Assemblage (Blending)
The art of combining wines from different grape varieties, vineyard plots, or vintages to create a final blend — fundamental to styles like Champagne, Bordeaux, and Rhône Valley wines.
In depth
Assemblage is the French term for blending — the process of combining separate lots of wine to achieve a target style. It is a creative and technical act, not simply mixing leftover wine. Master blenders taste hundreds of individual lots and construct blends designed to be greater than the sum of their parts.
In Champagne, assemblage is critical to non-vintage (NV) production. The winemaker blends wines from different years (including reserve wines from past vintages), different grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier), and different villages to create a consistent, recognisable house style year after year.
In Bordeaux, assemblage involves deciding the final proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec after tasting each variety separately. The proportions shift by vintage based on which varieties performed best that year.
In the Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape allows up to 13 varieties — the winemaker must decide which to include and in what proportion.
Assemblage is the opposite of single varietal/single vineyard philosophy — it deliberately combines diversity to achieve complexity and consistency.
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Frequently asked questions
- Why is blending important in Champagne?
- Non-vintage Champagne must taste consistent year after year — the same recognisable house style regardless of vintage conditions. Assemblage achieves this by blending wines from different years (including reserve wines stored specifically for this purpose), different villages with different soil and microclimate characteristics, and multiple grape varieties. The skill of the chef de cave (cellar master) in assembling thousands of individual lots into one harmonious blend is what makes NV Champagne houses like Krug or Billecart-Salmon distinctive.
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Practise questions on this topic
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