Hey, Hey! I hated Merlot long before THAT movie made hating it cool... I went to college in the 1990's and anytime my uneducated palate came across Merlot, the one thing I knew was I did not like it, Sam I am. However, much like the after effects of the Judgement of Paris for French wines, I think the cinematic smack down the grape received forced producers to step up their games because I find Merlots today don't have that flabby, no acid, 'missing middle' anymore, which I used to abhor. Of course my wallet can lift a bigger load these days too, so maybe that's why. But it appears, you aren't a fan of the film. Regarding the international status of the grape as affirmed by plantings in China, among other places, It's interesting to think about this because it seem to me that since China is really enamored of Bordeaux as the pinnacle of wines, many to most of the producers in China create Bordeaux style wines. This says to me that China doesn't so much have a taste for Merlot as it has a reverence for Bordeaux flavor, for which Merlot is a necessary (evil--i mean) ingredient. Indeed, just last week I went to a wine tasting at a local high-end wine shop (in Shanghai) that was showcasing Chinese producers and out of 13 wines tasted, 10 were cab/merlot blend jammed full of the almost-medoc je ne sais quoi. Two were whites (a chard and a riesling), and the 12th was actually a completely random grape, a crossing of Grenache and Cab gifted to China by France in a good will exchange 2001, Marselan is the name. The Ao Yun 2013 & 2014 were interesting Cab/Merlots (the winery is in the LVMH stable, and interestingly enough I thought was the only one I tasted that was not trying to be French). Other Notables: Silver Heights, Kanaan, Grave Vineyard, and Jia Bei Lan (which I believe was the first Chinese wine to win an award presented by Decanter Magazine). Skol!
Hello! Thanks for taking the time to write in -- there's a lot to think about in your message. I, too, am finding better Merlot now than I used to, but I suspect, as you shrewdly observed about your own wallet, that that's because I can afford better stuff these days. I would love to believe that the wine world is the sort of place where producers would have a moment of clarity after a film and collectively intone, "Crap, we gotta get out Merlot game together or it's curtains" and then up their aforementioned game, but there's still an ocean of flabby, hollow Merlot out there if for no other reason than the sheer volume produced every year. As I point out in the Pinot cast, though everyone loves to tell the "Sideways almost ended Merlot as we know it" story, what actual research is out there suggests that it took a small hit in the U.S. but has been thriving (from an economic standpoint anyway) worldwide, and, let's face it, the only people that stopped drinking Merlot after that film were the sort of folks who care a lot about what other people see them drinking. That brings me to the point you made about the status of Bordeaux in China. What I've read (and I don't have your boots-on-the-ground experience) suggests that Bordeaux occupies a status there as a signifier of culture, i.e., regardless of whether you enjoy it as such or not, consuming it is a way of indicating that you're a certain type of (cultured) individual. That's not meant as a judgement; I think it's true throughout the wine world, including in France (gasp!) and among wine professionals (double gasp!). And that brings me to the film. I liked Sideways quite a bit (I own it and re-watch it regularly) but I feel toward it the way I do toward Somm (another owned and frequently watched film): I find it disheartening that a segment of the wine drinking public is so insecure about their own judgement and taste that they'll let a film dictate the terms of their engagement with the grape. Again, not a judgement; I was in that spot when I first started drinking wine and found that education was the key to developing my sense of judgement. The reason I started doing these casts was to, hopefully, help get wine drinkers to a place where they feel comfortable exploring and experimenting on their own. That's also why I'm reticent to discus individual producers in this context: I'm not interested in being the voice of authority that tells you what to drink. Sorry for the long-winded response, but I really found your message engaging. Thanks again for taking the time and effort to compose it. Cheers!
Are you kidding? not long-winded at all, and thanks for such an intricate rejoinder. I just want to add I completely agree with your take on both Sideways and Somm in terms of influence (I was in a shop tonight looking at Barolos and remembered how Somm made that grape Buzz, at least in my circle). I was certainly inspired by both of those movies myself, and probably no small part why I jumped into Wine myself (WSET and such). You are probably right that Merlot only dipped, but I had heard from some video or other that once the Pinot crazy was lit, every available nook, cranny, and hillside in California that could be planted with Pinot was planted with Pinot, even if the terroir wouldn't support it properly. I don't know how true that is, but seems like the second cut from that double edged sword--lower quality pinot at everyday prices. Regarding the cultured approach in China, you are exactly right, it's not a judgement, it's a fact. In a sense it's a very brand label oriented mindset, and Bordeaux has the top status so that's where people are looking. It's not to the exclusion of everything else, but it's certainly heavily weighted--both in volume as well as price. Rock on, and keep educating us winos! You do a great job, i'm jealous of the quality and depth of your research and knowledge. :D
South Australian merlots are stunning , naturally there is regional variation however at around 10 years of age they transform to a wonderful black current syrup type flavor without much sweetness.
Great Informative video as always. I always known about the blend between Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon since I saw an episode of Frasier. In a blind taste test between Frasier and Niles, on the final bottle Niles went for a Napa- Merlot (which he referred as "jammy") and Frasier went for a Napa - Cabernet Sauvignon. in the end the bottle was a blend of 45% Napa - Cabernet Sauvignon and 55% Napa Merlot, to which Niles won by 10 % , much to Frasier's annoyance!.
Just stumbled upon your channel, thank you for all these amazing informative videos! I am recently starting to explore more old world wines, beginning with wines from Bordeaux. Recently I enjoyed a 2012 St. Emilion from Chateau Fonplegade (and thanks to your Bordeaux video, I now know what the Grand Cru Classé classification is!) I believe the wine is a 95% merlot blend, and I definitely noticed the cast towards bright red fruits and some green pepper and grassy notes, as opposed to the lusher, jammier dark fruit-like merlots found in my more familiar new world (Napa) styles. I think I really enjoy these right bank style wines, but will definitely have to explore them more! I have a few left bank Bordeauxs sitting in my cellar to explore, one from Margaux (2014 Chateau Labégorce) and one from the St. Estephe appellation (2010 Chateau Tronquoy-Lalande). Sorry for the long comment, just wanted to share! But I do have a question, is there a particular region you might suggest I explore next? Some have suggested Northern Rhone, but I am curious to see what you think! Again, thanks for your videos! I am learning so much.
Thanks for the comment! It's not too long; I love hearing about what everyone's drinking. I'm glad you're enjoying Bordeaux; you're right that it's definitely a different party than what's going on in the U.S. When I first started drinking them I didn't know what to make of them because they weren't the big fruit-driven styles I was used to but over time I came to really value how they challenge you to try to get to the bottom of what's going on in each glass. You certainly won't injure yourself to drink Northern Rhônes whenever you can, but at the moment I'm more a partisan of Southern Rhône wines and wines made in that style. Part of my growth as a wine drinker has been to appreciate blends, and I find it eye-opening to drink Rhône and Rhône-styled blends and then drink varietal Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, etc. But that's just me; go where your fancy takes you. I firmly believe that every serious wine drinker knows deep in his heart what he wants to try next. I'm happy you're enjoying the casts. One of the reasons that I started doing them was that when I was first learning about wine there weren't a lot of audio/visual resources available that were fact-dense and that systematically took you through a topic. So, I started doing casts that would appeal to my learning style, and I'm always glad to hear that they're helpful to someone else. Please don't be a stranger to the comments, and I wish you a fantastic wine journey for 2017 and beyond!
There is a lot of bad Merlot out there. And now, there's just as much bad Pinot Noir. Thanks Miles. There's great Merlot and Pinot Noir out there as well.
its easier to make bad pinot noir than merlot, pinot is not a easy grape to make wine from and amateurs will make bad wine every time. Its just not a grape you plant if you dont know what the fuck you are doing
Hey, Hey! I hated Merlot long before THAT movie made hating it cool... I went to college in the 1990's and anytime my uneducated palate came across Merlot, the one thing I knew was I did not like it, Sam I am. However, much like the after effects of the Judgement of Paris for French wines, I think the cinematic smack down the grape received forced producers to step up their games because I find Merlots today don't have that flabby, no acid, 'missing middle' anymore, which I used to abhor. Of course my wallet can lift a bigger load these days too, so maybe that's why. But it appears, you aren't a fan of the film. Regarding the international status of the grape as affirmed by plantings in China, among other places, It's interesting to think about this because it seem to me that since China is really enamored of Bordeaux as the pinnacle of wines, many to most of the producers in China create Bordeaux style wines. This says to me that China doesn't so much have a taste for Merlot as it has a reverence for Bordeaux flavor, for which Merlot is a necessary (evil--i mean) ingredient. Indeed, just last week I went to a wine tasting at a local high-end wine shop (in Shanghai) that was showcasing Chinese producers and out of 13 wines tasted, 10 were cab/merlot blend jammed full of the almost-medoc je ne sais quoi. Two were whites (a chard and a riesling), and the 12th was actually a completely random grape, a crossing of Grenache and Cab gifted to China by France in a good will exchange 2001, Marselan is the name. The Ao Yun 2013 & 2014 were interesting Cab/Merlots (the winery is in the LVMH stable, and interestingly enough I thought was the only one I tasted that was not trying to be French). Other Notables: Silver Heights, Kanaan, Grave Vineyard, and Jia Bei Lan (which I believe was the first Chinese wine to win an award presented by Decanter Magazine). Skol!
Hello! Thanks for taking the time to write in -- there's a lot to think about in your message. I, too, am finding better Merlot now than I used to, but I suspect, as you shrewdly observed about your own wallet, that that's because I can afford better stuff these days. I would love to believe that the wine world is the sort of place where producers would have a moment of clarity after a film and collectively intone, "Crap, we gotta get out Merlot game together or it's curtains" and then up their aforementioned game, but there's still an ocean of flabby, hollow Merlot out there if for no other reason than the sheer volume produced every year. As I point out in the Pinot cast, though everyone loves to tell the "Sideways almost ended Merlot as we know it" story, what actual research is out there suggests that it took a small hit in the U.S. but has been thriving (from an economic standpoint anyway) worldwide, and, let's face it, the only people that stopped drinking Merlot after that film were the sort of folks who care a lot about what other people see them drinking. That brings me to the point you made about the status of Bordeaux in China. What I've read (and I don't have your boots-on-the-ground experience) suggests that Bordeaux occupies a status there as a signifier of culture, i.e., regardless of whether you enjoy it as such or not, consuming it is a way of indicating that you're a certain type of (cultured) individual. That's not meant as a judgement; I think it's true throughout the wine world, including in France (gasp!) and among wine professionals (double gasp!). And that brings me to the film. I liked Sideways quite a bit (I own it and re-watch it regularly) but I feel toward it the way I do toward Somm (another owned and frequently watched film): I find it disheartening that a segment of the wine drinking public is so insecure about their own judgement and taste that they'll let a film dictate the terms of their engagement with the grape. Again, not a judgement; I was in that spot when I first started drinking wine and found that education was the key to developing my sense of judgement. The reason I started doing these casts was to, hopefully, help get wine drinkers to a place where they feel comfortable exploring and experimenting on their own. That's also why I'm reticent to discus individual producers in this context: I'm not interested in being the voice of authority that tells you what to drink. Sorry for the long-winded response, but I really found your message engaging. Thanks again for taking the time and effort to compose it. Cheers!
Are you kidding? not long-winded at all, and thanks for such an intricate rejoinder. I just want to add I completely agree with your take on both Sideways and Somm in terms of influence (I was in a shop tonight looking at Barolos and remembered how Somm made that grape Buzz, at least in my circle). I was certainly inspired by both of those movies myself, and probably no small part why I jumped into Wine myself (WSET and such). You are probably right that Merlot only dipped, but I had heard from some video or other that once the Pinot crazy was lit, every available nook, cranny, and hillside in California that could be planted with Pinot was planted with Pinot, even if the terroir wouldn't support it properly. I don't know how true that is, but seems like the second cut from that double edged sword--lower quality pinot at everyday prices. Regarding the cultured approach in China, you are exactly right, it's not a judgement, it's a fact. In a sense it's a very brand label oriented mindset, and Bordeaux has the top status so that's where people are looking. It's not to the exclusion of everything else, but it's certainly heavily weighted--both in volume as well as price. Rock on, and keep educating us winos! You do a great job, i'm jealous of the quality and depth of your research and knowledge. :D
love your channel, one of the best out there. thank you
Thank you and thanks for taking the time to watch and send a message. Cheers!
South Australian merlots are stunning , naturally there is regional variation however at around 10 years of age they transform to a wonderful black current syrup type flavor without much sweetness.
Great Informative video as always.
I always known about the blend between Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon since I saw an episode of Frasier. In a blind taste test between Frasier and Niles, on the final bottle Niles went for a Napa- Merlot (which he referred as "jammy") and Frasier went for a Napa - Cabernet Sauvignon.
in the end the bottle was a blend of 45% Napa - Cabernet Sauvignon and 55% Napa Merlot, to which Niles won by 10 % , much to Frasier's annoyance!.
Just stumbled upon your channel, thank you for all these amazing informative videos!
I am recently starting to explore more old world wines, beginning with wines from Bordeaux. Recently I enjoyed a 2012 St. Emilion from Chateau Fonplegade (and thanks to your Bordeaux video, I now know what the Grand Cru Classé classification is!) I believe the wine is a 95% merlot blend, and I definitely noticed the cast towards bright red fruits and some green pepper and grassy notes, as opposed to the lusher, jammier dark fruit-like merlots found in my more familiar new world (Napa) styles. I think I really enjoy these right bank style wines, but will definitely have to explore them more!
I have a few left bank Bordeauxs sitting in my cellar to explore, one from Margaux (2014 Chateau Labégorce) and one from the St. Estephe appellation (2010 Chateau Tronquoy-Lalande).
Sorry for the long comment, just wanted to share! But I do have a question, is there a particular region you might suggest I explore next? Some have suggested Northern Rhone, but I am curious to see what you think! Again, thanks for your videos! I am learning so much.
Thanks for the comment! It's not too long; I love hearing about what everyone's drinking. I'm glad you're enjoying Bordeaux; you're right that it's definitely a different party than what's going on in the U.S. When I first started drinking them I didn't know what to make of them because they weren't the big fruit-driven styles I was used to but over time I came to really value how they challenge you to try to get to the bottom of what's going on in each glass. You certainly won't injure yourself to drink Northern Rhônes whenever you can, but at the moment I'm more a partisan of Southern Rhône wines and wines made in that style. Part of my growth as a wine drinker has been to appreciate blends, and I find it eye-opening to drink Rhône and Rhône-styled blends and then drink varietal Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, etc. But that's just me; go where your fancy takes you. I firmly believe that every serious wine drinker knows deep in his heart what he wants to try next.
I'm happy you're enjoying the casts. One of the reasons that I started doing them was that when I was first learning about wine there weren't a lot of audio/visual resources available that were fact-dense and that systematically took you through a topic. So, I started doing casts that would appeal to my learning style, and I'm always glad to hear that they're helpful to someone else. Please don't be a stranger to the comments, and I wish you a fantastic wine journey for 2017 and beyond!
There is a lot of bad Merlot out there. And now, there's just as much bad Pinot Noir.
Thanks Miles.
There's great Merlot and Pinot Noir out there as well.
its easier to make bad pinot noir than merlot, pinot is not a easy grape to make wine from and amateurs will make bad wine every time. Its just not a grape you plant if you dont know what the fuck you are doing
Thanks for the education
thanks, great explanation! I wish I find your videos before paying $800 for wine certification program
nice informative video..keep the good work on..cheers
Thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment! Cheers!
Love me my Right Bank Bordeaux wines! 🍷