Comparing pressed-dry with extended maceration wines

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, extended maceration, merlot, pressing, zinfandelNov 8th, 2009 | No Comments For the 2008 Chez Ray vintage, I tried an experiment, separating the vintage into two batches: one batch pressed dry (ie, immediately as fermentation completed); and the second batch pressed after extended maceration.

Today, I have some recently bottled sample batches of 2008 merlot and zinfandel to compare between these two pressing techniques.

Let's start with the Chez Ray Merlot, 2008:

Pressed dry: The pressed dry merlot shows medium dusty red in the glass. Aromas are bright, bold, plumy and yeasty. A strong inky, alcoholic component. On the palate, a bright but bold mid palate impact, showing very ripe plums and some blackberry. Finishes clean.

Extended maceration: The merlot which underwent extended maceration shows similar in the glass, a touch less purple. Aromas seem to show a somewhat riper, spongy plum element. On the palate, the impact is round, full and soft and ripe in the back of the tongue. Seems more aged already, with less definitive fruit. The finish curls with a bit of acid. Slightly inferior to the pressed dry version.

Now let's try the Chez Ray Zinfandel, 2008:

Pressed dry: The pressed dry zinfandel shows medium cherry red in the glass. Upon swirling, aromas are tangy, metallic and almost citrus. On the palate, a spicy fruit touches the front of the mouth first, slowly unfolding back, sweeter and sweeter as it moves back along your tongue. The finish is moderate and clean.

Extended maceration: The zinfandel which underwent extended maceration shows a similar color - possibly just a touch more faded. Aromas show a similar note, a touch less tangy and bright. The palate is even, full and flush from the start, beginning at the middle of your tongue and spreading out. Perhaps even some chocolate elements as it spreads. Slick, clean finish. Improved over the pressed dry version.

Overall observations: My expectations were that the extended maceration might cause each of the wines to lose some "edge" and distinctiveness. It is probably true that the "edge" has been slightly muted in both. However, with the zinfandel, the extended maceration did not mute the final result. In the merlot, it caused a bit more aged "genericism" in the final product. In the zinfandel, though, it nicely knitted together some otherwise discordant elements. Perhaps that would happen with age in the pressed-dry zinfandel, perhaps not.

So my findings on extended maceration are, in the final analysis, mixed. I believe it muddied the merlot, but enhanced the zinfandel. If I was forced to operate one way or another on all my wines based on this one tasting, I would probably choose to press dry. That is because I believe the merlot was challenged more than the zinfandel was improved.

Too bad life is so complicated!

Pressing the 2009 Mendocino Zinfandel

Posted by Ben in 2009, General, Other, pressing, zinfandelNov 1st, 2009 | No Comments After three weeks of cold (approx 62 degrees F) fermentation, today I pressed the 2009 Mendocino Zinfandel which was acquired as fresh grapes.

Yield was approximately 9 gallons from four crates of grapes.

Fourth Pressing for the 2008 Chez Ray Vintage

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, malbec, pressing, syrah, yeasts, zinfandelFeb 16th, 2009 | No Comments There were a few more buckets of red grapes still left to press from the 2008 vintage. We had done two earlier pressings last fall of the fresh grapes (one batch pressed dry, and a second under extended maceration); and a pressing two weeks ago of the first batch of frozen grapes. Brian joined me for these festivities (ie, work!).


A late arriving bucket of malbec was put to AMH and VQ15 yeast, and is dry after two full weeks of fermentation. Meanwhile, two buckets of Alexander West Side Syrah are approaching dryness after four weeks of fermentation (one with AMH, the other with VQ15 yeast).

And, finally, the crazy Limerick Lane Zinfandel from Sonoma, which started life at an incrediblly sweet 38 degrees brix, was being pressed today too. I may put half of this under brandy as port, leaving the other half with natural residual sugar. We'll see. Here's Brian checking out the zin:


Yum!

Brrrr… Pressing in the Cold

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, pressingFeb 1st, 2009 | No Comments Wine waits for no man (or woman)... but only when it comes to pressing. Almost everything else may be done at leisure.

For the 2008 vintage of Brehm frozen grapes, I wanted to press at dryness (eg, as brix sugar level approaches zero). Two weekends after yeast inoculation, dryness occurred (for all except the Alexander Valley Syrah and super-high-sugar Limerick Lane Zinfandel).


So here is the setup on our frozen deck, in the midst of pressing. Temperatures soared to 28 degrees Fahrenheit, making the process somewhat bearable.

Wine was pressed and restored to original buckets for settling. I'll allow the gross lees to settle for a week, then pour off (rack) into carboys and inoculate for malolactic fermentation. My plan is to allow the bottles three or four weeks in room temperature before retreat to the cooler basement for aging.

At this point, a late arriving bucket of malbec has just been put to AMH and VQ15 yeast, the Limerick Lane zinfandel and Alexander Valley syrah continue fermentation.