Bonjour from France! I’m at Wine Paris, the world’s leading wine and spirits event. Over three days, more than 6,000 exhibitors from 60 countries fill the Porte de Versailles convention center with a truly mind-boggling amount of wine.
How many different Merlots are waiting for me in this sprawling plaza of exhibition halls? Considering that Merlot is one of the world’s favorite grape varieties, it’s got to be thousands.
But time is short and the transatlantic flight is long, so I decide to seek out a style of Merlot that I can’t easily find at home. Passing the self-serve tasting station at the Switzerland wine chalet, my eyes land on this bottle: The “Ottavo” white Merlot from Ticino, on the southern slopes of the Swiss Alps.
Merlot thrives in the Alpine slopes and valleys, where the vines can soak up the sun and the grapes retain their acidity in the cool mountain air. In the Italian-influenced region of Ticino, the variety accounts for 80% of plantings. Most of the production is red wine, but a small amount of Merlot is being vinified in a dry white style.
I taste a few white (and rosé) Merlots at the Swiss Wine booth, but Ottavo stands out for its complexity and elegant floral perfume. Almost clear in the glass, with a faint apricot blush. Cherry blossom, chrysanthemum, yellow roses, almond extract or cherry stone, sweet hay, light vanilla, and toasted almond. Dry and light-to-medium in texture with flavors of white cherry and strawberry tops, leading into a rounder fruit aromas of creamy melon and lychee as it warms. The finish is crisp and lightly herbal, with traces of mint, cut grass, and verbena.
“White Merlot,” as I have ever experienced it, is a hot-pink, semi-sweet abomination that had a moment in the late 1990s, riding the coattails of California white Zinfandel. This is something else entirely: A pale Alpine Merlot with sophistication and delicacy.
The grapes for Ottavo come from 43-year-old Merlot vines and are hand-harvested and de-stemmed. Gentle pneumatic pressing and clarification of the must preserves its ethereal fragrance, while lees stirring adds body and complexity. (Malolactic conversion occurs in the barrel at the winemaker’s discretion.) The wine begins its fermentation and concludes its aging in old oak barriques (11 months, plus 3 months bottle aging).
This is an expression of Merlot that is growing in popularity (according to the promotional group Swiss Wine), but it was novel to me. It was a treat to try it!
Downsides? Only that it’s rather expensive–prohibitively expensive to import after tariffs, alas. The winemaker recommends serving the white Merlot well-chilled as an apertif, or to pair with fish, young cheese, or light meats.
Bottle: Cantina Il Cavaliere “Ottavo” Bianco di Merlot Ticino DOC (2023) – Switzerland
Variety: Merlot (100%)
ABV: 13%
Suggested retail: $46
My rating: 9.0
On Thursdays, we Merlot! Pour yourself a glass and join in. (You can view archived #MerlotThursday reviews here.)
Further reading:
Cantina Il Cavaliere: High-quality wines from Ticino
Swiss Wine: Ticino: The land of Merlot by excellence
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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