Not all. Some small vineyards are picked in a single pass. And if the wine is not aged in small barrels, it all may be fermented in one tank and then aged in a single batch in another large tank or barrel. That happens in places like the Northern Rhone and Barolo/Barbaresco. Then the only “blending” is between grapes picked a few hours apart, which I don’t think anyone would consider “blending” in a meaningful sense.
Nice summary, John.
If you take out Bordeaux from my cellar, which is about 1/3 of my stuff, the super-majority of my wines are SVDs.
I’m always torn on this subject. I like a lot of the SV’s and the expressions or terroir they create, but sometimes the cost can be crazy. 2 mailings per year, each with 4-5 (or more wines) gets out of hand quickly.
I love River’s Marie for instance, but I end up buying 2 or 3 bottles of a broad spectrum of Pinots and only 2 of the Cabs simply because the expense to buy all in quantity is too much. Conversely I buy 6 or 12 bottles of Bartolo Mascarello and Rinaldi’s 2 bottlings (historically both belends) every vintage and get to enjoy their evolution over time. Could I only buy 1 or 2 of Rivers Marie Pinots and buy in quantity? sure. I think eventually I will get there once I’m figured out which of the SV’s I prefer but right now I’m in “test” mode.
It’s not just a California thing either - I got the new Mosel Fine Wine report this weekend and Markus Molitor has a total of 48 wines for the 2015 vintage. Even taking out the auction bottles, it’s still a huge number. So instead of trying to decipher, I just buy Prum who has a slimmer lineup 
There are so many variables at play that can either mask or magnify what a vineyard truly brings to the table that this is not an easy answer at all
Such variables include vintage variations, picking decisions, fermentation and elevage decisions, and sometimes, just pure luck.
I work with some vineyards that, to me, are truly unique and distinct . . . but the wines that are produced from them don’t always clearly show this. Some winemakers choose to pick very early in the process, and to me, these wines don’t fully show the character the vineyard can produce. Others tend to pick really late, again ‘masking’ the inherent differences that a vineyard can bring.
I’m hoping folks like Brian Loring and Adam Lee will take part in this thread, two guys who work with a LOT of different vineyards and may have some interesting insights from a domestic viewpoint . . .
Cheers
Well, I just learned something. Thanks John.
I’m surprised that nobody has mentioned the major Port houses (Taylors, Graham’s, Fonseca, Warres Dow etc) who release ports from multiple vineyards in generally declared years and single vineyard ports in lesser years.
Having said that, both Taylor’s and Graham’s now release tiny quantities of micro - site ports in excellent years from small sections of Quinta de Vargellas (Vargellas Vinha Velha and Stone Terraces). You could also argue that all port is a blend given that aguardente is added to fortify.
I don´t think so - in most cases!
The blend will lose the individual qualities - it might be slightly more concentrated, but less interesting … with less character …
There are exceptions, like some old vine blends in the Rhone - or Village Vieilles Vignes in Burgundy, usually where the quantities in each seperate vineyard are too small to justify several individual bottlings …
It depends on your palate, some prefer the terroir that is expressed in single vineyard bottling. Some MV bottlings can add different elements into a wine depending on what was selected, for example a winemaker can choose three specific vineyards for a bottling because each adds different layers. Vineyard 1 adds a fruity etc quality to the palate, while vineyard 2 adds balanced acidity to beef up the backbone and vineyard 3 adds a smooth lingering finish.
All depends on terroir and what the winemaker does with it.
I find that MV wines can lead to bottle variation, at times and depending on the producer.
John,
I’d love to try one of those wines, fwiw. Any examples come to mind quickly?
Adam Lee
Siduri Wines
So can SV wines. There are a myriad of factors that lead to bottle variation. It’s not a blend-specific issue.
I just confirmed with Enrico Dellapiano at Rizzi in Barbaresco that they do just one pass. I was there last month when all the chardonnay was picked one day and he just cited the dolcetto as an example. In the Langhe the individual growers’ plots are typically fairly small even if the vineyard (e.g., Cannubi, Rabaja) is large.
Some sites, in some vintages, at least, can have the distinctiveness and quality, but just aren’t complete on their own. In that category are wines that just need a little rounding out to wines that can add a lot of something as a very small component to another wine.
That’s not dissimilar to varietal blending. Sometimes 100% makes a complete, distinctive wine, sometimes not. That’s not a statement on quality.
Individual preference is a factor, as some people will prefer a more distinctive site expressive wine, others a more well-rounded wine. A blend can be more complex or can wash out.
It should also be noted that a lot of vineyards have a range of clones, varieties, aspects, soils, etc. From the winemaking perspective they are constructed as blends, with lots not being included because they don’t contribute to the overall blend for various reasons. (Like the best individual barrel might clash with everything else in blending trials, and other lots are just inferior.)