Coupages and Assemblies

Have you ever heard of Coupages or Assemblies in the world of wine?

In case you did not know, both Coupage and Assembly are words of French origin that are the opposite of monovarietal wines in which only one variety is used, which is 100% reflected on the label.

Thus, Coupage is used to designate wines that are made by mixing different grape varieties or the same grape but from different plots.

In both cases, this process is normally carried out in the winery and before the grapes have fermented.

On the other hand, the term Assemblage refers to the mixture of wines already fermented and from different grape varieties to give them that uniqueness and character that is sought for each one.

And this is the case of Conzieto

The grapes we grow have different maturations and therefore each one arrives at the winery at different times. Later, when the grapes ferment and the wines are finished, I blend them with the rest of the varieties that make up that wine.

Here, generally, each batch of wine undergoes its fermentation separately in our stainless steel tanks and, once the assembly is done, each one has the corresponding aging.

As a curiosity, I will tell you that there may be a margin of 15% between what the label says and the varieties that actually make up the final wine since, depending on how the aging has gone, you can play with that percentage to balance it in the best way. way possible at your discretion.

This is how our wines are

BALLARO: 53% MORISTEL, 22% TEMPRANILLO and 25% SYRAH

I wanted to make this wine with these varieties in an attempt to combine the subtlety of the Moristel, with the power of the Syrah and the goodness of the Tempranillo, to achieve a balance between a complex range of aromas and a long and velvety palate. .

TENTAZION: 51% TEMPRANILLO, 26% MERLOT and 23% SYRAH

This wine no longer has so much subtlety. Its entry is powerful but glyceric and its balance lies in its strength, it is the force dominated and well channeled.

This is possible because the three varieties that influence this wine are appropriate for it. The Tempranillo provides elegance, the Merlot complexity, and the Syrah power in the mouth.

ESENZIA: 40% CHARDONNAY, 30% GARNACHA BLANCA and 30% SAUVIGNON BLANC

In this wine, being white, we must talk about totally different concepts in the combination of its three varieties.

The Chardonnay gives it aromas of passion fruit and passion fruit, which together with the Sauvignon Blanc with its floral reminiscences and those aromas of stone and citrus typical of the Garnacha Blanca, achieves a balance between the Caribbean and the Mediterranean that is impossible to forget.

DELIZIA: 75% SYRAH and 25% MORISTEL

With this wine I have the craving to combine a variety like Syrah, which when you want to use it to make a rosé, unfolds a whole aromatic range, from red fruit to strawberry, passing through the typical tropical notes.

And in an attempt to make it more complex and silky, it is combined with Moristel to achieve a more complex and balanced palate.

And finally I share my reflections…

As a viticulturist who loves his work, in a certain way I feel that I can chisel the raw material as if it were a sculpture. I know that something excellent or mediocre will be born from my success or my error and that is why I do not rest until the final result leaves me calm.

And in the end, when things go well, it’s time to present to society the fruit of one or more years’ work. The feeling of fullness is total when finally what I had imagined is reflected in a bottle.

In short, this activity is not just a job, it is the way that the person who dedicates himself to it has to be able to physically capture a feeling and a passion. It is a way of expressing oneself through a fruit that nature gives us, like stone for the sculptor or like paintings for the painter.

That is why there is no need to be prejudiced when it comes to tasting a wine that, although unknown because it was made in a small place and in most cases ignored, does not mean that it is not of extraordinary quality.

You have to keep in mind that feelings go beyond a business, because you live by and for it. It is about suffering their ups and downs and enjoying when the final result is the same as the sketch you had in your head.

…as they said in that movie

Virginia Madsen portrayed him beautifully in the movie Sideways when in a scene in the movie she was heard saying:

“I like to think about the life of a wine. In that it is a living thing. I like to think about what happened the year the grapes grew. I like to think of all the people who cared for and picked the grapes. And if it’s an aged wine, how many of them must be dead in it? I like to see how a wine continues to evolve. For example: if I open a bottle of wine today it will taste different than it would if I had opened it another day. Because a bottled wine is actually alive and constantly evolves and acquires complexity until it reaches its peak and then begins its constant and inevitable decline. And if the wine is also good, it has a taste that shits you.”

Because all that evocative magic is what motivates me as a viticulturist and winemaker to get up every day so that my work can be kept inside a bottle for the delight of whoever wants to try it.

If you dare to do it with Conzieto wines, you can find them here: CONZIETO ONLINE STORE