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The red grape variety originates from France. The name is probably derived from the French word for blackbird (merle), because these birds like to snack on the berries, which are very sweet when fully ripe. However, the name may also be an allusion to the black-blue colouring of the berries, similar to the bird. There are over 60 synonyms that testify to its worldwide distribution. The most important are Alicante Noir, Begney, Bigney, Bigney Rouge, Bini, Black Alicante, Blue Merlot, Bordò, Cabernet del Cleto, Crabutet, Crabutet Noir, Crabutet Noir Merlau, Hebigney, Higney, Médoc Noir, Merlau, Merlot Black, Merlot Blue, Merlot Crni, Merlot Nero, Merlot Noir, Merlott, Merlou, Picard, Pikard, Plant Médoc, Saint Macaire, Sémillon Rouge, Vidal and Vitraille.

Merlot - Weintraube und Blatt

Parentage

Despite seemingly suggestive synonyms or morphological similarities, it should not be confused with the Carmenère, Menoir or Saint-Macaire varieties. As Carmenère and Merlot vines are very similar in appearance, vines imported from overseas were very often planted in the vineyard in a mixed set. For this reason, the Carmenère variety was long mistaken in Chile for a variety of Merlot. Back in 1999, DNA analyses carried out by Dr Ferdinand Regner (Austria) identified Cabernet Franc (father) as the Merlot parent. However, it was not until ten years later, in 2009, that Jean-Michel Boursiquot identified the Magdeleine Noire des Charentes variety (mother) as the second parent.

Descendants

The Abouriou, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère and Cot (Malbec) varieties have at least one parent in common with Merlot. The Merlot Gris and Merlot Rosa varieties discovered in Brazil at the beginning of the 1980s are colour mutations. The variety Merlot Blanc on the other hand, originated from a cross between Merlot x Folle Blanche. The first mention of it as Crabutet Noir dates back to the 14th century. It was first mentioned in documents under the name Merlau or Merlot in 1784 in the Libournais region and was one of the most important Bordeaux varieties at the time. In the Italian region of Veneto, the variety was mentioned in 1855 under the synonym Bordò. The first complete description was made by Victor Rendu (1809-1877) in 1857 in his work "Ampélographie Française".

Merlot was a partner of the new varieties Artaban, Artzebat, Carmine, Cosmo, Ederena, Erilon, Fertilia, Incrocio Bruni 452, Incrocio Terzi 1, Laurot, Malverina, Mamaia, Margot, Mendeleum, Mendioberena, Merlese, Merlot Kanthus, Merlot Khorus, Negru de Yaloven, Nigra, Plamennyi, Prodest, Rebo, Rigotti, Sennen and Voltis. It was also used for rootstock breeding. The Caberlot variety was created from a presumably natural cross between Cabernet Franc x Merlot.

Characteristics

The early/medium-ripening vine is susceptible to coulure, downy mildew and botrytis, as well as sensitive to spring frost and drought, but very resistant to powdery mildew. It produces full-bodied red wines with soft tannins and diverse flavours of plum, ivy, caramel, black cherry, raspberry and cassis (blackcurrant).

Areas under vines in France

It is the most common grape variety in France and is particularly widespread in the Bordeaux and Languedoc-Roussillon regions. The variety is the determining factor in the Bordeaux blend on the right bank of the Dordogne river (Rive droite) together with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. These are the Graves area, as well as Saint-Émilion and above all Pomerol, where it is the main component of the great red wines of Château Pétrus and Château Le Pin. These are among the best and most expensive red wines in the world. The area under vines in France totals 108,483 hectares.

Merlot - Rebflächen in Stabio im Kanton Tessin (Schweiz)

Other vineyards

In Italy, it occupies 24,057 hectares, mainly in the northern half. Other countries are Algeria (1,000 ha), Bulgaria (10,550 ha), China (16,700), Germany (696 ha), England, Greece (1,393 ha), India, Israel (715 ha), Croatia (828 ha), Moldova (7,689 ha), Montenegro, North Macedonia (1,240 ha), Austria (649 ha), Portugal (482 ha), Romania (11.647 ha), Russia (2,988 ha), Switzerland (1,124 ha), Serbia (1,968 ha), Slovenia (817 ha), Spain, especially Aragon, Catalonia, Navarre and Castile-La Mancha (12,852 ha), the Czech Republic (90 ha), Turkey (415 ha), Ukraine (1,400 ha), Hungary (1,961 ha) and Cyprus (63 ha).

Overseas, there are stands in Argentina (5,632 ha), Australia (8,415 ha), Bolivia (30 ha), Brazil (363 ha), Chile (12,057 ha), Japan (197 ha), Cambodia (2 ha), Canada (633 ha), Lebanon (500 ha), Morocco (333 ha), Mexico (301 ha), New Zealand (1.239 ha), Peru (2 ha), South Africa (5,558 ha), Tunisia (64 ha) and Uruguay (747 ha), as well as in the USA, mainly in California (19,000 ha) and Washington (3,300 ha), totalling 21,251 hectares. In 25 years, the Merlot variety has almost doubled from 154,752 hectares in 1990 to 266,440 hectares in 2016. This puts the variety in second place in the global grape variety ranking behind Cabernet Sauvignon, which is in first place (Kym Anderson statistics).

Source: Wine Grapes / J. Robinson, J. Harding, J. Vouillamoz / Penguin Books Ltd. 2012
Images: Ursula Brühl, Doris Schneider, Julius Kühn Institute (JKI)

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