Repeatedly knocked back by circumstance, criticism and changing fashions, Merlot nevertheless remains one of the world's most popular grape varieties, despite what feels like an almost concerted effort to do it down. From that opinionated blowhard in the movie Sideways to snide references to it being a great blending grape, Merlot's charms have been cruelly underplayed.

And it is certainly charming – it makes wines that are genuinely attractive, packed with punchy, juicy dark fruit flavors, approachable tannins and robust, but not overly hot alcohol levels. What's not to like? But no, people still prefer to sing the praises of Cabernet Sauvignon, giving Merlot the merest nod of recognition along the way, despite the fact that Bordeaux châteaux – who know a bit about these things – grow more Merlot than Cabernet.

Pinot Noir fans – as epitomized by Miles in Sideways – tend to spraff on about their pet grape's virtues, while subtly, condescendingly sneering at Merlot's supposedly less-complex qualities, while the more esoteric enophiles are far too busy looking for increasingly obscure red grapes to rave about to have any time for Merlot at all.

And, in a way, that's a very good thing, because it means there is more around for those sensible souls who aren't too snobby to admit their love for this marvelous grape – and that's a lot of people; it's one of the biggest selling wines in the US and it is increasingly being adopted by producers across the world. 

Looking at the list of the most expensive Merlots, a few things become apparent. First, it's an absolute bargain; a bottle each of the top 10 wines would set you back a healthy, but not unreasonable, $4975 and that price is massively distorted by the top two bottles accounting for more than 70 percent of the total.

Next there's the quality aspect; all the wines in our top 10 have a weighted average critic score of 90 or more, which is impressive, given the relatively low prices.

What also becomes apparent is that Merlot's spiritual home is no longer Bordeaux. Of the top 10 most searched-for Merlots, five are from Italy; when it comes to the most expensive, the Italians occupy eight positions. There have been more searches for Merlot on Wine-Searcher this year than there have been for Chianti – maybe it's time that we all rethought how we look at Italian wines, and also how we look at Merlot.

1. Petrus, Pomerol The big cheese of the Merlot world, and one of the most sought-after and expensive wines in the world. A critic favorite for the past 50 years, it has an average score of 96 and an average price of $2860, which has risen by almost $100 in the past six weeks alone.

2. Masseto Toscana IGT, Tuscany This is, of course, the sister wine to Ornellaia, although made from an entirely separate vineyard, whose 16 acres produce what is Italy's most expensive wine; not bad for a humble IGT wine. There's nothing humble about the $720 average price tag, the 95-point average score or the awe that this wine is held in.

3. Tua Rita Redigaffi Toscana IGT, Tuscany The price distance between the top two wines is steep, and it's another sharp drop to this wine, which will set you back an average of $228. Something of a cult wine, the 2000 vintage was the first Italian wine to get a 100-point score from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.