France Merlot

vineyards , winery exterior of château pétrus

merlot commonly grown grape variety in france. in 2004, total french plantations stood @ 115,000 hectares (280,000 acres). 2009, number had risen 115,746 hectares (286,010 acres). prominent in southwest france in regions bordeaux, bergerac , cahors blended malbec. largest recent increase in merlot plantations has occurred in south of france, such languedoc-roussillon, made under designation of vin de pays wine. here, merlot accounted 29,914 hectares (73,920 acres), more doubling 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) devoted cabernet sauvignon in languedoc.

berries of merlot being sorted @ chateau kirwan in process removes shot berries , mog.

in traditional bordeaux blend, merlot s role add body , softness. despite accounting 50-60% of overall plantings in bordeaux, grape tends account average of 25% of blends — in bordeaux wine regions of graves , médoc. of these left bank regions, commune of st-estephe uses highest percentage of merlot in blends. however, merlot more prominent on right bank of gironde in regions of pomerol , saint-Émilion, commonly comprise majority of blend. 1 of famous , rare wines in world, château pétrus, merlot. in pomerol, merlot accounts around 80% of blend, iron-clay soils of region give merlot more of tannic backbone found in other bordeaux regions. in pomerol garagistes movement began small-scale production of highly sought after merlot-based wines. in sandy, clay-limestone-based soils of saint-Émilion, merlot accounts around 60% of blend , blended cabernet franc. in limestone, merlot tends develop more perfume notes while in sandy soils wines softer merlot grown in clay dominant soils.

merlot can found in significant quantities in provence, loire valley, savoie, ardèche, charente, corrèze, drôme, isère , vienne.