The 20 Best Merlots for 2026

Merlot is thought to be named after Merle (or Merlau), a local bird in the Bordeaux region of France. Whether this is true or not, it can be helpful to think of Merlot as the little blackbird of Bordeaux. It’s the softening ingredient to Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc: it has more flesh between the skin and fewer seeds than many other grapes, which can result in supple, deep, and fleshy red wine. And though it’s primarily known for its role in blends, Merlot can certainly shine on its own.

Despite some notable setbacks for the grape in the U.S., winemakers across the country are still making thoughtful expressions of Merlot. We tasted a wide swath of expressions from New York and Virginia to California and Oregon (plus a bright expression from Italy) and came away with the same take we’ve had all along: Merlot rocks.

Here are the 20 best Merlots to drink in 2026.

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How We Compiled This List

In order to provide our readers with the most comprehensive and thoroughly tested list of the best Merlots to buy, VinePair invited producers, distributors, and PR firms working on their behalf to send samples for consideration. These bottles were submitted free of charge — producers didn’t pay to submit nor did VinePair pay for the products. All were requested with the clear understanding that submission does not guarantee inclusion in the final list.

For the Merlot roundup, we assigned a score to each product on a 100-point scale based on the quality and intensity of its aromas, flavors, texture, and finish. Then we reviewed all scores and compiled an editorially driven list that meets our criteria of best Merlots to buy right now. Each wine was assessed on quality, price, and availability to compile the final list.

The Best Value Merlot

Frei Brothers Merlot 2024

Affordable red wine is everywhere on our market. We try a lot of it here at VinePair, so when one absolutely floors us, it’s a big deal. This Merlot is one of them.

Sourced from two estate vineyards in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley, this wine opens with soft, ripe fruit notes of blackberries, black cherry, and plum. There’s a layer of rich vanilla and spice from aging in French and American oak for nine months, adding a warming depth. The mouthfeel is plush and deep with great acidity. This is a case buy and an excellent house red.

Average price: $20
Rating: 92

The Best Splurge Merlot

Wölffer Estate Vineyard Christian’s Cuvée Merlot 2020

Winemakers in the U.S. have long taken a cue from France’s Bordeaux region, gravitating toward grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. This is particularly true in Long Island, a waterfront winegrowing area that first built its reputation on Bordeaux-style blends. But this Merlot-focused bottling brings an entirely new, unique expression of the variety. Where the West Coast coaxes out the depth and sun in its wines, Long Island’s crisp ocean breezes help the variety express its more elegant side. One is not better than the other, and that’s the beauty of American wine: we just have multiple styles on offer at any given time.

Roman Roth, winemaker at Wölffer, understands this and produces an absolutely beautiful Merlot. Blueberries, campfire smoke, and a distant hint of brewed coffee emerge on the nose. The mouthfeel is pure elegance, with delicate touches of sandalwood and cinnamon accenting the ripe fruit. It has an almost-perfect medium fruit depth and acidity that lifts each element off the palate. A gorgeous wine.

Average price: $100
Rating: 95

The Best of the Rest:

Best Merlots Under $25

Wente Family Vineyards Sandstone Merlot 2023

The Wente family has successfully produced one of the best affordable Merlots on the market. Sourced from hillside vineyards on California’s Central Coast, influenced by ocean breezes, this bottle brings lively notes of black and blue fruits with a dusting of mocha on the nose. The palate is soft, plush, and fleshy with a very well-balanced fruit core. Get this now.

Average price: $20
Rating: 93

Maddalena Merlot 2024

Get some grilled pork loin and burgers on the grill STAT. This is a great, affordable offering from the Robioli family out in Paso Robles. It offers a wonderfully rich nose of brambly blackberries, soil, and a hint of oak spice. The palate is welcoming with soft, fleshy fruit and an easy tannic frame. For the price, this wine is amazing.

Average price: $20
Rating: 93

Wagner Vineyards Merlot 2022

The Wagner family has been cultivating grapes in the Finger Lakes for five generations, and in 1979, Bill Wagner was the first winemaker to open a winery on the east side of Seneca Lake. New York’s cool climate comes across beautifully in this lively, light-footed Merlot, which comes in at just 12.4 percent ABV. The wine brings notes of blueberries, soil, and a hint of savory nori, with some added depth from 12 months of aging in both French and American oak. The texture on the palate is amazing, with ripe fruit balanced by a very present acidity that keeps the wine refreshing. How is this wine $22?

Average price: $22
Rating: 95

Best Merlots Under $50

Millbrook Winery Merlot 2024

Established in 1985 on a former dairy farm in Dutchess County, N.Y., Millbrook was one of the early pioneers to prove that European grape varieties (Vitis vinifera) could thrive in the Hudson Valley. For its Merlot, Millbrook sources fruit from the North Fork of Long Island. It offers aromas of blueberries, black cherry, and rhubarb on the nose, with some soil and pepper. The mouthfeel is high toned and vibrant, while still offering depth.

Average price: $26
Rating: 93

Paraschos Merlot 2019

Friulian Merlot is an underestimated gem. Italy’s hilly Friuli region is primarily known for its white wines, but it also produces some stunning — and remarkably fresh — expressions of a few distinct red grapes, including Merlot. This bottling from Paraschos is pure earthy fruitiness, with aromas of tart cherries, strawberries, balsamic, smoke, and spice wafting about. The palate is medium-bodied and delicious with ample crunchy red fruit. A wine to share around the dinner table.

Average price: $29
Rating: 92

Veritas Winery Merlot 2023

Veritas has proven it knows how to hone in on Virginia’s East Coast elegance. Still fresh and juicy at age three, the wine brings notes of cherries, blueberries, earth, and green herbs. The palate is soft with more rich fruit and a hint of cocoa, framed by sturdy tannins.

Average price: $33
Rating: 92

Macari Vineyards Merlot 2022

The Macari family has been pioneering the wine industry of Long Island for decades, and that experience shows up bottle after bottle. This Merlot opens with fall leaves and blueberries on the nose, with a hint of cracked black pepper. The mouthfeel is calm, with a delicate tannic frame and soft, medium fruit. A very welcoming wine and perfect for a hearty autumnal meal.

Average price: $40
Rating: 94

DuCard Vineyards Merlot 2023

Located in the shadow of Virginia’s stunning Shenandoah National Park, DuCard began as a picturesque vacation cottage in 2004. But in 2010, founder Scott Elliff expanded the property’s wine production and opened to the public, marking its start as a full-fledged winery. The wines produced here in the vineyards surrounded by the mountains are beautiful, and a refreshing new idea in American wine. This wine — which also includes some peppery Cabernet Franc in the blend — has an inviting nose of ripe berries, plums, and black cherry. The palate is medium-bodied, with a great balance between acid, fruit, and subtle hints of vanilla, dried herbs, and spice.

Average price: $42
Rating: 94

The Best Merlots Under $100

Long Meadow Ranch Napa Valley Merlot 2021

The winemaking team and the land they steward at Long Meadow Ranch are absolutely dialed in. This cannot be stressed enough. The consistent quality across the winery’s range impresses us year after year, with expressive vintage-specific wines coming from its estate vineyards. This Napa Valley Merlot stands out with vibrant, rich notes of spiced, stewed plums, blueberries, and earthy tree bark. The palate is the definition of balanced, with beautiful fruit concentration, supportive acidity, and a grippy yet subtle tannic edge.

Average price: $50
Rating: 97

Retzlaff Vineyards Merlot 2023

Gloria Retzlaff Taylor and Robert Taylor (a geochemist) founded Retzlaff in 1976 on the principle of sustainability. The Livermore Valley estate was formerly a sheep ranch and was never exposed to herbicides, giving the land a leg up and a unique quality to the wine. Retzlaff’s Merlot shows black and blue fruit on the nose, with a hint of raspberry and some earthy pepper in the background. The mouthfeel is soft and deep, with easy tannins and a lingering finish. So good.

Average price: $50
Rating: 94

Trefethen Napa Valley Merlot 2022

Founded in 1968, Trefethen Family Vineyards was among the early pioneers to plant Merlot in the Napa Valley. To this day, the winery sources its fruit from its own estate vineyards. This Merlot from the Oak Knoll District opens with inviting aromas of black cherry, plum, green herbs, and black pepper. The palate is pure Merlot, with juicy, fleshy fruit supported by medium acid and silky tannins. A wonderful wine.

Average price: $50
Rating: 94

Darcie Kent Estate Winery Crown Block Merlot 2023

This Merlot benefits from the unique location of the Crown Block vineyard site, situated in the hills of Livermore Valley’s highest elevation area. The 10-acre site’s rocky, well-draining soils produce low yields, leading to an intense concentration of the fruit. The result is an inky, plush wine with rich notes of stewed fruit and complex hints of earth and spice. Soft, juicy, and delicious.

Average price: $55
Rating: 94

Turks Head Wines Olson Vineyard Merlot 2023

Turks Head makes wines from the cool-climate vineyard sites of Sonoma, but also has a tasting room in Pennsylvania. This wine comes from the Olson vineyard, a backyard plot that was planted in 1998, nestled 540 feet up on the slopes of Sonoma Mountain. The area’s elevation comes through in this wine: there’s soil and worn leather on the nose, with the slightest hint of cured tobacco and blueberries. The palate is absolutely beautiful, with soft medium fruit supported by just the right amount of acidity.

Average price: $65
Rating: 94

Paloma Vineyard Merlot 2021

The term Mountain-grown Merlot is a statement. These wines often have the ability to stand out from the rest, soaking up the sun while achieving balance from the steep elevation. And that is exactly what this wine from Paloma’s Spring Mountain estate does. Coming from 2,000 feet above sea level in the Napa Valley, this expressive Merlot opens with notes of blueberries, black pepper, aged balsamic, and fresh soil on the nose. The mouthfeel is gorgeous, with soft, plush fruit that rests comfortably on the palate. The acid is present but barely noticeable. It is an absolutely stunning wine.

Average price: $72
Rating: 96

Pambrun Merlot 2021

Pambrun’s estate vineyard is located in SeVein, a 19-acre high-elevation site of windblown land on the Oregon side of Walla Walla. It has a proper Merlot nose with blackberry jam, earth, and spices. The palate is deep and powerful, with soft fruit and balanced acidity.

Average price: $90
Rating: 94

The Best Merlots Over $100

Component Wine Co. Napa Valley Merlot 2024

Component is Friache Wine Group’s way of expressing single-varietal wines. This is its Merlot, and it truly captures the variety’s innate characteristics. Deep peppery brambles, fresh soil, and a hint of aged balsamic in the distance. The mouthfeel is rich and slightly grippy, with calm yet concentrated fruit. This is a Merlot you decant and watch evolve over a meal.

Average price: $100
Rating: 96

Arietta Merlot Hudson Vineyards 2022

Napa Valley’s cool-climate Carneros subregion is a sweet spot for Merlot. Winemaker Andy Erickson, formerly of Harlan Estate and Screaming Eagle, works with fruit from the Hudson Vineyard to coax out a stunningly opulent expression of Merlot. The nose brings aromas of blueberries, vanilla, and baking spices with bright pops of red fruit like cherries and watermelon. The mouthfeel is rich and deep, while showcasing impeccable balance between oak, fruit, and structure.

Average price: $105
Rating: 95

Mt. Brave Mt. Veeder Merlot 2022

Mountain fruit with the depth of the sun. This wine comes from high above Napa Valley from vineyards atop Mount Veeder. This elevation gives it a savory edge, with aromas of dried herbs, earth, and peppery fruit. The mouthfeel is rich and deep, with a good amount of oak that still allows the fruit to express itself.

Average price: $115
Rating: 93

FAQs

What kind of wine is Merlot?

Merlot is a red grape variety known for being soft, ripe, elegant, and easy to drink. It originated in the Bordeaux region of France and is the second most popular red grape in America after Cabernet Sauvignon.

Is Merlot a good wine for beginners?

Merlot is often recommended as one of the first varieties someone new to red wine should drink due to its approachability, plummy taste, and soft characteristics.

Is Merlot a strong wine?

Merlot wines typically contain around 13.5 percent ABV but can approach 14.5 percent and beyond, especially when grown in the warmer climates of Australia, California, or Chile.

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