The road to Haro (Rioja, Spain) -- #DWCC13

One of the key aspects of the annual Digital Wine Communications (formerly European Wine Bloggers) Conference is the press trip (formerly pre- and post-conference trips) and the announcement of locales and details are eagerly anticipated by conference attendees. There were three press trips in 2013 (Rioja (Spain); Porto, Vinho Verde, and Douro Valley (Portugal); and Priorat and Montsant (Spain)) and, due to the fact that it was focused specifically on Haro, the heart of Rioja, I opted for the Rioja trip.

Source: www.loscameros.es

As initially detailed, the trip would commence with a vineyard and winery tour and dinner at Bodegas Ramon Bilbao on October 22nd; continue with visits to CVNE and RODA on the 23rd; and conclude with a vineyard and winery visit, inclusive of lunch, to Bodegas Muga on the 24th. After lunch at Muga, we would travel to Bodegas Dinastia Vivanco where we would link up with the larger conference group for a winery and museum tour. In addition to the foregoing, DWCC was also able to secure a winery tour and late lunch at Bodegas Gomez Cruzado on the day of our arrival in Haro.

The team participating in the Haro trip was 13-persons strong and would be led by Robert McIntosh, DWCC co-founder and himself a former Dinastia Vivanco employee. We were initially supposed to meet at 10:30 am on Tuesday morning at Logrono airport but, after some back and forth, the decision was made to meet at 11:30 am at the Guggenheim Museum coach parking lot instead. This arrangement did not include those who had come in earlier and made their way to Haro on their own or Doug Frost MS/MW, who was coming in later that day and for whom alternative arrangements were being made.

I took a taxi from my hotel to the Guggenheim and arrived approximately 10 minutes before our scheduled departure. I located the bus and was welcomed with a warm smile by the driver -- warm that is, until he saw the size of my suitcase. He shook his head, mumbled something under his breath, and muscled that monstrosity into the rear cargo area. I had not made a friend that day.

I left and went to take a few pictures and by the time I returned, a number of people were already seated. A lively conversation was ongoing as I entered. It seemed that a few of these people had met at previous conferences. Or maybe wine bloggers are just naturally garrulous. It was now about 11:40 am and the bus driver had a querulous look on his face. He was short two people. Did we know them? Did we know where they were? We took a roll call but that only told us who was on the bus. We could not determine who was missing because we did not know who had traveled to Haro on their own.

After a series of walks around the bus and the parking lot, and some hurried phone calls to god knows whom, the driver stepped onto the bus, took his seat, closed the door, cranked the engine, and eased slowly out of his parking space. We were on our way. Sans two members of the team. Time would reveal their identities. The emailed directions had been clear so anyone not on the bus had only themselves to blame.

We wended our way out of Bilbao and were cruising pleasantly along the motorway -- which ran along narrow valleys framed by conifer-robed mountains -- when the driver suddenly pulled into a park just off the roadway. What was the matter? Did the Riojans decide that harvesting their grapes really was the most important thing at that moment and withdrawn their invitation? What could I do in San Sebastian with two whole days on my hands? Nope. Our missing team members had been located and they were going to take a taxi and catch up with us. If we were going to wait, we would do so outside the bus so we all disembarked and began taking pictures.

Suddenly the driver began beckoning us back onto the bus. From what I understood, some other arrangements had been made to get the laggards to Haro. We could continue on.

With the banter on the bus, the trip went quickly and very soon we pulled off the highway and into a a town where images on a page suddenly came to "life" for me: Muga, Roda, Tondonia, and La Rioja Alta lay close to each other and dominated the environment (Can you locate Gomez Cruzado in the pictures below?).

 

We had arrived. We made our way to the hotel (Hotel Arrope), connected with Robert and the team members who were already there, and checked in. We were ready to embark on our adventure.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Chateau Musar tasting with Serge Hochar

On Tuesday, October 15th, I got an opportunity to see a living legend when Stacole Fine Wines hosted Serge Hochar, of Chateau Musar, for a tasting of his estate's wines. The event was held at Luma on Park (Winter Park, FL) and was aimed at area wine retailers and restaurateurs. Before describing the tasting I would like to take a step back in order to place Serge and Chateau Musar into their proper places in the wine firmament.

Chateau Musar's vineyards are located in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley and that statement is in and of itself a testament to the grit and determination of Serge Hochar. You have heard of conflict diamonds; these are "despite-conflict" wines.

The Bekaa Valley is a 75-mile (65-km) long, 10-mile (16 km) wide, 3000-feet (1000 m) high strip of land located about 19 miles (30 km) east of Beirut between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains (which serve as shields against the deserts to the east and the rains from the west). The valley experiences long, gentle summers, wet winters, and 240 days of sunshine annually and is well irrigated by the waters that flow from the mountain peaks. The soils of the region are primarily clay limestone.

Source: massaya.com

The first vineyards in the valley were planted in 1857 by Jesuit Christians and, today, over 90% of Lebanese wines are produced in the region. Red wine grapes include Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. White wine grapes include Ugni Blanc, Clairette, and Chardonnay.

Chateau Musar's red and white wine grapes are grown in distinctly separate environments. The red wine grapes -- Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, and Carignan -- are planted in the southern portion of the Bekaa Valley on soils that are gravel over limestone. These old vines yield between 30 and 35 hl/ha. The white varieties are the indigenous Obaideh and Merwah which are planted in high-altitude (1500 m ) vineyards. Grape growing is organic and, at harvest, the berries are hand-picked by Bedouin tribespeople and trucked over the mountain to the winery which is 2.5 hours removed.

Grapes for the red wines are fermented by varietal in cement vats and then racked into French oak barriques after 6 months (In the tasting, Serge indicated that he had tried stainless steel fermentation but that it had "destroyed" the wines. He now uses stainless steel for some of the younger-generation wines but exclusively uses concrete for the Hochar and Musar wines.). The barrique wines are blended after 12 months of initial residence and then returned to the barriques for an additional 12 months. The mature wine is then bottled unfiltered and aged for 3 - 4 years before being released to the market.

The white wines are fermented in French oak for 6 - 9 months before blending and bottling and are then stored in the Musar cellars for an additional 6 years prior to market release.

Now back to the tasting. The wines were tasted in the order presented below and, surprisingly to me, we tasted the reds prior to the whites. Serge said that we would understand the ordering in due time. The tasting was called to order by Brian Koziol MS of Stacole and he then turned the microphone over to Serge after a brief introduction. Serge made a few remarks and then proceeded to walk us through the wines.

The 2009 Hochar exhibited plum and berry characteristics along with minty herbal notes and an earthy minerality. The wine was brisk and persistent with red pepper tones and a long finish. Serge said that this wine was simpler when compared to the Chateau Musar because it was designed to be more approachable. He called it his "fruit juice" wine.

The 2005 Chateau Musar is a blend (as are all Musars) of 1/3 each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, and Cinsault. According to Serge, it took him 17 years of trial and error to come up with the final blend. In relating the wine to a human, he sees the Cabernet Sauvignon as the skeleton, the Carignan as the flesh and muscles, and the Cinsault as the skin. The wine had notes of jasmine, plum, and mints to go along with an herbaceousness and a flinty-stony minerality. This medium-bodied wine was bright with supple tannins and a richness and persistence that was apparent on both the palate and the finish.

The 2002 Chateau Musar was redolent with jammy berry flavors along with mint, eucalyptus, pepper, coffee, smoke, and petrol. Firm, drying tannins with medium body and excellent length of finish.

The 1999 Chateau Musar showed cherries and strawberries along with mint, cedar, truffle, and mushrooms. This medium-bodied wine had elements of rust on the palate and is balanced with a long finish. This wine needs more time. Serge said that his wines can be drunk after 15 years but require a minimum of 25 years to be truly enjoyable.

The final red was the 1977 Chateau Musar. This wine exhibited dark fruits, pineapple, tarragon and mint. It had tar notes reminiscent of a Barolo. Additional aromas included blackpepper, iodine, coffee, dried blood, and iron. The finish was moderate in length and the wine appeared tired to this taster.

The first white tasted was the Blanc 1998. This wine had a golden color and, validating Serge's decision re the tasting order, was more powerful than any of the reds. This wine exhibited citrus, stone fruit, fresh herbs, tea, thyme, honey, beeswax, white pepper, and a certain nuttiness. Vibrancy on the palate. Racy acidity with some structure and a long, thin finish. This wine, believe it or not, still needs time. The nose started out with faint aromatics but gained complexity in the glass.

The Blanc 2000 had a floral component but was more endowd with rust, stone, and white pepper. Grippy green tannins accompany a moderate length finish.

The Blanc 2004 had similar characteristics to the 2000 except for additional citrus and grassy notes. This wine was lighter in body than the prior two, was metallic on the palate, and had a short, drying finish. This wine is unimpressive at this time but, given the characteristics of Hochar wines, may need more time in bottle to reveal its swan-ness.

There was much more variation around the red wines once you got beyond consistent mint and spice characteristics. Some exhibited red fruit, some black, and some both. There were distinct mineral elements ranging from flinty to stony to earth. The wines north of 1999 need more time in bottle. There was consistency in the whites with vintage-related amplification. All of these wines are long-lived.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Scope of the blending discussion and some noteworthy blends

New World winemakers have mostly conquered the production and marketing of their varietal wines and many of them are now pursuing improved quality and new customers by increasing the number of blended wines in their portfolio.  The considerations in wine blending are depicted below.

Bordeaux: 
- Cabernet Sauvignon -- firmness, structure, perfume, multi-berry palate
- Cabernet Franc -- savory layers, complex dried herb notes, perfume, freshness, length
- Merlot -- fleshiness, softens up Cabernet Sauvignon, palate-broadening
- Petit Verdot -- freshness, firmness, palate length
- Malbec -- soft tannins

Bordeaux Blanc:
- Sauvignon Blanc -- aromatics, acidity
- Semillon -- textural breadth and depth
- Muscadelle -- florality

Meritage
- Red or white
- Made from a minimum of two of the varieties used in the production of Bordeaux red and white wines
- No varietal must exceed 90% of blend

Chateauneuf-de-Pape:
- 13 varieties

Cotes-du-Rhone:
- Grenache -- alcohol, jam, spice, dried fruits
- Syrah -- pepper, leather, smoke
- Mourvedre -- color, acid, tannins

Rhone Whites:
- Viognier -- peach, apricot, honeysuckle
- Roussanne -- bouquet, delicacy, finesse
- Marsanne -- color, body, weight, scented fruit
- Grenache Blanc -- sweet honeysuckle, apricot
- Clairette -- alcohol, peach, apricot

Rioja:
- Tempranillo -- spicy red fruit, herbaceousness, minerality
- Garnacha -- enhance texture, widen palate, rich and peppery red fruit, cinnamon notes
- Mazuelo -- structure, longevity, fresshness, vigor
- Graciano -- Tobacco, licorice, acidity

Rioja Blanca:
- Viura -- floral aromas
- Malvasia -- floral aromas, grapefruit aromas, structure
- Garnacha Blanca -- sweet honeysuckle, apricot

Chianti:
- Sangiovese -- acid, tannin, fruit flavors
- Canaiola -- fruitiness, softness

Penfolds Grange
- Cross-Region Shiraz blend -- dense fruit flavors, pepper, leather, smoke

Cava:
- Parrellada -- delicacy, aroma
- Macabeo -- soft wildflowers, bitter almonds
- Xarel-lo -- body, acidity, alcohol

Sherry:
- Palomino
- Pedro Ximinez
- Moscatel de Alejandria

Champagne:
- Chardonnay -- stone fruit, apple, citrus
- Pinot Noir -- berry fruit
- Pinot Meunier -- florality, red fruit

Tokaj:
- Furmint -- finesse, structure
- Harslevelu -- aromatics
- Zeta -- creamy structure, tropical fruit notes

Port:
- Touriga Nacional -- raspberry, cassis, mulberry, violets, high tannin
- Touriga Franca -- red fruits, blackberries, florality
- Tinta Roriz -- mulberry, cherry, jam, spicy nose, blackberry, high tannins
- Tinta Cao -- pepper, spice, sweetness, floral notes
- Tinta Barroca -- high tannins

Franciacorta
- Chardonnay -- fruit and flower aromas, full body, crispness
- Pinot Nero -- body, longevity
- Pinot Bianco -- body, elegance, acidity, fresh-bread aroma


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

No knives at this gunfight

A little over a year ago, Mr and Mrs @thewinebarn had the Siegels, my wife, and me over for dinner but were dissatisfied with the way that things flowed. They wanted a "do over." We gave them that opportunity last Saturday night. And it was a blast. I knew that it was going to be a big night because Ron had emailed me a pic of the wines that he was bringing. I was not going to be bringing a knife to a gunfight.

The evening began with light-hearted chit chat supported by a sideboard of cheeses (goat, cows milk finished with Calvados, and triple cream from Burgundy), gluten-free crackers, toast, and olives accompanied by a 100% Pinot Noir Champagne from Desnon and Lepage, a new, artisanal Champagne House. This Champagne also served as the accompaniment to the wild river sturgeon caviar (Ohio and Arkansas) that followed hard on the heels of the sideboard.

The chef for all of the delicious preparations of the evening was Andrew, Mr @thewinebarn himself. Andrew's next offering was a delightful fresh Maine lobster concoction in a hard-boiled egg white half, paired with Jacques Selosse Initiale Champagne. The filling for the egg-white half was fresh Maine lobster, white fish, classic aioli mayo, and Cayenne pepper. The rich spiciness of the Cayenne contrasted beautifully with the blandness of the egg white and the Selosse enriched the concoction.

The third course was a traditional cold potato salad (Called Ensalada Rusa in Spain, according to Andrew). The constituent elements were canned Albacore tuna, potatos, beets, green beans, peas, home-made mayo, and salmon roe. The salad was paired with a 2007 Chateau Y, a white Bordeaux, which exhibited starfruit, papaya, mango, and Kiwi on the nose. Dried orange rind and grapefruit on the palate. The wine's bright acidity facilitated a long, bone-dry finish.

During our consumption of the early courses, Andrew would get up from time to time to keep an eye on a Paella that was cooking on a wood fire outside on the patio. This black squid ink Paella required three hours of cooking and, in addition to the tentacles and rings, included wild-caught Gulf shrimp (with the heads on) and carmelized onion tomato base. The paella was paired with a 1989 Ravennau Chablis. The wine had a rich saline character, grapefruit and pineapple on the nose and bright acidity, citrus, sweet grapefruit, and tangerine on the palate. This wine did not have the knife-edge character of a traditional Chablis. Rather, it was rich and this rendered it less than a perfect pairing for the rich paella. Surprising and disappointing for us all. The wine drank well on its own but was not suited to the meal.

At this time we took an inter-course break to taste some wine pairs. The first pairing was a 1996 Drouhin Chambertin Grand Cru and a 1999 Dujac Echezeaux Grand Cru. This was a pairing of contrasting styles of great Burgundy wine. The Drouhin was the more powerful of the two with an oily richness and tea on the nose. The initial feel was more Barolo than Burgundy with tar, tannin, rose petal, earth, and high acidity. As the wine evolved in the glass it transitioned to iron, blood, game, and more traditional cherry and strawberry notes. The Echezeaux was elegant and silky with strawberries, beef broth, leather, game, and a slight spiciness on the nose. This wine was perfectly balanced with lightness of feet on the palate and a lengthy finish.

The second pairing was a 1982 Beychevelle and a 2000 Clos l'Eglise. The Beychevelle had black olives, dill, smoke, vanillin, sweet tobacco, and cigar box on the nose. Drinking beautifully with bright red fruit and a long, sour finish. Probably another 15 years of life ahead of it. We found the Clos l'Eglise to be uncharacteristic of a Pomerol. It exhibited shoe polish, red fruit, exotic ripe fruit, and kirsch liqueur on the nose. Opulent, powerful. Tamarind on the palate. Long, drying finish.

At this time the penultimate course of the evening was served. It was a Grade 6 Australian Wagyu with homemade chimichurri. The meat was perfectly prepared and was the perfect capper to a night of wonderful taste sensations (Andrew has a future in a kitchen someplace). The dish was paired with two wines: a 1989 Jean-Louis Chaves Hermitage and a 1999 Chapoutier L'Ermite. The Hermitage showed mint chocolate, pine needles, cedar, and a lot of weight on the palate. The L'Ermite showed spruce, graphite, and silky tannins. Powerful but balanced.

The final pair of wines tasted was a 1990 Haut-Brion and a 1995 Masseto. The Haut-Brion had coffee, dill and black olives on the nose and tar and black olives on the palate. This wine is still young.  (This wine bottle is captured in the full monty). The Masseto exhibited aromas of licorice and coffee. Harmonious and complex.

The dessert course was Brazilian "Brigadeiro" chocolates and Salted Caramel Gelato with Arequipe. Ron had brought a 1990 Chateau Suduiraut to pair with dessert but we opted for Champagne instead. By this time we were all feeling pretty so we decided to repair outside and practice our Champagne-sabreing techniques. This is something you probably should do at the beginning of the evening rather than at the end. All's well that ends well however.

The nights full lineup is shown below.

All in all a wonderful evening. The @thewinebarns restored their reputation as Class A hosts, we had great food and wine, and Ron successfully negotiated a late-night sabreing escapade.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

ZD Wines, home of Abacus (among other things)

One of my favorite wines on the planet is ZDs Abacus so on my recent trip to Napa, I decided to pay a visit to the winery to gain some on-site insight into the facility and its processes. This post is a report on my findings.

ZD Wines is located on Silverado Trail in the lower eastern half of the Rutherford AVA and is bordered by Mumm Napa Valley to the north, Caymus Vineyards to the west, and Beckstoffer to the south. My visit was scheduled for 11:00 am but I got there a little early and was able to roam around on the grounds and survey the beautiful views of the valley afforded by the property.

My group consisted of four people and our host for the visit was Jorge Guzman, Hospitality Lead at ZD Wines. According to Jorge, ZD is the fruit of the dreams of two former aerospace engineers -- Norman de Leuze and Gino Zapponi -- who pooled $3000 each to launch a venture aimed at making wines akin to the famed wines of Burgundy. With grapes purchased from Winery Lake Vineyard in Carneros, the partners produced 300 cases of Pinot Noir and a small amount of Riesling in 1968, their first vintage.

Grapes for ZD wines are sourced from a mix of owned-vineyards and purchased fruit (According to Jorge, fully 60 percent of the grapes utilized in wine production at ZD is purchased fruit.). Grapes for the earliest incarnation of the winery's Pinot Noir were sourced from Winery Lake Vineyard in Carneros, as were the grapes for the earliest Chardonnays. A 33-acre parcel was purchased in Carneros in 1996 and that vineyard is devoted primarily to the production of the Reserve Chardonnay (27 acres). A 6-acre block in the northwest portion of the property has been planted to the Hanzell Pinot Noir clone and is the source for the ZD Founders Reserve wine. Grapes for the Cabernet Sauvignon wine is sourced from 3.2 acres of sloping land around the vineyard plus purchased fruit from low-yielding, Napa hillside vineyards.

A number of interesting processes are employed in the cellar.  For example, the Chardonnay grapes are cold-fermented in barrels (using Champagne and Montrachet yeasts) in a long, slow process which imparts a sur lie feel to the completed wine. In order to preserve the wine's characteristics, malolactic fermentation is not allowed. The winery eschews pumping-over for maintenance of skin contact, opting instead for a manual punchdown of the cap using the device depicted below.

The winery's offerings, and associated production processes, are depicted below.

The standout offering from the producer is Abacus, an attempt on the part of the winery to retain the purity of fruit that is associated with young Cabernet Sauvignon wines while also taking advantage of the benefits bestowed by maturity. According to Benjamin Lewin MW, the mono-varietal Cabernet Sauvignon shows greater purity of fruit in its youth but is linear compared to a Bordeaux blend which exhibits a broader flavor spectrum. But, according to Lewin, it is with age that the differences between the wines really appear. The mono-varietal Cabernet Sauvignon matures but the purity of fruit of its youth yields to austerity while the blend produces the "savory notes of tertiary development." The ZD team had a similar view and set out to create a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon that would retain that purity of fruit through the ages. They accomplished this goal by blending the 1992-1998 vintages of their Reserve Cab with each vintage contributing 15% of the initial Abacus bottling. The company is on the verge of releasing its 14th bottling of Abacus.

We tasted a few of the wines before, during and after the tour. The Chardonnays were very Burgundian in tone with a richness resulting from the extended cold maceration. These wines were rich, balanced, well-endowed with bright fruit. The 2010 Pinot Noir was reflective of cherry, raspberry, vanilla, and earth on the nose and silky tannins with a long finish on the palate. The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibited licorice, blackberry, and spices on the nose and black fruit and power on the palate.

I enjoyed this visit immensely and can now rest peacefully knowing that I have completed my pilgrimmage to the source -- the source of Abacus.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Improving wine balance with varietal blending

Wine blends are constructs of two or more varietals, and/or micro/macro-climates, and or clones, and/or juice types (press or free-run) that are implemented by the winemaker to, among other reasons, overcome wine deficiencies or defects, improve balance, or enhance complexity. I have previously discussed blending and wine complexity and will cover wine balance and blending in this post.

According to Dr. Bruce Zoecklein, Head of the Enology/Wine Chemistry Group at Virginia Tech, wine can be broken down into the three sensory categories indicated in the table below.

                              Wine Sensory Components

Structure                                  Texture                               Flavor
Sweet                                       Light (delicate)                   Nutty
Acid                                         Rich (dense)                       Earthy
Astringency                                                                         Herbal
Bitterness                                                                            Smoky
                                                                                            Spicy
                                                                                            Berry
                                                                                            Tropical Fruit
                                                                                            Apple*
                                                                                            Citric*
                                                                                            Pear*
* Found mainly in white wines
Source: Derived from Figure 1 of Matching Food and Wine.

As regards the structural components, Dr. Zoecklein argues that a balanced relationship must exist between the tastes of sweetness, on the one hand, and acid, astringency and bitterness on the other, in order to yield the perception of a quality wine to the taster.  The preferred relationship is captured in his Palate Balance Equation (Zoecklein: Components of Red Wine Mouthfeel):

           Sweet ⇄ Acid + Phenolics (Astringency and Bitterness),

where

          Sweet = Carbohydrates + Polysaccharides + Ethanol,
          Acid = Population of organic acids, and
          Phenolics = Skin, seed, and stem phenols + barrel phenols + enological tannins + volatile  phenols.

Based on the foregoing equation, an increase in the sweetness element will lead to a reduction of the taster's perception of acidity and phenolics; and the reverse is also true.  Dr. Zoecklein sees this balance, or harmony, as a key indicator of wine quality and, in that, he is joined by Wines and Vines and Crushpad Blog, among others. According to Chris Stamp, writing in Wines and Vines, "... a balanced wine is a wine in which the various components work together to provide a pleasing taste."  According to Richard Leahy, writing in Crushpad Blog, wines that are in balance tend to stay that way while wines that are out of balance tend to grow moreso over time.

How does balance relate to quality? If, for example, a wine has insufficient sugar in relation to its acids and phenols, it will present as harsh and acidic and will retard the evolution of flavors in the mouth of the taster. A wine with too much sugar, on the other hand, will be flabby and cloying and will not refresh the palate. The sweetness of sugar also balances out the bitterness of phenols. Alcohol adds to the sensation of sweetness in a wine. It also adds a thickness. Too much alcohol and the wine can present as hot, lead to a reduced perception of wine aroma, and can impart a sense of intoxication.  For a winemaker doing business in the US, there is an approximately $.50 difference in the taxes paid per gallon of produced wine if the alcohol level goes beyond 14.001%.

The winemaker needs to know the acid content of the grape and must in order to: decide when to harvest; determine pre-fermentation must treatment; monitor wine stability; and comply with US TTB requirements of 0.5% minimum acid levels. Red table wines generally range between 0.6% and 0.7% TA as levels below 0.4% render the wine susceptible to infection and spoilage. A second method for measuring the acidity of a wine is through observation of its pH (potential of hydrogen) level. The pH level of a wine affects the way it is perceived by the wine drinker as well as its reaction to micro-organisms. Low-pH wines are generally viewed as sour and render tannins more astringent but they also limit micro-organism growth.

Grape tannins provide color, flavor, structure, and texture to the wine and serves a preservative function. Tannin affects wine balance in the following ways:

• The lower the tannin levels, the greater the amount of acidity the wine can support; conversely, the higher the tannin levels, the lower should be the acidity
• High-acid, high-tannin wines tend towards astringency
• Too much tannin results in wines that are heavy on the palate, lacking in finesse, and possessing a rough finish
• Increasing alcohol content increases the intensity of bitterness and decreases the sensation of astringency
• Low alcohol levels will result in dominant acidity and astringency and harsh, thin wines
• Lowering wine pH increases the astringency of the tannins.

To summarize, acid gives wine a tartness and freshness while countering the effect of sweetness and magnifying the astringency of tannins. If a wine has too much acid it will be puckery and sour; too little and it will be flat, flabby, and dull. If a wine has insufficient sugar in relation to its acids and phenols, it will present as harsh and acidic and will retard the evolution of flavors in the mouth. If the wine has too much sugar, it will be flabby and cloying and will not refresh the palate.

Hopefully the normal grape-growing and alcoholic fermentation processes would have produced a balanced wine but if an imbalance were brought about by an insufficiency or excess of any of the elements described above, the winemaker may choose to blend with a varietal that addresses the imbalance. The following are examples of varietals which contribute to balance-enhancement in selected wine blends (Stenwreth MW, Tong 15; finewineconcierge.com; winelit.slsa.sa.gov.au)

• In the Langhe region, Barbera is used to tone down the tannins of the mighty Nebbiolo
• In California, Petit Sirah is used to add structural backbone to Zinfandel
• Petit Verdot adds freshness and firmness to blends
• Malbec, Merlot, and Carmenere soften the tannins of Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux blends
• Cabernet Franc adds freshness (among other features) in Bordeaux blends
• Pinot Noir adds body and structure (among other characteristics) to Champagne
• Chardonnay adds freshness to Champagne
• Mazuelo adds structure and freshness (among other features) to Rioja wines
• Graciano adds acidity to Rioja wines
• Canaiola adds sweetness to Chianti and tempers the harshness of Sangiovese.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme