April Wine Focus: A fresh look at Merlot

Just to broaden the spectrum a bit, here in tiny Israel the range of Merlot is huge. In general, Merlot grown in the Galilee is light and fruity, while Merlot from the Judean Hills tends to be full bodied and rich. It is quite common for Judean Hills merlots to be confused with cabernet blends or even varietal cabernets.

Has anyone else experienced this elsewhere in the world?

Anyway, one more reason not to generalize too much.

Regards to one and all from the Holy Land for a happy Passover/Easter.

YossiD

Yossi, is Merlot usually bottled unblended with other varieties in Israel? That would be unusual in Europe except perhaps in Ticino where they make mainly 100% varietal wines from Merlot. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is equally unusual but 100% Cabernet franc has its homeland in the Loire valley and is quite distinctive there. Given the influence of terroir, I would not be confident in always being able to identify Cab against Merlot and still more the different proportions in a Bordeaux blend. I would expect Cab to bring rigour and structure and Merlot roundness and soft charm with a tendency towards jamminess but these are caricatures to an extent. Cab dominated blends certainly can produce jammy results in some parts of the world.

Tonight, with a lamb rack, I opened my first '09 Jean de Trimoulet Saint Emilion Grand Cru ($18). This is the second label of Cht. Trimoulet. Surprisingly this was open (after a 2 hour decant) and though labeled 13.5% abv, seemed to be 12.5 to no more than 13%. Very nice with dinner, plenty of body, good dark fruit, soft tannins, performing just like a 2nd label should. 75% Merlot, 25% Cab Franc. Nice wine.

Tim, sorry for the delay. I thought I had replied to you but apparently not.

To answer your question, there are quite a few 100% Merlots in Israel and even more that are labeled as varietals, comprising at least 85% of that variety.

Merlot is also used here in a huge number of bordeaux type blends, most often as the #2 in % but sometimes as the #1, and also in various other blends. Offhand I can think of at least one very nice Cab-Merlot-Shiraz blend, and I'm certain I've seen Merlot used in blends where I wouldn't expect it, like with Carignan.

Speaking of 100% varietals (I hope you don't mind if I go a bit OT), we also have a growing number of varietal Petit Verdots in Israel, which is something I don't think you'll find in too many places. I understand that in France PV doesn't always completely ripen due to insufficient sunlight. In Israel, with our abundance (sometimes over abundance) of sunlight, PV thrives and is used to produce some outstanding very full bodied wines. Food pairings can be tricky since the wines are so powerful.

Come and try some!

[Jenise]

Just to broaden the spectrum a bit, here in tiny Israel the range of Merlot is huge. In general, Merlot grown in the Galilee is light and fruity, while Merlot from the Judean Hills tends to be full bodied and rich. It is quite common for Judean Hills merlots to be confused with cabernet blends or even varietal cabernets.

Has anyone else experienced this elsewhere in the world?

Anyway, one more reason not to generalize too much.

Regards to one and all from the Holy Land for a happy Passover/Easter.

YossiD

Yes, we see the same divergence here in the U.S. Merlot is particularly good here in Washington state--the Judean Hills style --it's a shame so many afficiandos dismiss the grape as unworthy.

Speaking of 100% varietals (I hope you don't mind if I go a bit OT), we also have a growing number of varietal Petit Verdots in Israel, which is something I don't think you'll find in too many places. I understand that in France PV doesn't always completely ripen due to insufficient sunlight. In Israel, with our abundance (sometimes over abundance) of sunlight, PV thrives and is used to produce some outstanding very full bodied wines. Food pairings can be tricky since the wines are so powerful.

Come and try some!

Thanks for that, Yossi. I am certainly keen to try a 100% PV. I once saw some experimental bottles from Château Poujeaux and regret not having bought one or two, even though they would not have been as ripe as from Israel. I don't think that I have ever had a wine from Israel though the late and regretted Rogov's reports whetted my appetite. Now I'm living in France my chances of coming across an Israeli wine are even slimmer than in Brussels where one or two were offered at high prices by Rob, a gourmet's paradise.

PS I've just checked that Lavinia in Paris offers a Chard and a Cab from Golan Heights and a Cab/Merlot from Flam winery, the last at €33.

Horse Heaven Hills, Washington State. 14% abv. Dark, dense and opaque. I remember liking this in a previous vintage. However, this one tastes sickeningly sweet IMHO and has overripe blackberry jammy notes. I finished one glass but decided to pour the rest of the bottle down the drain. Not a flawed wine--just not my style. It is probably quite popular with some. An American Merlot I do like is the one from Shafer. I just purchased two bottles of the 2010 Shafer Merlot, Napa Valley, CA.