Wine fault
- Thread starter Ray1984
- Start date
Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
NorCal
Senior Member
Normally you would get off smells from H2S by leaving the wine in the gross lees for too long; sulfur, rubber tire, egg-ish. If left too long, then compounds (mercaptan) can develop that are not easy to rectify. Does it smell ok?
NorCal
Senior Member
Can you describe the after taste?
I have a similar tasting PV from 2018 but not because it was on the lees for too long. I want to say it's VA but there is no hint of it on the nose, in fact it smells wonderful and tastes great until the finish. Someone told me it could be oxidized but I'm not getting that, just a vinegary sense. Wonder if it might be the same.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
That almost sounds like you're describing my HHH Merlot from that year. I need to bring you a sample to get your input.
![[Upgraded] 9Pcs Tree Root Growing Box with Drain Holes, Half Transparent Plant Rooting Propagation Ball & Metal Core Twist Ties, for Fast Propagation Plants (Size M)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/514MWQxtWOL._SL500_.jpg)
I only have a few bottles left but it would be a good idea to try them both.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
I still haven't bottled that Merlot. I've come close to dumping it a couple times, but just couldn't bring myself to do it.
user 38734
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2018
- Messages
- 135
- Reaction score
- 323
How about cutting it 50/50 with some cheap white (dry or sweet) and Frankensteining into a summer-day patio pounder.
* in tasting a food, try to pull the waves of flavor apart, the first should be sweetness, followed by bitter notes or dehydrating/ make your teeth squeak dryness (astringent). If there are byproducts they will probably come as a wave between the sweet and bitter. Also look at how long a sensation lasts.
* Without knowing more than one year old I would ask how much Kmeta was used at each racking. The biggest issue home wine makers get into is oxidized alcohol (acetaldehyde) which I identify as a secondary flavor, A burn feel in the back of the throat.
* on a young wine the flavor will have lost sweetness (the sugar has turned into alcohol) and it will have a dominant CO2 bitter note. When I rack I usually try some of the clean on top of the lees with a sixteenth tsp sugar to guess at what the finished flavor will be. If I was looking at the effect of gas i would microwave for 45 seconds, stirring vigorously, let it cool and then taste test, ,,, or go in the basement and pull a vacuum on it,,,, but at a year this should be gone.
* at a year there is a risk of vinegar (VA). The questions are how much Kmeta and how much air exposure? ,,, Look for sharp burn notes when you smell it, this can be magnified by heating 10 seconds in the microwave. Home wine makers can’t cure this. ,,, VA is a fairly fast flavor meaning saliva washes it out quickly, it is in the mid time range.
* infection, a dirty mid note, but you are saying this is a long (aftertaste) flavor. If you bottled I would wonder TCA which can grab the taste buds for 15 minutes.
,,,, sugar is magic and one can fix a lot of flavor issues with back sweetening. Food is hedonic, so the question is how bad, how much yuck factor? Last thought is I euphemistically call a white ribbon wine “the 20 year old neighbor kids will love it”
* Without knowing more than one year old I would ask how much Kmeta was used at each racking. The biggest issue home wine makers get into is oxidized alcohol (acetaldehyde) which I identify as a secondary flavor, A burn feel in the back of the throat.
* on a young wine the flavor will have lost sweetness (the sugar has turned into alcohol) and it will have a dominant CO2 bitter note. When I rack I usually try some of the clean on top of the lees with a sixteenth tsp sugar to guess at what the finished flavor will be. If I was looking at the effect of gas i would microwave for 45 seconds, stirring vigorously, let it cool and then taste test, ,,, or go in the basement and pull a vacuum on it,,,, but at a year this should be gone.
* at a year there is a risk of vinegar (VA). The questions are how much Kmeta and how much air exposure? ,,, Look for sharp burn notes when you smell it, this can be magnified by heating 10 seconds in the microwave. Home wine makers can’t cure this. ,,, VA is a fairly fast flavor meaning saliva washes it out quickly, it is in the mid time range.
* infection, a dirty mid note, but you are saying this is a long (aftertaste) flavor. If you bottled I would wonder TCA which can grab the taste buds for 15 minutes.
,,,, sugar is magic and one can fix a lot of flavor issues with back sweetening. Food is hedonic, so the question is how bad, how much yuck factor? Last thought is I euphemistically call a white ribbon wine “the 20 year old neighbor kids will love it”
I was thinking something similar -- add the juice of a orange, lemon, and lime to a bottle, along with a bit of sugar to make a basic sangria.
Or combine the 2 approaches -- cut with a sweet white AND add a fruit juice, either citrus or cherry juice.
Try marinating beef with the wine -- the off flavor may not affect the beef. I'd try it with a smaller, cheaper cut, in case this doesn't work out well.
Similar threads
