WineXpert Lodi Ranch Cabernet

[brewbush]

So I tasted this kit the other day and I would describe it as flabby. Fruit forward, but not the bite from the acid. It is in bulk aging currently. I started it the end of October. The only extra item I added was 1/4-1/2 tsp of tannin complex.

However there is not the acidity I would expect. I do not have a way of testing TA currently so I am asking if any has added acid blend or Tartaric acid to kit wines before and if it is recommended?

Or would you add some additional tannin (it could use it anyway) and go from there? Or leave it alone?

 

[Boatboy24]

How old is it?

 

[byathread]

I think lots of folks have made this kit as is and it seems pretty universally appreciated. Sounds like yours is about 3-1/2 months from pitching. I'd leave this alone for another 3-6 months before considering any acid adjustment. And even then, do bench tests!

 

[ShaunDanz]

I just opened a bottle of mine last night because it had finally reached the 1 year mark. Very disappointing. Way too young. I will wait another six months before opening another bottle, but honestly, it tasted like it needed another full year.

 

[calvin]

I had dinner at a wine bar/bistro on New Years. I ordered a glass of Lodi cab and thought it tasted exactly the same as my eclipse kit. However I can't say either is my favorite Cabernet

 

[Rocky]

You guys are bumming me out. I have that kit on deck and had high hopes for it. Are you talking about the Eclipse series?

 

[Dhaynes]

I'm with you Rocky. My kit just arrived this week. It had lots of good reviews but I do remember reading somewhere that it needs two years. Anybody out there have a positive experience?


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[ShaunDanz]

OK. So, I finished the bottle of Eclipse Lodi Cab that I opened the night before. It was much better after having been opened for a day (it was sealed with a cork). I'll still wait before I open any more, but if I needed to drink it in a pinch, I would probably decant it for a couple hours before drinking.

 

[brewbush]

Thanks for the input. I will ignore it for a few more months and see if it develops a bit more tannic/acidic bite.

 

[ColemanM]

I just opened a bottle of my cab last night. Started 2-27-13 spent 9 weeks in a second fill vadai barrel, has felt over oaked ever since. Previous bottle I opened was during Christmas and was still over oaked. Last night, the oak finally seemed to be subsiding and I could finally smell and taste berries, though ever so slightly. Mind you I made kit per instructions and left cubes in for 21 days I believe. I think this will be good in another six months, but I still feel the body is medium at best. My CC showcase amarone that spent 19 weeks in the barrel is about an 8 of 10 on body. Cab is about 6. Still hope though.

 

[wineh]

You guys are bumming me out. I have that kit on deck and had high hopes for it. Are you talking about the Eclipse series?

I guess some folks are better tasters than me. I've made the Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon 3 times now (and Estate series before that). I have found it to be delicious at 1 year, and only a couple make it to two years. Maybe mine gets good earlier because of my "no tweaking" policy. Granted, it's no Wolf Blas Yellow Label, but it is quite good. Much better than Woodbridge Cab by Robert Mondavi, and from the same appellation I'm told.
I think I'll get one out tonight.

 

[jsiddall]

I guess some folks are better tasters than me. I've made the Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon 3 times now (and Estate series before that). I have found it to be delicious at 1 year, and only a couple make it to two years. Maybe mine gets good earlier because of my "no tweaking" policy. Granted, it's no Wolf Blas Yellow Label, but it is quite good. Much better than Woodbridge Cab by Robert Mondavi, and from the same appellation I'm told.
I think I'll get one out tonight.

Those two commercial wines, at least the 2012 vintage, are rated the same (86) on winealign.

They are definitely not the same appellation since one is from California and the other from Australia!

Edit: I have had the Woodbridge cab and it wasn't bad. I would be pretty be pretty happy with a kit that turned out "much better".

 

[Brian55]

Our first attempt at this kit was Feb. of 2013. It was drinkable at 12 months, but I now wish we hadn't used up so much of it. At two years its really getting good, but unfortunately we only have 8 bottles left.

Fortunately we just bottled another batch from Mar. 2014. So that should be good to go in another 8-12 months.

On top of that, this being the only kit we've made three times so far, we have another bulk aging from Dec. 2014. This should be good by the end of 2016.

 

[jsiddall]

Our first attempt at this kit was Feb. of 2013. It was drinkable at 12 months, but I now wish we hadn't used up so much of it. At two years its really getting good, but unfortunately we only have 8 bottles left.

If you ever happen to do a blind tasting including cabs please let us know how it goes. I for one would be very interested in how kits turned out against some commercial bottles (ex: like wineh mentioned)

 

[Brian55]

If you ever happen to do a blind tasting including cabs please let us know how it goes. I for one would be very interested in how kits turned out against some commercial bottles (ex: like wineh mentioned)

We did one just under a year ago. At that time it was already holding it's own with reasonably priced commercial bottles. I'll try to find the notes on it to see which bottles were included.

That aside, I was already thinking about an updated tasting, including a bottle at 12ish months and one at 24ish. To see not only how they stack up against each other, but a few commercial wines as well. I'll be sure to post back with the results.

 

[eblasmn9]

I guess some folks are better tasters than me. I've made the Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon 3 times now (and Estate series before that). I have found it to be delicious at 1 year, and only a couple make it to two years. Maybe mine gets good earlier because of my "no tweaking" policy. Granted, it's no Wolf Blas Yellow Label, but it is quite good. Much better than Woodbridge Cab by Robert Mondavi, and from the same appellation I'm told.
I think I'll get one out tonight.

I'll Chime in. The Lodi Ranch 11 Cab is one of the first red kits I did back in 2011. It was the Estate series at the time. I thought it was good early(13 to 14 months old). The black currant, dark fruit of a warm climate Cab was there in spades. It had a slight sweet taste early on that it no longer has. I had two bottles left last week at 4 years old. I opened one and it was fantastic. The tannins were smooth and I drank the whole bottle. I will drink the last one soon. I agree with the poster that says it does not have the body of the Cellar Craft Amarone , but nothing I have made so far does. I really like the CC Amarone. I am debating on whether I want to make the eclipse version of the Lodi Cab in the future because of some of the reviews. Maybe it just needs a lot of time to become good.

 

[calvin]

Those two commercial wines, at least the 2012 vintage, are rated the same (86) on winealign.

They are definitely not the same appellation since one is from California and the other from Australia!

Edit: I have had the Woodbridge cab and it wasn't bad. I would be pretty be pretty happy with a kit that turned out "much better".

Mine is definitely better than Woodbridge cab. I actually had some the other day I bought a 1.5L bottle for $10. I think the eclipse Lodi ranch cab is good wine. Just not my personal favorite

Go to the liquor store and buy a bottle of cab from Lodi California. If you like that you will probably be very happy with this kit

 

[byathread]

They are definitely not the same appellation since one is from California and the other from Australia!

Wineh meant the Eclipse Cab and the Woodbridge are both from Lodi AVA in California. IIRC, I enjoyed the Wolf Blass a good bit more than the Mondavi (though its been a couple years since I've had either).

 

[wineh]

Wineh meant the Eclipse Cab and the Woodbridge are both from Lodi AVA in California. IIRC, I enjoyed the Wolf Blass a good bit more than the Mondavi (though its been a couple years since I've had either).

That's correct, thanks.

 

[jsiddall]

Mine is definitely better than Woodbridge cab. I actually had some the other day I bought a 1.5L bottle for $10. I think the eclipse Lodi ranch cab is good wine. Just not my personal favorite

Go to the liquor store and buy a bottle of cab from Lodi California. If you like that you will probably be very happy with this kit

You just reminded me how much we get ripped off here by the LCBO. That magnum of Woodbridge sells here for $24.

Wineh meant the Eclipse Cab and the Woodbridge are both from Lodi AVA in California. IIRC, I enjoyed the Wolf Blass a good bit more than the Mondavi (though its been a couple years since I've had either).

They can vary from year to year. The 2012 Wolf Blass seems to have taken a turn downward from earlier vintages.

That's correct, thanks.

Sorry, I missed your meaning on the first read.