What's in your glass tonight?

[Boatboy24]

Not much more than melon on the nose. But tasting; I get melon, stone fruit (peaches mostly) and a crisp acidity that is definitely there, but still allows the fruit to shine. There is a hint of citrus on the finish. I didn't get the floral notes that the label claims are there, but this is a very good wine that I'll buy more of. I recommend.

 

[Boatboy24]

We were at my parents' place yesterday and Dad broke out a bottle of 2006 Pride Merlot in honor of my BDay.

 

[Elmer]

Wife grabbed this for me, yet another reason I love her dearly....



Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[spaniel]

2012 Spaniel Cellars Cayuga White (Free Run). That vintage I ran an experiment of free run vs pressed vs re-pressed grapes. The pressed won a bronze at the Indy wine competition, I sent the wrong one in as the free run proved to be the best of the lot.

As a result of the ~100 year winter we just had I'm about to take a chainsaw to these vines and regrow them from the root. So a bit of nostalgia is in order. 2013 was a yeast test on the same batch of juice from these vines. More later but the results were very interesting. Too bad it will be a couple years before I have the grapes to act on it.

 

[ibglowin]

2009 Orin Swift "Abstract" Talk about Jammy! Loads of red fruit, perfect oak, smooth as silk tannins. Went very well with the Pulled Pork and Baby Backs!

 

[Boatboy24]

2013 CA Grand Red. Coming along nicely.

 

[GreginND]

A most excellent quaff from Cotes Catalanes made from 100% grenache.

 

[Boatboy24]

Leftovers from my WE Grenache Rose bottling this morning. Lot's of great strawberry aromas and flavors up front. Well balanced acid. A little sorbate/kit taste, but that will fade in time. I'm sure that by mid summer it will be quite good, and by next summer, outstanding.

 

[Julie]

2011 ElderCherry. I have not had this close to six months. I totally forgot how good this is. I made a cherry wine and added the elderberries from the elderberry wine that I was also making. Great color, mouthfeel is very full, nice crisp finish. You get a nice cherry taste that finishes with an elderberry taste. I'm likin it!

 

[sour_grapes]

On a whim, I opened a bottle of CC Sterling Merlot, my very first kit. It is not quite yet a year old, and has not been very good on previous samplings. It is really starting to come around, though! Quite passable already. I am encouraged.

 

[Boatboy24]

On a whim, I opened a bottle of CC Sterling Merlot, my very first kit. It is not quite yet a year old, and has not been very good on previous samplings. It is really starting to come around, though! Quite passable already. I am encouraged.

That was one of my early kits. My sentiments were pretty close to yours. Passable, but a little disappointing. I opened one about two weeks ago. Nearly two years old, it's now tasting like Merlot. And an OK one at that.

 

[cimbaliw]

WE Selection series Malbec. No tweaks. Pitched 2/27, bottled 4/24. This is a surveillance check of a wine that has been solid from the start. I suspect in 12 months it will be a favorite. In retrospect I probably should have added about 1/4t of Tannin Riche. Regardless at a production cost of $4.00/ bottle, I ain't complainin'!

 

[cmason1957]

I am having a glass from the leftover of a blackberry port I made this past year. It is really tasty. I can't wait for it to get some age on it.

 

[sour_grapes]

WE Selection series Malbec. No tweaks. Pitched 2/27, bottled 4/24. This is a surveillance check of a wine that has been solid from the start. I suspect in 12 months it will be a favorite. In retrospect I probably should have added about 1/4t of Tannin Riche. Regardless at a production cost of $4.00/ bottle, I ain't complainin'!

The WE Argentine Malbec was my first "real" WE kit (others had all been CC, except for a WE Mezza Luna). Pitched yeast on the Malbec in 12/14/2013, bottled 3/29/2014; tweaks were RP15 yeast, and 1.5 g Tannin Riche. Anyway, I thought it was fantastic at bottling. I suspect you are correct about it being a future fave!

I have since purchased a CC Showcase Argentinian Malbec (to compare), and I have decided to do a bunch of WE kits, again, for general comparison purposes.

 

[cimbaliw]

I'm with you Paul. I've done a bella luva malbec juice bucket to compare. I did add 10oz raisins during secondary + 4T oak powder tannins. It won't be a fair comparison but I hope I'll be savvy enough to account for the tweaks come tasting time.

Bill C.

 

[ibglowin]

Went to some good friends house last night for a very special dinner and a Châteauneuf-du-Pape tasting/pairing! Quite the event. They are leaving for a 2 week trip to France soon and will be combining some business travel meetings with Holiday travel that will include the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC. Started out with Hors d'oeuvres of various cheeses, prosciutto, olives with a bottle of Prosecco. Then on to the salad course. This was followed up with the main course of beef bourguignon served over polenta with ratatouille on the side. We had 3 bottles of Châteauneuf-du-Pape to taste first before the main course and then with the main course. One was a 97pt Wine Spectator wine! Highest scoring wine I have tasted to date. The other two were both 92pt Wine Spectator wines. All were very young (2010) and had many years of life in them. I actually preferred one of the 92pt wines over the 97pt wine but they were ALL amazing! LOL

Dessert was something special as well. A lovely fresh berry fruit tart served with another amazing wine, this time a 2000 Chateau Dereszla Tokaji (Hungarian dessert wine) that scored 95pts Wine Spectator.

Posting a pic of the Hungarian wine for you JohnT!

 

[byathread]

I'm not a big dessert wine guy, but tasted a Hungarian Tokaji Azsu wine in the mid-2000s that was very memorable. In the midst of a mead-making frenzy at the time I promptly made my attempt at a Tokaji-like mead. Used a combination of orange blossom honey, muscat concentrate and white raisins. While no famous Hungarian wine it was quite a hit and, despite my patient nature, didn't manage to save any bottles past a couple years (though it was only a 3 gal batch).

 

[GreginND]

I have had that Tokaji before. I may even have a bottle left in my cellar. It was excellent.

 

[ibglowin]

Here is the 97pt WS Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Actually not a bad price for such a high scoring wine! LOL

As you can see by the tasting notes, it was just a baby………

DOMAINE DE BEAURENARD
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard 2010
Score: 97
Release Price: $70
Country: France
Region: Southern Rhône
Issue: Nov 15, 2012

Contains some exotic fruit—blueberry paste, boysenberry and raspberry confiture, and pastis-soaked currant—but it's a brick house too, with Turkish coffee, bittersweet chocolate and lots of singed wood spice notes fanning out on the finish. A great spine allows the elements to echo through the finish without faltering. Best from 2015 through 2030. 750 cases made. –JM

 

[toddrod]

Muscadine, wether it be red, white or a blend, in my glass pretty much every night.