Gregarious merlot greater than its individual parts

Wine reviwer Mark Henderson gets reaquainted with merlot - easy to pronounce and easy to drink.

Browsing the shelves of a wine store recently, I found all the grapes we know well in abundance: sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot gris, syrah and so on.

I was somewhat intrigued, though, to discover plentiful blends with merlot as either the lead or bit player, yet very few stand-alone merlots. While hardly an exhaustive study, it had me wondering.

Merlot is one of the Bordeaux family of grapes, being grown alongside and blended with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, malbec and petit verdot in its French homeland, while being grown in every corner of the world, although the wine-related film Sideways was reputed to have sparked a major downturn in merlot in the US after its release more than 10 years ago.

Here, it is very commonly seen as the greater or lesser part of a blended red with cabernet sauvignon, adding mid-palate richness and suppleness to the more grippy cabernet.

It also cosies up to malbec on a regular basis, where its fruit sweetness provides a counterpoint to malbec's earthy astringency.

I've heard it said that two of its strengths are that it is easy to pronounce and easy to drink, and there is no doubting that its plum, spice and fruitcake flavours make very appealing drinking, while it generally manages to be rich and flavoursome without being overblown.

It is also a boon for winemakers in that it is an early-ripening grape.

In a cooler year when cabernet may struggle to ripen, merlot is a more reliable bet.

It remains our second-most widely planted red grape after pinot noir and has nearly three and four times respectively the area planted that syrah and cabernet sauvignon have, so we obviously do make quite a bit of it.

Perhaps the public have discovered that the sum can often be greater than the individual parts: cheers to that.

 


2014 The Idealist Hawkes Bay Merlot

Price: $11-12
Rating: Very good

Smoky and dusty on the nose; subtly aromatic with red and blackberry and a touch of leaf, opening up nicely with time.

The palate gives berryfruit and dried herbs, brisk acidity and a lick of tannin, with plumminess building.

Not huge but appealing and nicely balanced and with good carry of flavours.

This would work very well with barbecue meats.

www.southernwines.co.nz

 

 

 

 

Main Divide Waipara Valley Merlot Cabernet

Price: $21
Rating: Excellent

Spearmint and menthol show first before giving way to the sweet ripe fruit and blackcurrant leaf.

Plush on entry, intense and mouth-filling with red fruits and fruitcake; a hint of "Bordeaux'' lead pencil with time.

Mellow, rounded and rather tasty with a hint of leaf and herbs giving freshness to the finish.

Drinking very well now.

www.maindivide.com 

 

 

 

 

2014 Giesen The Brothers Hawkes Bay Merlot

Price: $35
Rating: Excellent

Toast and dark fruits with a lovely, savoury/meaty note, fragrant oak framing the background.

The rich and full palate has dark plums, blackberry and spiced fruit loaf with a whisper of chocolate on the long finish.

Delicious and nicely balanced, with good structure and integration.

This should repay ageing.

www.giesen.co.nz 


 

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