Tuesday, March 11, 2008

2007 Napa River Ranch Cab To Barrel

This morning I racked the Napa River Ranch Cabernet out of the Pod and into the 20 L barrel I had prepped for it. The balance of the wine went to a 3 gallon carboy and two x 1 gallon jugs, with a bit of heavy lees left over to settle before I transfer the clear fraction to a 375 mL bottle.

I was originally planning to rack on Sunday, but the wine was not clear. Even this morning it is nowhere near as clear as the Rancho Sarco Cabernet was when I racked that wine out of the Pod. This difference may be due in part to the use of Lallzyme EXV in the earlier ferment, though there are other factors that could contribute.

The murky wine is not a problem per se, but I expect to eventually see thick lees in the Napa River Ranch Cab and so will want to rack it sooner than I plan to rack the Rancho Sarco.

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