{"id":2553,"date":"2018-04-02T22:45:21","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T22:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/?post_type=grape&#038;p=2553"},"modified":"2023-04-03T15:42:43","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T19:42:43","slug":"merlot-wine-taste-characteristics","status":"publish","type":"grape","link":"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/merlot-wine-taste-characteristics\/","title":{"rendered":"Merlot"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"hasHiddenText\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Editor&#8217;s Note: Winetraveler is a reader-supported publication and this article may contain affiliate links. We review and recommend all products independently. When you buy wine through our site, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Merlot is a blue-black grape variety that produces softer, medium to full bodied\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/wine-resources\/whats-the-difference-between-dry-wine-and-sweet-wine\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>dry red wine<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. It is currently the most extensively planted red wine grape variety in the Bordeaux region of France and the second most widely planted and popular red wine grape variety in the United States \u2013\u00a0just behind <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/cabernet-sauvignon-taste-profile-food-pairing\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Classically vinified to be a dry red wine, Merlot grapes can have dramatic differences in flavor depending on the type of climate they\u2019re grown in. Many wine regions famous for growing Merlot will produce both red wine blends and single varietal wines with the Merlot grape.<\/p>\n<p><strong>IN THIS GUIDE:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#taste\">Taste<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#pairings\">Pairings<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#terroir\">Terroir<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#aging\">Aging<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"#recommendations\">Wine Recommendations<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>&#8230;and more<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"taste\"><\/a>What Does Merlot Taste Like? <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Merlot tends to have a similar flavor profile to Cabernet Sauvignon and is actually within the same family of grapes (<a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/cabernet-franc-wine-grape-characteristics\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>a descendant of Cabernet Franc<\/strong><\/a>). The main difference between these grapes is that Merlot has thinner skin and tends to be <em>less<\/em> <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/wine-resources\/definition-what-is-astringency-in-wine\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>astringent<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0due\u00a0to\u00a0fewer and softer\u00a0<a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/wine-resources\/tannins-in-wine-definition\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>tannins<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. It also maintains a fruitier, sometimes less complex body.<\/p>\n<p>While Merlot flavor does vary depending upon where it\u2019s grown climate-wise, you\u2019ll typically get notes of ripe blue, black and red fruit. These tasting notes are often backed by undertones of cocoa, vanilla, and various earth tones.<\/p>\n<p>Classically styled Merlots from France tend to exhibit black currant, raspberry, and ripe plum fruit notes while New World Merlots tend to lean more towards plum, black cherry, and pomegranate. Merlots often have gravel, tea, and forest floor secondary notes, and, depending on the barrel treatment, they can also display cola, cacao, vanilla, or more subtle mushroom and white pepper notes.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"pairings\"><\/a>Merlot Food Pairings<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Because of Merlot\u2019s lighter tannin structure, there tends not to be an intense sensation of astringency in the mouth. This makes Merlot fun to pair with softer poultry and meats on the sweet or savory side, like roasted duck, lechon, or honey-barbecued chicken. Try pairing any style of Merlot with a side of ricotta risotto or penne alla vodka.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"terroir\"><\/a>Climate and Terroir for Merlot<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Merlot is a grape variety that can do well in both warm and cool climates. However, it\u2019s important to note that \u201cwarm\u201d and \u201ccool\u201d is often a subjective term in the wine world.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, many Bordeaux old world wine producers consider 60 degree summers (Fahrenheit) weather to be warm, while most new world Merlot producers (and most of the rest of the world) consider 60 degrees to be on the cooler side.<\/p>\n<p>For the sake of this article, 60 degrees in the summer is cold. That said, Merlot can thrive in both warm and cool climates when given the proper amount of TLC, with varying degrees of ripeness and yield.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of soil composition, Merlot adapts well to silt and gravel-esque soil types (such as those along the Medoc in Bordeaux), as well as limestone and clay.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"aging\"><\/a>How is Merlot Aged? <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The most age-worthy Merlots are often blends because Merlot does not have overly high tannins or acid, both of which contribute to age-worthiness. Merlot-dominant wines from Pomerol and St-Emilion, for example, can usually age beautifully for years but they\u2019re rarely 100% Merlot. Merlot-based Bordeaux is usually blended with either Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon, both of which have higher acidity and tannins for aging.<\/p>\n<p>Many New World producers age Merlot in oak barrels, lending toasty notes to the wine, and some can age very well. More inexpensive Merlots are usually meant to be enjoyed upon release.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"recommendations\"><\/a>Try any of these Merlot wine recommendations from producers around the world:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/la8k\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Lynsolence, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru<\/strong><\/a>, Bordeaux, France<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/v6qr\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Ch\u00e2teau Gazin, Pomerol<\/strong><\/a>, Bordeaux, France<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/vuk0\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Pahlmeyer, Napa Valley<\/strong><\/a>, California<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/8z5d\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Provenance Vineyards, Napa Valley<\/strong><\/a>, Calfornia<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/9g4t\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>L\u2019Ecole 41, Walla Walla Valley<\/strong><\/a>, Columbia Valley, Washington<\/li>\n<li><strong><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/dipr\" target=\"_blank\">Barone Ricasoli Casalferro<\/a><\/strong>, Tuscany, Italy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Learn About These Other Wine Grape Varieties<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/chenin-blanc\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Chenin Blanc<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/cabernet-sauvignon-taste-profile-food-pairing\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/grenache-wine-grape-characteristics\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Grenache<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/malbec-wine-grape-characteristics-taste-pairing\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Malbec<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/marsanne\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Marsanne<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/nebbiolo-wine-grape-characteristics\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Nebbiolo<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/petit-verdot\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Petit Verdot<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/pinot-grigio-wine-grape-characteristics-profile\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Pinot Grigio<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div><strong><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/pinot-meunier\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pinot Meunier<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/riesling\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Riesling<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/tannat\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Tannat<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/grape\/teroldego\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Teroldego<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Written By Jamie Metzgar<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; color: #333333;\">Jamie Elizabeth Metzgar began her career in wine by pouring in a tasting room on the East End of Long Island, NY. After moving to New York City, she landed a position at Chambers Street Wines where she was encouraged to pursue wine education at the Wine &amp; Spirits Education Trust (WSET). She earned Level III certification there and has since earned California Wine Appellation Specialist and Certified Specialist of Wine certifications as well. After way too many moves, she has recently landed in Northern California where she is compiling an unofficial roster of dog-friendly tasting rooms.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"jetpack_subscription_widget\"><h2 class=\"widgettitle\">Get Articles Like These Directly in Your Inbox!<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions__container\">\n\t\t\t<form action=\"#\" method=\"post\" accept-charset=\"utf-8\" id=\"subscribe-blog-1\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-blog=\"202258003\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-post_access_level=\"everybody\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"subscribe-text\"><p>Subscribe to Winetraveler and receive notifications when new articles are published.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p id=\"subscribe-email\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<label id=\"jetpack-subscribe-label\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"screen-reader-text\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfor=\"subscribe-field-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEmail Address\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" autocomplete=\"email\" required=\"required\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvalue=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"subscribe-field-1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tplaceholder=\"Email Address\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<p id=\"subscribe-submit\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"action\" value=\"subscribe\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"source\" value=\"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/grape\/2553\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"sub-type\" value=\"widget\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"redirect_fragment\" value=\"subscribe-blog-1\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" id=\"_wpnonce\" name=\"_wpnonce\" value=\"af6e538509\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/grape\/2553\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t<button type=\"submit\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"wp-block-button__link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"margin: 0; margin-left: 0px;\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tname=\"jetpack_subscriptions_widget\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign Me Up!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/form>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"wine_style":[586,919,628,1532,183],"class_list":["post-2553","grape","type-grape","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","wine_style-bordeaux-blends","wine_style-dry-red-wines","wine_style-italian-blends","wine_style-red-wines","wine_style-varietal","grapes-merlot","destinations-bordeaux","regions-bordeaux","regions-california","regions-washington-state"],"acf":{"featured":false,"content_title":"Merlot Taste Characteristics\u00a0\u2013 What is Merlot Wine?","origin":"France","other_names":"Petit Merle, Vitraille, Crabutet Noir, Bigney","soil":"Varied","climate":"Warm & Cool","tabs_section_title":"","gallery":false,"flavor_items":[{"icon":false,"name":"Fruit","content":"<p><strong>Black, Red and Blue\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>New World:<\/strong> Plum, Black Cherry, Pomegranate,<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>Old World:<\/strong> Black Currant, Raspberry, Ripe Plum<\/p>\n"},{"icon":false,"name":"Earth & Mineral Notes","content":"<p>Gravel,\u00a0Tea Leaf, Forest Leaves<\/p>\n"},{"icon":false,"name":"Additional Complexities","content":"<p>Cola, Mushroom, White Pepper, Coco, and Vanilla<\/p>\n"}],"structure_content_title":"Merlot Characteristics","structure_content":"","properties_title":"Structure & Body","properties":[{"name":"Body","value":"Medium-Full"},{"name":"Sugar","value":"Dry"},{"name":"Tannins","value":"Light-Medium"},{"name":"Acid","value":"Medium"},{"name":"Alcohol","value":"Medium-High"},{"name":"Finish","value":"Medium-Long"}],"food_pairings":[{"name":"Pasta in Vodka Sauce","photo":"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/penne-alla-vodka-merlot-food-pairing.jpg","description":"See this Penne alla vodka recipe at <a href=\"http:\/\/keeprecipes.com\/recipe\/howtocook\/penne-alla-vodka-penne-tomato-vodka-sauce\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Keeprecipes.com<\/a>"},{"name":"Pork","photo":"https:\/\/www.winetraveler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/merlot-food-pairing-winetraveler.jpg","description":"Crisp Lechon goes well with Merlot. Image credit: Just Food Now."}],"fun_facts":[{"title":"Depending on the climate Merlot is grown in, the flavors of the grape can range anywhere from chocolate fruit cake to refined red berry and cedar tones."},{"title":"In the movie \u201cSideways,\u201d the main character Miles claimed to hate Merlot but the prized bottle he drank at the end was Ch\u00e2teau Cheval Blanc which is \u2013 you guessed it \u2013 mostly Merlot."},{"title":"For over 100 years, Carm\u00e9n\u00e8re was thought to be Merlot in Chile. Only DNA testing in the 1990s proved otherwise."}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Merlot Profile: Taste, Pairings &amp; Wine Recommendations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Merlot is a black and blue grape variety that produces softer, medium to full-bodied dry red wine. 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