Will Oak Mellow??

[vscottcolorado]

I have aWV Australian Shiraz and 5 gallons of Lodi Cab Grapes from this fall. Both have a pretty strong oak smell and flavor. Will these mellow with age? Anything I can do to speed this along? The Shiraz was bottled on 12/20/09 and the Lodi Cab is still in bulk.

 

[admiral]

I heavily oaked a Cabernet Sauvignon last year. It had a nose that reminded me of a wet campfire (not good

) I had a bottle of it last evening and it has mellowed out. The nose is now more of the varietal and the oak is in the background.

 

[grapeman]

Yes the oak does mellow out if you don't overdo it initially. That's part of the reason a good red takes a year to be enjoyable, but in the end the oak add complexity to it.

 

[vscottcolorado]

We opened a bottle of the WV Shiraz last weekend and poured it through our Vinturi and it really opened the wine up and did mellow the oak, but still more then we like. I'll let it sit..Thanks