Blending Time

It is blending season. Linden’s Red wines are blends of different grape varieties, vineyard blocks, and press fractions.  Now is our time to taste, evaluate, and micro blend with tiny samples. 

We blend early in the wine’s life. In a month or two all our 2022 red wines will be blended. There are two schools of thought on the timing of blending. Blend early so that the components have time to marry and harmonize, or blend late so that each individual component has the opportunity to evolve on its own, thereby giving the winemakers a more precise component to work with.

We blend early for several reasons.

Vintage Memory

The 2022 harvest is fresh in our memory. We can still recall our reasoning behind picking decisions, fermentation strategies, and cooperage choices.  We were reminded of this last week when we debated the blending direction of Hardscrabble Red. The majority of the barrel samples were elegant, pure, and precise, but some (mostly Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) were broad, weighty, and rustic.  Initially we attempted to blend these two variables, but the resulting wine was awkward and rudderless. We then reminisced about our impressions during harvest and crush. It became clear that the beauty of the vintage was red fruit purity and elegance.

Terroir Trust

Our job is to blend for texture and mouth feel. Our notes consist of evaluations of mid-palate weight, harmony, length, and finish. Trial blends that receive comments of disjointed, wan, donut (hole in the middle), bitter, drying are immediately kicked out of the running. Seamless, core, concentrated, dense, fine tannins are the words we look for.  Texture and mouth feel evolve in a relatively reliable manner. We know that the quality of the tannins will never improve, but the quantity will relax and integrate over time. We know that the mouth feel will become more generous with time, but in a very subtle, predictable way. 

We don’t pay much attention to aromas or flavors. These are terroir and vintage expressions. They will evolve and change to such a degree during aging (both in the barrel and in the bottle), that it would be a fool’s errand to think that we could interfere with the trajectory.

Seasonal Rhythms 

We make blending decisions in the winter because we have time. It is the only season when we can retreat from the vineyard. Slowtime. Winegrowers begin to migrate to the vines in the late winter. The vines demand our attention from then on out. Until the grapes are harvested. Making blending decisions requires long, consistent blocks of time. Each day we build on what we learned from the previous day. We contemplate. We taste other benchmark wines for inspiration and direction. If we feel rushed or hurried we will not make good decisions.

Over the next month or two we will host a few impromptu “Pop-Up” barrel tastings so that those who are interested can taste individual components before we blend. We’ll announce times a week in advance.

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Linden Vineyards / Learn More / Latest at Linden | Journal: January 30, 2023