Favorite Bordeaux Blend Yeast?

[joeycannoli]

Going to do a Bordeaux blend this year - right bank based that is merlot dominant with cab sav and cab franc. Been doing some research and see Lalvin RC212, Lallemand BM4X4, BDX and MT come up as the top yeast strands to use. I am going to field blend this batch. Wine will be aged in a French Oak barrel after fermentation and racking. Does anyone have good experience with any of these yeasts with the type of wine I am making? What would you recommend?

Thanks!

 

[CDrew]

None of these. Recommend Avante or Bravo both H2S preventing yeasts.

Among standard strains, I like D21 or D254.

On your list, one of my wine making friends uses BM4x4 and has good results. I’ve not personally used and can’t recommend from experience.

But this is highly subjective, most of us can only give you past experience. I look for high temperature tolerance and medium to low nutrient needs. The Renaissance yeasts have the huge advantage of no H2S production even when stressed.

 

[joeycannoli]

None of these. Recommend Avante or Bravo both H2S preventing yeasts.

Among standard strains, I like D21 or D254.

On your list, one of my wine making friends uses BM4x4 and has good results. I’ve not personally used and can’t recommend from experience.

But this is highly subjective, most of us can only give you past experience. I look for high temperature tolerance and medium to low nutrient needs. The Renaissance yeasts have the huge advantage of no H2S production even when stressed.

I used D254 last year with a Cabernet / petite Syrah blend and it worked well. Could use it again. Was wondering if the above were better options

 

[Tim3]

Agreed. D254 and D21, along with D80. Blending all 3 with varying must percentages depending on your grape qualities. D254 gives polyphenols, D21 doesn’t eat as much acid (great with high PH fruit), and D80 helps extract tannin if the berries are a larger than desired. I made a Merlot with the same right bank mindset, but got grapes from Livermore Valley with a starting PH of 3.96 and were large berries that were clearly irrigated for quantity. Anyway, I split the must 3 ways, 40/40/20, allowed indigenous fermentation for the first 5 brix, and then inoculated with D254, D21, and D80, respectively. Make sure you add nutrients to each of them, they will all act up unless your starting YAN is awesome. Don’t worry about all that nonsense about yeasts bringing out licorice or what not, that’s all a marketing gimmick.