Ed,
Before bottling, the fruit flavors were fine and since it aged in my once used French oak barrel, it was otherwise balanced but flabby. That, plus the slight discoloration led me to the pH testing. I just don’t recall any
Cab S, Cab F, Merlot or Petite rising in pH so dramatically post fermentation and ML. As a cure for the
discoloration I admit trying a Petite addition in a bench trial. I was surprised that as little as 2.5% by volume produced a noticeable and favorable color change. However my 3 person blind taste panel quickly and unanimously identified the sample with 2.5% addition, and voted against it. A 5% addition completely transformed the
Pinot flavors to something unfamiliar and unpleasant. Consequently, I found some other 2012 Pinot to lift the acid a bit, and bottled it.
It may be interesting to do atrial with a mixture of tartaric and citric acid. Tartaric tastes very dry and chemical whereas citric has more fruity acidity. I think you can now also buy lactic acid.