Aging on the lees (Sur Lie aging)

[masic2000]

Has anyone tried aging white wine while leaving some sediment in the aging vessel?

According to the Wine Academy,

The Benefits of Sur Lie Aging
Beyond picking up additional flavors and aromas there are a couple benefits to sur lie aging. First, the binding of proteins to tannins serves to remove tannins and shape the mouthfeel of the wine.

Second, the layers of lees in the bottom of your aging vessel absorb oxygen thus protecting it as it serves up new character. So not only are you adding complexity, removing unwanted tannins, and shaping your wine you’re also setting it up for maximum protection against oxidation.

 

[dralarms]

Interesting

 

[sour_grapes]

Yup, I age most of my whites sur lie over the winter. This is for wines that I do in more of a "fat" style, as opposed to a real crisp style. I have done Viognier, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris (this winter) that way. D47 yeast (or QA23) is supposed to be good for aging sur lie.

 

[Stressbaby]

Listened to an Inside Winemaking podcast yesterday with a Riesling winemaker from Europe who throws everything in a barrel, lets it ferment, and doesn't rack it for up to 8 years. They touched on the second point, which really has to do with the fact that the yeast doesn't die, and the low level metabolic processes related to the small numbers of living yeast take up oxygen and protect the wine from oxidation.

 

[berrycrush]

Yup, I age most of my whites sur lie over the winter. This is for wines that I do in more of a "fat" style, as opposed to a real crisp style. I have done Viognier, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris (this winter) that way. D47 yeast (or QA23) is supposed to be good for aging sur lie.

Very interesting, do you age red sur lie too?

 

[sour_grapes]

Very interesting, do you age red sur lie too?

No, I haven't. My personal reason is that reds are not traditionally aged that way, and I assumed there was a reason for that. Here is what the Winemaker's Academy has to say:

During sur lie the lees cells break down (i.e. decompose) into simpler compounds. This releases sugars and proteins that interact with the wine chemistry. There are also flavor and aroma compounds that get released.

As the proteins are released they bind with tannins in the wine. This is good for a white wine as you don’t want tannins in a white. However, for a red wine this can be problematic as it is the tannins that go a long way in determining the aging potential of the wine.

For this reason red wines are usually not aged this way while white wines often are. The deciding factor depends upon the intentions of the wine maker.