For years, Merlot played a quiet supporting role in South Africa’s wine industry - often written off as a soft, easy-drinking red or used to take the edge off bigger blends.
That narrative is rapidly changing.
Armed with precise site selection, careful canopy management, and meticulous harvest timing, local winemakers are proving the variety can yield structured, fresh, and age-worthy single varietals capable of commanding world-class respect.
More than a blending partner
According to Merlot South Africa, the grape is often valued for its softness and ability to bring balance to blends. Yet its potential extends well beyond that role.
Merlot can produce full bodied wines with good colour, balanced tannins and the ability to develop with age. The key lies in understanding where it grows best and how it is managed in the vineyard.
In South Africa, Merlot accounts for about 6% of total vine plantings and 13% of red grape varieties.
Around 6.5 million litres are sold annually, but the numbers do not tell the full story. Producers are increasingly interested in quality rather than simply volume.
Finding the right site
For Elunda Basson, cellarmaster at Steenberg Vineyards, location is central to the future of premium Merlot.
“Merlot is often underestimated, yet some of the world’s most celebrated wines are built around it,” Basson said. “A greater focus on provenance and vineyard expression is revealing its complexity, structure and ageing potential.”
The grape is particularly sensitive to its growing environment. Too much heat can affect freshness while cooler conditions can make it difficult for the grapes to reach full ripeness.
“Merlot is particularly responsive to the site. Too cool, and ripeness can be compromised; too warm, and freshness can be lost,” Basson said. “The best examples achieve a careful balance between the two.”
That makes vineyard orientation, climate and soil important considerations when producers are looking to create premium wines.
Precision starts in the vineyard
At Steenberg, viticulturist and farm manager Vlok Hanekom believes that quality is determined long before the grapes reach the cellar.
“Great Merlot is built through hundreds of decisions throughout the growing season,” he said.
Those decisions include pruning, canopy management, crop regulation and determining the right moment to harvest.
“Our role in the vineyard isn’t simply to grow grapes. It’s to create the foundation for the style of wine we want to make,” Hanekom said. “Every decision, from pruning and canopy management to crop regulation and harvest timing, is aimed at achieving fruit with natural concentration, balanced acidity and fully ripe tannins.”
The goal is physiological ripeness, where the fruit, tannins and acidity work together rather than one element dominating the wine.
“We’re looking for complete physiological ripeness, where fruit, tannins and acidity are in balance. That’s what ultimately determines quality,” Hanekom said.
From vineyard to glass
The relationship between the vineyard and cellar is equally important. Hanekom and Basson work closely throughout the growing season to align decisions about crop levels, ripening and harvest timing.
“Every vineyard decision has consequences in the cellar,” Basson said. “Vlok and I work towards the same goal. The vineyard creates the potential; the cellar preserves and refines it.”
For Basson, structure should not come at the expense of freshness.
“At Steenberg, structure is never achieved at the expense of freshness,” she said. “Every cellar decision protects fruit purity and acidity while building depth, texture and longevity.”
Merlot gets its moment
The shift towards premium Merlot is also being reflected in the market. Earlier this year, Steenberg Vineyards received a Platinum Medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards and was named Merlot of the Year at the London Wine Competition.
Zulu Girl Wines has also placed its 2022 Merlot in South African Airways' premium business class lounges and in-flight offering, putting the variety in front of travellers looking for South African wines.
The airline said its business class wine selection followed an extensive tasting and selection process led by sommeliers, with wines chosen to represent the country's winemaking heritage.
For Hanekom, the opportunity is clear.
“South Africa has all the ingredients to produce world-class Merlot,” he said. “Success comes down to matching the variety to the right sites and managing it with precision.”
lutho.pasiya@nationalmg.co.za