In this little series on minerality – from which I have had an enforced break, partly down to my trip to the Loire to see the 2013 harvest in action and my Bordeaux 2013 reports – I have looked at many different explanations for the mysterious ‘minerality’ that now seems so commonplace in wine. Some explanations that have been offered – such as the presence of minerals, chemical or geological, in the wine, just don’t ring true. Others, however, have more promise; of these, the most enticing is related to what is commonly termed ‘reduction’, which is actually the presence of mercaptans in the wine, mercaptans commonly being produced during fermentation of nutrient-poor (especially nitrogen-poor) musts. Their presence is enhanced by protecting the embryonic wine from oxygen, hence they have become associated with ‘reductive’ winemaking techniques, and in a leap of faith have since been ascribed by many to reduction itself, which of course isn’t quite true. thewinedoctor/blog/2013/12/return-to-minerality-acidity/ I rejoin the fray on minerality. Is acidity responsible, or related in some way? (free to all)
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 15:11:52 +0000