Typically, Merlot is a dry, medium- to full-bodied red wine. The best Merlot wine has a range of flavours, ranging from graphite, herbs and blackberries, to black cherries, plums, and cocoa, often layered with notes of clove, vanilla, and cedar when aged in oak. In New Zealand, Merlot has found a home in Hawke's Bay where it produces outstanding wines and some of the best value red wine of the country
