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Vintner’s Blend is Chatham’s signature red wine. The best and the brightest.
By late August or early September every season, Chatham vintner Jon Wehner will start tasting the ripening grapes while examining their overall health in terms of chemistry, sugar, acid and pH. “You can tell by then what’s going to be the best varietal from that season,” he says. “Often it has to do with timing.”
Veraison, or when grapes turn color and really begin to ripen, depends heavily on rainfall, sun and the wind conditions during the growing season.
“Some years, it’s a Cabernet Franc year. Other years, it’s a Merlot year. If we have a hot, dry fall, it can be a Cabernet Sauvignon year,” Jon says. “The best red varietal becomes the base of Vintner’s Blend.”
During harvest, Jon is able to identify what grape that will be. Evenness of color and ripeness along with taste factor into the decision. By then and after 24 growing seasons at Chatham, he’s familiar with every aspect of what’s on the vine. These are grapes he and his crew have nurtured — Chatham wines are made 100% from grapes grown in Chatham’s vineyards.
“We’ve been tending to these grapes from pruning to budbreak to bloom to varaison all the way through harvest,” he says. “By crush, I know which ones are doing really well.”
Of course, Mother Nature can throw a curveball. If harvest begins without major weather interference, the grapes contain higher sugars making for better, riper tannins, concentration levels and a rich deep color. Certain varietals prefer cooler conditions; others thrive in the heat.
The base of Vintner’s Blend is anywhere from 30% to sometimes as high as 45% of the single, signature varietal.
Jon doesn’t overthink blending, letting what happens in the vineyard dictate what stands out in the bottle. He undergoes multiple blending trials until he’s satisfied with the final blend. The changes are subtle, anywhere from 1% to 3% of the signature varietal, noting how a fraction of a percentage affects taste and complexity.
“For example, you can lose the subtlety and finesse of Cabernet Franc if you put in too much Petit Verdot. You go with what integrates well with the signature varietal,” he says.
Rather than manipulating the process, Jon shepherds the grapes through fermentation and integrates them with other varietals so they show the base authentically.
The wine is aged in 30% new French oak and 1- to 3-year-old oak barrels, ensuring that the concentration and extraction of the grapes remain high and the color, dark. The new French oak is seasoned for more than 20 months.
“At the end of the day, Vintner’s Blend is maybe 27 barrels of my favorite wine,” Jon says. “The only thing I’ve done at crush is visualizing what varietal will have the greatest role.”
The wine rests until early winter when Jon tastes it again with a clean palate. He’s refreshed by that time, the long hours and irregular sleep of the busy harvest period behind him. Sharing with consultants and friends is the next important step. Sometimes he’s been so close to it that he misses what a fresh perspective can offer.
Right now, it’s too early for the vineyard to offer a hint of what this season’s signature red will be. The vines are healthy, and the infant grapes are only the size of a pea. The summer weather will affect the flavor profile, ripeness, color and sugar.
“You adjust to Mother Nature, and you make the wine Mother Nature gives that season,” Jon says. “Vintner’s Blend is really an opportunity to do some winemaking. The straight varietals showcase what Mother Nature has done for each varietal.”