Underrated Grape

Merlot has had a fairly poor reputation among some circles in the past, and for no good reason. Even though it’s the most widely planted grape variety in the Bordeaux region of France, it’s often overshadowed by its more masculine sibling, Cabernet Sauvignon. Those in the know, realize that such iconic wines as Chateau Petrus and Chateau Cheval Blanc use Merlot to incredible effect as a major grape, and many of Bordeaux’s top Cabernet-centric wines wouldn’t be the same without it. These days it’s doing well to regain its place among the greats. Personally, I’ve been a fan of Merlot for as long as I’ve been drinking red wine, especially since visiting Saint Emilion in the early 2000s. It’s always good to try a new vintage, here at Sculpterra Winery.

This Wine

The 2017 vintage of Sculpterra’s Merlot is all sourced from estate-grown fruit. It comprises of roughly 80% Merlot from the rolling hills and sandy loam soils of our ‘Hillside’ block, and the rest is Cabernet Franc from more calcareous clay-based soils in front of our tasting room. After fermentation and racking from the lees, it then spent 22 months ageing in mostly 2nd and 3rd use American oak barrels.

Tasting notes

Medium garnet colour with the odd pink highlight at the edge. The wonderful vibrancy of youth.

Medium intensity on the nose. At first, aromas were of redcurrant, cherry, with hints of vanilla and cinnamon baking spice. It soon opened up to reveal blackberry and red plum, along with subtle elements of dark chocolate and leather. 

The Cabernet Franc adds some chalky tannin to the mouthfeel, balanced out very nicely by acidity reminiscent of ripe strawberries, which in turn lifts the fruit flavours rather well. 

The finish has flavours of plum and cherry, tailing off to cinnamon and chocolate. 

Conclusions

Many French offerings are less ripe and offer up more in the way of clove and liquorice, thanks to cooler conditions and their choice of barrels. This one is typical of winemaker Paul Frankel’s winemaking style and Sculpterra grapes, with great oak balance, ripe flavours, and a very approachable character even at this young age. 

I would say this wine is one which you’ll want to pick up a few bottles of.  Enjoy one in this youthful state, then hold the rest to drink every now and then, watching its development over the next five or six years. If you’ve been avoiding Merlot, it’s time to reacquaint yourself with this most noble of grapes, and this offering from Sculpterra is a great place to start. 

If you would like to see my review of the 2016 vintage, click here

If you want to visit the Sculpterra webstore to order this wine, click here.

If you then want to make the tasting even more interesting by comparing it to a French Merlot, check out the selection at Wine.com (affiliate link).

And, if you’d like to know how I ended up visiting Saint Emilion, home of Merlot, I wrote a blog post all about it.