Crush for 2024 wines are done; the wines are now in barrel and time to think of the next effort in the cellar – blending the 2023 wines for final release, or what I refer to as the “Art of Blending,” to produce a final statement of the wine and the winemaker. Making the base wines is important, giving them time in the barrel to age is important, but blending is the culmination of all these efforts to produce a really nice cohesive wine. The 2023 wines have now been in the barrel for more than a year, and time to blend and get ready for bottling in June. But before I get into the blending of the 2023 wines, I thought it would be good to understand how we evaluate the wines and how we approach the blends.
There are three aspects I look at when evaluating a wine, whether a base wine or a finished wine and that is color, aroma, and taste. Color can tell you a lot about the wine, especially if it is a finished wine. As a winery we focus on Bordeaux varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. When looking at these varietals in the glass tipped on its side, I am looking for a solid red color from the midpoint in the glass to the edge on the top of the wine touching the glass. In a new wine, it should be solid red with no hints of any orange hues on the point where the wine hits the glass. If there are yellow or orange hues, there could be an issue of oxidation. If it is an older wine, this shows that the wine is mature or approaching maturity.
After looking at the wine, I turn to look at the aromatics of the wine. To do this, you need a wine glass that you can put your nose in and close off the glass with your face. If you wear glasses, put them on your head, put your nose in the glass, and press the glass against your face and inhale. Doing this will truly bring out the aromas. What I look for first is if there are any issues with the wine not smelling right, then enjoying the aromas of the varietal character or terroir. What I look for is “do I enjoy the smell?”. I am not necessarily looking for varietal character, barrel wood or other, but just do I enjoy the smell. Is it unique, harmonious, or interesting?
After smelling the wine, I then taste the wine. When I taste a wine, I place a small amount in my mouth and feel/taste the wine on my pallet from the front of my tongue, the mid part and the back of my tongue. A good wine should be full across the palette. I then taste the acid of the wine on the sides of my tongue. Is it lively, non-existent, or overbearing. Then feel the tannin in the wine (that component that makes your mouth feel astringent). IF the tannin is bitter, the winemaker screwed up, but when looking at the tannin and acid I look for balance. A harmonious feeling between the tannin and the acid. You will find wines that are high in tannin, high in acid, low in tannin and low in tannin. What you are looking for is that balance in your mouth, again what I call harmonious when you swallow..
Now that you know my approach to tasting a wine, you can do it, even if it is different. But in the end, what is really only important is whether or not you enjoyed the wine. However if you take an approach to your tasting, you can taste a wine and not like it, but you can also tell if it was made properly.
The first cut of the 2023 blended wines shows firm tannins, balanced acidity, and great aromas. We are looking to blend small amounts of Merlot and Petit Verdot to the Cabernet Sauvignon, blending small amounts of Malbec with the Merlot, and small amounts of Merlot with the Cabernet Franc. We are still fine tuning the blends but in doing a quick comparative with a few of my favorite wines below, I can say we are in good company.
Mark Newton, Winemaker
