5.2.2 Examples of blending methodology

At Château Latour, for example, there are three labels all in the Pauillac appellation, corresponding not only to three "quality levels" but also to distinct geographical origins.

Similarly, at Domaine d'Eugénie, it was decided to isolate and age separately a Vosne-Romanée Village plot that is unique in terms of its location and remarkable quality, and not to blend it with the property's other batches of Vosne-Romanée village.

At Château Grillet, given the appellation's small size, it was decided to move certain batches that were not selected for the first wine (essentially young vines and certain sectors that could sometimes be affected by the year's climatic conditions) to the fallback appellation (Côtes du Rhône).

At Clos de Tart, quality is generally very homogeneous but it has been decided that younger plots and certain plots planted with more vigorous plant material should be separated and labelled as Morey Saint Denis premier cru.
Beyond this basic strategy and decisions based on land registry divisions, it is essential to validate these choices by tasting and to determine a procedure in this process.

If the strategy is to prioritize different batches from the same appellation through "homogeneous quality levels" (even if it means grouping together batches with very different styles, including those made from different grape varieties, but which are perceived as being of the same quality), the simplest procedure is to isolate the batches deemed "intermediate", and include them or not in the two quality levels on either side of them and then decide their fate by blind tasting.

At Château Latour, for example, this exercise is carried out in two phases:

1. All the different batches of press wines are blended at the beginning of November. They are sorted by pressing level and into five or six categories within each level.
2. The segmentation of the batches of free-run wine usually takes place from mid-January, when the wines have finished their MLF and have all been transferred to barrels, and is spread over several tasting sessions (five to eight, depending on the year).

The determination of three quality levels of the free-run wines is made on a hierarchical basis, in which the first wine is defined first, then Forts de Latour and finally Pauillac de Latour.

Once these three bases have been established, the batches of press wine are gradually reincorporated, giving preference to the best batches for each level of pressing.

The wines are blended in May, seven or eight months after the harvest, in order to obtain a good harmonization of all the various batches that have been incorporated during the rest of the ageing process.