Merlot
Merlot is a wine of extremes. It provides much of the red wine under which bargain retailers’ shelves sag, but is also the sole ingredient of two of the world’s most idolised (and expensive) wines, Pétrus and Le Pin from the tiny Bordeaux area of Pomerol. At its best, Merlot has a beautiful silky texture, a plushness of fruit and the ability to age for decades, testified to by the great wines of Bordeaux’s right bank. It brings these qualities to ‘Bordeaux blends’ created throughout the world.