I think of lees as being like egg yolks and tannins the egg whites from which we will make a soufflé. To begin with, the yolks must be separated out and set aside while we turn our attention to the whites, whisking them into a rich, light meringue. Once we have the structure built, we fold the yolks back in for a rich fatness. In the same way, we first oxygenate tannins into a mouth-filling, refined structure. Just as the presence of yolk prevents the formation of meringue, early lees stirring prevents oxidative tannin structuring and destroys color. Only after the structure is complete and
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