Merlot’s popularity with the American wine drinker stems, in large measure, from its soft, easy-to-drink-as-an-aperitif style. The paradox, of course, is that soft, low acid wines appropriate for cocktail-style drinking are often boring with meals because success at the table calls for uplifting acidity and structure in a wine.
Although the character Miles dismisses Merlot in the movie “Sideways,” implying it isn’t “real” wine, that’s just not accurate. 
Most wine drinkers appreciate the complexity and power of Merlots from Duckhorn Vineyards in Napa and the Merlot-based wines from Pomerol and St. Emilion in Bordeaux. However, far fewer consumers are aware of Merlot from the northern Italian region, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, or of the exceptional Merlots from Livio Felluga, one the region’s top producers.
Andrea Felluga, son of Livio, the founder of the winery, attributes the quality of their Merlot to a variety of reasons. Most 
importantly, he says, “You need to have the philosophy to make a serious wine.” Old vines certainly contribute because their roots go very deep into the water table, which provides the vines with a stable and consistent source of water. But he notes that the average age of the vines that produce grapes for their regular Merlot is ‘only’ about 25 years. The vines for “Sassó,” their top-end Merlot blend, average 60 years of age. (Many New World winemakers with whom I’ve spoken consider 25 year-old vines “old.”) Andrea insists that even young vines produce remarkably good fruit if yields are kept low. To that end, they started high density planting–4,000 vines per acre–about 10 years ago. Felluga also believes that their area of Friuli is excellent for Merlot because the limestone soil is nitrogen poor, limiting Merlot’s yield naturally.
Livio Felluga’s 2004 Merlot (about $24) will make a believer of anyone who thinks this variety can’t make “real” wine or that you 
must spend a fortune for it. It has the perfect combination of ripe fruit, earthiness and supporting tannins. Their 2001 “Sassó” (about $46) is even classier–not surprising since the best part of harvest goes into it–with even more layers of flavor. It would be an ideal choice for a special meal, by which I mean to emphasize that neither is an ‘aperitif’ wine. Their substance shows best with successive sips during a meal.
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