About To Try the RJ Spagnols Super Tuscan

[pproctorga]

Just throwing my 2 cents in. I made this same kit last year and just bottled it about a month ago. I made it to 6 gal +/- after the initial racking (ie: a little over 23L in primary). Even with the primary being in excess of 23L the starting SG was over 1.100. The end result is a fairly hot wine (high ABV), but the flavor is good and the oak and added tannins along the way make it very drinkable. It's already one of my favorite kits and I am hopeful that it mellows further with time. Oh, the water . . . straight from my unfiltered well.

I’m curious as to what your FG was. Mine right now will not get below 1.000, and after multiple properly prepped repitchings. Has anyone ever used glucoamylase to dry out their wines?

 

[tjgaul]

I’m curious as to what your FG was. Mine right now will not get below 1.000, and after multiple properly prepped repitchings. Has anyone ever used glucoamylase to dry out their wines?

SG 1.102 @ 72 degrees on 4/28/18
FG .993 @ 61 degrees on 5/24/18
Used RC-212 and gave it some Fermax to start and Fermaid-O on 5/3 (SG 1.034)

According to the FermCalc app this should be about 15% ABV.

 

[Mike Parisi]

Racked into the carboy 3 days ago. SG was 1.014. Has been bubbling away, so I didn't take another reading until today. SG .992. But it is still bubbling away, about 1 bubble per second. Could that be CO2? Do I wait until it stops before gegassing it? If i degassed it now, would it just continue to make C02?

 

[sour_grapes]

At 0.992, it is pretty much done fermenting. I would wager you are just witnessing outgassing of the CO2; your wine is currently saturated with it.

From here, there are a few routes to getting it fully degassed. The easiest is just to let it sit in the carboy under airlock for ~6 mos.

 

[Mike Parisi]

The bubbling has slowed down, about 1 every 3 seconds now. Will wait a few more days, then go through the degassing and add the clarifying and stabilizing chemicals. Then just let it sit.

 

[Mike Parisi]

The bubbling had slowed to about one every 8-10 seconds. So I racked into the fermenting bucket,degassed , added the chemicals to clarify and stabilize, and racked back into the cleaned and sterilized carboy. No bubbling at all, so it must have just been the CO2 bubbling out.

 

[Mike Parisi]

The instructions say to either bottle it after 30 days or let it age in the carboy for another month before bottling. If I decide to let it go a second month before bottling, would it be of any benefit to rack it into another carboy just to get it off the sediment? If so, is there anything special I should do other than just racking it over (and taking a taste)? Add any more clarifying agents?

 

[skyfire322]

The instructions say to either bottle it after 30 days or let it age in the carboy for another month before bottling. If I decide to let it go a second month before bottling, would it be of any benefit to rack it into another carboy just to get it off the sediment? If so, is there anything special I should do other than just racking it over (and taking a taste)? Add any more clarifying agents?

You wouldn't need to add any more clarifying agents if you re-rack. Let gravity take care of it at this point. And while I haven't made this particular kit yet (next red on my list), I heard bulk aging for at least three months takes it to the next level.

 

[tjgaul]

Aging really helps any big bold red and I think it is especially true for this wine. I fermented this in April 2018 and bulk aged it until Nov 2019 (about 18 months). It is very good right now, but I think it will still improve quite a bit with a year in the bottle.

I know that's a long wait if you are anxious to drink your new wine. Even if you're in a hurry I would let it sit at least one regular cycle (3 months) before bottling. If it has been fully de-gassed that should be enough time to let it fully clear. If you do bottle early be sure to set aside a few bottles to let them grow up to be toddlers. You will notice the difference. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Mike Parisi]

Thanks for the replies. Since this is only my second try at wine making, I will be anxious to try it. But I think i will be able to wait at least the two months, and maybe try to wit at least 3. After I bottle it, I will definitely set aside at least 12 bottles for a year, as I am doing with my first batch, a Mosti Nero D'Avola (which already tastes pretty good, after only a month).

 

[Mike Parisi]

Just racked the Super Tuscan to another carboy after a month of clearing. It already looks quite clear, but I will wait at least another month before bottling. I am sneaking a tast as I post this. It is pretty good already, although not nearly as good as the Nero D'Avola at the same point. Very earthy, with almost a pine aroma, or maybe juniper. Or maybe just a peppery aroma. Did anyone else get this vibe?

I am going to really like this one, too, but I think it will clearly need more aging than the Nero.

 

[jsbeckton]

I made this 2 years ago so still fairly young but I go back and forth on it. Sometimes I think it’s really good and other times I pick up the jammy tase that I associate with kit wine. To date the RJS Amarone Classico is the only kit wine that I have never found to have that.

 

[Mike Parisi]

Is the Amarone Classico a really good one? Is it drinkable early?

Early, as in drinking within a month or two of bottling. Not early in the day, although that would work too, on some days.

 

[jsbeckton]

Is the Amarone Classico a really good one? Is it drinkable early?

Early, as in drinking within a month or two of bottling. Not early in the day, although that would work too, on some days.

Well...depends on how early you bottle [emoji57]

I may be in the minority here but IMO most kit wines do not change significantly after 1 year. They change of course, but @ 1yr it’s 90-95% of what it will be at 3-4 years. Again, that’s my opinion anyways after 15 premium kits and 4 years. People say “just wait” but I’ve been waiting 4-5 years now and some (the WE Lodi can comes to mind) are just kinda stagnate and don’t seem to be getting any better.

That said, to me, the RJS Amarone Classico was better at 6mo than any WE Eclipse wine that I ever made at 4yrs. Just had a bottle tonight with a spaghetti dinner and I forgot that it was a kit wine as I was drinking it which doesn’t happen often.

 

[Brian55]

Is the Amarone Classico a really good one? Is it drinkable early?

Early, as in drinking within a month or two of bottling. Not early in the day, although that would work too, on some days.

I would recommend 2-3 years from the end of fermentation before drinking this one, especially early in the day. It's a big red and requires a decent amount of aging.

 

[pillswoj]

I may be in the minority here but IMO most kit wines do not change significantly after 1 year. They change of course, but @ 1yr it’s 90-95% of what it will be at 3-4 years. Again, that’s my opinion anyways after 15 premium kits and 4 years. People say “just wait” but I’ve been waiting 4-5 years now and some (the WE Lodi can comes to mind) are just kinda stagnate and don’t seem to be getting any better.

The Eclipse Lodi CS was possibly the most meh high end kit I have done, It did undergo a change for the better at around 23 months but never wowed me, I have one bottle left 4.5 years old. The Eclipse Stags leap Merlot was excellent at 2 years, unfortunately was gone before 3 years. The RJS EP series all tend towards great after 2 years keeping in mind individual styles and tastes.

 

[jsbeckton]

The Eclipse Lodi CS was possibly the most meh high end kit I have done, It did undergo a change for the better at around 23 months but never wowed me, I have one bottle left 4.5 years old. The Eclipse Stags leap Merlot was excellent at 2 years, unfortunately was gone before 3 years. The RJS EP series all tend towards great after 2 years keeping in mind individual styles and tastes.

I’ve done the SLM 2x, one of the better ones but I now have bottles @2yr and at @4yr and they taste pretty similar. I’m not expecting the 4yr one to get any better.

I think I’ve made my last WE kit and I have found the RJS high end kits to be much better.

 

[Boatboy24]

Is the Amarone Classico a really good one? Is it drinkable early?

Early, as in drinking within a month or two of bottling. Not early in the day, although that would work too, on some days.

I last made the Amarone 4 years ago and opened a bottle the other night. It's excellent. But like any big, bold red, gets better with time. 18-24 months is my recommendation for both the Amarone and the Super Tuscan.

 

[Mike Parisi]

Bottled the Super Tuscan today. Nice and clear and tastes pretty good. Ended up with an extra 2/3 bottle, so will sample that later today of tomorrow.

 

[jsbeckton]

I make the ST and the Amarone Classico about 2.5 years ago. The ST is pretty good but Amarone is much better IMO. It’s one of only a handful of kits I’d ever make again.