Chateau Michaelena Winery/San Acacia Cellars

[ibglowin]

Ha! I think you guys have just as blue skies as we do. I will see what I can dig up!
On a wine making note I bottled the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot made from fresh grapes from down South in Deming, NM. This was my first foray into making wine from fresh grapes and they turned out quite good. I am very pleased with the flavor profile. The wine is ~18mo old now. I plan on letting age until early Spring/Summer timeframe depending on how the splits taste in a few months. I made two blends. both were 75/25 of the major varietal. The bench trials were impressive. The wine is full of body and loaded with tannin. This ain't no "kit wine" for sure! Now comes a tough decision for next Fall do I head back down to Deming or go back for more Cali grapes? The Cali grapes from this past Fall are going to be in a whole 'nother league of their own I think.

 

[Runningwolf]

Very nice Mike, I like the labels!

 

[ibglowin]

Thanks Dan,
I made this one up myself. Decided to give it a go. Picked up some waterproof laser stock. Not as nice as my usual online label supplier but not bad. Much cheaper to boot!

 

[grapeman]

They look great.

 

[fivebk]

My mouth's watering!!!!I LOVE MERLOTKeep us up to date on these and as always Labels are GREAT !!!

BOB

 

[Scott B]

Good Job Mike. Looks Great.

 

[ibglowin]

Here you go!

How about a pic of one of those glorious, "almost-as-blue-as-the-Big-Sky-blue" skies with snow on the pinons???

 

[OilnH2O]

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!

...looks like Frijoles Canyon(?)

 

[Scott B]

Nice Back Yard!!!

 

[ibglowin]

Yep, that is Bandelier National Monument about 5 miles down the road from me.

 

[OilnH2O]

Nice backyard!

(I recognized it because looong ago, my wife used to be the chief admin officer there)

 

[ibglowin]

Way cool! Does that mean you guys lived here then?

 

[ibglowin]

Update:
Opened up a split last night of the Cabernet Sauvignon. Our youngest daughter turned 25 yesterday and we had her over for some Ribeye's. It has rested for 2 weeks since bottling and it was absolutely fantastic!
For a first attempt I am VERY pleased. Nailed the oak perfectly. The tannins are well integrated and smooth. Very nice finish that leaves you wanting the next sip.
I like huge cabs and while this is not huge tannin wise it is certainly 100X better than anything I have made to date. I think I may add some Tannin VR Supra next time at crush to bump it up just a bit more.
Now I need to try one of those Merlot splits next!

 

[Scott B]

Mike,
Reading this makes my mouth water. Great job!
Scott

 

[robie]

Mike,
Is that the Cab you got from Southern New Mexico?

 

[ibglowin]

Why yes, yes it is! 75% Cab Sauv, 25% Merlot. All from Deming, NM.

 

[robie]

That has to be encouraging for you. Glad it has turned out really nice.

 

[Wade E]

Sweet deal, now hopefully that Merlot is as or near as good.

 

[ibglowin]

Ok, had a split of the Merlot last night at dinner. The Merlot just may be better than the Cab Sauv. I know, its hard to believe. The Merlot had some slightly different "tweaks" with acid amounts. The oak is more pronounced, the finish is definitely bolder and longer which is how I like my wines. I had it with some left over Ribeye and it cut through the meat like it was butter. Paired wonderfully and was fantastic all on its own.
These are the first wines that I would actually seriously consider entering into a competition. Not sure I want to part with two bottles though!
The only kit wines I would actually consider are my now almost 3yr old Red Mountain Cab Sauv and CC Showcase Walla Walla Caberlot.
These are now fantastic wines but they are still not in the same league as these fresh grape wines. The finish is just not anywhere near as long but they are very good. Too bad I only have about 4 bottles left of each......
Decisions, decisions!

 

[grapeman]

That is very good news for you Mike. It is nice when a wine you make all by yourself turns out great. Now to wait until you get your own harvest of grapes and it feels really good to make wine from the ground up.