At Marrakesh duty free we had found a blend of Marselan, Carmenere and Petit Verdot which had worked so well we tried to re-constitute the taste at home. Not having the proportions it was fun attempting the task and we were quite happy with the result.
This time the proportions were given so naturally much depended on what kind of Muscat, Chardonnay, Malvasia etc. we selected.
The Aglianico vinificato in bianco was 'Lacrima di Orazio' from Cantina Bonifacio (Basilicata). This wine is partly aromatic, partly astringent so we thought a nice full Malvasia such as the one from Birichino, California would balance that out. The dry Muscat shouldn't be too muscat-y in order not to dominate so we chose a natural wine from Greece. The Chardonnay was a Chablis so as not to have too much sweetness and maintain acidity. All a bit like playing with a chemistry set.
Of course the result was nothing like Il Preliminare which just goes to show that within the parameters of the four different grape varieties there is room for a multitude of variations.
What was most interesting about this experiment was that the blend of wines which after all were 'finished' wines underwent a development or so we fancied. We could swear that a tasting immediately after mixing the four wines in equal parts - although pleasant enough - was different from what we tasted after the concoction had had a chance to settle down a couple of weeks later.
Was this just our imagination or does it prove that wine, 'finished' or not is a living thing, capable not just of ageing but transforming?
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