Grape variety
Merlot
美乐měilè
The soft partner of Cabernet in China's Bordeaux-style blends
- Type
- Grape variety
- Colour
- red
- Family
- The classics
- Origin
- Bordeaux, France
- Literal meaning
- Beautiful joy
Taste profile
Body
LightFullBody: 3 out of 5Tannin
LowHighTannin: 2 out of 5Acidity
LowHighAcidity: 3 out of 5Fruit
SubtleIntenseFruit: 4 out of 5
Aromas
- plum
- red cherry
- chocolate
- soft spice
- Plum and red cherry
- with chocolate and soft spice in riper or oaked wines.
Sweetness · dry
Ripe plum and cherry, hints of chocolate, round and smooth tannins.
Merlot is one of the main red grapes in China and the natural partner of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Bordeaux-style blends that dominate Chinese fine wine. It brings softness, fruit and roundness. Its Chinese name, 美乐, means 'beautiful joy'.
The faithful companion
Merlot is China's second most planted red grape. It is rarely the star: its role is to add roundness, fruit and softness to Cabernet-based blends, exactly as in Bordeaux.
On its own
Increasingly, Chinese producers also bottle Merlot alone, making supple, fruity reds that are easy to enjoy young, and a perfect introduction to Chinese wine.
History in China
Merlot appears in many of China's best-known wines: it makes up about 15% of Helan Qingxue's trophy-winning Jia Bei Lan 2009 and 10% of Kanaan's Pretty Pony, and it is planted at Lafite's Domaine de Long Dai. LVMH's Ao Yun included it for the first time in its 2017 vintage.
Growing
Merlot ripens earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. A study comparing wine grapes in Gansu's Hexi Corridor found Merlot grown in Zhangye to be of the best quality among the varieties and areas tested.
Where it grows
Ningxia
宁夏
Helan Mountain East · 贺兰山东麓 · Hèlánshān dōnglù
Xinjiang
新疆
Desert vineyards of the Tianshan Mountains · 天山 · Tiānshān
Shandong
山东
Yantai and Penglai · 烟台 · 蓬莱 · Yāntái · Pénglái
Hebei
河北
Huailai and Changli · 怀来 · 昌黎 · Huáilái · Chānglí
Yunnan
云南
Shangri-La and the Himalayan foothills · 香格里拉 · Xiānggélǐlā
Gansu
甘肃
The Hexi Corridor · 河西走廊 · Héxī zǒuláng
Shanxi
山西
The Taiyuan Basin and the Loess Plateau · 太原盆地 · Tàiyuán péndì
Producers known for it
Shanxi
Chateau Rongzi
戎子酒庄
A Loess Plateau estate in southern Shanxi, advised by the former winemaker of Pétrus
Shandong
Domaine de Long Dai
珑岱
Château Lafite's Chinese estate, on granite terraces by the sea
Hebei
Domaine Franco-Chinois
中法庄园
Born from a pact between two governments, the estate that brought Marselan to China
Gansu
Guofeng
国风庄园
A large Hexi Corridor estate in Zhangye, on the old Silk Road
Ningxia
Helan Mountain
贺兰山
Pernod Ricard's Ningxia winery, one of the region's first international investments
Ningxia
Legacy Peak
留世酒庄
The 1997 vineyard behind some of Ningxia's first famous wines
Xinjiang
Tiansai Vineyards
天塞酒庄
An organic oasis in the Gobi, named after a camera lens
Yunnan
Xiaoling Estate
霄岭
Cloud-kissed peaks: high-altitude wines in the footsteps of the French missionaries
Xinjiang
Zhongfei Winery
中菲酒庄
A vineyard won from the Gobi, stone by stone, in Xinjiang’s Yanqi Basin
Ningxia
Helan Qingxue
贺兰晴雪
The boutique estate whose 2011 trophy put Chinese wine on the world map
Ningxia
Kanaan Winery
迦南美地
The "crazy" idea that became one of Ningxia's top estates
Pairs with
Food pairings
- Round and fruity, Merlot suits sweet-savoury Chinese dishes: red-braised pork belly, barbecued pork (char siu) and Peking duck.
Sources
- Research on the quality of the wine grapes in corridor area of China — Food Science and Technology (SciELO)
- Helan Qingxue, Jia Bei Lan Baby Footprints Grand Reserve 2009 — JancisRobinson.com
- Ao Yun — LVMH
- Domaine de Long Dai — Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)
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