Wine · Grape variety · Short entry

Merlot

In 2015 the most planted grape in France, and the dominant variety of Pomerol. It gives round, deeply coloured, supple wines and is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon. DNA work in 2009 found its mother, a lost variety now called Magdeleine Noire des Charentes.

The missing mother

In 2009 Boursiquot and colleagues identified Merlot's parents as Cabernet Franc and a previously unknown variety first sampled in northern Brittany and then found in four places in the Charentes. They named it Magdeleine Noire des Charentes. The same study made Magdeleine Noire des Charentes a parent of Côt (Malbec) too, so Merlot and Malbec are half-siblings. VIVC records the pedigree as confirmed by markers.

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Rise in Bordeaux

OIV dates its use in Bordeaux wines to the early 19th century. In Pomerol, after phylloxera, grafting made its crops more regular and it became predominant; the Pomerol specification calls it 'très largement majoritaire'. In the Médoc, grafting also helped it resist coulure. In France it grew from 16,975 ha in 1958 to 117,354 ha in 2008; in 2015 it was the only variety in France above 100,000 ha.

The vine is vigorous and fertile and best pruned short. It is particularly sensitive to downy mildew and rather sensitive to grey rot, but resists powdery mildew and trunk diseases well. Its wines are round, rich in alcohol and colour, with relatively low acidity and supple tannins.

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