2012 Riesling

[Deezil]

Had a change of heart..

Racked the Riesling to a 6-gallon carboy, topped up with R-HST & W-15
Added the rest of the R-HST to my Apple-Pear
The rest of the W-15 is in quart jars, for topping up during clearing

Figured the only sure-fire way to make sure i didnt blend away too much Riesling, was to put it in a bigger carboy while i still had the wine

Gotta plan against my worst enemy... Myself.

 

[Deezil]

Been fun smelling this evolve so far

Didnt have a lot of smell to it since blending until about 3 days ago, where it smelled mostly of alcohol... Tonight there's apple/pear, stone fruit/peach/apricot, honey/nectar & a couple others i cant put my finger on..

Havent tasted it because i know its green/young & not worth wasting it

 

[ibglowin]

Riesling is a very quick drinker. I wouldn't be surprised for it to be ready to drink in ~3 mo.

 

[Deezil]

I hope to let this batch see a few years atleast

I just know i cant bottle it anytime soon, because i WILL drink it, ready or not lol

 

[Deezil]

Small update..

Been sitting in the 6-gallon carboy; i haven't touched it since i last mentioned.
There's a small dusting of fine particles lining the bottom of the carboy.

Still tastes young, but there's some apple and pear notes, with some honey and nectar type notes. The aroma is overwhelmingly the honey/nectar notes, smells very similiar to my RJS Riesling Ice Wine kit that way.

When i get the table back down here (sacrificed it for holiday festivities), i'll take a picture.

 

[Deezil]

Racked & sulfited the wine today

Have a small bit in the glass here..

Smells of apple, pear, honey, nectar - some citrusy note too

Still tastes a little green, but the apple and pear are starting to come through - theres a mineral flavor over the tongue with a green apple / pear flavor in the gums

 

[ibglowin]

Biggest question is how is the acidity on the tongue? It should be crisp. Did you back sweeten at all?

 

[Deezil]

It's crisp, but its not puckeringly tart.

I'm kinda worried about it, because im pretty sure the Apple-Pear i have going is going through a spontaneous MLF.. and this Riesling is bubbling like that, but only about half as much...

So i removed it from the sur lees, sulfited it & am going to see if it continues or subsides.. The room has been 68-69F consistently, lately... But it was on the concrete, on one layer of carpet, and we recently hit freezing temps outside at night so i wouldnt think its just naturally degassing.

Kinda at a loss..

 

[ibglowin]

Crisp and tart are two totally different things. It should be crisp on the tongue due to the amount of acid in the wine. Why would you think it would be going through a "spontaneous MLF"? Has your wine making area ever had any MLB in it? Has the wine been properly sulfited? I tasted a Riesling that a fellow winemaker put through an MLF experiment......

Not good!

 

[Deezil]

The unexplainable bubbles, sitting on sur lees for 5-6 weeks, dont have a surefire way to test SO2 so dunno how low it was

Actually read some good things about spontaneous MLF's in Mosel Rieslings, that were "good things", not that im wishing MLF on my Riesling

But i have this apple-pear wine, and i had these apples from my aunt and uncles house.. And that wines been acting really bubbly lately.. So i dunno if one wine can get another sick, but i imagine its not too far of a stretch - been sitting on sur lees since before thanksgiving too

The TA wasnt overly high when i tested it back-when anywho.. I think it has a bit to do with the last-minute rains we got - i could scroll back but i think the TA was only .60 %

Haven't backsweetened at all, forgot to answer that earlier

It tastes pretty good though..