Can anyone taste my Chardonnay and tell me what went wrong?

[Harsha Lakshmanan]

My Chardonnay tasted great at bottling early this year but now tastes too fruity. What has gone wrong?

 

[ChuckD]

Did you back sweeten it before bottling? I have found that what tastes right at bottling often tastes sweeter after some bottle aging.

And welcome to WMT

 

[Harsha Lakshmanan]

I did not. What is back sweetening ?

 

[Rice_Guy]

As a contest judge I will smell the wine. Fruity aroma will generally score better than no fruit aroma. (If you were talking about cottage cheese I would say that there was mold growth.) How does the wine smell when you swirl it in a glass?
Taste in the mouth is a mixture of what the tongue detects (sweet > acid > bitter > salty > umami) and feel (roughness from astringent tannins) and aroma from breathing the wine vapor. Many defects are detected at parts per trillion where as fruity aromatics require higher levels as parts per million. Again fruity is good.
Can you lower the fruity sensation by mixing a pinch of acid blend in a glass? Is the wine improved? This would suggest that your TA (titratable acidity) was low. Can you improve the wine by adding a dust of chestnut tannin from a tooth pick? Chestnut Tannin gives long flavor notes that make the mouth rough (astringent) and magnify acid taste.
Do you have numbers from bottling? Gravity & pH & TA? Sweet and acidic flavors should balance. Running high on sweetness (gravity) goes along with more fruity sensation.

welcome to WMT,
I have occasionally given opinions on a WMT wine.

 

[ChuckD]

I did not. What is back sweetening ?

Back sweetening is adding sugar prior to bottling to adjust the sweetness. You need to add potassium sorbate as well to prevent the yeast from reawakening and causing renewed fermentation in the bottle.

 

[Harsha Lakshmanan]

As a contest judge I will smell the wine. Fruity aroma will generally score better than no fruit aroma. (If you were talking about cottage cheese I would say that there was mold growth.) How does the wine smell when you swirl it in a glass?
Taste in the mouth is a mixture of what the tongue detects (sweet > acid > bitter > salty > umami) and feel (roughness from astringent tannins) and aroma from breathing the wine vapor. Many defects are detected at parts per trillion where as fruity aromatics require higher levels as parts per million. Again fruity is good.
Can you lower the fruity sensation by mixing a pinch of acid blend in a glass? Is the wine improved? This would suggest that your TA (titratable acidity) was low. Can you improve the wine by adding a dust of chestnut tannin from a tooth pick? Chestnut Tannin gives long flavor notes that make the mouth rough (astringent) and magnify acid taste.
Do you have numbers from bottling? Gravity & pH & TA? Sweet and acidic flavors should balance. Running high on sweetness (gravity) goes along with more fruity sensation.

welcome to WMT,
I have occasionally given opinions on a WMT wine.

Thank you for the details.
Swirling in a glass produces a strongly fruity smell, sort of like bananas. The taste gets better after letting it rest a bit. Color is excellent. Let me open another bottle and try to analyze it better using the details you have provided.

 

[ChuckD]

The taste gets better after letting it rest a bit.

Try pouring with an aerator or pour it into a carafe and let it sit for a while. Some wines are better after they breath for a bit.

 

[Snafflebit]

Sometimes the tropical fruity aromas come from over-ripe grapes, especially in the white varieties.

 

[Harsha Lakshmanan]

Sometimes the tropical fruity aromas come from over-ripe grapes, especially in the white varieties.

Thank you