WineXpert WE Selection Australian Chardonnay

[jgmann67]

I'm having about the same experience in flavor development on the Pinot Grigio juice bucket I did in May. One thing is that the "hard edge" is somewhat appropriate to the Pinot Grigio flavor profile. It has a nice acidic slap you in the face flavor at this point. A lot of fruit comes through. Though it finished dry my Mom thought it was off dry, that is either all the fruit coming through or the Opti-white I added at the start of fermentation.



Becoming my wife's go to wine, all but one of the 375 ml bottles are gone (had 10 of them to start).

It will be interesting to see what an overnight in the fridge does to the taste.

Update - good and oaky. But, the assessment that this needs more time still stands.

 

[ceeaton]

It will be interesting to see what an overnight in the fridge does to the taste.

Update - good and oaky. But, the assessment that this needs more time still stands.

I'm missing what an overnight in the fridge does, unless the initial sample was warm?

 

[JimmyT]

I'd guess he's talking about letting the extra space and oxygen in the bottle act as a decanter. Young wines benefit from this. It changes the profile for sure

 

[jgmann67]

I'd guess he's talking about letting the extra space and oxygen in the bottle act as a decanter. Young wines benefit from this. It changes the profile for sure

Exactly the reason. Like a rose, it blooms and eventually withers with exposure.

 

[ceeaton]

Ah, I thought you just threw another bottle in there, didn't realize anyone around here ever opened a bottle and didn't finish the whole thing...my bad.

 

[jgmann67]

Ah, I thought you just threw another bottle in there, didn't realize anyone around here ever opened a bottle and didn't finish the whole thing...my bad.

That's funny right there.

 

[ibglowin]

Yep, good one Craig!

 

[jgmann67]

We had a bottle with dinner tonight. I'm entirely pleased with myself. It's even better after a few weeks and confirms that, in another 3-6 months, this will be exceptional.

 

[jgmann67]

This wine is now 10 months old. If the last post is the last time I tried it (I'm not entirely sure that's true), I'm due for another bottle soon.

 

[jgmann67]

Had a bottle with pork over the weekend. Light fruit in the background. Oak still dominating the foreground. Over the last bottle, I'd say the flavor is pretty static.

I should have probably refrigerated it longer so that I could allow it to open up a little more. But, I think as far as aging it... we're there.

 

[ceeaton]

I should have probably refrigerated it longer so that I could allow it to open up a little more. But, I think as far as aging it... we're there.

So you are saying you finished the whole bottle? Now that's more like it!

 

[jgmann67]

Three adults at the table. Yes, we finished that one and a Mist Peach Chard (which was surprisingly good after being recorked and in the fridge for a couple weeks).

 

[jgmann67]

Okay, had a bottle of this one mid week. Then finished it off this evening.

It opened up very nicely in the fridge in the last few days. It is very good, with absolutely no KT whatsoever. But, it also confirms in my head that French medium toast oak in the finish was probably too much. Next time, it's either a lighter American oak, or no oak at all, in the finish.

 

[jgmann67]

Sent a bottle to a friend knowing his wife likes a chard so oaky you spit splinters... I suggested a decanting in the fridge for a hour before drinking, just to open it up a bit. She's a snob about her wine, prefers Rombauer Chard, and I can count on her to be brutally honest. Her quote, "just how I like it, I am impressed."

Down to about a case of this left. I should tuck a few bottles away.

 

[jgmann67]

Down to one bottle in the rack and four in the vault. The wine is very good these days. I will savor them and see if mrs Mann would like another batch.

 

[jgmann67]

Four bottles left.

 

[jgmann67]

Next kit white wine for us is the SE International Aussie Chard. I picked it based on a handful of suggestions. But when I was opening the kit and doing inventory, I had one of those deja vu moments. So, I went through all the instructions for kits I’ve made and sure enough - this was my second or third kit back when I first started making wine.

And, this morning, I found this conversation thread about the experience.

It was pretty good then, winning a bronze in the NJ white and fruit wine competition in 2016. Let’s see if 3 years of experience will help make a better wine.

We’ll kit this off tonight.

 

[LouisCKpasteur]

i just bottled this after six months bulk aging. Was hoping to give a few out for Christmas. Not a big Chardonnay drinker myself. But I always keep something going to keep the ladies happy. Does this qualify as one of the fabled 'early drinkers'?

 

[jgmann67]

i just bottled this after six months bulk aging. Was hoping to give a few out for Christmas. Not a big Chardonnay drinker myself. But I always keep something going to keep the ladies happy. Does this qualify as one of the fabled 'early drinkers'?

I didn't think so when I made this one back when. But, I added extra oak and it took a little while to integrate. If you just bottled, no reason not to try one around Christmas. Maybe you get lucky.

 

[jgmann67]

Kicked off my fermentation. Added another 30g of French Medium Toast (for a total of 90g). I think I'm going to try battonnage with this wine. We'll rack at day 10-12, then stir the lees back into the wine every few days for a month. After letting it settle for an additional couple weeks, we'll rack the wine again.

Our OG is 1.090. Hopefully, we'll get 13% ABV, buttery soft, wine when we're done.