The Cellar: Eastern European Merlot?
Friday, November 13, 2015
This week’s featured wines are both Merlots. What makes these Merlots interesting and unusual, however, is where they are from – Macedonia & Moldova. Both countries are relative newcomers to the international wine scene bringing with them a slew of interesting and unique wines, some made from classic grape varieties, others made from more unusual endogenous ones.
Alongside Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot is one of the most widely planted fine red grape varieties in the world. While the quality of the crop and eventual wine depends heavily on the quality of the soil, the climate and how the vineyard is worked, several things make Merlot universally well-liked. It is pretty easy to grow; it grows in most climates, it grows relatively vigorously and the vine is naturally high yielding. On top of this Merlot is generally thought of as producing smooth, rounded and ‘easy drinking’ wines. The main reasons for this is that the Merlot grapes ripens earlier than, for example, Cabernet Sauvignon, and therefore almost always fully ripens; in cooler regions as well as in more moderate ones. The Merlot grape has thin skins, which result is wines with lower acidity, less tannins and wines with dark and rich fruit profiles.
Macedonia
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis week’s first Merlot is made by Bovin Winery, which was among the first privately build wineries in Macedonia. The company was established in 1998 producing a whopping 120.000 bottles during their first year in business. Their output has since grown to over 1 million bottles annually with grapes sourced from Estate vineyards, as well as outside growers. While classic grape varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are prominently featured in a lot of their wines, so are the indigenous grapes Vranec and Dissan.
Bovin owns approximately 150 acres of farmland in the Tikvesh wine region with its vineyards situated near the town of Lepovo just 3.5 miles from the Bovin winery. Roughly 27 acres are devoted to growing Merlot whose lots sit at approximately 1150 feet. The 2009 Bovin Merlot ‘Barrique’ is made from selected vines of the southwestern slopes of Lepovo. After fermentation the wine then aged in Macedonian oak barrels for 12 months. The resulting wine is really special as 5 years of bottle-age has left its mark. This is not your Californian fruit bomb. This is a savory experience with herbs and dark fruit undertones. The wine has exceptional length and best enjoyed with gamey foods – I loved this wine with roasted lamb.
Moldova
Surprisingly, the tiny country of Moldova ranks among the most important wine producing nations in Eastern Europe. Its climate is well suited to growing grapes with producers making quality wines from most of the classic varieties including Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot and Chardonnay. The history of Moldovan wine is very interesting as archaeological evidence suggesting primitive winemaking dates back millions of years. More recently, Russian Imperial rule saw viticulture flourish while Islamic Ottoman rule almost caused its demise.
As if the origins of this wine didn’t make it unusual enough, this Merlot was made using winemaking techniques emulating those of an Amarone, using late harvested (partially dried) Merlot grapes. The resulting wine is very interesting. While not as long as the Bovin, it does exhibit delicious dark fruits, but also a healthy dose of acidity. Once again there are a lot of savory undertones of herbs and vegetables in this wine making it a very unusual treat.
If you love to try new and exciting things these Merlot are right down your alley. Cheers!
Steffen Rasch is a Certified Sommelier and Specialist of Wine. Feel free to email him at [email protected] with any wine-related questions or learn about wine in person by signing up for one of his tastings at the Providence Wine Academy.
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