What's in your glass tonight?

[winemaker81]

Oh, I wish I had bought that calendar this year. We have a member of our wine club who has tasted (and has records of tasting) something like 280 different varietals of wines made from grapes. Always on the lookout for new ones to offer her to taste. Last year, the calendar didn't have anything unusual enough, so we didn't look really hard at this years.

This year's contained mostly southern, central, and eastern European wines, with a few from other areas. It's wines I'd never heard of and am unlikely to find elsewhere.

The cost of $4 USD per split is a good price.

Plus I have 20 new split bottles! [it will be 40 when the second case is gone!]

 

[ibglowin]

We've made stunning Grenache usually blended with a bit of Washington Mourvedre and Syrah or Malbec. I've had 100% Grenache which was excellent. How do you like this one?

It was good. Not what I would call outstanding or memorable though. Pretty light for a red wine with nice cherry, orange, pomegranate notes. Light on oak. Light tannin. I would give it a solid 89-90pts. The price point however is too high IMHO but it was good to try this particular winemakers style. I can find better WA State GSM blends for better price points than this wine. So this is a one and done for me.

 

[geek]

 

[Boatboy24]

It's been a long week already. But this is helping.

 

[Hazelemere]

This is Petite Pinnacle 2020-2021 all from hand destemmed uncrushed grapes blended to drop the alcohol on Amarone style
Lodi Mettler Vineyard grapes as follows:

Petite Pinnacle 2020 - 2021
Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon JJ 2020	27.0​	11.7%	1.100​	0.80​	13.3​
Amador Cabernet Sauvignon JJ 2020	12.0​	5.2%	1.107	0.75	14.5​
Sheridan Syrah JJ 2020	12.0​	5.2%	1.114	0.70	15.6​
Amador Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 KO	90.0​	39.0%	1.107	0.70	14.5​
Petite Sirah KO 2021	68.3​	29.6%	1.120​	0.70​	16.6​
Regent KO 2021	21.7​	9.4%	1.082	0.85	10.6​
	231.0​	100.0%	1.108​	0.73​	14.6​

KO is me JJ is my son in law
2nd column is the blend 3rd column is SG 4th column is acid . Last column is alcohol. Bottom row is the blend. Pinnacle is Cabernet.
Regent is from my vineyard.

I made this for my wife who likes low acid, smooth, rich, fragrant reds. This turned out exactly the way she likes it. I like it too.

 

[David Violante]

With a name like this, I had to try it. Very smooth… vanilla, cherry, a bit of oak, maybe some tobacco. The picture is from online, we were out and I didn’t catch a picture of the bottle.

 

[cmason1957]

One of my wife's favorite wines comes from Michael David Petite Petite, a blend of petite Sryah and petite Verdot. It punches well above is $12-13 weight class. The Sryah from the same company is very good as well. Both have unique labels like that one, circus themed.

 

[Hazelemere]

I'm tasting Tripleberry Chambord 2021 which is wild organic blackberries, homegrown organic raspberries, dried elderberries and Chambord using bayanus yeast..

Here are my comments:

Colour: inky purple red

Smell: nice fruity nose

Tannin: perfect

Acid: perfect

Sweetness: good - not cloying but next time I may drop it a bit.

Flavour: intense, rich fruit port. This is really good.

Aftertaste and finish: long and rich. This is first class fruit port.

If you want me to post my recipe in detail I will. I've made Tripleberry Cassis which is also really good but if I had to pick my favourite fruit port after 55 years of winemaking I'd pick this one.

Klaus

 

[Shurt1073]

Trying new Pinot Noir's

 

[Hazelemere]

Moraine 2022

a 60/40 homegrown blend of organic Regent and Marechal Foch

I had to treat this with Acidex and potassium carbonate to drop tartaric acid.

Smell - smoky, leather, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, red currants, pomegranate

Acid - fine

Tannin - fine

Flavour - decent and balanced

I blended nearly all of this to repair a Sheridan Syrah. That wine is better than this but this is okay. I usually use Marechal Foch and Regent to raise the acid and drop the alcohol on fresh Washington or California grapes to get the alcohol below 15%.

 

[ibglowin]

Well not only did this NS it went really well with............

Ho-made Pizza!

 

[Boatboy24]

Well not only did this NS it went really well with............

Ho-made Pizza!

View attachment 98430

You had me at 'Zinfandel'...

Oh, and look who's estate vineyard it came from!

 

[geek]

Total relax

 

[Shurt1073]

Still trying dryer wines .... I'm gonna figure it out. Friends bought this wine for us last night.

 

[bstnh1]

View attachment 98485

Still trying dryer wines .... I'm gonna figure it out. Friends bought this wine for us last night.

16%. That's pretty rough, IMO. How was it?

 

[Shurt1073]

16%. That's pretty rough, IMO. How was it?

Mixed emotions. First, I'm trying new wines and dry wines this year. Always been a sweet or semi-sweet wine drinker so this is an adjustment but I'm determined to make some dry wine and sample dryer wines. I've been sticking to $11 - $16 but this was a $30+ bottle of wine purchased by friends. It was smooth with an oaky taste and maybe some vanilla .... sorta earthy tasting too. I'm not skilled enough to give you a good review but at 16% it is the highest alcohol Pinot Noir I've tasted. It was not a crazy alcohol-ie taste if that makes any sense.

 

[Hazelemere]

This is Pinnacle of Sirah 2021-2022 blended as follows to drop the alcohol and raise the acid on sky high brix almost raisined (Amarone like) Lodi Mettler Vineyard Petite Sirah hand destemmed and fermented with RC 212 yeast, and then blended with 3 Cabernets Regent and Marechal Foch as follows:

2nd column is % of the variety in the blend e.g. Petite Sirah is 39%, Cabernet is 38%, Foch and Regent 16%, Final alcohol 14.6% Acid is boosted with the Foch and Regent. This was treated with medium toast American oak cubes, 6 per Imperial gallon during MLF. No sulphiting until racking at the end of MLF. Total sulphite about 85 ppm, free sulphite at bottling ~28 ppm.

Comments:

colour - purple ink from Petite Syrah, Foch and Regent

smell - smoke, blackberries, elderberries, coffee, chocolate, tobacco, plums figs

tannin - perfect (shows what hand destemming and uncrushed ferments do)

acid - fine

flavoured - balanced, rich, fragrant, good finish with lots of smooth skin tannins

Should age really well and should taste good with roast leg of lamb or prime rib.

I think that it will improve for at least 5 years in my cooler set to 57 Fahrenheit, to drop the tannin to maximize richness and smoothness

This is my wife's style so I will save it for her. If you have homegrown Regent or Foch then this is a perfect way to use it e.g. in a blend with commercial Lodi Petite Sirah or Washington Syrah with or without Cabernet Sauvignon.

Pinnacle of Sirah 2020-21
Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon JJ 2020	35.4​	14.0%	1.100​	0.80​	13.3​
Amador Cabernet Sauvignon JJ 2020	7.2​	2.9%	1.107	0.75	14.5​
Sheridan Syrah JJ 2020	17.4​	6.9%	1.114	0.70	15.6​
Petite Sirah JJ 2021	54.4​	21.6%	1.120​	0.70​	16.6​
Regent JJ 2021	5.6​	2.2%	1.082	0.85	10.6​
Amador Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 KO	55.0​	21.8%	1.107	0.70	14.5​
Petite Sirah KO 2021	39.5​	15.7%	1.120​	0.70​	16.6​
Regent KO 2021	12.5​	5.0%	1.082	0.85	10.6​
Marechal Foch KO 2021	25.0​	9.9%	1.092	0.90	12.1​
	252.0​	100.0%​	1.108​	0.75​	14.6​

 

[Hazelemere]

Mixed emotions. First, I'm trying new wines and dry wines this year. Always been a sweet or semi-sweet wine drinker so this is an adjustment but I'm determined to make some dry wine and sample dryer wines. I've been sticking to $11 - $16 but this was a $30+ bottle of wine purchased by friends. It was smooth with an oaky taste and maybe some vanilla .... sorta earthy tasting too. I'm not skilled enough to give you a good review but at 16% it is the highest alcohol Pinot Noir I've tasted. It was not a crazy alcohol-ie taste if that makes any sense.

If you want to try high end Pinot Noir at a reasonable price try this

Mixed emotions. First, I'm trying new wines and dry wines this year. Always been a sweet or semi-sweet wine drinker so this is an adjustment but I'm determined to make some dry wine and sample dryer wines. I've been sticking to $11 - $16 but this was a $30+ bottle of wine purchased by friends. It was smooth with an oaky taste and maybe some vanilla .... sorta earthy tasting too. I'm not skilled enough to give you a good review but at 16% it is the highest alcohol Pinot Noir I've tasted. It was not a crazy alcohol-ie taste if that makes any sense.

If you want to taste high end Pinot Noir at a reasonable price try this for any vintage. New Zealand Central Otago:

https://zyn.ca/products/akarua-rua-...t8ZojfGCG5a8dd_UivVj_FjsqeJIo61BoCOZIQAvD_BwE

 

[heatherd]

I'm having this tonight, as I like to celebrate the Valentine month with pink wine, pink sparkling wine, and white sparkling wine.

 

[jswordy]

Mmm... Finding this has gotten spotty around here, so when I ran across three 12-packs, I bought them all.