WineXpert WE Selection Luna (avec battonage)
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Just racked this one - 3 months in the carboy so far. Had a half glass while racking. Nice body, good nose of peach and a palate of pineapple. Dosed with KMeta. Thanks to the AIO, we got a bit more co2 out of it, too.
Silly question - if I'm not going to do anything more to it and will do another 3 months in the carboy, age in carboy longer, or just bottle after the next 3 month mark?
Silly question - if I'm not going to do anything more to it and will do another 3 months in the carboy, age in carboy longer, or just bottle after the next 3 month mark?
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britwinemaker
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Picked up this kit today. I'm thinking of going with Lalvin D-47 yeast to highlight the tropical and citrus fruit notes and pitching half the f-pack in the primary. I've read right through this thread and it seems everyone has done it somewhat differently - would anyone shout "No!" to these tweaks? I like a full-bodied dry white with lots of flavour!
I wouldn't call this one dry... It borders on off dry, especially if you split your FPac between primary and finish. But definitely full bodied, lots of fruit on the nose and palate.
Well, of course I won't shout "No" as that is close to what I (the OP) did. I put about 3/4 of the f-pack in primary, reserving about 1/4. This is fairly dry, but you can tell it is not bone dry. I am happy with this outcome.
Since I needed a carboy for next weekend when I rack the cab and give the OVZ it's new home, I decided that 4 months was enough for this chard. I like it now and don't plan on any additional tweakery. So, we put this one in the bottle. Just for good measure I racked to a clean carboy first and was surprised that I was able to squeeze a bite more co2 out in the racking.
I got 30 bottles at 750 and two 375's for tasting. The Luna is tasting like it will be ready pretty early. Will taste in two month intervals with the halfs and target a 6 month "ready for prime time".
Pre-label in a clear Bordeaux bottle really shows off the color.
Mrs Mann likes this one a lot. Now I'm going to make her wait 6 months till we will tap into this stock.
I got 30 bottles at 750 and two 375's for tasting. The Luna is tasting like it will be ready pretty early. Will taste in two month intervals with the halfs and target a 6 month "ready for prime time".
Pre-label in a clear Bordeaux bottle really shows off the color.
Mrs Mann likes this one a lot. Now I'm going to make her wait 6 months till we will tap into this stock.
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OP here!
I bottled the Luna Bianca this evening, 255 days after pitching yeast. I am quite pleased with it. As described above, I put 3/4 of the f-pac in primary, and 1/4 in after stabilization, and this resulted in a "just off-dry" wine. Just a hint of sweetness. It is definitely a full, rich, fat wine, which was my goal. However, the aromas include not only the "rich notes" (honeysuckle, apricot, honeydew), but also has undertones of citrus, apple, and a bit of acidity. It is very drinkable now.
I am going to be out of town for an extended period this summer. I gave the ladies in my life the go-ahead to drink as much of it this summer as they like, as long as they leave me at least one bottle. I will be interested to see how much remains when I return!!!
I bottled the Luna Bianca this evening, 255 days after pitching yeast. I am quite pleased with it. As described above, I put 3/4 of the f-pac in primary, and 1/4 in after stabilization, and this resulted in a "just off-dry" wine. Just a hint of sweetness. It is definitely a full, rich, fat wine, which was my goal. However, the aromas include not only the "rich notes" (honeysuckle, apricot, honeydew), but also has undertones of citrus, apple, and a bit of acidity. It is very drinkable now.
I am going to be out of town for an extended period this summer. I gave the ladies in my life the go-ahead to drink as much of it this summer as they like, as long as they leave me at least one bottle. I will be interested to see how much remains when I return!!!
Two months later and this one is drinking wonderfully. I will make this one again without hesitation. The minor tweaks I did were absolutely spot on for me.
3.5 months after bottling. It's a charmer.
This wine will be my entry into the great white wine contest.
This wine will be my entry into the great white wine contest.
I'm just going to relabel the bottle you gave me and enter it, so there!
How do you think it would pair with BBQ chicken and corn? The BBQ sauce isn't hot per say, but has a base of vinegar, mustard, onion and lemon, finished off with some Worchestershire sauce and Heinz ketchup. A thin sauce that penetrates the meat really well.
Edit: Too late, we opened it so she could have a pre-dinner glass. She smelled the oak and got worried, but upon tasting was quite pleased. She thinks she's tasting some coconut in it. I haven't tasted it yet because I'm nursing a beer. Will have a glass with dinner and report later.
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It's fine with BBQ I think.
Yes it was. That is a very nice wine. Wifey made me add it to my to do list, hopefully next Spring.
Noticed that my wife hadn't polished off the bottle on Sunday, so after some beer and a Pinot Noir small tasting (less than an ounce) drank a glass of water and poured a healthy glass of this. I'll have to say the body reminds me of the Eclipse Dry Creek version when it was young (like 5 months or so). I am not worried but would expect some of the more vibrant flavors to die back a bit as it gets dryer (to whatever point it will since it did have some of the f-pack added after stabilization). I expect the oak will become more noticeable as it ages. The Eclipse has lost most of it's fruitiness, but is becoming a very good unoaked Chardonnay. Only problem is that 1 of the cases was for my Mom's 82nd b-day present at the end of June, so I'm down to a few precious bottles, and no funds to allocate towards another kit.
Guess I'll save some money and order one of these, it is a very nice wine, very enjoyable for so young. And what seals the deal is that my wife really likes it.
BTW, the oak doesn't wack you in the head with the initial sip, it slowly emerges as the fruitiness dies back in the finish. Very nicely balanced for such a young wine.
Guess I'll save some money and order one of these, it is a very nice wine, very enjoyable for so young. And what seals the deal is that my wife really likes it.
BTW, the oak doesn't wack you in the head with the initial sip, it slowly emerges as the fruitiness dies back in the finish. Very nicely balanced for such a young wine.
Awesome. Appreciate the kind words. The only appreciable tweak to this kid was dropping part of the FPac into the primary, from what I remember.
I had a glass left over on a bottle I opened on Saturday and had a similar experience. It was very good on Monday... Softer.
Label Peelers has this one for $86. A steal, I think, for as happy as I am with it.
I had a glass left over on a bottle I opened on Saturday and had a similar experience. It was very good on Monday... Softer.
Label Peelers has this one for $86. A steal, I think, for as happy as I am with it.
With only three bottles of the Luna Bianca left, I stopped fighting the temptation to pick up another Luna kit from my LHBS (got them to knock 15% making them competitive with my favorite online retailer). It's on deck to start after the RQ French Cab this spring.
