After 11 months in stainless steel tanks, our first vintage of merlot
is heading into french oak on the weekend. During sampling, yesterday,
it still seemed to me that the wine was overly tannic (although my wife
doesn't agree!). Before ferment, this vintage was cold-soaked for
about 2 days, and we then extended maceration until the cap sank. Not
having the best grapes, our product today is a bit thin, and as
mentioned tannic - but readily drinkable.

Two questions:

(1) I'm planning for a 10 to 12 month bulk storage in a new french oak
(225L) barrel. Will I see an appreciable softening in the tannic
structure of the wine over this period?

(2) I've heard a lot about soft and hard tannins recently, with the
hard or 'harsher' tannins being contributed by the seed of the grape.
To reduce the hard tannin content of the wine, a strategy I recently
read about suggested racking the must at some point during ferment, but
before extended maceration. The goal of this racking is to remove the
seeds from the bottom of the tank and thus eliminate the extraction of
hard tannins. Has anyone got experience in this domain as an amateur
or commercial winemaker?

Best regards,
Darin

Darin,
It couldn't hurt to remove the seeds, especially if they may be
cracked. They fall pretty quickly once the cap is broken up a few
times.

If you want to soften those tannins you can try egg whites or gelatin.
Time will help, there is no rush as i see it.

Joe


Darin Young wrote:
> After 11 months in stainless steel tanks, our first vintage of merlot
> is heading into french oak on the weekend. During sampling, yesterday,
> it still seemed to me that the wine was overly tannic (although my wife
> doesn't agree!). Before ferment, this vintage was cold-soaked for
> about 2 days, and we then extended maceration until the cap sank. Not
> having the best grapes, our product today is a bit thin, and as
> mentioned tannic - but readily drinkable.
>
> Two questions:
>
> (1) I'm planning for a 10 to 12 month bulk storage in a new french oak
> (225L) barrel. Will I see an appreciable softening in the tannic
> structure of the wine over this period?
>
> (2) I've heard a lot about soft and hard tannins recently, with the
> hard or 'harsher' tannins being contributed by the seed of the grape.
> To reduce the hard tannin content of the wine, a strategy I recently
> read about suggested racking the must at some point during ferment, but
> before extended maceration. The goal of this racking is to remove the
> seeds from the bottom of the tank and thus eliminate the extraction of
> hard tannins. Has anyone got experience in this domain as an amateur
> or commercial winemaker?
>
> Best regards,
> Darin

"Darin Young" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> After 11 months in stainless steel tanks, our first vintage of merlot
> is heading into french oak on the weekend. During sampling, yesterday,
> it still seemed to me that the wine was overly tannic (although my wife
> doesn't agree!). Before ferment, this vintage was cold-soaked for
> about 2 days, and we then extended maceration until the cap sank. Not
> having the best grapes, our product today is a bit thin, and as
> mentioned tannic - but readily drinkable.
>
> Two questions:
>
> (1) I'm planning for a 10 to 12 month bulk storage in a new french oak
> (225L) barrel. Will I see an appreciable softening in the tannic
> structure of the wine over this period?

It sounds to me like this wine doesn't have sufficient fruit to stand up to
a new barrel. I recommend that you save that new barrel for a wine that is
more worthy of it. Furthermore, when that occasion arises, you should get
the wine into that barrel within a day or so of pressing, after settling out
most of the heavy lees.

Back to the present case: If you find the tannins in this wine to be
objectionably high after a full year's tank aging, I'd recommend that you
age the wine for another year or more in a _used_ barrel - say 2 or 3 years
old. Even after that, the wine might require fining to remove some of the
harsh tannins and expose the fruit.

Remember, even though barrel aging will tend to soften the wine by slow
exposure to oxygen, the wine will still pick up tannin from the barrel
itself. I recommend against aging this wine in a new barrel because (1)
oak is _not_ a substitute for fruit, and (2) an older barrel will soften
the wine without adding too much tannin.

As usual, you have to keep an eye on the wine to monitor its progress. That
means weekly barrel tastings and toppings, plus sulfite adjustments as
necessary.

Tom S

Tom & Joe - thanks for your help and insights.
Darin