Merlot Red Rhone Blend White Blend France Burgundy 750ml

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.

Year in, year out, France enjoys its prestigious reputation as the producer of the finest wines in the world. With a wine making history which spans several thousand years and owes its expertise to the Romans, it comes as little surprise that this most highly esteemed of the Old World wine countries continues to impress and enchant both novices and experts to this day. Despite the rise in quality of wines from neighboring European countries, not to mention the New World, the French wine industry continues to boom, with up to eight billion bottles being produced in recent years. However, France prides itself on always putting quality before quantity, and the wide range in fine produce is a testament to the dedication and knowledge of the wineries across the country. Indeed, from rich and complex reds to light and aromatic white wines, French wines are as varied and interesting as they are enjoyable to drink, making this country a firm favorite for wine lovers across the globe.

The region of Burgundy has become synonymous with high quality red wines, but in actual fact the region consistently produces a wide variety of fine wines of many different styles, rigorously protected by French wine laws designed to keep reputations and quality at a very high level. The region benefits greatly from a warm and sunny summer climate, which, coupled with the excellent quality soils which typify the region, and centuries of experience and expertise, has led to the region being known all over the world for the excellence of its produce. The majority of grapevines grown here are of the Pinot Noir varietal, which has helped Burgundy become known as the definitive region for elegant and smooth red wines, but Chardonnay grapes and many others are also grown in abundance and used to make both still and sparkling wines.