Butterscotch in Cab?

We tasted our 2006 wines the other day and were surprised to get a strong butterscotch flavor from the cabernet. The (heavily chapitalized) zin was thin, as expected, and destined mainly for sangria; the merlot/syrah blend seems young and rough with some possibility to improve, but the cab, wow!

At the last racking, I noticed a disticnt nose and flavor of vanilla. This seemed unusual because it has not been oaked in any way. Currently, the vanilla is still there, but the butterscotch was much more pronounced. I do not recall ever getting butterscotch flavor in wine; my experience with cab is limited. The wine seems pleasantly complex, but is butterscotch as a major flavor in cab weird? Is the terrior of my front yard the only one that produces this flavor?

Butterscotch in cab sounds wierd, more common in chardonnay. Could be from the malolactic fermentation - I assume you did that?
Vanilla often comes from oak - but you said no oak. How odd.

I've seen this-I call it "caramel" in heavier, oakier Napa Cabs, but you say you didn't do any oak aging!???

Certain wine yeast and LAB (Latic acid bacteria) strains will produce a chemical compound called acetoin during fermentation (and MLF) and depending upon the grape variety and if the proper precursors exist will develop a ‘butterscotch” aroma, no matter if the wine sees oak or not. Another substance which is believed to contribute to this aroma is diaceetyl and as Sue has suggested is formed mainly during MLF. Another chemical substance that may play a role in this aroma is ethyl lactate. From the name of this substance it’s an ethyl ester, ethyl (alcohol) combined with a lactic acid salt compound (alcohol + acid = an ester). As you probably know lactic acid is a product of an MLF. So with this all said, you should monitor and try to control your MLF and very closely evaluate and monitor how long you allow the wine to sit on its lees. But if you really like the “butterscotch” aroma in your Cab, continue what you’re doing.

Salute

Good to know this is not a abberation produced by my soil!

Probably left it on the lees longer than ideal. I'm not sure I like this flavor component enough to try to recreate it next year, but in the 2006, it seems to be a major, but not singular flavor component in a fairly complex profile. It is our first really enjoyable wine. In 2004, we made a watery zin, which made some OK sangria and wassail(sp?). We lost 2005 to our education on powdery mildew, so we are rather excited over our somewhat atypical 2006 cab. And, as I mentioned, the merlot/syrah blend will probably be worth drinking a year from now.

This week, at least, my rather unusual way to avoid mowing a lawn is proving to be fun!

Hi Jim,
Being an amateur winemaker myself, I make a distinction between solids (pomace), gross lees and fine lees. Don’t get me wrong all three can add a positive aspect, especially when producing deeply colored complex age-worthy reds (and other styles and types of wine), but remember too much of anything can also contribute negative aspects. My 2006 vintage which is now approximately 7 months old was racked twice already.

Salute