This is what good wine from the Merlot grape tastes like

The world-famous Merlot produces plummy, sometimes silky wines with relatively low tannins. In the ripe aroma of Merlot, you often recognize red fruit such as strawberries, black cherries, raspberries, often plums, and sometimes blackcurrants and figs. It is softer than Cabernet Sauvignon, fuller-bodied than Pinot Noir.

Check out our wines made from Merlot grapes

Generally, Merlot is best enjoyed within four years, but the very best can be aged for decades.

Originally, Merlot is a true Bordeaux grape. It is usually blended with its "big brother," Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot makes such a wine softer and riper. In Pomerol and St. Emilion, the roles are reversed. There, Merlot is the main grape, and often only a little Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc is added. To this day, the world's best Merlots are made here, for example, by iconic wineries like Château Petrus.

Merlot owes its popularity largely to the emerging American wine drinker. With its soft, accessible flavor, it has converted many former beer drinkers into inveterate wine drinkers. Winemakers eagerly seized this opportunity. It is now planted—in ever-increasing numbers—all over the world, from France to the United States and from Moldova to Australia. In Switzerland, it produces very fine wines in the southern Ticino region. Merlot has also become the most widely planted grape variety in France. Over the past thirty years, it has been widely planted in the "new" French wine regions such as Languedoc and Provence. In Chile, Merlot is also one of the most important grapes. Chilean Merlot is often slightly more concentrated and pronounced than the more subtle European versions.

We currently have thirty wines made from the Merlot grape in our range. You can view our Merlot wines here.