Magnafique Pre Blending

Did a little pre-blending to get an idea of the Magnafique blend. We're shooting for a cab-focused blend with the Cab Franc vs. the Merlot style from last year.  In previous tastes we've liked 10-20% cab franc with the cab, so that's where I started.   My first try was to determine if the Malbec adds anything to the blend this year.  I did the following 2 blends

 

Blend 1
80% Cab
15% Cab Franc
5% Merlot
 
Blend 2
75% Cab
15% Cab Franc
5% Merlot
5% Malbec

 

Both blends were good but Blend #1 was nicer. The blend with the 5% Malbec had a peppery finish.  Mike and Margaret tasted and also liked Blend #1.

 

I tried dialing up the Merlot component in Blend 1 to more like 10% and that was too much, the merlot this year has a bitterness that threw off the balance.  I think Blend #1 is a good starting point. We can try adding more or less Cab Franc and see what the group likes.

 

Troy