Other peoples wines

[Boatboy24]

I'm enjoying some of Joeswine's Sangiovese right now. It is probably one of the best I've had and if I didn't know it, I would not think this was a kit. The added tannins give a nice long, dry finish that is preceded by well balanced fruit and oak. The body and mouthfeel are great and you get just a slight Ripasso-like taste from the raisins. There is a bit of a bite - I think there is sugar added to this to bump up the ABV, but wow, this is really good. Well done, Joe. And thanks for trading.

 

[joeswine]

Santa was good

this is what was waiting for me after Christmas,first from boatboy a orange chocolate Port, and then a black forest port, that's what I have to start right after the first of the year. THEN from vacuum pumpman a chianti and last but not least a special red from JOHNT,not a bad way to say HAPPY NEW YEAR
IT, was my pleasure boatboy.............

 

[joeswine]

Boatboy 24

FINALLY GOT AROUND TO TRYING SOME OF THE WINE SHIP TO ME AND I STARTED OFF WITH BOATBOY24 FORREST PORT.

I have tis kit sitting in the wings ready to come on line in FEBRUARY.
points of view:AROMA,earthy,berry foreground, slight taste of caramel. I believe this is the same base as the coffee port but with suttle changes in it's chemistry. Strong vanilla and chocolate notes.
ABV; as always these kit have good balance.
STRUCTURE: good body and legs if this could sit for a year the taste and structure would make this a contender in any competition, NICE WORK ...BOATBOY 24

 

[sour_grapes]

A few weeks ago, @richmke and I got together to swap some wines. I have been enjoying one of his bottles of WE Selection International Australian Petit Verdot for the last two days. It is very nice. Rich tells me that it is about a year old.

I almost always try wines over two days, to try to get some sense of how they evolve with aeration. Therefore, I will give two sets of tasting notes.

Upon opening: Bright taste, berries, just a hint of KT, green apple, nice vanilla finish, sour cherry. Fruity nose. A bit tart/acidic, but nicely balanced.

Second day: Mellow, vanilla, less tart than yesterday, round and smooth, hint of toffee on the finish, a little thin, still just a hint of KT.

I'd compare this favorably to a $10-12 wine. Very nice, Rich, and thanks for sharing it with me!

 

[Boatboy24]

I'm seriously enjoying @geek 's Gewürztraminer right now. I got this bottle back in the October time frame, but have been letting it sit because I knew it was pretty young and just recently bottled. It is very slightly off dry with melon and tropical fruit that is balanced off by a touch of acidity. A tiny bit of fine sediment in the bottle, but this is a really nice wine. Well done, Varis! Can you post up what this is? I recall you saying it was a kit, but don't remember which one, or if you made any tweaks. I think I need to make one of these for next summer. Thanks!

 

[geek]

Will check my notes Jim, I think that was the WE selection international. I made it like 7 months ago maybe.
Glad you like it, I ran out of it [emoji16]

 

[sour_grapes]

Tonight I opened a bottle of Eclipse Sauvignon Blanc that @richmke swapped with me. It was, to my taste, truly excellent.

Funny thing is, it does not taste exactly like a Marlborough Sauv. Blanc to me. It lacks the extreme minerality that characterizes Marlborough wines. Instead, it was redolent with tastes of exotic fruits.

My tasting notes are:
Color: golden, like a rich Chardonnay. (This surprised me; commercial Marlboroughs tend to be pale, in my experience.)

Taste: Apples, floral, apricot, pear. NOT mineraly. Mangoes, kiwi. Very full mouthfeel.

Edited to add: Pineapple! I was having trouble putting my finger, errrr, my tongue on what that taste was.

Excellent wine. I'd rate this a $15 bottle (at Wisconsin prices, which tend to be reasonable).

 

[TallTexan]

Tonight I opened a bottle of Eclipse Sauvignon Blanc that @richmke swapped with me. It was, to my taste, truly excellent.

Funny thing is, it does not taste exactly like a Marlborough Sauv. Blanc to me. It lacks the extreme minerality that characterizes Marlborough wines. Instead, it was redolent with tastes of exotic fruits.

My tasting notes are:
Color: golden, like a rich Chardonnay. (This surprised me; commercial Marlboroughs tend to be pale, in my experience.)

Taste: Apples, floral, apricot, pear. NOT mineraly. Mangoes, kiwi. Very full mouthfeel.

Edited to add: Pineapple! I was having trouble putting my finger, errrr, my tongue on what that taste was.

Excellent wine. I'd rate this a $15 bottle (at Wisconsin prices, which tend to be reasonable).

I am so glad that I found your note, Paul. I just did a tasting of Marlborough sauvignon blancs, two commercial and my own 7-month-in-the-bottle Eclipse. I had exactly the same impression of the Eclipse. Can you tell me the age of the Eclipse SB that you tried? I prefer the mineral taste in my SB's, and I am wondering if perhaps this will develop with more time in the bottle. I am quite partial to the Starborough SB myself.

 

[richmke]

Can you tell me the age of the Eclipse SB that you tried?

It was pitched on 9/11/13

I prefer the mineral taste in my SB's, and I am wondering if perhaps this will develop with more time in the bottle. I am quite partial to the Starborough SB myself.

Maybe you could add mineral water when reconstituting the kit?

 

[sour_grapes]

I am so glad that I found your note, Paul. I just did a tasting of Marlborough sauvignon blancs, two commercial and my own 7-month-in-the-bottle Eclipse. I had exactly the same impression of the Eclipse. Can you tell me the age of the Eclipse SB that you tried? I prefer the mineral taste in my SB's, and I am wondering if perhaps this will develop with more time in the bottle. I am quite partial to the Starborough SB myself.

That is funny -- I had a Starborough SB in my hand a few hours ago. I was buying one for a neighbor, who is partial to Marlborough SB's and who is coming over for dinner tonight. I opted for a Ranga Ranga instead (for no real reason).

Interesting to hear that my observations were borne out by yours.

 

[Boatboy24]

I'm just now seeing these comments on the Eclipse SB. I've made this twice now. The first one is long gone. But early on, the tropical fruit and melon were at the forefront of this one. After about a year, that integrated and the crisp acidity and minerality came through. Not like a commercial MSB, but it was still an excellent wine (why else would I make it again? ). My second batch is only 6 months old. This time, I only pitched the 7-1b and left the EC1118 out. It has a more crisp finish, with less melon and tropical fruit than the first. Interestingly, the nose is strikingly similar to Kirin beer. Seriously. That is fading quickly though (thankfully).

 

[TallTexan]

Thank you for the ideas re: using mineral water and trying a different yeast. I do plan to make this kit again, as I think the wine has an excellent flavor profile despite the lack of minerality. I am very pleased with it thus far.

Have any other readers tried other kit brands of Sauvignon Blanc that DO display the minerality of a commercial Marlborough SB? If so, please share the brand and any tweaks that you may have tried.

 

[ibglowin]

"Minerality" in wine it seems is one of those buzzwords of late. When you don't know exactly how to describe a wine use minerality as a descriptor

To me the only way to get a white wine with a mineral note would be if the grapes are grown in limestone or other very rocky soils. If a wine is lacking in minerality then the grapes were not grown in a rocky soils. It's all in the "terroir" LOL

 

[sour_grapes]

"Minerality" in wine it seems is one of those buzzwords of late. When you don't know exactly how to describe a wine use minerality as a descriptor

To me the only way to get a white wine with a mineral note would be if the grapes are grown in limestone or other very rocky soils. If a wine is lacking in minerality then the grapes were not grown in a rocky soils. It's all in the "terroir" LOL

But you know that it has been pretty well established that the mineral note does NOT come from components in the rocky soil itself, right? (See, e.g., http://palatepress.com/2012/03/wine/minerality-in-wine-taken-for-granite/ .)

One of the leading theories is that grapes grown in rocky soils (which are poor in nutrients) wind up being nitrogen-deficient. In turn, during fermentation, the yeasts metabolizing these nitrogen-deficient musts produce thiols (mercaptans). (See this thread if interested in the mechanism: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=535368&postcount=8 ) In a bit of a coincidence, one of the mercaptans produced, benzyl mercaptan, tastes "minerally." The historical association with the rocky soil is understandable, but merely coincidental.

 

[ibglowin]

Sorry not buying the theory that soil plays no role in a wines flavor profile.....

But you know that it has been pretty well established that the mineral note does NOT come from components in the rocky soil itself, right? (See, e.g., http://palatepress.com/2012/03/wine/minerality-in-wine-taken-for-granite/ .)

 

[roger80465]

Sorry not buying the theory that soil plays no role in a wines flavor profile.....

"One of the leading theories is that grapes grown in rocky soils (which are poor in nutrients) wind up being nitrogen-deficient."

But, aren't you saying the same thing? As I interpret both statements, rocky soils DO play a role in flavor profiles. Seems to me one is a statement of personal observation and one is a statement of mechanism that can confirm the observation. I really don't think you are in disagreement.

EDIT: I should have read the article cited more carefully. It clearly states that one does not effect the other. However, reading between the lines, the opposite could be stated - it isn't what is IN the soil that impacts flavor, but what ISN'T in the soil that impacts flavor. As an example, you take away salt from a dish and it certainly tastes different than if it is added, even though it is the same dish. I still think you agree about the outcome, just not the mechanism.

 

[sour_grapes]

Sorry not buying the theory that soil plays no role in a wines flavor profile.....

Well, @roger80465 summed it up already, but nowhere do I claim that "soil plays no role in a wine's flavor profile." The claim is merely that (as I said originally) the mineral notes do not come directly from mineral components in the soil. That is, I claim that it is not the case that you have limestone in your glass because the grapes were grown in limestone-rich soil. That would be a pretty easy analytical chemistry experiment, wouldn't it?

Of course terroir affects the taste of the wine! As Roger says, the mechanism is what I was trying to explain.

 

[ibglowin]

No, did not think you did but the author of your article seems to come off (at least to me) that he doesn't really believe in the concept of "terroir".

I am a Terroirist!

but nowhere do I claim that "soil plays no role in a wine's flavor profile."

 

[sour_grapes]

Tonight I shared with a friend and my wife a bottle of Skeeter Pee that @richmke swapped with me. We really enjoyed this refreshing summer quaff.

For background, I have made a Dragon Blood batch, and I have tasted DBs from several other members (@fabrictodyefor, @seth8530, @ Calvin), but have never had a straight Skeeter Pee before.

I liked the SP significantly more than any of the DBs I have had. It was a nice, simple, clean, straightforward "hard lemonade" that drank really well. The DBs I have had (especially my own) have a funny, unpleasant edge to them, which I do not know that comes. The SP was clean and simple, although it tastes a little of the ReaLemon from whence it comes. But all in all, it was lovingly refreshing.

 

[Julie]

So this evening I had a glass of Ffemt's Tart Cherry, outstanding. BUT the problem lies in the fact that Doug has to tell me how he mixed some with his Noble and really liked it. So now I haveto curse you Doug cuz I did that too and OMG is that a great blend! Now I have to get some cherry juice and blend it with some Noble!