Research paperSome chemical characteristics and antioxidant capacity of novel Merlot wine clones developed in Montenegro

- New Montenegrin Merlot wines with an indication of geographical origin.
- Phenolic profile and antioxidant capacity of Merlot wines.
- Elemental composition of Merlot wines.

The overall aim was to compare the quality of two Montenegrin Merlot wines obtained from new vine clones (VCR1 and VCR 101) along with commercial Merlot wine throughout the consecutive vintages in 2010 and 2011, due to preliminary screening of the potential of novel Merlot vine clones for the wine industry. The content of phenolic compounds was determined by liquid chromatography − tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Elemental composition was analysed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometery (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometery (ICP-MS)]. Additionaly, antioxidant capacity was assessed by cyclic voltammetry. Compared with the commercial one, both wine clones contained higher percent of major phenolic compounds (namely, gallic acid and catechin) with top values recorded for VCR1 both in 2010 (30.46 ± 0.42 mg/l) and 2011 (28.12 ± 0.29 mg/l). The same wines were enriched with epicatechin, resveratrol, myricetin and quercetin. Furthermore, VCR 1 wine from 2011 stood out for its elemental composition. On the other hand, antioxidant capacity of VCR 101 wines was the highest one for the both vintages. According to the experimental data obtained, both new Montenegrin Merlot wines represent good candidates for the commercialised wines with an indication of geographical origin.