# favorite chilean bucket?



## kendo (Jan 4, 2014)

what was your favorite chilean red n white juice bucket?..I have to do juice buckets in the spring,, im looking at carminere,, malbec,, maybe the cab/merlot blend< sounds good,, and a pino grigio white?..i know the reds are thin and the whites taste better but what was your best no grapes added just the juice bucket??....thk you....


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## pjd (Jan 4, 2014)

kendo said:


> what was your favorite chilean red n white juice bucket?..I have to do juice buckets in the spring,, im looking at carminere,, malbec,, maybe the cab/merlot blend< sounds good,, and a pino grigio white?..i know the reds are thin and the whites taste better but what was your best no grapes added just the juice bucket??....thk you....



I like both the Malbec and the Carmenere. I have to disagree with you though, the reds are not thin, they are excellent!


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## Julie (Jan 4, 2014)

Malbec is by far a great red and I agree with Pj, the reds are not thin. Sauv blanc is also a good white And juice buckets really come into their own after 18 months.


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## kendo (Jan 4, 2014)

thk u...I never did the chilean juice buckets..I keep reading there's no flavor,, no body,,i will have to judge for myself,, going with the malbec, carmenere,, and a couple whites!!!!..come on spring!!! i hope my chelsea produce guys carry the buckets i know they do the grapes...


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## Julie (Jan 4, 2014)

I had a friend who did the carmenere, it was very good. I now have that on my list to do. Again, I just want to say that you need to age them for a year and better if you can do 18 months.


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## the_rayway (Jan 4, 2014)

Hey Julie, do you do MLF on your Chilean reds? Oak?


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## ColemanM (Jan 4, 2014)

Hey all. It seems that there a a few different Chilean wine juice buckets out there. I was able to pick up Uva de Chile from Midwest last spring. They were already SG TA and PH adjusted and I believe something was added to inhibit MLF. I'd have to say they seem a little thin to me, but then again they are only 9 months old. I'm hoping like a previous post says that they become better at 18 months. Not sure if I'm going to pull the trigger on juice this year with the results I have so far. Maybe there are other juice buckets out there that may be better that someone can inform me of. That said... The Syrah was the best flavor, Malbec the best body and the Cabernet the least exciting. The merlot was alright. Still bulk aging them. Waiting for an opening in my Vadai barrel schedule.


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## vernsgal (Jan 4, 2014)

Julie said:


> Malbec is by far a great red and I agree with Pj, the reds are not thin. Sauv blanc is also a good white And juice buckets really come into their own after 18 months.



I think I'll have to give Malbec a 2nd chance.Taking your word on this one Julie  Mine was RJS Grand Cru, so it wasn't a pail but it was definitely not one of my favs. I've read a lot of good on Malbecs so maybe mine was just bad. (and I did age, some made it to 2 years but still not impressed)
I guess in a few months I'll pic up a Malbec, but a pail this time!


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## Runningwolf (Jan 4, 2014)

Kim glad to see you said your next one will be a pail. If you didn't like the kit the first time you won't like it the second time either if you pick the same one. There are big differences in qualities of different kits.


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## Julie (Jan 5, 2014)

the_rayway said:


> Hey Julie, do you do MLF on your Chilean reds? Oak?



No, I do not do MLF at this time. I had a winemaker who has always steered me in the right direction once tell me that if I was to do MLF, I should be letting that wine age for 3 years before drinking, if I am drinking before that then I am not getting much benefit of MLF. I made a Montepulciano and put it thru MLF, kept 6 bottles out aged it 3 years, that was awesome.

I ferment to .992 or .990 on the Malbec and the backsweeten to .996, just enough to take the edge off the acid.


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## Runningwolf (Jan 5, 2014)

Julie are you adding sorbate when backsweetening?


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## Pumpkinman (Jan 5, 2014)

Julie, I can imagine how good that wine was at 3 yrs old, normally 3-5 yrs are the "reserve" wines, very much sought after. You can easily drink wines put through MLF after 18-24 months.


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## jpsmithny (Jan 16, 2014)

I am enjoying a carmenere right now from 2013 juice. It is very good. 

I've had to hide several bottles from SWMBO to try and age them a bit. It will be hard.


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