Hi all,
For those who lees stir, I was wondering what your preferred yeast strains were for this purpose?
(I did post on a similar topic some time ago but I think it was too specific (dealing with aroma/flavour contributions) to receive much feedback from the group. So I pose this question generality, though if you have info to share on contributions made by individual strains when lees stirring I'd love to hear about them!)
Ben
Ben, when you ask questions, they certainly are good ones. This one is no exception.
I suppose the most stirred yeast in America is Lalvin CY3079, the runaway favorite for Chardonnay. I use this yeast now for many other whites (a winemaker was good enough to gift me a small tin of it) and it does like being stirred. I made very buttery kiwi and mangosteen wines (no, the latter are not Kosher mangos but rather a separate, unrelated Asian fruit) recently. I have also stirred a batch of rose petal wine made with SB 5 (Hock) and was very pleased.
For reds, I have been using both Lalvin AMH and RC212 with lees stirring. I share Tom's concern about strains prone to H2S production and RC212 fits that profile, but it is such a reliable strain for blackberries that I must use it. Two very buttery batches of blackberry wine have proven to me its worth sur lie. The Assmanshausen (another gift) has worked well with my native mustang and V. berlandieri grapes, as well as black cherry. Both of these yeast strains benefit from nitrogen-enriched nutrients, which also lowers the risk of H2S.
Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
Jack,
Thanks for the response. Sounds like I should get some CY3079 - I am aware that this strain actually releases peptides at the end of fermentation that are believed to enhance aromatics so it makes sense it's such a favourite.
Have you noticed a significant difference in the leesy character associated with different yeasts (e.g. between AMH and RC212) - or do they all seem similar?
BTW, Tom, let us know how those new strains work out. I've also heard good things about Hungarian oak.
Ben
Ben,
Damn Google swallowed my response after 20 minutes of typing. This reply will be shorter, I'm afraid.
I could not really tell a difference as the wines were so varied. The AMH was used on two grape species and black cherry from concentrate and the RC212 used with two batches of blackberry. No similarity to hook onto as a point of reference for differences -- even the blackberries had very different fruit quantities.
Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
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