Red grape variety
Merlot
A plush, plum-scented Bordeaux variety that ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon and produces softer, rounder wine.
What is Merlot?
Merlot has larger, thinner-skinned berries than Cabernet Sauvignon, which is why it gives less tannin and a rounder texture. It also ripens one to two weeks earlier, making it more reliable in cooler, damper sites — the reason it dominates Bordeaux’s clay-soiled right bank.
Its reputation suffered from being planted everywhere in the 1990s and producing a great deal of soft, forgettable wine. That is a story about over-cropping and site selection, not about the variety: Pomerol produces some of the most expensive wine in the world from it.
There are two distinct Merlot styles. The international style is picked very ripe for a plush, high-alcohol, chocolatey wine. The Bordeaux style is picked earlier, giving more acidity, more structure and savoury, leafy notes alongside the plum.
Bordeaux, first documented in the late eighteenth century.
The Vitis International Variety Catalogue, maintained by the Julius Kühn Institute, holds this variety as accession 7657 under the prime name MERLOT NOIR, with berry skin colour noir and country of origin france, and the pedigree "MAGDELEINE NOIRE DES CHARENTES X CABERNET FRANC". 72 synonyms are recorded. Checked 2026-08-16.
What it tastes like
This is the envelope across every expression of Merlot, not a description of one bottle. Wide ranges are the honest answer.
| Dimension | Typical | Range | Variation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | low | Consistent | |
| Acidity | medium | Some variation | |
| Tannin | medium | Some variation | |
| Alcohol | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Body | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Fruit intensity | medium-plus | Some variation | |
| Aromatic intensity | medium | Consistent | |
| Oak influence | medium | Highly variable | |
| Savoury character | medium | Some variation | |
| Floral character | low | Consistent | |
| Herbal / green character | low-medium | Some variation | |
| Spice | low-medium | Some variation | |
| Earthy character | low | Consistent | |
| Perceived freshness | medium | Some variation | |
| Texture | medium-plus | Some variation |
Common flavours
What drives the style
- Picking date is decisive: Merlot loses acidity quickly once ripe, and late picking is what produces the soft, jammy style.
- Soil temperature — cool clay retains acidity and structure; warm gravel pushes it towards flabbiness.
- Blending with Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon restores structure and aromatic lift.
Wines made from it
The same grape in different places and different hands. These are where the wide ranges above resolve into something specific.
Italy
Chianti Classico
Sangiovese from the historic hills between Florence and Siena: sour cherry, dried herbs and firm acidity, built for the table.
Medium-bodied dry red
The middle of the red-wine spectrum: enough structure for food, not so much that it dominates. The most versatile red category.
United States
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
The New World Cabernet benchmark: ripe cassis and cocoa, plush tannin, generous new oak and high alcohol.
France
Red Bordeaux
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.
United States
California Cabernet Sauvignon
The broad statewide category — a very wide quality range, from Central Valley volume wine to serious coastal bottlings.
Italy
Chianti
The broad Tuscan Sangiovese appellation surrounding Chianti Classico — lighter, cheaper and much more variable.
Chile
Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon
Reliable, cassis-driven Cabernet with a distinctive mint or eucalyptus note — and consistently among the best value in the world.
Italy
Super Tuscan
A commercial category rather than an appellation: ambitious Tuscan reds that fell outside the DOC rules, usually built on Bordeaux varieties.
Italy
Bolgheri
Coastal Tuscan Bordeaux blends — the appellation created to give the Super Tuscan idea a legal home.
Where it grows
- Pomerol — France
- Saint-Émilion — France
- Lalande-de-Pomerol — France
- Fronsac — France
- Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux — France
- Bordeaux AOC — France
- Napa Valley — United States
- Columbia Valley — United States
- Walla Walla Valley — United States
- Gimblett Gravels — New Zealand
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia — Italy
- Long Island — United States
- Médoc — France
If you like Merlot, try…
Every suggestion says why it is connected and what will be different.
Closest matches
What is most like this?
Cabernet Sauvignon
The two are blended together across Bordeaux and share dark fruit, oak affinity and body.
Firmer tannin, higher acidity, blackcurrant rather than plum, and a longer wait before it drinks well.
Carmenère
Carmenère was grown in Chile for decades in the belief that it was Merlot, and shares its softness and plush texture.
More overtly herbal and peppery, with a savoury, soy-like depth Merlot lacks.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
A similarly soft, plummy, low-tannin red at consistently modest prices.
Higher acidity and a more rustic, less polished finish.
Similar but lighter
Something like this, but lighter?
Dolcetto
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be less oaky, and leaner and more cutting.
Trousseau
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be less oaky, and fresher and more acidic.
Cru Beaujolais
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be more floral, and fresher.
Similar but lower in alcohol
Something like this, but less alcoholic?
Trousseau
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be less oaky, and lighter.
Cru Beaujolais
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be fresher, and more floral.
Pinot Noir
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect it to be earthier, and more floral.
Similar but fuller
Something like this, but richer?
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Both are made from merlot, and the structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be fruitier, and more oaky.
Argentine Malbec
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be more floral, and fruitier.
McLaren Vale Shiraz
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect it to be fruitier, and more tannic and structured.
What to eat with it
Ranked by WineHQ's pairing engine, which reasons from the structure of the dish.
Fillet steak
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
Grilled chicken
Works because ripe fruit balances the bitterness of char and smoke.
Turkey
Works because the finished dish, not the raw ingredient, sets the target.
Pork chops
Works because a substantial dish needs a wine of matching weight.
Roast chicken
Works because a substantial dish needs a wine of matching weight.
Pork
Works because a substantial dish needs a wine of matching weight.
What to avoid with it
Dishes the pairing engine scores badly, and the principle that explains why. A short list: most things are fine.
How to serve it
Temperature
15–17°C
59–63°F · Cellar cool
Most modern rooms are warmer than this. Twenty to thirty minutes in the fridge before serving usually gets a red into range.
Decanting
Optional — it will not hurt, and may help a little
Dense, full-bodied wines tend to open up and show more aroma after time in a decanter.
Glass
Universal wine glass
A medium tulip-shaped glass handles almost everything well. If you own one set of glasses, this is the set to own — the difference between a good universal glass and a grape-specific one is far smaller than the difference between a good glass and a bad one.
Ageing
Structured wines made from this grape commonly improve with age, though everyday bottlings do not.
Right-bank Bordeaux ages very well, though generally on a shorter curve than Cabernet-dominant wines. Inexpensive varietal Merlot is at its best within two or three years.
Family tree
Established by DNA analysis. Ampelography alone could not have found these relationships.
DNA work identified Cabernet Franc as one parent and the near-extinct Magdeleine Noire des Charentes as the other, making Merlot a half-sibling of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Compare
- Cabernet Sauvignon vs Merlot — The two halves of the Bordeaux blend — which is firmer, and which should you choose?
- Pinot Noir vs Merlot — Two softer reds that suit different things — which is lighter, and which is smoother?
- Merlot vs Shiraz — Two soft, approachable reds — which is bigger, and which is smoother?
- Malbec vs Merlot — Two smooth reds that get bought interchangeably — do they actually differ?
- Carmenère vs Merlot — Chile grew one thinking it was the other for a century. What is the difference?
Sources
Sources consulted
- Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) — Julius Kühn-Institut, Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof
- Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties — Robinson, Harding & Vouillamoz (Allen Lane, 2012)