Merlot tastes like cranberries

[Snafflebit]

I am halfway through my second racking. Finally I am adding Kmeta because it took this long for the MLF to complete. The characteristics of the Merlot and Cab are starting to develop. One thing that stands out is the "cranberryness" of the Merlot. Is this a common Merlot flavor? I am hoping it starts to diminish as the wine ages, but I can also blend with the Cab.

 

[winemaker81]

Cranberry is not a flavor I'd expect, but keep in mind how young the wine is. Things will change, possibly drastically, in upcoming months.

 

[cmason1957]

I am halfway through my second racking. Finally I am adding Kmeta because it took this long for the MLF to complete. The characteristics of the Merlot and Cab are starting to develop. One thing that stands out is the "cranberryness" of the Merlot. Is this a common Merlot flavor? I am hoping it starts to diminish as the wine ages, but I can also blend with the Cab.

When you say it took a long time MLF, what's a long time? I have had some wines take 6 - 9 months to fully complete MLF, particularly if they are slightly cooler than the bacteria is happy at.

 

[Snafflebit]

Well, I turned up the temperature in the workshop to 65F and now one carboy of Merlot is visibly fizzing. So I did not sulfite that wine. These wines were made in early Sept 2020

I suppose what I call cranberry is a tartness and a young wine flavor combining.

 

[winemaker81]

I suppose what I call cranberry is a tartness and a young wine flavor combining.

Conveying some things via text is pretty tough! This would be FAR easier if a bunch of us could sample the wine.

This description changes things a bit. Wine is young and tart, e.g., acidic. Let it set until September, when it's a year old. Taste it again then.

If the wine is still acidic, I see 4 choices: 1) live with it. 2) Sweeten it. Yeah, it's Merlot but increasing the SG to 1.000 may be sufficient to handle the acidity without making it truly sweet. 3) Add calcium carbonate. I have tried this and have yet to like the results YMMV. 4) Blend it.

#1 and #4 are my candidates, and the my choice depends on what it tastes like in September. Bench testing #2 may surprise you -- my son goofed on his first wine and stabilized a Shiraz kit at 1.000. It's not what he was trying for, but he understands enough to know when to accept a win.

You don't have to make a decision now, so wait. With the exception of H2S, time is your tool.

 

[Snafflebit]

2) Sweeten it. Yeah, it's Merlot but increasing the SG to 1.000 may be sufficient to handle the acidity without making it truly sweet.

Do you have any issues with restarting fermentation? Add sorbate? I am making wine for other people and they also do not have a great vocabulary for what type of wine they enjoy. I am afraid I will make some fine wine and they will prefer Yellowtail Shiraz

 

[cmason1957]

65 f is the lower end of what most mlf bacteria like to work at. In my basement during the winter not much takes place with it. It is generally around 62 f or so. When it warms up some, it finishes.

 

[winemaker81]

Do you have any issues with restarting fermentation? Add sorbate? I am making wine for other people and they also do not have a great vocabulary for what type of wine they enjoy. I am afraid I will make some fine wine and they will prefer Yellowtail Shiraz

Any time you backsweeten, add sorbate and K-meta. A number of folks have posted that after 9 months the yeast is dead so sorbate is not needed.

Me? A corollary to Murphy's Law say that 2 yeast cells will survive in each bottle and they'll reproduce like rabbits. So I add sorbate/K-meta before backsweetening. Better to be safe than blowing corks!

Go with the recommended sorbate level, as too much introduces off flavors.

Better to make wine that is too good for people than to make wine that isn't good enough!

If your audience prefers the lower end commercial reds, a tiny bit of backsweetening may produce a wine more to their likes. I read recently that a lot of the $8 to $15 USD reds backsweeten a tiny bit -- technically the wine is dry, but a tiny amount of sugar opens the wine up and makes it drinkable sooner.

 

[cmason1957]

Potassium sorbate is not indicated, if your wine went through MLF. It is harder to backsweeten a wine that went through MLF. KMeta is still fine, but MLB can react with the potassium sorbate to produce the nice smell of geraniums and there is no way to fix this fault. If you can filter sterile, then maybe you can add sorbate and you can use less sorbate at higher alcohol levels. I have never tried this, but that is the theory.

 

[winemaker81]

KMeta is still fine, but MLB can react with the potassium sorbate to produce the nice smell of geraniums and there is no way to fix this fault.

I was not aware of this. Thanks!

 

[Snafflebit]

Thank you for the info! I don’t have enough wine to try sterile filtering. Or patience . Crossing fingers that a year of aging will change the wine.

 

[Khristyjeff]

Thank you for the info! I don’t have enough wine to try sterile filtering. Or patience . Crossing fingers that a year of aging will change the wine.

I'm following the same "wait a year" strategy on a Petite Pearl from grapes I started in September. Tried MLF but still tastes tart, so I wait. Thanks for raising your question.