Should your wine just be what it is?

[NorCal]

I have a 23.5 brix 60 gallon French oak barrel Cab Sauv that I’ve blended the $&#@ out of, to the point that the original Cab Sauv is less than 70% of the barrel. I did the blending because I just didn’t like the “greeness” of the low brix Cab. I threw Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot and a bunch of Cab Franc at it. In the end, I’m happy with it.

I also have a 60 gallon barrel of 25 brix Cabernet Franc. It could be a real nice, cranberry, raspberry, lightly oaked wine. However, I’m feeling compelled to add Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot to give it some color and boldness.

It made me think if I have this idea of what I like and I’m trying to make all my wines taste like that, thus ruining what the wine was meant to be.

 

[cmason1957]

Let it be what it will be. Perhaps the best advice I ever got from an American Wine Society accredited judge was, sometimes wine isn't as dark as other times, that isn't a flaw. It just is what it is. Trying to meet some preconceived idea of the perfect color is a flaw.

 

[mainshipfred]

I'd just call it a style choice. High or low acid, tannin, oak, brix or whatever else is entirely dependant on your palate unless you're selling it and/or targeting a certain market. No matter what you blend or don't blend you'll probably never get the same taste as a previous batch. Color is a whole other issue and most Cab Francs I've had were on the lighter side. Again, it's your style, wear it well.

 

[Johnd]

I’ve a tendency to drift down the same path, desiring all of my wines to be dark, brooding expressions of fruit with powerful oak and high alcohol, smooth tannins and full bodied with a long finish. That just wouldn’t be fit for a proper Pinot noir or Sangiovese, or many other wines. Sounds like you desire the same in your cab sav (I remember when you started it) and that seems to be just fine.

Cab Franc can be the same type of wine, but can also be much lighter depending upon its growth / harvest conditions. Many times it’s only a small % in a blend, personally, a good pure varietal cab Franc is a real treat, especially when it’s a dark, brooding, fruity, powerful..........you get the picture.

In the end NorCal, unless you’re making a wine for someone else, why wouldn’t you make what you want to drink?

 

[NorCal]

I’ve a tendency to drift down the same path, desiring all of my wines to be dark, brooding expressions of fruit with powerful oak and high alcohol, smooth tannins and full bodied with a long finish...


In the end NorCal, unless you’re making a wine for someone else, why wouldn’t you make what you want to drink?

I have similar palate for my reds and I have enough Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot that I made for the Cab Franc to do just that. Then I paused and asked myself, should I.

I threw the kitchen sink at the Cabernet Sauvignon to blend out / mask the pyrazine. I would be adding blenders to the Cab Franc simply to make it a wine that I like more.

Will I make a whole bunch of wine that I like, but are quite similar to each other, so in the end I may like something that is different from what I have, versus a lot of similar wine. Maybe the answer is to be very conservative on the blending with the Cab Franc; give it a little color, structure, but not let the PS/PV become too pronounced.

 

[Boatboy24]

I’ve a tendency to drift down the same path, desiring all of my wines to be dark, brooding expressions of fruit with powerful oak and high alcohol, smooth tannins and full bodied with a long finish. That just wouldn’t be fit for a proper Pinot noir or Sangiovese, or many other wines. Sounds like you desire the same in your cab sav (I remember when you started it) and that seems to be just fine.

Me too. And that's what led me to make the wines I made in the first several years of this hobby. I'm branching out more and am starting to do some Pinot Noir, Merlot and other wines that aren't the norm for me. I'm finding myself looking for different styles as my palate evolves and I get better at pairing decisions. But even if I have a Cab that may be lighter, etc than desired, my winemaking style takes over and tries to drive toward that which I like to drink. Nothing wrong w/ that in my opinion.

 

[Sage]

I decided early on that some will be good and some maybe great. Also the occasional batch barely drinkable. Let it fall where the grapes take it. No adjusting anything. If I wanted it always the same I'd go to the store and buy a box.....

The ODG made some good wine and some great wine without adjusting. That's where "art" comes in and starting with the right grapes picked at the right time.