How should a very young cab taste?

[Univox360]

I just completed alcohol fermentation on some Cabernet Sauvignon I got from the Santa Cruz mountains. A very cool year for California with a nice October harvest. It clocked in at 12.5% potential alcohol and a TA of 6.3 g/L which I bumped to 7 g/L. Alcohol fermentation took about 6-7 days and it’s now dry with the hydrometer. Very nice smells and not noticeable flaws.

When I taste it it’s pretty sour with very little fruity aromas or flavors and no complexity. Kind of saline and sour with some tannins but It doesn’t taste very bold or peppery like many CA cabs I have had. I assume the acid will drop after malolactic fermentation and things will round out. One regret is it’s the first time in my cellar and the temperature didn’t see above 76, so the extraction might be a little weak and light for the style.

Why am I getting such little fruit? I feel like this is gonna be a very weak cab without much to offer.. do I need to just be patient? Or am I going to have to blend to get a decent wine? I really regret the low temp extraction but I didn’t have a heater blanket. Last years Zinfandel hit 92 and I got such deep flavors and fruit…

Thanks!

 

[winemaker81]

Your wine is totally green, full of CO2 (which offers a sour taste), and nothing like it will be in 3 months, or in 12 months.

Patience, Grasshopper.

I ferment everything cold, and have no problems.

 

[ratflinger]

Immediately after fermenting most, if not all, wines taste poor. You probably won't know how it will really taste for 2 years. At 1 year you should be able to taste how it's developing, but it will still be immature.

 

[Hazelemere]

relax

 

[Univox360]

OK, thanks. Yeah, I mean I understand it has to develop. Certainly my Zinfandel improved dramatically over time. But the initial fruit aromas and flavors were always there. I just have no experience with Cab I suppose.

 

[winemaker81]

OK, thanks. Yeah, I mean I understand it has to develop. Certainly my Zinfandel improved dramatically over time. But the initial fruit aromas and flavors were always there. I just have no experience with Cab I suppose.

Every batch is different -- if you started another CS right now, it might smell/taste totally different from this one at the end of fermentation.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Young wine is always bitter aggressive unpleasant and muted. It will greatly improve with age.

 

[distancerunner]

Einstein or an ax murderer? Somewhere in between? Who can tell what an infant will grow up to be?

Same applies here.

Maybe the fruit will come forward. Maybe the aromas will develop with time.

Think about this. Your "book" of taste and aroma for wine is made up of all of the wines you've had. Now consider how many vintages you've tasted right after fermentation? And after the first or second racking? Before and after oak? Probably looks like footnotes by comparison. It takes a while to build this sensory list.

As Hazelmere said, "Relax."

And keep on tasting and smelling.

 

[Rice_Guy]

Wine is a living organism. For example I have measured total acidity over time and the TA decreases (ester formation combines an alcohol and an acid). Tannins polymerize with time, they go from low flavor to bitter flavor to astringent flavor and eventually get big enough that they fall out of solution. (astringent flavor acts as a multiplier on acidic flavor). Oxidation of alcohol can occur if the head space is high. Acetaldehyde at levels above 100ppm contributes a burn sensation in the back of the throat. CO2 contributes a spritzy feel in the mouth and bitter flavor notes, also it forms carbonic acid and lowers the pH/ increases the TA.

Flavors are a balancing act. It is normal for wine to taste sweeter/ milder as the sharp flavors evolve into something else.

 

[Univox360]

Thanks. Yeah, this is useful. I degased for CO2 and measured total acid at 7.6 g/L. I think this is very high for a red wine and thus my concern. I had added some tartaric acid to bump it up near 7 from 6.3, but I think I over did it.

I'm hoping the MLF I started yesterday and cold stabilization could potentially lower that. I would hate to have to deacidify and lose flavors and aromas. But as everyone mentions, I will have to wait to see how it progresses on it's own before I would know if that is needed.

 

[cmason1957]

Thanks. Yeah, this is useful. I degased for CO2 and measured total acid at 7.6 g/L. I think this is very high for a red wine and thus my concern. I had added some tartaric acid to bump it up near 7 from 6.3, but I think I over did it.

I'm hoping the MLF I started yesterday and cold stabilization could potentially lower that. I would hate to have to deacidify and lose flavors and aromas. But as everyone mentions, I will have to wait to see how it progresses on it's own before I would know if that is needed.

I would suggest you not try to hit some perfect TA value, I hear more folks ruining wine trying to hit magic numbers.

After fermentation, I have decided to let my measurement tool be how does it taste and let that drive the decisions. I do measure Ph, but only after I have completed MLF, and if needed do a cold stabilization (and for the Hybrid grapes I usually deal with, it's always needed).

If you don't trust your tongue, have some other folks you trust to be honest with you taste it and give you feedback. My wife is the best for that, just have to tell them, I'm trying to decide about this wine, I think it's tart, it's about right, it needs something. Then go slow with any changes, doing half of what you think, let it sit and integrate for a month or so.

 

[4score]

I find that I can start getting some of the wine's attributes at 6 months. These are just indicators of what could be. What were your starting Brix levels? 12.5% ABV is a little low for a CA Cab. As long as you're not smelling or tasting any obvious flaws you're good....just have patience. Good luck!

 

[Nebbiolo020]

I find that I can start getting some of the wine's attributes at 6 months. These are just indicators of what could be. What were your starting Brix levels? 12.5% ABV is a little low for a CA Cab. As long as you're not smelling or tasting any obvious flaws you're good....just have patience. Good luck!

12.5 is low for any California wine that isn’t sparkling or white. Most reds sit around13.5-14.5 with the higher abv reds 15-16.5. Mostly Zinfandel and Syrah

 

[Univox360]

As I mentioned it’s cab from Santa Cruz mountains which is a colder region for CA and it’s been a colder year. Not surprising to see low brix / PA. It might be more “Bordeaux” taste less CA taste. Anyhow, these details don’t bother me.