One of the rising stars of the past twenty years has been the Merlot grape. It's been around for a great deal longer than that, partnering the Cabernet Sauvignon for centuries in the Medoc for the classic claret and in the parish of Pomerol it's been the only grape, creating wonders such as Chateau Petrus and Chateau Ausone. The traditional view was the Merlot grape provided the adjectives like supple, velvety, round and voluptuous and when combined with the Cabernet Sauvignon grape you could add nouns like structure, complexity and austerity.

The fact that it made wonderful wines all by itself, as evinced by the great wines of Pomerol and Saint Emilion, somehow never became common knowledge. It was only after Americans had discovered it as a varietal that its recent high profile began to emerge. In the 1990s the fashion for Merlot became such a surge in America that importers began to bring it in bulk from Chile to satisfy the enormous demand. So pervasive did the name become that it even found its way onto fancy interior designers' colour charts.

What makes wines made of Merlot so endearing to the Americans is the same character that has endeared it wine makers across the world and throughout the centuries. It makes a wine that's easy to drink - it's easy on the palate, it pleases the nose and eye as well. There's a vast spectrum, of course, ranging from dull, mediocre wines that are drinkable and then easily forgotten, to wines that rank with the finest wines that the world has to offer, wonderful wines that satisfy the most Sybaritic cravings in wine-lovers, wines that you can liken to a lover's lingering kiss.

Generally speaking - great Pomerols aside - it's a wine that's best drunk young. What it gives you in a glass are bright red colours tending to crimson and lots of berry fruit. It's a grape that has done great things in Chile where some very fine examples can be found, as they can in the Alexander Valley in California and in Hawke's Bay in New Zealand. Very drinkable Merlots at the lower end of the price range come from Chile as well as from southern France.

Wine of the Week

Montes Alpha Merlot 1999

The Alpha Range from Montes represents their top-end wines. This Merlot can be described with all the adjectives used above - dense crimson in colour, a powerful bouquet that you can smell the moment the bottle is uncorked and a long-lasting taste that lingers in the mouth. There's a fine balance between the predominance of the fruit and the tannins that several months in new French oak barrels provide. Because of this structure, this is a wine that has the capacity to age well but is one that can be enjoyed right now.

Available Redmonds, Nolans Kilkee, McCabes, Ardkeen Stores, Egans Drogheda and specialist stores, RRP €17.95