D80
Builds structure and length rather than fruit, and holds colour well through a long maceration. A strain for wines meant to age.
Alcohol tolerance
16%
10% - 16%
Temperature
20-30 C
20C - 30C
Highest must it will finish
28 Brix
about 1.119, giving 15.3 to 16.7% if it went all the way
Nitrogen demand
Medium
Fine on grape must; feed a fruit or honey must in stages.
Sold as
Lalvin ICV D80
An affiliate search link, scoped to this strain rather than to a guessed listing.
Where it belongs
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Mourvedre
- Nebbiolo
Pitching it
Rehydrate properly rather than sprinkling dry yeast on cold must, and plan the nutrient before you pitch: staged additions over the first third of the fermentation, not one dose at the start.
Recipes on this site that use it
Other red strains
RC 212
14%The Burgundy strain: emphasises red fruit and preserves the delicate colour of thin-skinned varieties. Hungry, and it will make hydrogen sulphide if you do not feed it.
BM 4x4
16%A blend of two strains that builds mouthfeel and polysaccharide body, so the wine feels rounder without any extra tannin.
D254
16%Big, ripe and mouth-filling, emphasising jammy fruit and softening tannin. The strain for a warm-climate red you want to drink young.
Cabernet CS2
16%Selected from Bordeaux for Cabernet: emphasises blackcurrant and cedar, and integrates hard tannin better than most.
Syrah Rhone 2226
16%A Rhone isolate that emphasises pepper, dark fruit and a soft finish, and copes with a hot ferment better than most.