“Blending used to be much simpler. In the 80's and 90's David would bring in all the grapes from Madrona Ranch on the same day, ferment them in two tanks, side-by-side, then put both together as he went to barrel. That was the blend, that was the wine.

“In 2000 things began to change, it was the year we first took fruit off of Thorevilos. We also harvested Madrona Ranch three times, keeping those lots separate after fermentation. By 2006, we were harvesting grapes off of all four estate vineyards. The method in the vineyard at harvest remained consistent and adhered to David's belief that a higher level of complexity and dimension in the wine forms through co-fermentation.

“We selectively pick fruit from a single vineyard, over several blocks, across variety, and ferment those grapes together. That is the first step to blending—the selection in the vineyard. Each single vineyard site yields multiple fermentations. Those lots are put to barrel separately to age for one year before the blending trials begin.

“The individual vineyards are all looked at singularly. A representative sample of each lot is pulled from barrel and assessed relative to its siblings. Commonly, a core blend is formed from two to three fermentations. The remaining barrels from that single site are used in smaller proportions to complete the wine. Once the blend is finalized, the barrels are combined and aged for another year together before bottling. The approach is simple, the method might be a little more involved than back in the day, but the results stay true.”

—Brad Grimes