Irvine Cantine Vitevis Jim Barry Heirloom Vineyards Solaris Merlot Wines

Any wine can be sweet but the vast majority of Merlot is turned into dry table wines, occasionally as a straight varietal and often in blends.

Nope. While Merlot is less tannic than its sibling Cabernet, its tannins are still significant enough to make the wine astringent and bitter when chilled. Save that face for when the Clive Palmer ads come on.

Yes, Merlot is almost always made as a dry red wine.

Merlot is a similar beast to Cabernet Sauvignon but with softer tannins and plusher fruits. Juicy plum, cherry, bitter chocolate, blackberry, coffee, raspberry and more can be found in good Merlot wines. It goes well with pizza, mushroomy pastas, blue cheese and lamb. Stay away from fish and salads.

Merlot is the younger sibling who makes friends easily, studied poetry at college (mostly to try and get laid) and got stuck into the turps a fair bit. Cabernet is an awkward, assertively angular and antiestablishment loner who wanted to join the Stasi but got knocked back for being ‘a bit too full on’. As an aside. the ‘Poo Jogger’ is reputed to regularly dump half a bottle of Cab into his glass when his dinner (toad in the hole) is ready. We’d recommend having the Beef Wellington instead.

All of which is to say that Merlot is plusher, less tannic and more generously fruity than Cabernet Sauvignon. This can make Merlot a better wine to drink young than Cab. Both varieties have similar flavours and herbaceous qualities.

Both varieties are extremely widely planted and they have a symbiotic relationship, especially in their homeland, Bordeaux. Some of the great wines of the world are made from Merlot or Cabernet or the 2 blended with or without the inclusion of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.

For more on Merlot, click here.