What's in your glass tonight?

[Hazelemere]

Petite Pinnacle 2021, 2023

This is 25% Lodi Mettler Amarone style grapes from 2021 at sky high brix (SG 1.120, PA 16.0) blended with 75% Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon from 2023 at PA 14.0 to drop the alcohol of the petite sirah and improve the Cab flavour to PA 14.5%, both fermented with RC212 yeast and oaked with medium toast American cubes during MLF all grapes uncrushed and destemmed.

Here are my comments on this blend in a glass from my cooler:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good rich nose - black licorice, cocoa, plums, cigar box, tar

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - intense, rich. the Cab improves the Petite Sirah by giving it more balance. Should be good with pepper steak or osso buco. One word to describe this - ballsy. My wife Carol will enjoy it when the tannin drops in the next 2-3 years. She really likes Petite Sirah. The Petite Sirah is very intense even at this % level so I'll make some for her and my son-in-law who has the Petite Sirah and then bottle my remaining Cab on its own or spike it with 2024 homegrown Marechal Foch and/or Regent in whole or in part.

retaste:

Petite Pinnacle 2021, 2023

Here are my comments on this blend in a glass from my cooler:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good rich nose - black licorice, cocoa, plums, cigar box, tar

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - intense, rich. the Cab improves the Petite Sirah by giving it more balance (lower alcohol and higher acid). This is my wife's primo red. She'll have it with a really tasty fresh cross rib pot roast with potatoes, carrots, peas and corn that had fresh garden herbs sage, lemon thyme and oregano plus salt free beef stock and regent black iris cooking wine put into it with sauteed garlic and sauteed homegrown organic young onions including the green parts, smoked paprika, tamari and worcestershire sauce..

 

[Hazelemere]

Retaste of the Cyser 2023:

Appearance - clear, yellow, trace of petillance

Smell - very fragrant from the honey

Tannin - slightly high but ok (tannin from Russets and honey)

Acid - good

Flavour - rich, slightly sweet and tannic, with a long finish. This should be good in prawn linguine or pork chow mein. So I'll rebottle some of it in a split for that purpose.

Then I retasted the un-rebottled Cyser 50/50 with Apple Edelzwicker 2022 (i.e. Cyser Pyment in a glass. Here are my comments on this blend:

Appearance - clear, lemon yellow, trac of petillance

Smell - complex rich smell from the apples, muscat varietals in the Edelzwicker and the honey

Tannin - good

Flavour - this is rich, complex and tasty, still has the slight sweetness but the 2nd run white grape (Edelzwicker from Siegerrebe and Ortega) makes it much more interesting. This is definitely worth making again from homegrown apples and grapes with unpasteurized local honey (blueberry, cranberry or raspberry blossom).

Retaste of Cyser 2023:

Appearance - clear, yellow gold

Smell - very fragrant from the honey

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - rich, and tasty, slightly sweet, with a long slightly tannic finish from the russet and honey tannin. This is fine but I like it better less sweet. Having said that, everyone's palate is different i.e. this is tailor made for people who like their wines off dry.

 

[Hazelemere]

Another blend in a glass experiment:

1/3 Muscat Auslese 2023 (homegrown organic Siegerrebe and Ortega at SG 1.093)

2/3 Cyser 2023 (homegrown organic russet (major) and cox plus king (homegrown organic) chaptalized with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey) to ~SG 1.085

Appearance - deep yellow

Smell - rich, intense nose from honey and muscat grapes

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour- this is rich and tasty. If I made it again I'd mix 2nd run homegrown white wine grapes un-chaptalized with cyser in a similar ratio to get a "cyser pyment" and then make an apple edelzwicker as a second flavour (apple juice chaptalized with cane sugar and second run white un-chaptalized with no water added). That way I could keep the 1st run white separate.

 

[Hazelemere]

Menagerie 2020-2021

Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon, Sheridan Syrah, Amador Cabernet Sauvignon, Dineen Cabernet Franc 2020 with Mettler Petite Sirah (74%) - Regent (homegrown) 26% 2021

I have 4 left. Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance - purple ink

Smell - delicate, complex nose

Tannin - really good

Acid - slightly high but only very slightly which tells me that this wine (last 4 bottles) need to age e.g. (8 years! drink one every 2 years)

Flavour - this is intense, full on red wine. It tastes like it can only improve with age and needs to age. My tastebuds tell me that this has serious legs because of the good tannin and slightly high acid level. So I'll leave it alone for at least 2 years before I taste it again. If it lasts 8 years without starting to oxidize then it will be 11-12 years old. I'm tempted to not taste it again for another 4 years with something like prime rib, roast lamb or roast goose at a family dinner. This has the potential to be sensational when it peaks but right now I'd rate it young and very good.

24 hours later i.e. next day from the aerated bottle from yesterday:

Smell - more intense than yesterday - cocoa, chinese 5 spice, cola

Tannin - good

Acid - very slightly high but that is ok since the last 4 bottles will age

Flavour - this is really intense and tasty with a really good aftertaste. However it tastes like it could be even better i.e. excellent if it is allowed to age, I'm guessing 4 years. This wine tastes like it can handle 4 years of aging no-problemo. It is a shame to drink heavy duty red wines too young.........so I won't.

 

[Hazelemere]

a retaste:

Apple Edelzwicker 2021-2022

This is homegrown organic apple juice from ground and pressed apples (russet, king, cox) mixed with homegrown organic grape skins and 1st run juice sediment with pectic enzyme and re-pressed (includes Siegerrebe, Ortega, Reichensteiner and Madeleine Angevine). Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance - clear yellow

Smell - good, rich, intense, fragrant, smell is first class. The smell lingers.

Tannin - good

Acid - perfect

Flavour - this is first class...my palate. rich, tasty and balanced with a really good finish. Making it again is a no-brainer. I'll absolutely make it again as an everyday house white wine. This is a perfect way to use apples and 2nd run white wine from grapes with no water added, no sugar added to the 2nd run (Edelzwicker) and sugar added to the apple juice with pectic enzyme and bentonite treated mid ferment on all of the pressed juice from apple pulp, grape skins and grape juice sediment..

a retaste (I have 2 left to share with my wife Carol today with panko halibut burgers):

Appearance - clear yellow, slight gold

Smell - good, rich, intense, fragrant, smell is first class. The smell lingers.

Tannin - very good

Acid - perfect

Flavour - this is really good (my palate) with a really good finish. If you've read my comments on any wines I've made you may think I'm biased. I don't think that is true. I was ranked 1st out 200 winemakers 2 years in a row with fruit wine (raspberry) against all comers. I've been a wine judge and take my craft seriously. I've made tons of crap wines but not in the last 30 years. My winemaking improved overnight when I read "Knowing and Making Wine" by Emile Peynaud (you can find it on Amazon). I'm still learning e.g. using new yeasts that I hadn't used before 71B (this website), V13 (from my grape supplier recommendation, D47 (this website) plus yeasts that I have properly e.g. RC21 with vitamin B containing nutrient (recommendation this website). If you truly serious about improving your craft, then slowly digest absolutely everything that you can read on this website. It won't be a speedy event and there is no reason why it should be. Good luck with your wines!