Our “Right Bank” Bordeaux Style Red Blend

From our beginnings, we have enjoyed making “blended” wines, or wines that consist of two or more grape varietals blended together to create a unique combination of flavors and aromas.  And while there is some element of blending going on in just about any wine (blending vineyards, blending from new and neutral oak, etc.), making a wine that will be labeled as a blend allows the winemaker a level of creativity and freedom that is quite different from making wines labeled with a single grape varietal, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay. Since our inaugural vintage, winemaker Kirk Venge and B Cellars co-founder Jim Borsack have engaged in hundreds of blending sessions resulting in a remarkable collection of distinctive wines, including several proprietary blends.

Blend 27 is the most recent addition to this portfolio, and 2015 was its first bottled vintage. The composition of Blend 27 was inspired by what we call the “Right Bank” wines of Bordeaux.  The “Right Bank” is the area of Bordeaux located to the north of the Dordogne River, and the chateaux there have traditionally favored Merlot as the dominant grape varietal in their wines.  This vintage of Blend 27 is almost an even split between elegant Merlot, bold Cabernet Sauvignon, and fragrant Cabernet Franc. This wine is a crowd-pleaser, and you will find that it loves food almost as much as we do!

2022 Blend 27

A true spice box on the nose of clove, cinnamon, allspice, and black tea, which seamlessly transitions to notes of mountain strawberry and cherry. The palate is perfectly balanced with red and black fruit tension leading to soft and gentle tannins with a spicy finish that lingers.

Although most people would pair Cabernet Sauvignon with a rich steak, Chef Derick loves this pairing with Blend 27. The blackening spice on the steak helps play with the tension between red and black fruit in the wine. The fat in the steak and the creaminess in the romesco also help to mellow the tannins in the wine, making each sip more enjoyable than the last.