THERE is new force at work in the wine world, toppling old drinking habits faster than a reveller knocking over a line of glasses. It's springing up everywhere from California's Russian River to Romania, from Chile's Central Valley to the new powerhouse of French wine making down in the Languedoc. It's plump, juicy and so appealing that with every month that passes it lures more and more drinkers happily into the red Merlot.
The grape itself has been around for centuries, hanging out with Cabernet Sauvignon, whose raw tannins it softens in the clever balancing act that has made Bordeaux wines a model for the world to follow. In the deep, round wines of Pomerol and Sainte Estephe, the balance has always tipped far in Merlot's favour. Chateau Petrus supposedly the greatest red wine in the world and certainly the most expensive (it's the one our flashier tycoons keep in a decanter for themselves while serving guests inferior stuff) is made from little else. What is new about Merlot is the way it is suddenly emerging as a star in its own right.
Only in the past five or six years has it become clear that drinkers the world over are poised to consume ever greater quantities of young, fruity, undemanding wine. Gone, thank heavens, are the days when women would sip demurely at a glass of Muscadet while their chaps got stuck in to some heavy red as muscular and powerful as they deemed themselves to be. The divide has been conquered, mainly thanks to the New World whose soft, fruit driven wines soon persuaded tentative drinkers that red wine did not have to be mouth puckeringly bitter or leave the tongue feeling as if it had been steeped in strong, cold tea.
Merlot fits the bill particularly well for several reasons. For one thing, its plum my softness makes it very easy to drink even when young. (Indeed, it is often best drunk young a huge cash flow plus for producers, which must also contribute to its growing popularity.) For another, Merlot is easy to say easier than Cabernet Sauvignon, anyway a factor which may not be crucial in Europe, where most of us absorb a smattering of French at school, but which is apparently of huge significance in the United States, source of so many lifestyle trends. Now that red wine has been declared healthy, there's more demand than ever for a style that is pleasant and unproblematic in every possible respect. Mer-low, as the Americans call it, is the hottest grape varietal by far in California.
Plantings of new Merlot vines are five times what they were ten years ago.
And in just about every other region in the world where this early maturing grape can grow, it is being grown to produce bright purple, plum packed wine labelled simply Merlot. In Friuli in northeast Italy, it is so well established that there is a tourist wine route, the Strada del Merlot, along the Isonzo river. In the south of France it is being used increasingly to turn out lush vin de pays. In South Africa it is catching up fast with the native red Pinotage.
As for Chile, no other country is catering so comprehensively to the demands of Merlot mania, or so skillfully. Virtually all the good producers whose names are becoming familiar, from supermarket browsing, have a decent Merlot in their range. There must be at least a dozen, including Carmen, Errazuriz, Concha y Toro and Santa Monica as well as the two listed below.
THIS is good news. It means that, while cash laden wine lovers may wish to explore the finer points of Merlot with a £300 bottle of Petrus, or even the legendary Californian Duckhorn around £220, there are plenty of thoroughly drinkable examples in every wine shop for much less. With their juicy fruit, they taste terrific slightly cool without sending shivers down the spine. Just right for these weeks that bridge the gap between the last blast of central heating and the day the heat wave strikes.
Merlot a world tour
. France, where it started Domaine de la Baume Merlot Vin de Pays d'Oc 1993 (Quinnsworth, £6.99) is big and full bodied in style, as you might expect, given that this Languedoc estate is owned by the Australian giant BRL Hardy. Concentrated damson fruit and oak aging make it rich and deep, with a lingering finish.
. La Carignano Merlot Via de Pays de Cassan 1994 (Dunnes, £4.49) has plenty of soft fruit with hints of coffee and spice. It's uncomplicated, easy drinking at a cheerful price, with a nice, savoury edge which would make it perfect for a barbecue.
. Italy, with a Merlot stronghold in the northeast Pighin Friuli Grave Merlot 1993 (Verlings, Terroirs, Searsons, Karwig's Wine Warehouse, about £8) is Merlot in the light and luscious mould bright cherry red and with typically Italian cherry flavours. Soft and slightly smoky which must make it another good barbecue candidate.
. Chile, more Merlot minded than anywhere Santa Bita 120 Merlot 1994 (very widely available, about £5.50) is a reminder of the rock solid value that one of Chile's oldest wineries still provides. The Merlot in the popular 120 range is soft and gentle, yet has character. Good value.
Montes Nogales Estate Merlot 1995 (Molloys, McCabes, Vintry, Cooneys and other outlets, about £6.70), a relative newcomer to the Irish market, is a super fusion of all the qualities that make Merlot so drinkable. Wonderful aromas of spiced plums and herbs, concentrated fruit and a touch to wood make it a winter.
. South Africa, a new natural habitat Fleur du Cap Merlot 1993 (many SuperValus, £6.99) is permeated with the perfumes and flavours of dark berry fruits with a dash of spice. Soft tannins and good acidity make this another "Red M" that slips down with extreme ease.
. Australia seek and you may just about find it Long Gully Merlot 1991 (Verlings, £10.99) is proof that Merlot isn't always a light, quaffing wine. This is serious stuff rich blackcurrant fruitiness backed up by impressive structure. It's mature, with terrific depth a sort of New World Pomerol.
. Mitchelton Chinaman's Bridge Merlot 1993 (Cooneys, Foleys, Grogans Ranelagh, Bennetts Howth and other off licences, £8.99) is the perfect middleweight not too light to be noteworthy, nor too overpoweringly heavy. Sweet cherry flavours and subtle oak provide depth, balance and a nice dry finish. See Bottle of the Week.
. California, where the mania is at its height Fetzer Eagle Peak Merlot 1994 (Superquinn, Roches, Vintage and other outlets, about £8.50) is here, and at a new lower price happy news for all those people disappointed to find stocks exhausted when it was a November Bottle of the Week. It's voluptuously fruity, but with enough gentle tannins to make it chewily attractive rather than blousy and the finish lasts.