is just so hedonistically appealing – plush, round, low in tannin, loaded with juicy tastes of black cherry, chocolate, ripe plums and licorice (or, if from Bordeaux, even an acceptable turn on the flavors of fruitcake). Merlot is the “wine without tears” while, contrariwise, it often seems that Cabernet Sauvignon – austere, high-toned, tannic – is truly a wine to cry over. Perhaps that is why Merlot is never far from Cabernet in the same bottle.

The world over, it is the constant handmaiden to Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with Cabernet precisely for its softer, smoother, fleshier character. (For its part, Cabernet Sauvignon gives Merlot structure and grip.) These two are Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle. In many respects, they need each other.

Food

Because of how it feels in the mouth, and its fruitiness, Merlot tastes delicious with subtle curries and other Indian cooking, game meats, duck and grainy terrines (rabbit, pork, fowl, perhaps mushroom). It goes well, also, with meaty casseroles and stews, braised meats and other foods that are layered in flavors that are dark, deep and brooding. Its affinity with cheeses is to the family of sheep’s milk cheeses, coated rind sorts such as Camembert and Brie, and to some of the firmer grainier cheeses such as Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano.