We bottled our 2022 Grenache and Tempranillo, including a glass aged Rhone blend (Mourvèdre, Petite Sirah, Syrah). The Rhone Blend was produced with the intention of blending it into the Grenache, and possibly the Tempranillo. To figure out what blends we want, my son & I conducted bench testing. Folks have asked about how to do bench testing, so I'll explain what we did.
For the Tempranillo, we decided to try 5%, 10%, and 15% blends. Using a syringe (not the needle kind) we created 4 samples:
30.0 ml Tempranillo
28.5 ml Tempranillo + 1.5 ml Rhone Blend (5%)
27.0 ml Tempranillo + 3.0 ml Rhone Blend (10%)
25.5 ml Tempranillo + 4.5 ml Rhone Blend (15%)
We went with small samples as we needed to be sober enough to bottle the wines.
We really like the Tempranillo as-is, noting that it's got a heavy tannin in the finish that will require bottle time to soften. Also note that the last 3 months I was out of top up for the Tempranillo -- beyond the barrel we had a 12 liter carboy full, and I didn't feel like breaking it up, so we have topped up with the Rhone Blend. This is not 100% Tempranillo, but the addition is relatively small -- 4 bottles in 17 gallons
We also like the 5% blend, as the Rhone tones down the tannin, adds complexity, and will make it drinkable sooner.
In the 10% and 15% blends, the Rhone overshadows the Tempranillo instead of complementing it.
Our final solution? We bottled 3 cases of the 100% Tempranillo and 4 cases of the 5% blend.
Next we tasted the Grenache, making the following blends, as we expect to use more of the Rhone Blend in the Grenache:
30.0 ml Grenache
28.5 ml Grenache + 1.5 ml Rhone Blend (5%)
27.0 ml Grenache + 3.0 ml Rhone Blend (10%)
25.5 ml Grenache + 4.5 ml Rhone Blend (15%)
24.0 ml Grenache + 6.0 ml Rhone Blend (20%)
Again, we like the Grenache as-is. It's a very different grape. Also note that like the Tempranillo, I was out of top up wine (in addition to the barrel we had a 19 liter carboy) so we used the Rhone Blend.
We like the 20% blend best, but were unsure, so we made additional blends:
22.5 ml Grenache + 7.5 ml Rhone Blend (25%)
21.0 ml Grenache + 9.0 ml Rhone Blend (30%)
We settled on the 25% as the best blend; with the 30% the Rhone Blend dominated the Grenache. In the 25% the Grenache nose and aftertaste are still distinctive.
Our final solution? We bottled 3 cases of 100% Grenache and 6.5 cases of the 25% blend.
When done we had about 3/4 gallon each of the Grenache and Rhone Blend left over, so I simply mixed them and bottled 1/2 case of a 50/50 blend.
As I type this, I'm drinking a half bottle of Frankenwine that has all of the above in it -- I have absolutely no idea what the proportions are, but wish I had a few cases of it. This came out really good!
We could have gotten more picky and tried to fine-tune the blends more, but IMO it's honestly not worth the effort. I have a well trained palate (yeah, gotta drink a LOT of wine to learn!) but I doubt it's good enough to honestly make a difference in trying to do 23%, 24%, 25%, 26%, 27% blends.
For the Tempranillo, we decided to try 5%, 10%, and 15% blends. Using a syringe (not the needle kind) we created 4 samples:
30.0 ml Tempranillo
28.5 ml Tempranillo + 1.5 ml Rhone Blend (5%)
27.0 ml Tempranillo + 3.0 ml Rhone Blend (10%)
25.5 ml Tempranillo + 4.5 ml Rhone Blend (15%)
We went with small samples as we needed to be sober enough to bottle the wines.
We really like the Tempranillo as-is, noting that it's got a heavy tannin in the finish that will require bottle time to soften. Also note that the last 3 months I was out of top up for the Tempranillo -- beyond the barrel we had a 12 liter carboy full, and I didn't feel like breaking it up, so we have topped up with the Rhone Blend. This is not 100% Tempranillo, but the addition is relatively small -- 4 bottles in 17 gallons
We also like the 5% blend, as the Rhone tones down the tannin, adds complexity, and will make it drinkable sooner.
In the 10% and 15% blends, the Rhone overshadows the Tempranillo instead of complementing it.
Our final solution? We bottled 3 cases of the 100% Tempranillo and 4 cases of the 5% blend.
Next we tasted the Grenache, making the following blends, as we expect to use more of the Rhone Blend in the Grenache:
30.0 ml Grenache
28.5 ml Grenache + 1.5 ml Rhone Blend (5%)
27.0 ml Grenache + 3.0 ml Rhone Blend (10%)
25.5 ml Grenache + 4.5 ml Rhone Blend (15%)
24.0 ml Grenache + 6.0 ml Rhone Blend (20%)
Again, we like the Grenache as-is. It's a very different grape. Also note that like the Tempranillo, I was out of top up wine (in addition to the barrel we had a 19 liter carboy) so we used the Rhone Blend.
We like the 20% blend best, but were unsure, so we made additional blends:
22.5 ml Grenache + 7.5 ml Rhone Blend (25%)
21.0 ml Grenache + 9.0 ml Rhone Blend (30%)
We settled on the 25% as the best blend; with the 30% the Rhone Blend dominated the Grenache. In the 25% the Grenache nose and aftertaste are still distinctive.
Our final solution? We bottled 3 cases of 100% Grenache and 6.5 cases of the 25% blend.
When done we had about 3/4 gallon each of the Grenache and Rhone Blend left over, so I simply mixed them and bottled 1/2 case of a 50/50 blend.
As I type this, I'm drinking a half bottle of Frankenwine that has all of the above in it -- I have absolutely no idea what the proportions are, but wish I had a few cases of it. This came out really good!
We could have gotten more picky and tried to fine-tune the blends more, but IMO it's honestly not worth the effort. I have a well trained palate (yeah, gotta drink a LOT of wine to learn!) but I doubt it's good enough to honestly make a difference in trying to do 23%, 24%, 25%, 26%, 27% blends.
