WineXpert Selection Estate Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon

[JohnnyRico]

Mine is a month shy of a year old, and still has kit taste to it...

 

[robie]

For sanity, I clean-wash everything with a solution of CBrite, rinse, and finalize with SanStar.

Cbrite has no place in the wine room, even if you think you have rinsed it off well. The "C" indicates it has chlorine in it. Chlorine can easily cause cork taint (wet dog, wet cardboard taste), which could be what you are tasting, except it hasn't been long enough for it to develop.

Use BBrite instead. Keep chlorine out of the wine room altogether.

 

[Geronimo]

Mine is a month shy of a year old, and still has kit taste to it...

Sorry to say but this kit is the biggest disappointment of all the kits I've done. It has a nasty, KT + buttery taste component that just won't age out. What makes it such a big disappointment is the price tag. At $150+ (and reportedly a Gold winner in 2009) this should be totally impressive.

 

[tonyt]

Now that this is in the new Eclipse line one of you need to do it again and compare and contrast grape pack vs no grape pack.

 

[nick5429]

This stuff is unbelievable! It's not even 2 months old, and I used less than half of the supplied oak. Followed the rest of the instructions pretty well. If you've ever had a truly excellent Cab, but thought you'd never pay $100+ for a bottle, you really need to try this kit. I've had many bottles of "very good" 90-92 rated Cabs at ~$40 a bottle that can't keep pace with this gem.

Sorry to say but this kit is the biggest disappointment of all the kits I've done. It has a nasty, KT + buttery taste component that just won't age out. What makes it such a big disappointment is the price tag. At $150+ (and reportedly a Gold winner in 2009) this should be totally impressive.

Perhaps I missed some divergent conversation in the thread... but are you talking about the same kit here Geronimo?

Your first post had me about ready to run out and buy this kit, but I'm pretty darn hesitant after that last one!

 

[Geronimo]

Yep, it's the same kit, but the 2nd batch I made. The first one never got to age properly, and I made the 2nd one almost back-to-back with the first. It's about a year old now and I'm using it to top off other batches.

 

[robie]

Yep, it's the same kit, but the 2nd batch I made. The first one never got to age properly, and I made the 2nd one almost back-to-back with the first. It's about a year old now and I'm using it to top off other batches.

In all fairness to wine kits in general, a year is not very long for a nice red. This kit should really start to shine around 28 to 30 months. If you keep it that long, you will likely be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Geronimo]

I put 6 bottles aside for that reason, although every other CC and RJS kit I have is completely drinkable all the way to maturation. IMO no matter how young a wine is, it shouldn't turn nasty for a while with a taste that anyone would describe as a flaw. The 2 WE Selection International kits I've done, Petit Verdot and Malbec Shiraz, are both doing great after 8-12 months. Petit Verdot had me thinking it wasn't going to turn the corner, but it did. Neither of them exhibited this "taste".

My CC Red Mountain cab is much better in all respects and younger. I'm hoping that WE has taken all the feedback they've received and in recent years and it will show in their new lineup.

 

[zeus50]

man, i have mine bulk aging, i had high hopes for this one....

 

[Geronimo]

I wouldn't panic... there might have been batches that went out with a problem. I'd start with a taste test and see if you can perceive a flaw.

 

[zeus50]

i'm hoping to get to tasting it this weekend, or maybe next week.

 

[jdeere5220]

Was just following along this thread and it's a little bit confusing. I've made the Lodi Ranch 11 CabSav kit 4 times now, and I think it's the very best kit WineExpert makes. I've just started the new Eclipse version of the kit, which comes with a grape pack. I only hope it turns out even better, because this kit has always been superb.

 

[Geronimo]

Was just following along this thread and it's a little bit confusing. I've made the Lodi Ranch 11 CabSav kit 4 times now, and I think it's the very best kit WineExpert makes. I've just started the new Eclipse version of the kit, which comes with a grape pack. I only hope it turns out even better, because this kit has always been superb.

I'm glad to hear that, and I hope you have great things to say about the new kit. My initial impression was quite good (6-8 weeks old) but quickly changed after 3 months and continues to disappoint. I thought the taste would age away easily by now.

I've talked to a couple vendors that aren't carrying WE kits any more due to complaints so I'm really hoping all the feedback is positive from here on. I have 2 LHBS's that carry their entire line... but I'm getting spoiled with the online vendors.

 

[JohnnyRico]

My batch is now about 15 months old, and starting to come together on the taste and bouquet. Finish isnt as long as I had hoped and mouthfeel is so-so but who knows what another 12 months will do.

 

[wood1954]

i just bottled mine and it turned out reLly nice will let it age for a few more months, i bought my kit in july for 1/2 price so it was probBly a year and a half old already. very little oak flavor but way better than most wine i used to buy

 

[tonyt]

I just got the Eclipse version of this as my medal gift from last years winemakers magazine competition. I'm a fan of the Selection International with skins but have never done a straight cab. Hope I didnt waste my freebee. Arghhh. My second choice was going to be the Eclipse OVZ.

 

[terroirdejeroir]

I succumbed to a moment of weakness last night and opened a bottle of my LR11 that I bottled in June. My two previous samples were not particularly promising, but last night's was a very enthusiastic "Wow!".

Pretty amazing how much wine can change as it ages. Will do my best to keep away from it until it is twelve months old.

 

[Geronimo]

Mine is 19 months old now and still not getting better. Definitely a lot of KT. My Red Mountain Cab Sav tastes incredible, so I'm glad for that.

 

[Impiryo]

I started one in late September - as of bottling 2 weeks ago it was really good. I added a pound of raisins to the fermentation, which definitely helped. Unfortunately, at 1.5 months (after using all the oak), I decided that it needed more oak, and definitely over oaked it. It's still very good, but live and learn! I'm excited to see how it is in 6 months when the oak mellows, because it's so good now.