A few weeks ago (when was it Chuck?) Joe, Chuck and I got together for a day of barrel cleaning, racking of the 2007 Syrah, and bottling of our 2006 Cabernets. Things didn’t go as planned. All of it could have been prevented by a little work done a few days ahead. Here is what happened and how we will avoid them in the future:
Problem #1: Added effervescent SO2 the same day resulting in fizziness that prevented results sooner, add the SO2 needed a week before bottling.
Problem #2: The neutral barrel to be used as a temporary vessel leaked like a sieve.Solution: Soak the barrel for at least 4 days before using it if stored dry. (Chuck did come up with a fast swelling idea where we soaked one head with water inside the barrel and the other by putting water on the top head.)
Those were the two big ones. The good news was that the new barrel rinser worked super-well and we had a lot of fun, even though it was a long day.
Chuck and I did fill two bottles to see if the fizziness would remain. This weekend I opened it and although there was not hiss when the cork was pulled, and no sense of fizz in the mouth, tiny bubbles did form on the surface. I gave it a hard double decant, but that did not eliminate all the bubble. So it was a difficult, but good call to postpine the bottling. Oh, the wine (Gardner’s Block Cabernet) was great, BTW.
So when are we going to bottle now, Chuck? We also go to taste the Syrah both in oak and in stainless only. The oakless wine was wonderful, but the time in the barrel for the other really opened it up and added a richness and complexity. We cycled all of the stainless wine into the barrel and the oaked wine into stainless so all of the wine will have contact with the barrel. Chuck, if you recall our tasting notes, please post them, you are — as Joe put i — our front office man.
Cheers,
WiseAcre “G”