Chateau Petrus, from a prime vineyard on well-drained clay soil atop the Pomerol plateau, has for decades stood as the world's greatest example of Merlot. Petrus's rise to the top, however, was rather meteoric, happening all at once in the second half of the 20th century.

Chateau Petrus, which is really not a Chateau at all, just a two-story farmhouse 40km from Bordeaux, dates to the mid 18th century. The golden age of Petrus, however, didn't begin until after World War II, when Madame Edmond Loubat became sole proprietor of the estate. Under her direction, Petrus became one of the first estates in Bordeaux to implement green harvesting -- a technique used to lower crop yields and increase concentration in mature berries. The terroir, unique to the 28 acre site at Petrus, produces a wine that is extraordinarily creamy and thick but with the substantial tannic underpinning to ensure decades of development in bottle.

The panoply of exotic aromas and flavors typically encompasses black raspberry, mulberry, iron, cocoa powder, truffle and expensive new oak. Petrus bottlings are generally 100% Merlot, although some vintages will contain 2-3% of Cabernet Franc. The vineyard itself is planted to 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. An average vintage produces only 2500 cases of the Grand Vin and no second wine. This limited supply accounts for much of the astronomical price of a Petrus bottle.

In 2007, After 44 seasons as Technical Director at Petrus, Jean Claude Berrouet retired and was replaced by Eric Murisasco. Berrouet's son, Olivier Berrouet, is winemaker at Petrus and is currently in training to assume the position of Technical Director.

Merlot rules in Pomerol, and nowhere in the world does this variety make more complete wines than on the flat clay-rich plateau that lies at the heart of this appellation. As in neighboring Saint-Emilion, not to mention the surrounding satellite appellations of the Right Bank, vineyard size and scale of production in Pomerol are much smaller than on the grand estates of the Médoc: most Pomerol properties are châteaux in name only. Pomerols are characterized by extravagantly rich, sweet fruit, and supple tannins. Not surprisingly, oenophiles who prize wines that are accessible at an early age crave these wines.

Bordeaux is the planet's largest source of fine wine, the model for Cabernet Sauvignon- and Merlot-based wines around the globe. Bordeaux wines are considered by many wine connoisseurs to be the world's greatest reds.

The Bordeaux region encompasses both banks of the Gironde estuary in southwest France, as well as the land bordering the Garonne and Dordogne, which split off from the Gironde in the southern Medoc. Bordeaux's highest-quality red wines generally come from seven major appellations: Saint-Estephe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, and Margaux in the greater Medoc region, Graves to the south of the city of Bordeaux, and Pomerol and Saint-Emilion to the east (an area commonly referred to as the "Right Bank"). The best dry white wines come from the large Graves region, while the finest sweet wines are made in Sauternes and Barsac, enclaves within the southern reaches of the Graves appellation.

In general, red wines from the left bank of the Gironde, particularly from the Medoc region of Bordeaux, are based on Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with varying amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and sometimes bits of Malbec and Petit Verdot. These red wines are dry and firm, with a solid tannic spine, and are often austere in their youth. They are among the longest-lived wines made anywhere. Red wines from the gravel and sand soils of Graves often show a bit more texture early on, as well as more roasted notes of smoke, hot stones, and tobacco. Wines from Bordeaux's Right Bank, located mostly to the east of the town of Libourne, are blends based on the softer Merlot grape. They are generally fleshier and more pliant than wines from the Medoc and are accessible earlier, though the best of them are capable of improving in bottle for decades.

France is the fountainhead of the grape varieties most craved by North American wine drinkers: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. In fact, these grapes are widely referred to as "international" varieties because they have been planted and imitated all over the world. Of course, one of the most exciting developments in wine over the past generation has been the growth of intriguing local styles of these varieties, such as Pinot Noir in Oregon and New Zealand, or Syrah in Australia, South Africa, and California. But most cosmopolitan wine-lovers -- and even winemakers -- would agree that French wines are the archetypes.

France enjoys the perfect geographic position for the production of a wide range of fine wines. Its relatively northerly location ensures long hours of daylight during the summer months and an extended growing season, allowing for the slow and steady accumulation of flavor in the grapes. Although the country as a whole enjoys a temperate climate, conditions can vary significantly within a limited land mass: cool and Atlantic-influenced; continental, with very cold winters and hot summers; warm and Mediterranean, with wet winters and dry summers.

Wines of France

France began classifying its best French wine-producing sites more than 200 years ago. Its detailed appellation controlee system, designed in the 1930s, has served as the model for classification systems adopted by other countries in Europe and elsewhere. Appellation d'Origine Controlee (often abbreviated to AOC), means "controlled place name" and is the consumer's assurance of the origin and authenticity of any French wine whose label bears these words.

AOC laws, administered by France's INAO (Institut National des Appellations d'Origine), establish the geographic limits of each appellation, permissable grape varieties and methods of production, minimum alcohol level, and maximum crop level (or yield) per hectare. Just beneath the highest category of appellation controlee is the comparatively tiny category of VDQS (Vins Delimites de Qualite Superieure), wines which may eventually be promoted to AC status and which are most commonly found in the Loire Valley and the Southwest. The third category is Vins de Pays, or "country wines". This latter category gives producers, including some of the more adventurous French wine growers, an escape route from the straitjacket of AC regulation in terms of higher permitted yields and less restrictive geography, a wider range of legal grape varieties, and fewer restrictions as to method of production and minimum age of vines. Finally, at the bottom of the pyramid, there are Vins de Table, or simple "table wines."

And yet, despite France's illustrious wine history and the fact that it is still the world's leading producer of wine, the country is struggling to compete in the international market. Today, France faces fierce competition from New World wine producers. U.S. imports of French wines actually declined, in number ofcases, between the end of 2002 and early 2006 -- this during a period when overall wine consumption in the U.S. grew by more than 50 percent.

Today, the French government is agonizing over how to help French wine producers, who are also facing homegrown challenges such as changing domestic drinking habits and an aggressive anti-alcohol abuse program. Wine producers in some regions of France are coming to view the AC system itself as an obstacle to selling wines to North America and other important export markets. Among the changes being considered are loosening restrictions on what can be planted where and on how wines can be made, and allowing producers in certain areas to indicate the grape variety or varieties on their labels -- rather than simply the place name, which is less meaningful to consumers in many of France's key export markets.

Merlot enjoyed a surge in popularity in the 1990s as consumers suddenly discovered that they could enjoy aromas and flavors similar to those of Cabernet in a fleshier, softer wine with smoother tannins. A wave of Merlot plantings followed, frequently in soils and microclimates completely inappropriate for this variety, and the market was soon flooded with dilute bottles from young vines and high crop levels, and weedy, herbaceous examples from underripe fruit. Many of these undernourished wines were overoaked in attempts to mask their deficiencies. Over the same period, a number of Cabernet producers began picking riper fruit and doing a better job managing their tannings during the making and aging of their wines. The result was an upswing of powerful, satisfying Cabernets that were far less austere in their youth -- and a sharp decline in interest in Merlot.

Still, California's best Merlots, some of which predated the vogue for this variety in the 1990s, continue to be some of the finest examples of this variety outside Bordeaux -- in the same quality league with wines from Washington State and Italy's Tuscan coast region. Expect to find broad, supple wines with medium to full body, typically with aromas and flavors of black cherry, plum, dark berries, dark chocolate, tobacco, and earth, and suave, fine-grained tannins. Merlot also rules in Pomerol, and nowhere in the world does this variety make more complete wines than on the flat, clay-rich plateau that lies at the heart of this appellation.