The Alchemy of Blending
Friday, 23 October, 2009
Norman McFarlane
The intra-varietal blend is an intriguing concept, particularly in a country to some extent pre-occupied with single varietal wines.
Fostered by the wine of origin certification system, which seeks to assure the public that what is in the bottle actually comes from where the label claims it does, single varietals have been taken to some interesting extremes. For example, the single vineyard wine takes the concept of terroir to its logical conclusion, with some examples working very well and others not.
Ian Naude's Adoro 5 Regions Sauvignon Blanc tends in the opposite direction, and abandons the notion of terroir - or does it? Ian gets grapes from five different regions in the Western Cape - Stellenbosch, Darling, Elgin, Durbanville and Elim - each of which brings a particular characteristic to this wine. None of these fruit components have found their way into this wine by accident. Rather, Ian has assiduously sought Sauvignon blanc fruit that will lend a specific dimension to the final blend, and it goes without saying that in each instance, that characteristic will to a greater or lesser extent, reflect its terroir.
The result is a blend of Sauvignon blanc - hence use of the term intra-varietal to describe it - that is balanced and elegant with distinct minerality. It also has a refreshing fruit component that makes it immediately accessible, effectively straddling the divide between Old World and New World styles.
Whilst it may not be able to claim wine of origin status, the wine does not run the risk of being too narrow in the palate, a possibility in a wine from a single region, single estate, or a single vineyard.
The inter-varietal blend on the other hand, offers the winemaker even greater latitude. The Naudé White is a case in point. A distinctive blend of barrel fermented Chenin blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon blanc, it is balanced, pleasantly fruity and has great breadth and linearity of palate, making it a fabulous food wine.
By choosing to work with a variety of blend components, the winemaker relies on an innate understanding of what each component brings to the blend, and a willingness to experiment. More art than science, blending makes the cellar work cooperative rather than manipulative.
How different then is the winemaker who pursues purity and excellence in a blend - be it intra- or inter-varietal - from the master whisky blender?
BenRiach Distillery, which owns the Adoro brand, is located in the heart of Speyside, co-incidentally near the Scottish Highland town of Elgin. Master blender Billy Walker has created a remarkable array of single malt whiskies which in many senses parallel what Ian has done with his 5 Regions Sauvignon Blanc.
All Billy's blending components are distilled and aged at BenRiach, but variety is achieved by maturing in an array of different oak barrels, the most common of which is American Bourbon barrels, but less commonly he also uses Oloroso sherry butts, Gomez Finno sherry butts, Pedro Ximinez sherry butts, Tawny port hogsheads, Henriques & Henriques Madeira barrels, and dark rum barrels.
Working with this array of fine single malt blending components, Billy sets about crafting the array of award winning BenRaich whiskies, many of which are unique and therefore push the whisky envelope.
The BenRiach 16 year old by way of example, is a blend of BenRiach matured in traditional American Bourbon barrels, and in hogsheads re-racked to sherry butts. Golden amber in colour, it shows a gentle nuttiness and honey vanilla on the nose that follows onto the palate, supported by substantial sherry overtones and a hint of dark chocolate.
The BenRiach 25 year old is a blend of BenRiach matured in American oak barrels, and in virgin oak, which is most unusual for a whisky. A deep golden colour, the nose offers a honeyed spiciness, underpinned by a compelling peatiness, and wonderful oak induced notes, lent by the new wood maturation. The palate is redolent of Oloroso sherry (not overpowering, mind) and a melange of honey, cocoa and apples, with the new oak lending pleasing wood notes.
The alchemy of blending affords both the winemaker and the master whisky blender the opportunity to achieve synergy, in effect to create something that is greater than the sum of its individual parts.