Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Merlot: Bordeaux Grape Family Stepchild?



It seems like a long time since merlot was a trendy wine, but most wine lovers remember how the movie Sideways ended Merlot’s reign, and temporarily placed the more fickle – and more expensive – Pinot Noir in it’s place for a minute or two. And although Malbec has since replaced them both as a popular red of choice, the stigma attached to the innocent and useful Merlot grape is still alive, whether real or imagined.
“Another Glass of Merlot?”
Even hardened wine geeks feel it. It’s so ingrained that when I go to one of my favorite restaurants, Arturo’s in the Village, I feel slightly paranoid ordering a Merlot, one of the best by the glass options. It goes with just about everything, spaghetti carbonara, shrimp scampi, fried calamari, chicken cacciatore, you name it. Nonetheless, it is with trepidation that I call the waiter over and ask, “Can I have another glass of Merlot?” It seems like the right time to clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding Merlot.
Origins in Bordeaux Wine Grape Family
I remember bringing a bottle of merlot over to my parents’ house. My father sniffed, “Ah, Merlot! That’s a blending wine!” I knew a little about Bordeaux at the time, so I held the peace. But it wasn’t long before I informed him that merlot may be only 50% of the blend in many Medocs, but there are quite a few Right Bank wines, including famous St. Emilions and Pomerols that are up to 90% Merlot.
In her exhaustive Wine Grapes, Jancis Robinson explains that the first noted use of the Merlot grape was in Bordeaux. The name comes from the French for ‘blackbird,’ because apparently these hungry critters were fond of eating the grapes right off the vines. She continues, confirming that Merlot is very widely planted, and frequently used in blending.  Merlot ripens more easily than Cabernet Sauvignon, and this is one of the reasons why it’s so important in Bordeaux. In a less than stellar Left Bank, aka Cabernet vintage, there is still the chance for a stellar Right Bank aka Merlot vintage, such as was reported in 1998. In fact, generally only the upper level red wines from the Left Bank include more than 60% Cabernet Sauvignon. A good example would be Pauillac Chateau Duhart-Milon, an 1855 Fourth Growth, which has around 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 28% Merlot and a smidgen of Cabernet Franc in the blend.
Of course, in a vintage of the century like 2010, the tide raises all boats and both banks prosper. For a very tasty example of a more or less fifty-fifty blend, try Chateau Pey du Pont, a 2010 Medoc that is a beautiful example of Bordeaux’s unique earthy quality, while including ripe black and red fruits and enough structure to age and soften for a few years at least. The blend is 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet, and 5% Cabernet Franc.
Tough Enough for a New York Summer
Speaking of Merlot’s ability to age, another time, I went over to my Aunt Jane’s apartment for dinner and she asked me to pick a wine from a bunch of bottles that had been given to her over the previous couple of years. I spied a bottle of Kendall Jackson Merlot 2005 and decided to pull the cork. Now, we are talking about a six-year-old bottle of wine that had been “stored” in an Upper West Side kitchen through several brutal New York summers and plenty of steam heat in the winter, too. The wine was lovely! A mature red with soft, red and black fruit flavors that went well with a number of delicious meat, fish and vegetable dishes. An impressive feat of resilience and perseverance!
Further Adventures with Merlot
Speaking of Merlot’s flexibility, I once finished a difficult song that I had been writing on Merlot. I had the bridge from another song I had been trying to get across with an earlier band – a bridge which was not dissimilar from ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper.’ It worked perfectly as the chorus in the new song, however. I have Pepperwood Grove Merlot to thank for that. Imagine going from the bridge to the chorus? From stepchild to star!
And let’s not forget our first example of Merlot’s curious dance in the spotlight. Towards the end of Sideways, when the Paul Giammatti character seems to be completely defeated, he hunkers down with some sliders, sneaking sips from his most cherished bottle, 1961 Cheval Blanc.  The blend? About 40% Merlot, with the rest Cabernet Franc.
Staff Pick: Benziger Sonoma Merlot 2011
Opaque purple. Black currants, cherries and oak on the nose – enticing nose. Good, dry finish and balance. A hint of jolly rancher. Tannins on the finish. Fairly soft in the mouth. Medium full body. Smoke and pepper in the finish. Solid, substantial and tasty wine. Chunky and delicious. –Christian Botta