Merlot around the world

The broad Tuscan Sangiovese appellation surrounding Chianti Classico — lighter, cheaper and much more variable.

Against its siblings: lighter, less oaky, earthier.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.

Hungary’s "Bull’s Blood": a blended red from Eger, now governed by rules requiring a minimum number of varieties.

Against its siblings: riper and less green, lighter, cleaner and more fruit-focused.

• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Sangiovese from the historic hills between Florence and Siena: sour cherry, dried herbs and firm acidity, built for the table.

Against its siblings: more herbal and green, earthier, fresher and more acidic.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

The blended Cabernet–Merlot benchmark: structured, cedary and built to age, with two distinct characters depending on which bank of the river it comes from.

Against its siblings: earthier, more restrained in fruit.

The broad statewide category — a very wide quality range, from Central Valley volume wine to serious coastal bottlings.

Against its siblings: more fruit-driven, riper and less green, softer and rounder.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Prominent oak. Barrel ageing adds vanilla, toast and spice, and rounds the texture.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Reliable, cassis-driven Cabernet with a distinctive mint or eucalyptus note — and consistently among the best value in the world.

Against its siblings: cleaner and more fruit-focused.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Malbec in its French homeland: darker, firmer and more savoury than the Argentine version.

Against its siblings: earthier, riper and less green, less oaky.

• Cool climate. Slower ripening tends to retain acidity and hold alcohol down, and green or citrus notes survive where a warmer site would ripen them away.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Chianti Classico held back for longer ageing before release — denser, more structured and longer-lived.

Against its siblings: earthier, more savoury, fresher and more acidic.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Structured, refined Cabernet from a strongly maritime corner of Western Australia — the New World region closest to Bordeaux in balance.

Against its siblings: cleaner and more fruit-focused.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Structured, savoury Cabernet and Bordeaux blends from Stellenbosch’s mountain slopes — South Africa’s most recognised reds.

Against its siblings: earthier.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Merlot-led Bordeaux blends from the Gimblett Gravels — New Zealand’s most serious red beyond Pinot Noir.

Against its siblings: cleaner and more fruit-focused.

• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

The New World Cabernet benchmark: ripe cassis and cocoa, plush tannin, generous new oak and high alcohol.

Against its siblings: rounder and creamier in texture, softer and rounder, fruitier.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Prominent oak. Barrel ageing adds vanilla, toast and spice, and rounds the texture.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

A commercial category rather than an appellation: ambitious Tuscan reds that fell outside the DOC rules, usually built on Bordeaux varieties.

Against its siblings: cleaner and more fruit-focused, fuller and richer, more oaky.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Prominent oak. Barrel ageing adds vanilla, toast and spice, and rounds the texture.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Coastal Tuscan Bordeaux blends — the appellation created to give the Super Tuscan idea a legal home.

Against its siblings: fruitier, cleaner and more fruit-focused, fuller and richer.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Prominent oak. Barrel ageing adds vanilla, toast and spice, and rounds the texture.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

Cabernet from Sonoma’s warmer inland valleys — a little softer and more red-fruited than Napa.

Against its siblings: riper and less green, softer and rounder, fruitier.

• Warm climate. Fuller ripening tends to raise sugar and therefore alcohol, soften acidity, and push fruit character from tart towards ripe and jammy.
• Prominent oak. Barrel ageing adds vanilla, toast and spice, and rounds the texture.
• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.

New World ripeness with Old World structure — a product of desert heat and extreme diurnal swing east of the Cascades.

Against its siblings: riper and less green, fruitier, cleaner and more fruit-focused.

• Oak ageing. Extended time in barrel adds spice and structure and slowly softens tannin.