Forgot a bucket of wine for 9 months, Does it need to be stabilized and cleared?

[CanadianBacon]

So, I lost track of time and left a French merlot red wine kit ( grape juice ) in secondary for 9 months. It comes with Sulphite, Potassium sorbate, Chitorsan, and Kieselsol. Do I need to use these considering the period of time It has been sitting?

Any benefits or disadvantages to using them? I never used any of these before in any of my wines and am unsure if they will add to flavor negatively. I pulled a litter of the stuff months ago during transfer and loved it even at 2 weeks. I don't want to ruin it.

 

[theDREWery]

I'd add the sulphite, it helps keep oxygenation under control, but dissipates over time. You can add the sorbate if you plan on sweetening the wine. I don't think you'll need the others, as they're for speeding up clarification, and you should be good to go at 9 months.

 

[rtrent2002]

I concur with theDREWery, rack it and add sulphite. The sorbate especially adds an off sweet taste that is not desirable for dry red wines.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Did you taste the wine? 9 months is a really good start to aging the wine!
If the wine smells and tastes good, I would rack off any sediment/lees and add the sulfite. At this point, you won't need any fining agents, using the Chitosan, and Kieselsol would be a waste, Mother Nature has clarified the wine for you.

 

[Gavin C]

In a bucket for 9 months? I would doubt the wine is going to be any good. Buckets are poorly suited to this type of long term storage owing to

1: Leaky lids
2: Large surface area of wine
3: Large headspace.

It stacks the deck in favor of oxidation and the associated sequelae.

The airlock is most likely devoid of liquid at this point too rendering it useless.

Taste it. If OK proceed, if not dump.