Dana Myers > wrote in message news:<40965f8c$1@wobble>...
> Tom S wrote:
>
> > Wait a minute. It's entirely possible to have a Chardonnay go full ML and
> > _not_ display any particularly noticeable diacetyl. If the wine is on its
> > lees and stirred occasionally the butter disappears - or so I'm told.
> >
> > And so I've tasted.
>
> Obviously, we can't argue over what's actually in the glass, but
> I can't help but believe that once a flavor component is in a
> wine, it stays there unless it's somehow removed. If an ML
> fermentation produces diacetyl, then the flavor will be present.
> Perhaps it's the case that the lees are used to remove the diacetyl
> in a kind of fining? Perhaps also the specific Chardonnay clones
> that are used have an impact as well.
>
> Dana

It's my understanding that if you let the ML bacteria keep going after
all the malic acid has been consumed, they will metabolize the
diacetyl as well and "butteriness" is correspondingly decreased.
Winemakers who want to maximize diacetyl jack up the sulfites as soon
all the malic acid is gone. FWIW, Sierra Vista (El Dorado County)
makes a nice no-oak, no-MLF Chardonnay that should be available for
$12 or so.

- Mark W.