Re: Wine Advisor: Should grape varieties touch in the glass?
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 5:30 am
I am indeed surprised by Robin's premise that people reject blends. Heck, what else is a Bordeaux? There are strong blending traditions in almost all European regions south of a Bordeaux-Châteauneuf-du-Pape line. The main reason is that in almost all cooler climates there usually is one red or white variety which does much better than the rest, and in such marginal climates complexity and personality will more often come from soil, microclimate, altitude or orientation differences than from varietal content: pinot noir in Burgundy or riesling in the Rhine-Mosel are the two best examples. In the south, where everything ripens reasonably well, blending is what will give you personality and complexity. With a few exceptions, of course, which only confirm the rule: Petrus is virtually 100% merlot, Rayas and L'Ermita are 100% grenache... Otherwise, don't forget that in those warmer regions blending has long been the rule: Bordeaux, Rioja, Ribeiro, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Languedoc-Roussillon, Veneto, Chianti... Heck, even in Piemonte: remember Angelo Gaja's long feud with the Barolo and Barbaresco authorities as he insisted that 100% nebbiolo is a modern thing and that the wines should be allowed to have some barbera in them, as in the old days. He even took his best crus out of the two appellations to defend his point. Me, in an infinitely more modest region of southern Europe, I make six wines and not even the two which come with a varietal label are 100% varietals! (We have 10% of another grape in them to stay true to our belief that blends are best in our part of the world.)