Bordeaux - Merlot

Merlot is the dominant grape variety on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, where it thrives in St-Emilion and Pomerol’s clay- and limestone-based soils. There it dominates the blend in wines from a host of celebrated châteaux, from Angélus to Lafleur. Such wines, be they at the very top end, or more modest bottlings from St-Emilion satellites or the Bordeaux Côtes, tend to show plush, rounded, dark fruits, often with a lick of oak to add further polish to the smooth tannins. The more ageworthy wines develop wonderfully smoky, savoury, complex tones over time.