What lends certain wines that "peppery" taste?

[vindespoir]

Does anyone know what specifically about the grapes or the processing, aging etc creates the taste as well as the scent which - to me - is like black pepper? I've noticed it before, but recently I tasted a merlot at a local vineyard and the pepper was WAY forward, the strongest I had ever tasted and it got me to wondering. The lady behind the bar didn't know.

Great board, I've been lurking for a while...

[Innkeeper]

Hi Vindespoir, and welcome to the Wine Board. Have not heard of it appearing in a Merlot. Two grapes that have peppery tastes are Zinfandel and Syrah/Shiraz. These being grape characteristics not the results of some winemaking technique.

[wineguruchgo]

Under US Law, the grape varietal on the label must be 75% of what it says it is. The other "hidden" 25% can be whatever they want and they don't have to tell you.

If this was a purchase off the store shelf I would guess that they added Zin or Syrah to it and wasn't telling you.

I would like to think that someone from a winery would know the "exact" blend. But then again, maybe not. This might be a case of someone at the winery having a summer job and not knowing enough about wine to actually ask if it was 100% merlot.

That's my guess.

[TheEngineer]

Do you mean peppery as in the spice? If so then the above answers are good. If you mean green pepper then that is generally due to underripe grapes? Gent's do I have that right?

[Thomas]

Not necessarily, Engineer. Green pepper is also an underlying note in the Cabernet family, Franc and Sauvignon. It's worse when the grapes are underripe, but it's also sometimes underneath when they aren't. I forget its name but there is a component that is the suspect.

[TheEngineer]

thanks foodie. your a wealth of info!

[vindespoir]

Thanks very much for the input - I'm almost certain, then, that it must have been a blend, although the label said merlot with no other mention. It's a small winery here in KY, so I imagine they import some of the reds since the growing season here is probably sub-optimal. The wine was interesting, though.