Merlot (Right Bank Bordeaux)

Merlot has been cultivated on the Right Bank of Bordeaux since at least the 18th century. The name 'Merlot' is thought to derive from the merle (blackbird) because of the grape's dark blue-black colour attracting birds in the vineyard. Pétrus's global reputation was established largely through the négociant Jean-Pierre Moueix and subsequently his son Christian, who bottled Pétrus as a fine wine in the post-WWII era.

Merlot achieved global dominance through the Right Bank of Bordeaux — Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, and Fronsac — where clay-rich soils and cooler microclimates allow the grape to produce wines of extraordinary depth, velvet texture, and age-worthy complexity. Pétrus, the world's most expensive regular-production wine, is made from Merlot grown on a single hectare of blue clay in Pomerol — proof that Merlot in the right terroir produces wines of unparalleled magnitude. The grape's global reputation suffered after the 2004 film Sideways ('I'm not drinking any f***ing Merlot!'), but Right Bank Bordeaux Merlot has always been a different proposition from the thin, over-produced Merlot that Miles was (understandably) rejecting.

FOOD PAIRING: Right Bank Merlot's velvet tannin, plum depth, and truffle earthiness pairs with rich red meat and umami preparations. Provenance 1000 pairings: beef bourguignon (the red wine-in-dish and wine-beside-dish harmony), veal osso buco with gremolata (the velvet Merlot with the braised veal's richness), truffle pasta (the wine's truffle notes amplify the earthiness), lamb shoulder with thyme, and duck confit.