Ken Mitchelhill wrote "If anyone has had experience with ageing apparently stable, high malic acid reds in oak and then bottle without the use of sterile filtration, I would be grateful to hear about them."
Ken - If you are worried about the ML fermentation starting again after bottling I'm wondering if a dose of Lysozyme would be in order before you bottle. What does everyone think?
Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas
Ken,
Like yourself, I cannot understand why MLF under those conditions did not occur. I would personally proceed with your suggested course of action but you might want to bring the wine to only 20 ppm's sulfite to encourage MLF in the barrel, particularly if there has been wine in it that has undergone MLF, my guess is the chances are pretty good. You will of course, want to maintain the sulfite level in the barrel during the next year.
I have tried lysozyme in the past on aromatic styled wines with the hope of preventing MLF but with inconsistent success and I personally find it messy to work with so my preference would be to try and encourage it before bottling. Of course, if its on some yeast sediment and stirred occasionally that also encourages MLF. If no MLF happens then the use of lysozyme recommended by Bill Frazier prior to bottling might be a good idea although I'm not sure on the recommended timing of lysozyme at that point.
An MLF during bottle ageing is about the last thing you want happening.
Good luck,
Glen Duff
---------------------- Ken Mitchelhill wrote:
Winemakers,
six months ago, I produced a batch of 14% alcohol shiraz that refuses to progress through MLF. I initially innoculated mid primary ferment together with MLF nutrient and nothing much happened by the time the callar started cooling in the autumn (aka fall). I racked off gross lees into oak and reinnoculated with a strain tolerant of high alcohol and maintained at 22 degrees C for the past 2 months. Still only a modest lactic acid spot and a substantial malic spot by TLC.
Given this experience, the wine itself is obviously bacterially stable, and I was wondering what the likely implications of dumping in 30ppm SO2 and leaving the wine with substantial malic acid to age for another year in oak? The wine itself has big fruit flavours and is integrating nice oak characters so I am not worried about the flavour impact of the malic just curious about how it will affect the stability.
If anyone has had experience with ageing apparently stable, high malic acid reds in oak and then bottle without the use of sterile filtration, I would be grateful to hear about them.
regards...Ken
I just got a batch of ML culture from PI. The instructions say that wine over 14% may be hard to get ML to start in. Due to errors in the way alcohol % is calculated your wine is possibly 14.5 or even higher.
Ray
The 30ppm SO2 will take care of the MLF culture which HATE SO2. If your wine was over 10ppm your MLF likely would behave this way.
Shiraz that is high in malic is PERFECT to blend with Cab Sauv (20-30% Cab) as this will balance out the acid and leave the fruit and oak happy.
Irene
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