Vintage – part 3
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VINTAGE!! Part 3: Maturation
Missed parts one and two? You can read this quick summary:
Part one: Grapes got picked.
Part two: Wine got made. The end.
Only joking. Here’s a little of what you missed...
Quick recap
The Winemaking Team dodged El Niños, La Niñas, heatwaves, hailstorms, floods, and fire in their quest for perfectly ripe fruit. The very moment those berries reached peak sugar levels, they called in the pickers. Delicate whites (Riesling, e.g.) were hand-harvested at night (heat being the enemy of subtle aromatics); while the more robust and thicker-skinned varieties (like Cabernet) were shaken mechanically from their vines.
The berries were destemmed and crushed. Those fine, aromatic whites were quickly separated from their skins and pressed, before fermentation. Others - destined to become more structured styles (most reds, and some whites - Chardy e.g.) were fermented, at least in part, on their skins. After fermentation, they were racked, pressed, and the solid material (pomace) discarded. Ta da! Wine!!
Point of Clarification
Just to be clear, WineDown is presenting a (necessarily) One Size Fits All version of events in the winery. Creative winemakers will always depart from certain procedures; embellish others; delay, repeat, or omit steps to achieve the style of wine they have dreamt of making.
Some of these baby wines will need a firm hand - and more than one intervention - to take them from brash, unruly youth, to sophisticated, elegant maturity. Others not so much. Fresh, fruit-driven whites, such as Riesling, Semillon, Sauv Blanc etc are approachable and charming from an early age. These are fast tracked for bottling. But first, they need a beauty treatment.
Second Point of Clarification
Newly fermented wines don’t look too flash. Dead yeast cells (lees), fragments of grape skin, proteins and tartrates may all still be in suspension, making the wine cloudy and dull. The point of Clarification is to remove these suspended particles - through Filtration (literally, filtering the bits out), and Fining (introducing a substance into the wine that bonds to the particles so they can be removed - exactly like clarifying soup with an egg-white raft). Knowing that these particles also contain flavour, the winemaker’s great skill is in determining how much to remove to create a clear and visually appealing wine, without losing flavour and body. Speaking of which...
Some varieties - Chardonnay is a great example - just love their yeast lees. Not only are they allowed to remain in these wines as they mature, they’re regularly stirred through to ensure the greatest possible uptake of flavour, in a process called bâtonnage. This extended contact builds flavour and complexity - and gives Chardonnay its classic toasty/ bread-dough character.
Maturation
When we think of maturation, we tend mostly to think of oak. But there are a squillion other vessel types that winemakers commonly utilise. WineDown can name at least three. And there’s a host of ‘alternative’ repositories, many of them based on ancient winemaking practices, that are enjoying a revival. For instance, clay amphorae, which are favoured by ‘natural’ wine enthusiasts; egg-shaped ceramic tanks, which keep lees in constant movement, and so contribute extra body; stoneware and terracotta pots – which presumably make nice planters when you’re finished with them.
More commonly, modern wineries use stainless steel tanks - which are great for preserving fruit purity without imparting additional flavours - and concrete vats, known for their high level of protection against oxidation, and their ‘thermic inertia’ (don’t ask us!). Of course, it was only a matter of time before plastic threw its polymer into the ring, and there’s now a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) tank that claims to ‘replicate the physics and chemistry of barrels if used with adjuncts’ (oak staves or chips). The jury’s still out..
Oakus Pocus
Then of course, there’s Oak, and the winemaker’s options only multiply. Examples include the soft and spicily aromatic French oak - and the more assertive coconut and vanillin characters of American. Then there’s Slovenian, Hungarian – the list goes one. (Perhaps a little of each). New oak, for a stronger influence? Or previously used barrels, for a more restrained effect – plus a teensy suggestion of its earlier contents.
And don’t let anyone tell you that size doesn’t matter! The smaller the barrel, the more oak comes into contact with the wine, amplifying the impact. Winemakers learn their puncheons from their hogsheads at an early age. And - how would madam like her oak toasted...?
The variations and the possibilities are nothing short of mind boggling.
MLF
At the winemaker’s discretion, maturing wines may undergo a secondary ferment known as Malolactic Fermentation, or MLF. Strictly speaking, Malo is not a ferment at all (no yeast involved!), but an enzymatic reaction that transforms tart malic acid into soft, creamy lactic acid – all the same, it’s a little winemaking miracle. MLF is responsible for the soft, rich texture of many reds, and the unmistakeable butteriness of many Chardonnays.
Depending on what the winemaker wants to achieve, maturation could last for weeks, months, or years - during which time, the wines will be tasted, tested, stirred, re-tasted, blended, and tasted again. When the winemaker is completely happy with the magic juice, it may (or may not) be clarified and stabilised before finally being committed to the bottling line...
Humbling, isn’t it?