Magnificent Merlot

The Merlot grape travels well. And, despite quibbling in the movie Sideways, it can create a wine of exquisite beauty.

Merlot was first cultivated as a separate species in the late 1700s. It has only recently been identified as an an offspring of Cabernet Franc by the University of California, Davis. It is also related to Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere. (Until investigation by the Montpellier School of Oenology in 1994, Chilean Carmenere was thought to be Merlot.)

As a result of its bigger berries and thinner skins, wines made with Merlot tend to be more opulent and can be enjoyed sooner. Merlot tempers the tannins of Cabernet Sauvignon while introducing its own characteristics when blended. It was therefore a perfect grape to introduce into the Bordeaux blends of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and (until recently) Carmenere. In Italy, Merlot was blended with Sangiovese to produce Super Tuscan wines that command enormous interest and accordingly enormous prices. It is also grown in the Italian-speaking Swiss canton of Ticino, whose wines—though superb—are rarely, if ever, exported. Merlot has even been blended with indigenous grapes in Hungary to produce “Bulls Blood”.

Merlot is now grown in North America and Chile, where its wine is marketed under the varietal name. Californian Merlot is very potent: top producers in the Napa and Sonoma valleys create wines that are outstanding in their complexity and flavors. (They adhere to wine consultant Michel Rolland’s principle of pruning to reduce yield, while increasing the quality of the remaining fruit.) Merlot thrives in WashingtonState, where it has demonstrated the feasibility of growing red varietals in a cool climate. The unique climate of eastern Washington produces wines having the concentrated fruit notes of the New World, while at the same time maintaining Old World structure.

As our vines mature, we have had significant success with Merlot in the County. It is only a matter of months until we will be introduced to a new vintage of wonderful, local Merlot.