One of the most delicious ironies of the wine world is that merlot, the grape behind so many simple, easy-to-order reds – and hence the victim of so much venom in the movie Sideways – should also be the main ingredient in what many consider to be the world’s greatest red wine.

That wine is Petrus. It comes from a village in France named Pomerol, the terrain of which, they say, merlot is particularly suited to. Routinely, Petrus earns astronomical scores from wine critics (and racks up prices to match); save for the vicissitudes of French law, this all-merlot concoction would be enshrined as a “first growth,” the very best of Bordeaux, among with its more famous peers like Lafite.

Instead, Chateau Petrus has pulled itself up by its own viticultural bootstraps, including its unique soil (“a buttonhole of clay” in Pomerol’s limestone plateau, as critic Robert Parker describes it), a carefully manicured vineyard, and the energies of its talented owners, the Moueix family. But most of all the greatness of Petrus comes from the much-maligned merlot, which Christian Moueix’s team has lifted from its usual, supporting role to cabernet sauvignon in the region and made into a star.

Many shepherds of the variety have followed the beacon of Petrus. As a result, it’s possible to drink a merlot that (instead of being fluffy and inexpensive) is dead-serious and worth half your mortgage payment. To prove it – and to counter our horrified realization that not one drop of Petrus had ever touched a member’s lips – the ladies of the Ladies Tasting society pooled our resources for a blow-out night of extreme merlot. We followed three vintages of Petrus with a series of “Petrus wannabes,” wines related to the great Pomerol either by parentage or by grape type. After six weeks of planning and smart shopping, 15 ladies and their friends gathered at one of our favorite French restaurants in front of a few sips of the 1999 Journey from Matanzas Creek in Sonoma county and the 2000 Montiano from Italy (both of them 100% merlot and made with an eye, green with envy we guess, toward Pomerol), and the 1997 and 2001 examples of Moueix’s Californian effort, a Bordeaux-style blend named Dominus.

The evening proved that as long as you choose carefully and loosen your purse strings, it is possible to enjoy a merlot that stands out from the oceans of uncomplicated quaffers. Even the older wines – our first two Petruses dated from 1978 and 1983, not particularly good vintages in Bordeaux – came off deeply fascinating. The 1978 had graduated into its golden years by losing most of its fruit, displaying what wine geeks call all “secondary flavors” like leather, brambles, herbs, and dusty earth. But it had not turned. It felt good in the mouth and rallied at the finish: all signs of a brilliantly well-made wine.

Happily, too, the ladies loved the Montiano, which one lady bought for $48, half the price of the Journey and a tenth of the Petrus. Her profile of the Montiano’s inventor, Italy’s most notorious “flying winemaker” Riccardo Cotarella, perhaps added to our enjoyment. In fact—especially after we read that Christian Moueix is “Vanity Fair cover handsome” – we decided we’d love to host both winemakers as honorary ladies to one of the meetings. But that may have been the merlot talking.

A Lotta Merlot
The ladies of the Ladies Tasting Society gathered to prove that despite its flaccid reputation, merlot could yield a powerful, interesting, and sophisticated wine. The result? If you spend enough and look hard enough – one lady had to use her spirits-distribution connections to score us the Journey – it’s possible to enjoy a merlot that might make Sideways’s Miles decant and recant. For that we can thank Petrus, the great merlot of France’s Bordeaux region.

Best of Tasting
Dominus 2001 (Napa, California USA) $115 *****
True: Merlot plays only a minor part in Christian Moueix’s California counterpart to his great French Bordeaux. (The final blend here is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot.) But the man behind Petrus won our hearts with this (in one lady’s rapturous words) “sensual, silky, absolutely gorgeous and sexy wine.” We were utterly seduced by the wine’s dark color; enchanting aromas of blackberry, cassis, bittersweet chocolate, coffee, and a little leather; lush mouthfeel; and excellent structure. And what a finish! Goes on forever, with a climax of pepper and flowers.

Best Value
Falesco “Montiano” 2000 (Lazio, Italy) $48 ****
This 100% merlot from the home estate of Riccardo Cotarella, Italy’s hottest winemaker/consultant, is a deep, dark, monster of a wine. But it displayed the softest, most open-knit structure of the evening. All-new French oak ageing gives it sweet vanilla and ripe blackberry flavors, with a bit of mocha fudge, introduced by an exuberant nose of fruit compote and toast. Ciao baby!

Lifetime Achievement Award
Petrus 1978 (Pomerol, France) $550 ***1/2
The ladies watched in worried anticipation as the decomposed cork required 10 minutes to dislocate (cheers to La Suite’s sommelier Stephan – not a fleck remained). Then the wine appeared golden-red in the glass. But lo! It had not turned. In contrast, so much remains: a nose full of truffles, leather, flowers, earth, and asphalt, and on the palate, a swath of soft, spicy, cherry flavors, maybe some herbs, followed by a still-vital finish.

Also Enjoyed
Petrus 2002 (Pomerol, France) $600 NR
Everyone agreed: this formidable wine was way too young to judge. It displayed big fruit on the nose, and then black cherry, licorice, and some graphite flavors, but overall it tasted tannic, closed, and a little hot with alcohol. And that’s a good thing. Petrus is made to age gorgeously, and we caught this effort in its awkward phase. Still, the ladies who waited detected later the signature Petrus sexiness: “I need a cigarette,” sighed one after she finished.

Petrus 1983 (Pomerol, France) $550 ***
Younger and darker in color than the ’78, but with less to give. Some graphite, herbs, and leather on the nose, but in the mouth just dusty sage, white pepper, slight black cherry, and (said one lady) “wet pennies.” Some chalky bitterness, and a short finish. Again, patient ladies were rewarded with a rally after 30 minutes … a noble wine of a certain age.

Dominus 1997 (Napa, USA) $115 ****
Less enchanting than the 2001; surprising, since 1997 was a classic NoCal vintage. But the ladies were amazed by the consistency among the Moueix wines: all, whether merlot- or cab-dominated, displayed that leathery, brambly aroma at the edges of a world of black fruit. But this one felt brighter, less lush, with some green pepper, olives, and a solid finish.

Matanzas Creek “Journey” 1999 (Sonoma, USA) $99 **1/2
“Huge disappointment,” said one lady of this Petrus clone, which the prominent merlot house discontinued after this vintage. “Jammy, flat, and flabby. No structure.” And after all the lovingly-oaked wines of the evening, this was the first that tasted woody. “Guilty in the first degree,” pronounced another, “of the classic Californian vice: overenthusiastic winemaking. Too much oak.”