Many producers don’t know how to work with either the vineyards or the grape varietal.
Several influences can mould the Merlot into taking-on separate and distinct characteristics.
Merlot planted in other countries and regions besides Bordeaux give rise to the expectation of a riper version of this varietal with more up-front flavours & aromas at an earlier stage.

The region, climate, clones, fermentation and the age of the vine all play an important role in the basic qualities of Merlot.

The average age of Merlot vines in South Africa (according to SAWIS*) 57% is 4-10 years and 19% is 11-15 years, which is very young since the age is fundamental to being able to produce grapes of outstanding depth and quality.

Cooling winds are essential to help the grapes during warmer days to recover from the heat.
Where the soil is too warm and fertile the grape becomes overloaded with fruit, it is important to prune correctly and not to over-crop to avoid the green harsh characteristics.

Producing excessive yields early into the life span of the vine will result in too much stress and it will become unbalanced, contributing to developing green minty and harsh characteristics.

This all comes down to the producers, what their aim for the market is and understanding the grape. Merlot is not a cheap and cheerful chappie; it is a high maintenance Lady!
Therefore the price for a great Merlot will always be higher than for many other wines.

So do we have any good Merlot in SA? I believe so!

Research here on Merlot is an ongoing process and makes it difficult to pin-point only one or two sites. We are still discovering new regions, sites, new clones and evolving our winemaking approach.

Based on the knowledge from our premium producers who have been producing some outstanding Merlots for a long time, we can actually already learn a lot.

We will find unusual places like the warm Paarl, northern side with deep cold clay soil, old vines which give low yields and this micro climate positioned, in the ‘90’s, Veenwouden as a reference in the area.

The same goes for various parts of Stellenbosch : Thelema from Banhoek fruit, Hartenberg from Bottelarey, Radford Dale from Devon Valley, Meerlust from Faure, Rust en from the Helderberg - all different sites within the region but each with a unique micro climate.

New producers like Bein & Polkadraii in Stellenbosch and Shannon Vineyards in Elgin are really making footprints for the future.

Generic, mass produced, mass-appeal, fruity, green, minty, toffee, caramel style of Merlot is not Merlot -beyond a commodity wine sector that does it no justice !

Merlot is gentle, yet fruity, plummy, cherry, mineral, graphite, structured, textured and elegant with a finish that lasts until you finish the bottle and order another one. It is pure heaven!

Mia Martensson is a qualified Sommelier and works at The Winery of Good Hope.

South Africa makes the worst Merlot in the world. Our climate, terroir, high yields and comparatively young Merlot vines all conspire against us regardless of any tricks in the cellar.

Merlot thrives in a moderate climate, which very few South African Wards, Districts or Regions can claim to be, irrespective of any marketing nonsense of cool climate viticulture, or the two oceans as a selling point. The climatic conditions of the Cape are best described as warm to hot in 85% of cases. With such an abundance of sunshine and heat, it’s inescapable that we are dealing with super ripe fruit, 14.5 % alc+, low acid and unripe tannin.

Clay and clay derivatives are best for cultivating Merlot, but they’re a rare facet of Cape terroir, except for the lucky guys in the Overberg and a few lonely pockets of the Coastal Region.

A well drained soil structure as well as the ability to keep enough moisture during the height of summer months is also critical.

The vine needs enough refreshment at this most critical time to ensure the tannin is perfectly ripe, without a green harshness… a feature of 95% of SA Merlot.

Merlot’s home town is Pomerol, France, where the average yield rarely exceeds 5 tons p/hectare. In South Africa the norm is 6.5 to 10 tons. We need to stop trying to fool the customer that high-yeilds equal great wines. Then there’s the age of the vines. In Pomerol the average age is 35+, whereas in SA the average age of virus-free vines is less than 15 years on average. Fruit structure from younger vines is not as saturated as from older vineyards and hence cannot support our tendency to age for 18 to 24 months in new French or American oak.

Great Merlot from around the world, not just Pomerol, enthrals with positive aromatics. Our better Merlot also delivers on the nose. But even this is diminished by the lack of mid-palate further accentuated with high alcohol, over oaking and an absence of fruit. Lush fruit and silky, satiny structure should be the aim for wines from this feminine grape, but too often it is hard, dull, one dimensional with a dose of green unripe tannin, over extraction and dilution due to high yields.

Clever, or should it be called lazy, winemaking has overcome some of these aspects by leaving a good 3.5 to 5 grams of residual sugar to mask that bitterness. Get high residual sugar and “Voila!” a fruity Merlot bomb. But at what cost? Merlot “bombs” are a disaster with food pairings, and continually fool the customer into believing Merlot is soft, juicy and easy drinking.

It’s not all doom and gloom. There are a handful of producers waking up to the call and trying their best not to align themselves to Merlot-Mediocrity. Theirs are starting to show the right attributes and are resultant of investing time and effort in the vineyards, employing a near-perfect oak regime and insisting on subtle extraction. If it really has to be Merlot, try:

- Shannon Vineyards Mount Bullet, from Elgin. By far SA’s finest example to date.
- Hartenberg Estate from the Bottleray ward in Stellenbosch, consistently good.
- Kling Merlot 2008 is one of the best kept secrets from a tiny 0.8 hectacre plot in Hout Bay.
- Hillcrest in Durbanville and Glenwood in Franschhoek are also well worth a try.

As for the rest… “Caveat Emptor” and the next time someone orders Merlot, you might want to think about leaving…

Miguel Chan is a qualified Sommelier and is currently Southern Sun Hotels Group Sommelier.