Merlot is an international red grape variety whose origins come from nearby and authoritative France, in particular in the area of New Aquitaine, south-west of the country, in the “Gironde” department a few kilometers from Bordeaux and the Atlantic Ocean.
Origins
The name was attributed to it both for the color of the berries, which recalls the plumage of the blackbird , and for the passion that the latter had for these tasty fruits and currently represents the second most cultivated vine in the world, immediately after Cabernet Sauvignon, precisely thanks to its adaptability.
In France, in the Bordeaux area, it is customary to combine Merlot with percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc, in fact between these vines there has always been a beautiful understanding that has often brought them together in blends to obtain elegant and very long-lasting wines.
Diffusion
Of course, despite its great adaptability to soils and climates, its ideal terroir is still that of the area of origin, therefore we are talking about the 45th parallel, and we should not be surprised if in Italy its development started from the north, in particular in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Trentino with excellent results even when vinified alone.
Merlot is today considered a truly extraordinary grape even if at times undeservedly underestimated, often described with terms that, although corresponding to the reality of the facts, have never given it credit on the occasions in which it is told with real unrepeatable masterpieces.
In fact, in his area of origin, in Pomerol, but also in Italy, in Tuscany, in the Bolgheri area, in the Val di Cornia and Cortona or even in the Colli Orientali del Friuli, extraordinary wines have been created that certainly do not deserve that generalization that has sometimes labeled him as excessively versatile and accommodating, trivializing the incredible finesse and elegance that he has shown in some cases.
Varietal characteristics
An early vine from which come wines with good structure, captivating and with a beautiful ruby red, bright and impenetrable, which over the years will slowly fade to garnet. Intense and generous, it usually gives us aromas of plum, cherry, blueberries, violets, tomato leaves and humus, as well as herbaceous, spicy and balsamic notes that are often confirmed by the flavor.
The taste is pleasant, pulpy, soft, enveloping, with an appropriate acidity and sapidity and defined tannins but also velvety, round, muffled, always well balanced with adequate and pleasant softness. The perfect accompaniment to red and white meats, well-structured first courses and medium-aged cheeses.
In some rare cases it was also vinified in white in the still or sparkling version, an atypical and daring guise of merlot which is the most developed area in southern Switzerland, in Ticino. With the white vinification, the wine will be young and fresh with hints of fruit and white flowers, of good pleasantness that served at a low temperature will find its perfect dimension with aperitifs and finger food.
See all Merlot wines .
