This show aired on June 29, 2024. It covered our final topic on red blends, which lists the most famous red blends worldwide and their typical grapes. Then we cover details of 8 named blends in California, some iconic, or soon to be iconic.
The Most Famous Wine Blends: Red
Last week we covered Bordeaux red blends, and the previous week Rhone GSM blends. That hardly covered the entire category of red blends but, hopefully, provided a better idea of why named blends are useful. Naturally white and Rose wines are often done in blends, in fact the majority of wines are in blends and not just with different grapes.
- Blends of same grape, different areas of a vineyard or other estate vineyards.
- Blends of same grape, different sources within wine sub-region: Russian River Valley
- Blends of same grape, different sources within a major wine region: Sonoma County, Burgundy
- Blends of same grape, different sources within country or state: California, France
The wider the source area the less a wine expresses a specific terroir and the more generic it is, and, usually, the less interesting it becomes. The success of any blend depends on the winemaker’s expertise in combining grapes that enhance the blend, making it greater than the sum of its parts.
Each grape is commonly kept in oak and later blended by trying different combinations and percentages of each grape; often in a lab-type environment. The grapes might be aged in different types of oak from new to neutral which is about 5 years, or from different vintages, typical of sparkling wines.
Blends of different grapes
Different grapes within a blend provide a method to enhance the base grape, typically over 50% of the blend, with others to provide higher alcohol, more tannin and structure, more complexity on the palate, or a better balance to the blend. A red blend isn’t always exclusively red grapes either.
Wine Folly has a wall-mounted illustration covering both white and red blends to which I’ve only featured the red blends, but check here: winefolly.com/tips/famous-wine-blends/ to purchase one. I’m summarizing the grapes for each with a bit of detail.
Red Bordeaux: Covered last week, but Petit Verdot and Malbec are commonly in left bank blends with Cabernet Sauvignon and its parent grape Cabernet Franc are secondary to Merlot in right bank blends.
Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are in some sparklers, but a Blanc de Blanc is only Chardonnay and most other regions only use Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Interestingly, Rose sparklers in Champagne can blend red and white wines to make a Rose, not permitted anywhere else.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Bourboulenc, Cinsault, Clairette Blanche, Counoise, Grenache Blanc, Muscardin, Picardan, Piquepoul Blanc, Roussanne, Terret Noir, and Vaccarèse. Seldom are all the permitted grapes used and the base is commonly the first three, also known as GSM, possibly followed by two or three more in small proportions.
Chianti: Sangiovese 70-100% with other Italian grapes, but now up to 15% Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc as well. Older blends only relied on Italian red and white grapes.
Super Tuscan: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Syrah and Cabernet Franc. This was a name associated with Tuscan wines not using the DOC and DOCG grape requirements and used the name of a blend to identify the wine. Probably a good thing since many of these wines are very expensive!
Amarone (Amarone della Valpolicella): Corvina, Molinara and Rondinella, primarily, but other indigenous varieties are possible. Using the straw mat technique to intensify the blend, but finished dry, unlike other red blends for this wine region that make sweet wine, not powerful and intense ones as Amarone winemakers do.
Rioja: A red blend than can also be 100% Tempranillo; the principal grapes of Rioja, but can include, Garnacha, Mazuelo, Graciano, or Maturana Tinta. Wine Folly omitted the Garnacha which is a popular Rioja grape. The 2007 regulations now permit additional varieties.
Priorat: One of my favorite Spanish wines. With the importation of French vignerons non-Spanish grapes were later added. Carinyena (Carignan) and Garnatxa (Grenache) are the most important native varieties. The trend among the red varieties is that Garnacha stays constant, Cariñena decreases and the international grape varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot increase.
Port: A fortified wine that uses brandy to stop fermentation with residual sugars. The grapes are Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão primarily.
Meritage: The Meritage group created this official blend with regulations that must be followed to place Meritage on their labels. It is a variation of Bordeaux left bank blends. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Carménère, which has seen new interest and plantings in France after its success in Chile and other areas.
Provencal Rose: While not strictly speaking a red blend, it does use primarily red grapes. Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Vermentino (a.k.a. Rolle) a popular Italian white grape. Rhone Rose usually uses GSM primarily. Most Rose wine based on Pinot Noir only use that grape. It’s the only grape permitted in Alsace Rose.
Red Burgundy: Normally a red Burgundy is 100% Pinot Noir, although a minimum of ~85% is required and Gamay, the other principal red grape of Beaujolais as well as the whites Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay are permitted. Aligote, the other Burgundy white is often done as a single varietal except when used in Crémant de Bourgogne sparkling wines.
All of these blends are defined by French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese wine regulations. In the new world, however, anything goes. 75% to 85% of the base grape permits its being listed on the label and commonly is. Any producer can create their own name for a blend, even if the main grape is at 75% in the US or 85% in other countries.
California Popular Named Red Blend wines
In the US, giving your red blend a name requires going through the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) for approval so not everyone goes that route and just call it a red blend. Here are eight well-known and loved named blends to try out.
Justin 2020 Isosceles: You almost have to be in Justin Cellars wine club to grab one of these. This one is $85 and always a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This release is 88% Cab, 6% Cab Franc and 6% Merlot. Could they call it Cabernet Sauvignon? Sure but it wouldn’t command the same price or interest and this is Justin’s flagship wine.
- Lohr 2020 Pure Paso Proprietary Red $29 Is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28%, Petite Sirah, 5%, Petit Verdot, 2%, Malbec and 1% Merlot. The bigger, more tannic Petite Sirah replaces Merlot in this nearly Bordeaux blend. J Lohr is a well-loved winery and they do provide a lot of details of this blend so a wine lover knows what they’re getting.
From website: For this vintage of Pure Paso Proprietary Red Wine, the Cabernet Sauvignon component was sourced largely from our Shotwell Vineyard in the slightly cooler El Pomar District of Paso Robles; the climate here is strongly influenced by marine air drawn in from the Pacific Ocean just 17 miles away. This ranch is predominantly planted to ENTAV clone 169 Cabernet Sauvignon on calcareous Linne-Calodo soils with slopes reaching a challenging 25%. The Petite Sirah portion is from the warmer Estrella and San Miguel Districts. This area is ideal for heat-loving Petite Sirah. We have manicured our east-to-west oriented plantings to capture sunlight on the leaves’ surface; this practice allows the grape clusters to reach a luxurious level of maturity in the dappled sunlight below the vine canopy.
Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs 2021, Dry Creek Valley 14.3% ABV, $50 is an iconic Zinfandel, if not the most iconic. This blend is 72% Zinfandel, 15% Petite Sirah, 9% Carignane, 2% Alicante Bouschet, 1% Cinsault, 1% Counoise (organically grown). Ridge’s purchase of the old Lytton Springs winery helps preserve one of the best Zinfandels in the world and they’ve made it even better. Kudos to them.
Orin Swift 2021 Machete, 15.4 % ABV, $65. A blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah and Grenache. The label has a scantily attired female walking toward the viewer with a very big machete in her hand. Tell me that doesn’t get your attention. If Orin was a truck driver he’d have those big mud flaps with the silhouette of a naked woman on his truck.
Black ink that coats the glass and transforms it into an altered state, the 2021 Machete opens with decadent aromas of blue and black fruits, charred meat, a hint of funk and troves of minerality. The entry is more dense than expected with notes of black plum, other stone fruits and essence of game but yet tempered and balanced by candied orange peel and leveled acidity. Typical tannins for this Petite Sirah-based wine, the wine closes with voluptuous texture and intensity.
Stags’ Leap The Investor Red 2018, 14% ABV, $56, 2019 $67, 2020 $42. This is a blend of 40% Merlot, 32% Petite Sirah, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec. Each part of the blend receives different oak treatment. Petite Sirah aged in American Oak (25% new) for 20 months; Bordeaux varieties in French oak (35% new) for 20 months
Indicative of the winery’s ability to combine power with grace, the 2018 Investor is plush and inviting, with expressive notes of blackberry, black currant, macerated blueberries, and wild black plum alongside baking spice notes of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Intriguing notes of black pepper, tobacco leaf and floral violet are supported by more savory elements of fresh thyme, lavender and sage. The soft, round mouthfeel is rich and generous with present tannins that warm and coat the palate leading to an incredibly lengthy finish with ripe, mouthwatering acidity.
Michael David Winery Petite Petit 2021, 15.0% ABV, $18. Did you notice the elephant in the room? This wine probably needs no introduction and is one of the most popular red blends on the planet from one of my favorite Lodi wineries that also does the Earthquake series and the 7 Deadly Sins series of wine. Decadence, thy name is Michael David.
Like elephants whose size is imposing, Petite Petit is large! A blend of 85% Petite Sirah and 15% Petit Verdot, this wine offers a joyous explosion of color and fun. It is a substantial, dense, full-bodied, whopper style of wine loaded with pure black fruit and vanilla flavors that coat the palate. It reveals remarkable richness with a finish that is slightly dry and seems to linger.
DAOU Bodyguard 2022, 14.7% ABV, $40, A blend of 66% Petit Verdot, 28% Petite Sirah, and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, that is barrel aged: 15 months in 35% new French oak, 35% new American oak and 30% neutral French oak. The label shows a woman embracing her son, which was a tribute by brothers Georges and Daniel Daou to their mother Marie, for safeguarding them through times of trial.
Bodyguard is an innovative blend of predominately Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah – two varieties that achieve elegant harmony in the hands of Chief Winemaker Daniel Daou. The 2022 vintage boasts a deep garnet hue with aromas of ripe plum, berry compote, blackberry and clove, underlain by hints of pine, cedar and vanilla. Juicy, velvety textures expand with layers of mixed berry flavors. A medium-bodied mouthfeel finishes with bright, silky tannins
Ferrari‐Carano 2021 Siena, 14.5% ABV, $26: A Sonoma County blend of Sangiovese, Malbec, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon that spent 27 months in French and Eastern European oak, 19% new.
It has aromas of strawberry jam, plum, blackberry and mocha. Bing cherry flavors are enhanced by sweet oak notes of vanilla, cinnamon and spice that add layers of richness to this elegant wine. It has tannins that are soft, harmonious and mouth coating with lovely viscosity, depth and a lingering finish.
Hopefully you have a better idea of what a red blend is and what it can be, Salut!
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