Question about Merlots

[Roy K]

I am very much a wine novice so please excuse me if this is a dumb question. My wife recently bought some Merlot and she heard that Merlot stays good for a long period of time. Does it need to be refrigerated after opening? Is it similar to a Port?
Thanks

[wondersofwine]

Are you speaking of how it holds up after being opened? It will not hold up as long as a Port (which is fortified with hard liquor). It should be recorked at a minimum and possibly refrigerated for longer life. (I refrigerate my leftover red wines and then let them sit at room temperature for about 30-40 minutes before drinking) Three to four days after opening is probably the max before the merlot starts to noticeably
deteriorate. In one of Andrea Immer's books she rates the wines on a scale to show which ones tend to hold up better after opening. Not sure how Merlots rate in comparison to the other red wines.

[Roy K]

Thanks. About how long should a Merlot last unopened? Also how long will it last if we pump the air out of bottle and refrigerate after opening?

[Innkeeper]

Hi Roy and welcome to the Wine Board. Those air pumps don't work very well. Also wines vary in lasting power by type as well as by producer. In her book (2004 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone), Immer rates the the lasting power of widely distributed wines as WOW refers to. She evaluates reds on how they hold by recorking and leving on the kitchen counter. Refrigerating would improve the lasting as WOW also states. Immer's Average rating means a "one day wine"; B holds 2-3 days; B+ gets better over 2-3 days; A has a 3-4 day freshness window; and A+ holds and gets better over 3-4 days.

The merlots she rates vary from Average to A. Average merlots include Bogle and Blackstone, two of my favorites; and A's go to Frog's Leap and Gallo of Sonoma. The Gallo sells for about the same price as the Bogle and Blackstone. So you can see that neither grape type nor price determines the holding power of a wine.

Unopened merlot has holding power determined by quality. Primarily merlot wines from the East Bank of the Garonne (St Emilion and Pomerol)in Bordeaux will hold for ten years or more. So will a handful of expensive ones from California, e.g. Duckhorn. Most lower priced (under $20) from Europe, U.S., or the Southern Hemisphere have lifespans of five years or less.