- Last updated on May 24, 2023
This is our comparison of Merlot vs Shiraz wine. We’ve extensively researched these two popular wines to help you pick the best for you.
Merlot is a very versatile grape, often blended with other grapes since it softens higher-tannins grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, for example.
It’s used to produce light and fruity wines for immediate consumption, as well as more sophisticated wines that improve with bottle maturation and oak.
Syrah/Shiraz is a popular red wine known for its dark ruby color, full body and black fruit flavors.
The two main styles are Syrah from the “Old World” and Shiraz from the “New World”.
Our recommendation for Best Value Merlot is Duckhorn Napa Valley Merlot 2018 and for Best Overall is Duckhorn Three Palms Vineyard Merlot 2018.
Our recommendation for Best Value Shiraz/Syrah is Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz 2020 and for Best Overall is Shafer Napa Valley Relentless.
You’ll find below other wine recommendations for you.
Let’s begin with the review!
Wine Selection Overview
Find below our Merlot vs Shiraz wine selection for you where you’ll find our recommendation for you.
Merlot Selection
Seven Falls Merlot
2014
The three things that make this wine the best budget are:
1) It’s silky and complex, which means it’ll be easy to drink with various layers of flavors and aromas.
2) It’s the perfect everyday red that delivers every time.
3) It cost $17 (😲) yes, it’s unbelievable for the quality you get.
Try it with penne alla boscaiola, ratatouille, BBQ ribs, burger, or Camembert cheese and it’ll be a delight.
Read our full review here.
Duckhorn Napa Valley Merlot
The three things that make this wine the best value wine are:
1) It’s balanced, soft, and smooth, which means that you both get complexity and richness in flavors and aromas.
2) It’s a versatile wine, so you can pair it with numerous dishes.
3) It offers great value for your money, $60+ cheaper than Duckhorn Three Palms Vineyard Merlot 2018.
Try it with agnolotti mushroom, roasted vegetables, venison, duck, or Pecorino cheese for example, and it’ll be a delight!
Read our full review here.
Duckhorn Three Palms Vineyard Merlot 2018
The four things that make this wine stands out compared to the competition are:
1) Brings Napa Merlot to the next level with its elegance, complexity, intensity, and balance, so you are going to have a unique experience.
2) It was n# 1 Wine of the World in 2017 for Vintage (2014) and regularly scores 94+ points according to numerous critics, so it’s widely recognized as an outstanding wine.
3) You can drink it now or let it age for at least one decade if stored properly so that you can let it achieve its maximum potential.
4) Priced competitively against its peers, so you’ll save a few $100s and still get an outstanding wine.
Read our full review here.
Shiraz Selection
19 Crimes Red Blend
2020
The three things that make this wine the best budget are:
1) It’s bold and yummy, if you like strong fruity flavour, that’s your wine
2) It’s the perfect everyday red that delivers every time.
3) It cost ~$10 (😲) yes, it’s unbelievable for the quality you get.
Try it with veal ragu pasta, BBQ ribs, burgers and Cheddar cheese and it’ll be a delight.
Read our full review here.
Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz 2020
The three things that make this wine the best value wine are:
1) It’s bold and intense flavors of dark fruit, spice, and chocolate. Its full-bodied nature and well-integrated tannins makes it a standout among other Shiraz wines.
2) It’s a smooth and velvety texture that adds to its overall elegance and drinkability and makes it approachable and easy to drink.
3) High-Quality Winemaking: Mollydooker is known for its high-quality winemaking practices. This wine truly represents the best of McLaren Vale winemaking.
You can enjoy now or store it for several years to come, as its complexity and structure will continue to evolve with time.
Read our full review here.
Shafer Napa Valley Relentless
The top 3 reasons that make this wine stands out compared to the competition are:
1) Unique Blend: Shafer Relentless is a unique blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah, that sets it apart from other wines in its category.
2) Aging: The wine is aged for 30 months in French oak barrels, which is longer than most other California wines in its category. The long ageing allows the wine to develop a more refined and complex flavor profile.
3) Consistency: Shafer Relentless consistently receives high ratings which is a testament to the winemaker’s attention to detail and commitment to producing a high-quality wine every year.
Read our full review here.
Comparison
Let’s now take a closer look at the difference between Merlot vs Shiraz so that you’ll have enough details to make an informed decision.
Merlot vs Shiraz: Where are they produced?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Merlot vs Shiraz from regions and wine styles points of view.
Merlot is planted all over the world given its versatility. Merlot gives it best in moderate to warm climates. Climates will have a direct effect on the Merlot taste profile.
Here is a quick overview:
In cool climates, like Bordeaux in France, expect ruby color, light-medium body, higher acidity, red fruit (raspberry, cherry) flavors.
Common tertiary notes are spice, leather, coffee, and licorice.
In warm climates, like California, expect deep ruby color, medium-full body, pronounced black fruit (blackberry, blueberry, plum) flavors, velvety tannins.
Tertiary notes are usually vanilla, coconut, and smoke.
Find more about Merlot here.
Shiraz/Syrah gives its best in a moderate to cool climate, eg France: Rhône Valley. It is though as well cultivated in warm climates too, e.g. Australia.
Whilst for New World wine varietal labeling is used, e.g. Shiraz, for the French wines, under AOC rules [1], the name of the place is used, e.g. Hermitage.
To know which Syrah/Shiraz style you are about the drink, just look at the name on the label. Syrah will be the Old World style whilst Shiraz will be the New World style.
Find more about Shiraz/Syrah here.
Merlot vs Shiraz: Which grapes are used to produce them?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Merlot vs Shiraz from a grape point of view.
Merlot is produced from Merlot grapes.
Shiraz is produced from Shiraz/Syrah grapes.
Both are red-wine grape varieties of the species Vitis vinifera.
Merlot vs Shiraz: What's their alcohol content?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Merlot vs Shiraz from an alcohol content point of view.
Alcohol content or more precisely Alcohol By Volume, i.e. ABV, measures the alcoholic strength of a drink.
There is a direct relationship between the sugar left in the wine after the alcoholic fermentation has taken place, i.e. Residual Sugar or RS, and ABV.
During the alcoholic fermentation, the yeast transforms the sugar in the grape juice into alcohol. Grapes with high residual sugar will therefore produce dry wine with a high ABV.
Depending on the styles Merlot’s ABV ranges between 13% to 14.5%, whereas Shiraz’s ABV ranges between 13% to 15.5%.
Merlot vs Shiraz: What's their taste profile?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Merlot vs Shiraz from a taste profile point of view.
Merlot is a dry wine with a medium to deep ruby color, typically velvety, as tannins are generally medium-low.
You can find both wines with red fruit, like raspberry, and herbaceous flavors, as well as wines with pronounced black fruit flavors, like black cherry and plum.
Chocolate, cocoa, mocha, graphite are typical Merlot tertiary flavors.
Shiraz/Syrah is a dry to off-dry red wine with a deep ruby to purple color. Shiraz/Syrah is generally less velvety than Merlot as it has medium-high tannins.
You will usually find full-body Shiraz/Syrah.
Black fruit like blackberry and blueberry are very dominant and typical flavors. Depending on the style you’ll find pepper (Shiraz) or smoked flavor (Syrah).
Chocolate and licorice are other typical notes.
Oak maturation is common for Syrah/Shiraz and it is used to reduce tannins and add tertiary flavors.
Merlot vs Shiraz: Are they sweet or dry?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Merlot vs Shiraz in terms of sweetness level or residual sugar.
The sweetness level of a wine is expressed in grams of sugar per liter, aka g/L, or as a percentage.
10 g/L equals 1% which, if you are interested, represents 6 calories per 5 oz serving.
You will usually find Merlot as a dry wine, whereas Shiraz sweetness level ranges from dry to off-dry.
- A dry wine contains less than 15 g/L.
- An off dry wine contains between 15-30 g/l.
Learn more about wine sweetness level here.
Merlot vs Shiraz: Which are the recommended food pairings?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Merlot vs Shiraz from a food pairings point of view.
Merlot pairs easily with many foods compared to Cabernet Sauvignon thanks to its versatility. Ratatouille, beans dishes, pasta, and pizza with mushrooms are generally a very good fit.
You have an ample selection of meat dishes too from turkey, roast veal, braised pork, venison, duck, or a juicy burger.
Cheeses that pair very well with Merlot are Camembert, Gorgonzola, and Parmigiano Reggiano for example.
Shiraz/Syrah pairs well with bold flavors dishes like grilled vegetables, mushroom, pasta with veal ragu.
Syrah tends to pair slightly better with game, duck, stews, veals. Shiraz, on the other hand, is more indicated for BBQ ribs, burgers, grilled beef, and lamb.
Cheese-wise, your safest bets are always Cheddar, Gorgonzola, and the likes.
Merlot vs Shiraz: How should you serve and store them?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Merlot vs Shiraz in terms of serving and storing the wine.
Merlot should be decanted for 30 minutes and served at 59 – 64 °F (15 – 18 °C) in a Bordeaux glass.[1]
The recommended storing period is between 3 to 5 years for normal bottles and 10+ years for the finest bottles.
Shiraz/Syrah should be decanted for 1hr-2hrs and served at 59 – 64 °F (15 – 18 °C) in a Bordeaux glass.
The recommended storing period is up to 5 years for normal bottles and 10+ years for the finest bottles.
Merlot vs Shiraz: How much do they cost?
Here you’ll find a brief overview of Merlot vs Shiraz from a price comparison point of view.
For Merlot, the finest bottles are primarily from Bordeaux in France. In those cases, the prices quickly reach and pass the $1,000.
Good entry-level bottles are generally from Chile, California (Sonoma), France, and Italy.
Great quality bottles can be found for up to $100 usually from California, France, and Italy. Outstanding bottles over $100+ are usually from Italy and France.
Shiraz/Syrah is generally more affordable than Merlot. If you are after a splurge, don’t worry you can still find bottles passing the $1,000, especially from France.
You’ll easily find good entry-level bottled from Chile, South Africa, Australia, Cali, France between $10-$20.
Great quality bottles can be found usually up to $50 and outstanding and luxury bottles over $100+.
Our Verdict
If you have been through the guide, by now you are a Merlot vs Shiraz expert!
Both Merlot and Shiraz/Syrah are great wines and in some cases, they do resemble a bit.
Our recommendation is therefore based on what you’d fancy the most at a particular given moment or event.
You cannot resist the softness of a Merlot, can you?
Well then Duckhorn Napa Valley Merlot 2018 is exactly what’s needed for you. It’s a fantastic bottle of Merlot at an extremely reasonable price.
If of course you are after something absolutely exceptional, Duckhorn Three Palms Vineyard Merlot 2018 is our recommendation for you.
If you prefer a wine with bolder flavors and pronounced black fruit and tertiary notes, then go for Shiraz/Syrah.
Our recommendation for Best Value Shiraz/Syrah is Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz 2020.
If you are after something truly special, then treat yourself with Shafer Napa Valley Relentless.
As always make sure to serve them at the right temperature to enjoy them at their best.
