Chateau Joe
Snowbelt Fermenter
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2009
- Messages
- 409
- Reaction score
- 11
I started a Regina pail of petit syrah in early September. This was my third pail of petit syrah in 3 years. Fermentation and everything went according to my plan and there is no oak in this wine. At the end of February (.095 Brix) I sorbated, stabilized, and filtered the wine. I backsweetened with 3/4 cup of sugar because that is the way I prefer this batch and the wine tasted fine. I bottled the next day. Fast forward 3 weeks. I was going over to see a friend so grabbed a bottle to see how it was progressing. I know it is early but I wanted know how it tasted because I give away a lot of this wine and I did not want to pass along any surprises. Boy did I get a surprise! First, any hint of sweetness that I backsweetened was gone. Second, there was an unpleasant smell and taste that we both agreed was cedar. I said pine at first but when Peter said cedar I had to agree. I have never experienced this before in all of my years of wine making, have you? I am re-tracing my steps but I don't see where I might have missed something. Have you ever experienced a pine/cedar smell taste?
