Bordeaux vs Virginia Blind Merlot

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“Fcking” Merlot is arguably the least-appreciated wine in Virginia. Petit Verdot and Petit Manseng are the rising stars people like to talk about, while Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay are vineyard workhorses. Yet for some reason, Merlot doesn’t get the same level of attention.

A look at Virginia’s recent wine competitions doesn’t help its case. Merlot has earned a grand total of 8 Gold medals in the past three Governor’s Cup competitions. Not bad…but that pales compared to 49 Golds for Petit Verdots and 24 for Petit Mansengs in the same space of time. Heck, even Albariño has earned 10 VA Governor’s Cup Golds recently, and that’s with a fraction of the plantings Merlot has.

So on the face of it, maybe it’s fair to say Merlot doesn’t have the same level of luster as other well-known varieties. Yet that statement defies logic, for two reasons.

First, Merlot is the 2nd most planted grape in the entire state, according to the most recent survey of Virginia grape growers. Petit Verdot and Chardonnay are close, but Merlot is still ahead by a handful of acres. This isn’t what you’d expect from a variety that’s unappreciated. It helps you can find a lot of clay (Merlot’s preferred soil) in Virginia, so Merlot is well suited to this state.

Second, Merlot is a key component of a number of Virginia’s most iconic Bordeaux-style wines (looking at you, King Family, Barboursville, and Michael Shaps, to name a few). In many of them, Merlot is often their largest contributor.

Merlot’s most famous expression is probably found on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, although arguably that’s somewhat an unfair statement. Bordeaux wines are nearly all blends, so tasting a Right Bank Bordeaux is more like a “Merlot & friends”. That’s a big difference to Virginia Merlots, where 100% expressions are the norm.

So when I decided to do a Merlot comparison, it wasn’t a straight-up comparison. All four bottles from Virginia were 100% Merlot, while only one of the French bottles was 100%. The remaining three Bordeaux were anywhere from 80%-88% Merlot, and finding bottles with that high a percentage was difficult.

Tasting & Scoring Methodology

I picked the Bordeaux bottles in advance, selecting ones that were anywhere from $35-$45 and composed of least 80% Merlot. I paired the French and Virginia bottles according to vintage age as best as I could.

I felt ~$40 was a sweet spot price-wise since the French bottles would largely be at the same price point as their Virginia counterparts. I assume I was getting more export-oriented bottles (France tends to keep its best stuff, or put it outside my price point), but such is Bordeaux’s esteem that even ‘budget-friendly’ Bordeaux wines punch above their weight.

I also took the unusual step of decanting all of my wines. Young Bordeaux are notorious for taking time to open up, so I made sure they all received a good 2 hours in my decanters. The Virginia wines usually got an hour.

A group of friends & I blind tasted 4 comparison flights, each consisting of one French and one Virginia wine. All the flights were bagged blind. It wasn’t planned that way, but it turned out the odd numbers were always Virginia and even numbers were France.

Every round my guests picked a favorite, and also told me what region they felt it came from. After we sampled all of them, we did a vote to decide the top 3 wines of the day, then revisited the top wines for a 2nd tasting.

The contenders:

1. 2022 Greenhill Vineyards Merlot

2. 2020 Chateau Dragon de Quintus – St. Emilion (84.7% Merlot, 15.3% Cabernet Franc; roughly $40)

3. 2019 “Russ Mountain” Walsh Family Wine Merlot ($42)

4. 2019 Chateau Belles Graves – Lalande de Pomerol (88% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc; $46)

5. 2019 Chateau O’Brien Merlot ($69)

6. 2020 Troplong Mondot – St. Emilion (100% Merlot, roughly $40)

7. 2021 Bluestone Vineyard Merlot ($27.50)

8. 2020 Chateau Tour St Christophe – St. Emilion (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc; $35)

Flight #1

  • Bottle #1: 2022 Greenhill Vineyards (4 votes)
  • Bottle #2: 2020 Chateau Dragon de Quintus (4 votes)

This was a tough round to judge. The results were evenly split, with #1/Greenhill generally being described as more smokey/spicy while #2/Dragon de Quintus was more tannic/punchy, with notes of dark fruit and forest floor. We didn’t do a great job identifying the correct region, as Greenhill really came off as ‘old world’.

Bottle #1 / 2022 Greenhill Vineyards (Virginia). The first wine (Greenhill) was a shade lighter, had some earth notes, but didn’t present as ‘New World’ to me. Our tasting notes generally focused on how it was more smokey/spicy, smooth, with reminders of autumn. 

Bottle #2 / 2020 Chateau Dragon de Quintus (France). This wine was definitely the earthier and bolder of the two. I felt #2 was France, but I wasn’t completely certain of that call.

Most of the tasting descriptors listed #2 as more tannic/punchy, with notes of dark fruit; blackberry specifically. The higher level of alcohol (15.5%) was a turn-off for some people.

Votes:

  1. Matt: Voted #1, felt it was Virginia.
  2. Dominick: Voted #1, felt it was VA. Detected a woodsy, barrel-y char to it. Felt #2 had darker fruit, a more cranberry nose, and was tannic.
  3. Hailey: Voted #2, felt it was VA. Described #1 was smoky and peppery, while #2 had more cloves and forest floor.
  4. Ann: Voted #2 and thought it was Virginia. Felt #1 was ‘woodsy’. Felt #2 was bolder, with a blackberry note.
  5. Emily: Voted #1, felt it was from VA. Thought #1 had a cherry nose, ‘autumnal spice’ notes on the palate. Thought it was nicely balanced. Thought #2 was ‘punchy’ (it did have 15.5% alcohol), was more fruit forward, and notes to blackberry and cherry.
  6. Brandon: Voted #1, thought #1 was VA. Thought #2 was higher in tannin.
  7. Ashley: Voted #2, thought #2 was France. Thought #1 had notes of coco and detected smooth tannin, maybe cherry coco on the notes and some pumpkin spice, nutmeg on the palate. Thought #2 was more caramelized, maybe a bit of brett and notes of liquorish.
  8. Mica: Voted #2, thought #2 was France. Thought #1 was ‘mustardy’ (maybe spicy?), peppery.

Flight #2

  • Bottle #3: 2019 “Russ Mountain” Walsh Family Wine Merlot (6 votes)
  • Bottle #4: 2019 Chateau Belles Graves – Lalande de Pomerol (2 votes)

I immediately liked this round much more than the previous one, even if both came off as somewhat barnyard-y. Again, the Virginia wine was lighter in color. I wasn’t a fan of #4 (Lalande de Pomerol) although by and large it was enjoyed by the table. #3/Walsh was almost universally pinned as our Virginia wine, if only because #4 was so unmistakenly France.

Bottle #3 / 2019 “Russ Mountain” Walsh Family Wine Merlot. I was surprised how many notes of ‘barnyard’ came out; having tried this in the past I don’t remember that at all. There were fruit notes here, but you had to look for them. Some noted notes of jamminess with that fruit.

Bottle #4 / 2019 Chateau Belles Graves. 13.5% alcohol but some felt it was higher. If #3 was barnyard-y, this was VERY barnyard-y with a side of funk. More than a few guests said they detected notes of green pepper and overall ‘earth’ notes.

Votes:

  1. Matt: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. I felt it was the far more balanced of the two, while #4 was rather monolithic to me (ironic because #3 was 100% Merlot while #4 had some Cab Franc).
  2. Dominick: Voted #4, thought #4 was Virginia. Detected notes of thick jam, specifically strawberry in #3. Detected more green pepper on the nose and some on the palate of #4.
  3. Hailey: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. Felt #3 had a longer finish, more tart cherry, black pepper, with some barnyard characteristics. Felt #4 was more vegetal.
  4. Ann: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. #3 had a petrol nose, more fruit forward, floral, grippy and jammy.
  5. Emily: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. Thought #3 was very funky and barnyard-y on the nose. Thought #4 had higher alcohol and more green pepper notes.
  6. Brandon: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. Thought both were funky, but #4 was more so. #4 also had more alcohol.
  7. Ashley: Voted #4, thought #4 was France. Thought #3 had notes of barnyard on the palate. Was tannic, notes of green pepper, ‘pesto sauce’. #4 was earthier.
  8. Mica: Voted #3, thought #3 was Virginia. Thought #3 was ‘mildly memorable’, had a pepper tang, was earthy. #4 was more acidic.

Flight #3

  • Bottle #5: 2019 Chateau O’Brien Merlot (6 votes)
  • Bottle #6: Troplong Mondot – St. Emilion (2 votes)

This was perhaps my favorite round of the day, and the group agreed these wines had two of the nicest finishes of the entire lineup.

Bottle #5 / 2019 Chateau O’Brien. Lots of great descriptors, with fruit notes of black or tart cherry, blackberry, blueberry, clove. “Fun” and “Vibrant” were my two favorite tasting descriptors. I suspect many of us knew this would be in the finalist round.

Bottle #6 / 2020 Troplong Mondot – St. Emilion. A rare 100% Merlot from Bordeaux. I liked it when I first sampled it at a wine store and my palate remembered it, since I was one of two people to vote for this wine as the round favorite. I thought this would go into the finalist round too, but I got outvoted.

This wine was almost universally praised for its balance, body, and black cherry/blackberry notes. Someone mentioned this was a ‘sit by the fire’ wine, and I think there was a lot of agreement on that.

Votes:

  1. Matt: Voted #6, thought #6 was France. Thought #6 had wonderful black cherry notes.
  2. Dominick: Voted #5, thought #5 was Virginia. Thought #5 had notes of dark fruit, noted a nice finish.
  3. Hailey: Voted #6, thought #6 was Virginia. Thought #5 had notes of cloves, cherry, blackberry, and was tart. #6 had black cherry, blackberry, and was velvety.
  4. Ann: Voted #5, thought #5 was Virginia. Thought #5 was ‘vibrant and fun’, fruit forward, with notes of boysenberry. #6 was more savory and had a good body.
  5. Emily: Voted #5, thought #5 was Virginia. #5 was tart cherry, a little musty, liked the fruity aroma. #6 changed a lot in the glass (no tasting notes though).
  6. Brandon: Voted #5, thought #5 was Virginia. #5 had notes of tart cherry, while #6 had an almost Pillsbury note to it, maybe brioche.
  7. Ashley: Voted #5, thought #5 was Virginia. (I think this was #6); thought the nose and palate had different flavors.
  8. Mica: Voted #5, thought #5 was France. Thought #5 had notes of blackberry and chocolate, with some mild pepper. #6 was tangier on the finish but was balanced.

Flight #4

  • Bottle #7: 2021 Bluestone Vineyard Merlot (8 votes)
  • Bottle #8: 2020 Chateau Tour Saint Christophe – St. Emilion (0 votes)

This was my 2nd favorite round. Both wines were well balanced and complex, although we overwhelmingly thought the Bluestone simply had more going for it. 

Bottle #7 / 2021 Bluestone Vineyard Merlot. People LOVED the nose on this one. Very well balanced (I thought the best balance of the day), and this is the first time I ever heard someone describe ‘tomato leaf’ as a descriptor. Notes of tart cherry were also mentioned.

I do want to give a special shout out – at $27.50 this was possibly the best buy of the day. Try that Shenandoah Valley fruit!

Bottle #8 / 2020 Chateau Tour St Christophe. I looked online and this had some amazing ratings to it. This wine was almost universally praised for its balance, body, and black cherry/blackberry notes. Several noted its higher level of acidity, notes of mocha or chocolate, and many agreed with comments of its richness.

Votes:

  1. Matt: Voted for #7 and I leaned towards France but couldn’t really decide. I thought #7 was complex and balance.
  2. Dominick: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. Thought #7 had a tomato leave nose, while the palate was more tomato and bell pepper. #8 was more dark chocolate.
  3. Hailey: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. Thought #7 was more tart cherry, red cherry, basil, and baking spice. #8 was more blackberry, clove, was more fruit-forward.
  4. Ann: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. Thought #7 had an almost sweet nose to it, and found notes of plumb. #8 had more brioche to it.
  5. Emily: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. Loved the nose on #7. Thought #8 was more of a cherry pie nose, and noted the great color.
  6. Brandon: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. #7 was more vegetal, well balanced, #8 was more jammy and rich.
  7. Ashley: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. #7 had an almost butter popcorn nose to it, toasty oak, coco. #8 had higher acidity and a chocolate pop to it.
  8. Mica: Voted for #7 and thought it was Virginia. #7 reminded her of blackberry jam, while #8 was more acidity, maybe a lime and blackberry note to it.

Finalist Flight

  • Bottle #3: 2019 ‘Russ Mountain’ Walsh Family Wine (2nd place)
  • Bottle #5: 2019 Chateau O’Brien (#1st place)
  • Bottle #7: 2021 Bluestone Vineyard (#3rd place)

I did a poll of our favorite wines, and #3/Walsh Family, #5/Chateau O’Brien, and #7/Bluestone Vineyard were picked. As it so happened, all were from Virginia!

I wasn’t surprised that #5 (Chateau O’Brien) or #7 (Bluestone) made the list; there seemed to be a consensus to include those two. The hard part was choosing a 3rd option.

While I wasn’t a big fan of our 2nd round, we had more than a few guests who LOVED that round the most. There was just something about the ‘Old World’ quality that spoke to some people.

In the end, complexity of the #5/Chateau O’Brien earned the most #1st place votes, as well as many 2nd place votes. Walsh and Bluestone were almost tied.

  1. Matt: Voted #5 / #7 / #3.
  2. Dominick: Voted #7 / #5 / #3.
  3. Hailey: Voted #3 / #7 / #5.
  4. Ann: Voted #5 / #3 / #7.
  5. Emily: #5 / #3 / #7.
  6. Brandon: #5 / #7 / #3.
  7. Ashley: #5 / #3 / #7.
  8. Mica: #3 / #5 / #7.

Lessons Learned

I hadn’t done a straight-up Bordeaux comparison before, so it was interesting to see the results. I have to say though; I was genuinely surprised to see that in 1-vs-1, Virginia won 3 out of 4 and tied with the 4th. On top of that, the top 3 were all Virginia.

I have to wonder if maybe my guests having a ‘Virginia palate’ may have influenced the results (we picked the Virginia wine around 75% of the time). That’s not entirely true though; we often liked the Bordeaux wine, and several chose Bordeaux over Virginia…but the purity of the fruit of the Virginia wines often carried them to the ‘win’.

That in itself was surprising. Normally you think that blends are an improvement, since the combination is supposed to give them an edge over single-varietal wines. Yet here, the most popular French wine was probably the 100% Merlot. The other three (with 12-20% Cab Franc) were at times too tannic, or too acidic, or too alcohol-y.

I do think I need to up my game in finding equivalent French bottles. You’d think wines in the $40-range would be equivalent to what Virginia can produce, but here that wasn’t so.

I also have to give credit to Howard O’Brien of Chateau O’Brien, who introduced this wine to me on a visit earlier this year. O’Brien is known for smooth but big reds, especially his Tannat. This was the first time he’d had a 100% Merlot, and he knocked it out of the park. I probably should have put this against a higher-priced Bordeaux to make it a more equitable challenge.

Most importantly, everyone in attendance loved these 100% Merlots. So screw that Sideways movie and try one yourself.

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