MLF with Chardonnay: Need advice

[RylanJacobs]

I am working on a Chardonnay from WGD. Primary fermentation was completed on 12/19, and I inoculated with CH35, added opti-malo, and racked to carboy. I did not inoculate a small bottle and set it off to the side. The carboy and bottle are currently in a 60 degree cellar.

Today (1/6/24) I ran an MLF chromatography and attached the results.

It appears MLF is partially complete for both the bottle and carboy. The bottle was not inoculated, so very likely a native MLF source. The carboy was inoculated with CH35 which claims to complete in about 14 days.

My concern is that the alcohol tolerance for CH35 is 14%. My calculations indicate exactly 14% ABV currently. I am speculating that perhaps the CH35 never took off and this is a native MLF occurring in the carboy as well. I warmed up the cellar by 5 degrees this evening to 65F.

Question: I would like the MLF to complete, but I do not know how long this will take. At this pace, it could take several months. Is the wine going to remain stable without SO2 during this period of time? It is in a carboy under airlock. At what point does a wine absolutely need SO2? I have not added any to this batch, so I'm assuming a free SO2 of nearly zero currently.

Any advice on where to go from here is appreciated! My current plan is to wait it out and recheck MLF in about a month. Let me know your thoughts!

 

[crushday]

Rylan,

Just be patient. Your Carboy is topped up and just let MLF complete - even if it takes a few to several months. I have lots of experience with this Chard from WGD - it takes about a year for all the phenols and wine aspects to balance. I think you're in a good shape.

 

[RylanJacobs]

Rylan,

Just be patient. Your Carboy is topped up and just let MLF complete - even if it takes a few to several months. I have lots of experience with this Chard from WGD - it takes about a year for all the phenols and wine aspects to balance. I think you're in a good shape.

Thanks! I will recheck MLF in a month or so. I get nervous letting time go by without so2, but I guess this is what others do as well!

 

[crushday]

Thanks! I will recheck MLF in a month or so. I get nervous letting time go by without so2, but I guess this is what others do as well!

Don't get nervous. There's enough CO2 dissipating during the MLF (and after completion) the wine is protected. Add to the fact that you're sufficiently topped up is very convincing. Again, you're in tremendous shape...

 

[mainshipfred]

I always do post fermentation MLF and it is not uncommon for the completion to take 3-4 months. With a relatively consistent control of temperature in my cellar the volume stays pretty much the same. I have yet to find an issue with a properly topped up carboy.