Blending terroirs during wine production

With the scope of blending and a definition of terroir under our belts, we are now in a position to explore the issue of blending terroirs. And the question that needs to be answered right out of the box is "Why would a winemaker want to construct a wine that is a blend of multiple terroirs?" In my view, terroir blends are the manifestation of a pursuit of greater complexity/quality. And that position is supported by Winemaker Matt writing on the Kendall-Jackson Blog.

According to Matt, "Blending different vineyard sites with different characteristics from different growing regions allow winemakers to create a wine that is 'greater than the sum of its parts.'" He points to the Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (assuredly not one of the world's great wines; but the principle holds) which is built from a small percentage of the 400 lots which the winery vinifies and ages separately post-harvest. He creates a core blend and then experiments with different lots to add complexity and seamlessness. According to Matt, "Often the results are truly surprising. A wine that might seem simple, but having one or two interesting features, can provide an incredible enhancement to a new blend."

There are a number of different types of terroir blends and we explore a few below.

Muted Multi-Terroir Blend
The poster child for this approach is Penfolds. We have already established that the use of multi-terror blends is in pursuit of increased complexity. Penfolds, in the case of its Grange label, sources fruit from a wide array of vineyards across multiple districts but then mutes these terroir effects, in favor of a "house style," by implementing controlled fermentation and aging in new American oak.

Single-Vineyard, Multi-Terroir, Single-Variety Blend
The Masseto vineyard is sub-divided into three distinct sections based on soil characteristics and resultant wines.  The lowest section of the vineyard is called Masseto Junior and its soils are characteristically a clay-sand mix.  According to the winery the wines produced frrom grapes grown in this section are lighter and serve to smooth out the tannic roughness associated with the wines from the other sections as well as contributing to the overall delicacy of the final product.  The middle portion of the vineyard is called Masseto Centrale and has the highest levels of Pliocene clays. Wines produced from these grapes are powerful, concentrated, and tannic.  The top portion of the vineyard is located 120 meters above sea level and the soil here consists of loose clays and sand along with pebbles.  The soil here is the shallowest in the overall vineyard and the grapes tend to ripen earliest. The wines produced from this section of the vineyard are dense and linear.

Fermentation is conducted in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and oak vats with each block fermented separately.  Blocks are aged in wooden barriques for one year prior to being blended into the final wine by the winemaker. After blending, the wines are returned to the barriques for an additional year of aging. Axel Heinz, the winemaker, in a Decanter interview (Ornellaia, May 2013) said "When young, Masseto can seem monolithic, but it often shows much more complexity with age."

Multi-Terroir, Multi-Variety Blend with Terroir-Specificity per Variety
The Ornellaia vineyards at Bellaria are planted at elevations ranging between 50 and 120 meters above sea level on slopes ranging between 5 and 20 degrees.  The hills above the vineyards protect the vines from cold winds while the sea moderates the temperature and reflects sunlight, a boon to grape ripening.  The soil composition changes every 500 meters or so and dictates the estate's planting strategy: Petit Verdot on sandy soils; Cabernet Sauvignon on clay-limestone soils; and Merlot on clay soils.  The average age of the vines at Bellaria is 8 years.

Grapes are hand-harvested and subjected to a three-part selection process which ensures that only the best berries make it to the fermentation tanks.  Grapes from the estate's 60 parcels (37 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, 38 hectares of Merlot, 12 hectares of Cabernet Franc, 10 hectares of Petit Verdot) are vinified and stored separately prior to the construction of the final blend.

The estate's first wine is Ornellaia, a Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (12%), and Petit Verdot (3%) blend. The second wine is Le Serre Nuove, a Cabernet Sauvignon (35%), Merlot (50%), Cabernet Franc (10%), and Petit Verdot blend. Le Volte is a 50% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 30% Merlot blend, with the Sangiovese fruit sourced externally.

The complexity here will primarily be about the blend but what I find interesting is that the blend components are grown on the terroir to which they are deemed best suited. Hence some terroir attributes are introduced.

Multi-Terroir, Multi-Variety Blend
This contrasts with the approach described immediately above in that the terroirs differ and all of the varieties grow across multiple terroirs.  A case in point. Bodegas RODA grows Tempranillo, Graciano, and Garnacha varieties on old vines in Rioja vineyards that range over 28 separate ecosystems (each characterized by RODA-established altitude, soils, and climate-condition parameters) primarily sited in Rioja Alta but also encompassing portions of Rioja Baja.

Vineyard altitudes range between 380 and 650 meters.

Soils are inclusive of sand, clay-limestone, clay, and gravel. According to the Managing Director of the estate, the soils in Rioja Alta are primarily limestone, clay, and sandstone while the old terraces formed by the river has a top layer of sand and a deep layer of argillaceous soil. Rioja Baja has sandy soils over a limestone pan.

To the extent that different varieties may have different characteristics in different terroirs, this approach provides the most significant opportunity for blending complexity.

Multi-Vineyard Blend
Poderi Aldo Conterno is located in Bussia, a village in Monforte d'Alba.  It is surrounded by 25 ha of vineyards at 400 meters altitude and with a south southwest aspect.  The soil is comprised of alternating layers of compact gray sand and white and blueish calcareous marls.

In addition to the vineyard surrounding the Cantina, the Conterno family own three cru vineyards in Bussia: Romirasco, Cicala, and Colonello.  Romirasco -- located at 410 meters altitude on Soprano Hill -- has a SSW exposure and a clayey calcareous soil which is rich in calcium carbonate and iron. The Nebbiolo vines in this vineyard are 50- to 55-years old.  The Cicala vineyard is located on concave slopes with southeast exposures. The soil profile is similar to Romirasco's except that it is browner in color.  The vines here are 50-years old.  The vines at the Colonello Vineyard are 35- to 40-years old.  All of these vineyards are farmed organically.

The estate produces Colonello, Cicala, and Romirasco wines but the Granbussia Riserva DOCG is the flagship wine of the estate.  The 4950-bottle production is made from grapes drawn from the Cicala (15%), Colonello (15%), and Romirasco (70%) vineyards.  These grapes are co-fermented in wood with 60 days of skin contact and spend another 32 months maturing prior to bottling.  The wine is stored for another 12 to 18 months after bottling.  This wine was first introduced in 2005.

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I like to say that every wine is a blend. If you vinify and age by lot, then you have to blend at some time. And, to a greater or lesser degree, you are doing a terroir blend at that time. As global warming increases the challenges that it will force on winemakers in the future, terroir-blending will become even more fundamental in wine production.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Every wine is a terroir wine

An informed discussion on terroir and blending requires a clear understanding of the scope and definition of those two elements. In seeking to provide the prerequisite information, I have written a framing blog post on the scope of the blending decision and directed the reader to a prior post on the historical roots of the concept of terroir. In this post I present my thoughts on the concept of terroir.

What is terroir? That is a question that is asked and answered, I am sure, an excruciating number of times on a daily basis. And the answers are as numerous as the number of times the question is asked. To me, the predominant terroir driver is the physical environment within which the wine grapes are grown.

Grapevines have a set of needs, and the wines that are produced from the grapes provide insight as to how the physical environment went about meeting those needs. First I begin with the needs.

Next, as an example, we look at how those grapevine needs are met in the Masseto vineyard.

The Ornellaia estate encompasses 180 hectares -- 97 of which are planted to vine -- divided between two properties: the 37 hectares of vineyards and the winery on Via Bolgherese and a 60-hectare property called Bellaria which is located to the north of Bolgheri.  The Via Bolgherese property is divided into a 30.37-hectare vineyard dedicated to fruit for non-Masseto Ornellaia wines and a 6.63 hectare vineyard dedicated to the growth of Merlot grapes for the fabled Masseto wine.

The Masseto vineyard is sub-divided into three distinct sections based on soil characteristics and resultant wines.  The lowest section of the vineyard is called Masseto Junior and its soils are characteristically a clay-sand mix.  According to the winery the wines produced from grapes grown in this section are lighter and serve to smooth out the tannic roughness associated with the wines from the other sections as well as contributing to the overall delicacy of the final product.  The middle portion of the vineyard is called Masseto Centrale and has the highest levels of Pliocene clays. Wines produced from these grapes are powerful, concentrated, and tannic.  The top portion of the vineyard is located 120 meters above sea level and the soil here consists of loose clays and sand along with pebbles.  The soil here is the shallowest in the overall vineyard and the grapes tend to ripen earliest. The wines produced from this section of the vineyard are dense and linear.

This is what the physical environment offers in three separate parts of the Masseto vineyard as it strives to fulfill the needs of grapevine. These wines manifest terroir effects, driven by the physical environment in which the grapes were grown.

Added to the foregoing, and of recent vintage, is the role of microbial populations in terroir. As reported in a recent Wine Spectator article, scientists from the UK and NZ have found that yeasts play a large role in wine regional identity. These scientists isolated Saccharomyces cerevisae strains from six NZ regions and found that post-fermentation levels of 29 chemical aroma and flavor compounds varied according to the regional strain used. In a post on Bodegas Catena wines, Just Grapes reports on a mold -- occurring in only one section of the Adrianna vineyard -- that enhances the efficiency of vine nutrient absorption. Catena makes a wine with grapes sourced only from that section of the vineyard and that wine -- mundus bacillus terrae -- is, according to Just Grapes, "remarkably distinctive and expressive." The key here is that the microbial differences are tied to location and so are correlated to the physical environment in which the grapes are grown.

After a lot of thought and struggle, I have decided not to include the winemaker in my definition of terroir because the final product is so dependent on winemaker style. And that style is variant from winemaker to winemaker and from period to period. For example, in Rioja, and Montalcino, and Barolo, a traditional style came under attack from modernists. In all three of those environments you now have folks who have stuck to the traditional path, ones who have gone fully modern, and others who have struck a middle ground. The one thing that has remained constant (except for the warming) is the physical environment.  If the winemaker picks at the wrong time, the terroir characteristics are modified. If too much residual sugar is left post-fermentation, terroir characteristics can be muted. The winemaker can also use techniques to dampen terroir effects and produce a "house-style." And the jury is still out on the terroir effects of postmodern winemaking.

Terroir is about uniqueness and distinctiveness and can be extremely granular. That is to say, a specific portion of a vineyard can be identified as a terroir (the basis for cru wines).

I differentiate between terroir and appellation requirements. While appellation requirements may drive a sense of place, the "sameness" may highlight or dampen the terroir effects depending on the similarity of the physical environment within which the estates are operating.

So, those are my thoughts on terroir. Next I will look at blending terroirs.


©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

Blending and wine complexity

Wines have normally been classified as varietal or blends with the best old world representations of the former originating in Burgundy (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Rheingau/Mosel (Riesling), Langhe (Nebbiolo), and the Loire Valley (Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc) and the latter from Bordeaux, Rioja, Chianti, and Chateauneuf de Pape. Eben Sadie, a South African wine producer, sees climate as a key differentiator between the mono-varietals and blends (Jancis Robinson, The virtues of blending, jancisrobinson.com). Grapes grown in cool, continental climates hang longer on the vine and "there is time to build up interesting, terroir-derived" characteristics which are on display in the mono-vatrietal wines of the region. Warmer and maritime regions have shorter growing seasons and varietal wines from these regions tend to be "less interesting and nuanced" than wines made from blends. In this post we explore blending and complexity.

There are a number of blending drivers, as indicated below. While varietal blends tend to dominate, blending can occur down to the single-variety, single-plot level where free-run and press juice are kept separate and then blended in a winemaker-determined proportion at a later date.

According to classof1855.com, complexity in wine is demonstrated by "multiple layers and nuances of bouquet and flavors that are formed mostly in mature wines because aging contributes to this attribute." Further, "complexity creates interest and often unfolds layer upon layer on the nose and in the mouth if the wine is at its peak. Compared to complex wines, other wines seem shallow or one-dimensional."

Benjamin Lewin MW illustrates this difference in his discussion of mono-varietal Cabernet Sauvignon versus Cab-dominated Bordeaux blends (Cabernet Sauvignon and its blending partners, Tong #15). According to Lewin, the mono-varietal Cabernet Sauvignon shows greater purity of fruit in its youth but is linear compared to the blend which exhibits a broader flavor spectrum. This is illustrated graphically below where varieties are represented on the x-axis and blending factors (primarily terroir characteristics) are shown on the y-axis. A mono-varietal with two blending characteristics (free-run and pressed juice, let's say) will have less complexity potential than a two-variety blend which will exhibit dual-variety characteristics plus terroir characteristics associated with each. For a Bordeaux blend the potential is magnified.

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."

Eben Sadie views the New World's obsession with varietals as detrimental to progress on the complexity front as producers flit from varietal wine to varietal wine based on "fashion." Lewin sees a New World attitude typified by "blending is what you do only when the pure varietal wine wouldn't be good enough." They both view complexity as high on the desirability list and tightly (but not exclusively) linked to variety blends.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme