Although many fine (and expensive) merlot wines are coming out of
Washington and Oregon, the New World home for merlot is California.
In the Bordeaux region of France, merlot is the mainstay grape. More merlot is produced in France than cabernet sauvignon, although most merlots are blended with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, or malbec. Merlot is the leading grape in Pomerol and St.-Emilion. One of the most expensive wines in the world, Chateau Petrus, is 99 percent merlot. At the current pace, the price for a case of Chateau Petrus will soon be worth more than my house
A few years ago the screwy movie Sideways slandered merlot in exchange for a gag line. In a successful attempt at pseudo-intellectualism, the protagonist of the story offered to drink any wine “as long as it was not merlot.” He gave merlot the back of his hand because of the popularity the wine was experiencing at the time, similar to what white zinfandel had enjoyed 20 years before. White zinfandel deserved to be shown people’s backsides whereas merlot, even in mediocre cases, can be a very drinkable, smooth red wine. It is often considered a “crossover” wine for those who think they only like white wines, but would like to make their way over to reds. Unfortunately, many people took the bad joke to heart.
Three of us downed a bottle of the Byington Merlot so quickly I thought at first that we had only been given 12 ounces of wine in a 25-ounce bottle. I think the illusion was explained by the fact that my friend, Chef Eric, drinks twice as much as most people, and that Joanne, although she takes lady-like sips, takes them twice as often as others. Oh, poor me—trying to keep up with these two-fisted locavore locavinos. Luckily we had back-up plans in the form of a French Champagne which we were holding to celebrate the election’s outcome. I can say this now without divulging to you how I voted.
There are dozens of good merlots out there, but the Byington Merlot is one of the best California merlots I’ve tasted. Typical of the breed, it is round and velvety but with strong undertones of leather and tobacco. Once you’ve discovered leather flavors in a red wine, vinyl will never do again. Even though merlot is similar to cabernet sauvignon and other full-bodied red wines, it is not usually considered complex. It is prized for just that reason. Because it is well balanced it is a great food wine. Possibly, you won’t enjoy merlot as much without food as you would with food. On the night in question, we were having very fleshy, meaty, grilled, wild salmon fillets (Nob Hill $5 a pound!) and the Byington merlot was perfect with the fish (white wine for lighter flavored white fish please). The tones of leather and tobacco in merlot are a good sign and it may show in the bouquet more than in the actual taste. Once you smell a particular element in wine, the palate “tastes” it whether it is actually present or not. It is common for others to implant ideas into our mental palates. If somebody says, “Oh! I tasted Grandpa’s ’49 Dodge floor mats in there.” You will then have to try to fight off tasting the floor mats. The very popular guru Bhagwan Rajneesh challenged his students: “I am going to look at my [expensive] watch and I will give you one minute not to think about elephants. If you can go one minute without thinking about elephants, I will pronounce you as being enlightened. OK, Ready? Look at your watches. Go!”
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