I hear you on the high pH/high TA unbalanced wine issue. I myself have dealt with some vineyards and some wine lots where I have had to add so much tartaric to high pH musts just to keep the pH below 3.85 after malolactic is complete. The causes of this in the vineyard is worth its own article or articles as the sources are as complex as the methods for dealing with the resulting wines. High potassium in the musts can be a cause, (which needs to be addressed in the vineyard). Over cropping and a dense canopy can sometimes cause a high malate/high tartaric situation so that when the wine goes through malolactic fermentation (MLF), the resulting wine is unbalanced and in what I would certainly call a “microbial spoilage danger zone” with a pH higher than 3.80. At some point, all you can do is keep adding the tartaric to bring that pH down. As you’ve found out, however, you risk getting some sharp off-flavors; also as you’ve found out, a little sweetness can really help mask or
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