Tonight is a Gin Old Fashioned with this absolute gem… and I love their story, including “Bees Knees Week”. This version of their gin is barrel aged and has a distinctive raw honey flavor with oak.
What's in your glass tonight?
- Thread starter Boatboy24
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Last night I opened a bottle of my 2022 Tempranillo 5% blend -- supposedly it's 95% Tempranillo, 5% of a Rhone Blend (Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Syrah). Due to barrel topup, it's actually 91% Tempranillo, 9% Rhone blend.
It spent 12 months in barrel and has been in the bottle since November 2023.
Per usual, I sampled straight from the bottle and through a duck-neck aerator. The straight wine was a bit acidic and rough. The aerated wine was better, but had an off flavor that disappointed me. Good thing I only have 2 cases, right?
Today I poured a glass from the bottle (through the aerator) while starting dinner. WOW! It's a totally different wine after setting on the counter (half full) for 24 hours.
Also today I opened a new bottle for cooking, and experienced the same result as last night. The experience tells me the wine is no where near ready for serving -- it needs another year in the bottle. After that, we'll see how it's doing.
What is it that I say? Patience, Grasshopper.
I also say to taste wines periodically, as it helps us understand how they age.
It spent 12 months in barrel and has been in the bottle since November 2023.
Per usual, I sampled straight from the bottle and through a duck-neck aerator. The straight wine was a bit acidic and rough. The aerated wine was better, but had an off flavor that disappointed me. Good thing I only have 2 cases, right?
Today I poured a glass from the bottle (through the aerator) while starting dinner. WOW! It's a totally different wine after setting on the counter (half full) for 24 hours.
Also today I opened a new bottle for cooking, and experienced the same result as last night. The experience tells me the wine is no where near ready for serving -- it needs another year in the bottle. After that, we'll see how it's doing.
What is it that I say? Patience, Grasshopper.
I also say to taste wines periodically, as it helps us understand how they age.
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Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
I was at the wedding of my good friend's daughter last weekend. She and her husband had selected a 'Bee's Knees' cocktail as one of the signature drinks at the reception. it was gin, honey and lemon juice. It was pretty good.
retaste:
Appearance - clear, yellow gold
Smell - very fragrant from the honey
Tannin - good
Acid - good
Flavour - rich, and tasty, very slightly sweet, with a good aftertaste. Unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey and russets seem to go together.
Russet Fizzbomb 2023 (aka Hobo Champagne)
Appearance - golden, fairly clear, lots of tiny bubbles, very foamy on pouring.
Smell - yeasty good Russet apple nose
Tannin - good
Acid - good
Flavour - I wish I had more! If I do I'll have to look for it. My wife likes it too. It is still bubbling after 10 minutes in the glass.
Appearance - golden, fairly clear, lots of tiny bubbles, very foamy on pouring.
Smell - yeasty good Russet apple nose
Tannin - good
Acid - good
Flavour - I wish I had more! If I do I'll have to look for it. My wife likes it too. It is still bubbling after 10 minutes in the glass.
Retaste:
retaste:
Appearance: inky purple
Smell - smoked duck, venison, cocoa, prune plums
Tannin - good
Acid - good
Flavour - this is good to now good-very good house red, the best unblended one I've ever made in over 30 years. 71B/RC212 yeast combo seems to improve it a lot. This was oaked with medium toast American oak cubes and went through natural malolactic fermentation. If it ages it should improve even more. The aftertaste is long and good. I'll do the same ferment this year 2 ways 1) without wild cherries 2) with wild cherries. This year's blackberry crop is tasty but miniscule so I may not ferment any blackberries. We use them to make juice and blackberry crumble with transparent apples.
I'm tempted to make Marechal Foch Port with the wild cherries using EC1118 yeast and leave the cherries out of the table wine. I've decided to do this experience..................try to make a killer Port!
i.e. Marechal Foch Wild Cherry Port 2024
Iris is my neighbour who has the wild cherry tree with killer wild black cherries. Her mate Rick helped me pick the killer wild cherries.
I will do this with EC1118 yeast from the start with pitted wild cherries from the start. I think that I will add dried elderberries to really drive it home.
I've been making wines for 56 years and only learned how make really decent wines for 28 years. i.e. I made a lot of crap for a long time! I think that I know how to not make crap. Having said that I can occasionally screw up but that doesn't happen very often now. I really focus on getting better as a winemaker and I have to say to say that all of you have helped me to do that.
Namaste
Klaus
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Chardonnay Ambrosia 2021-2022
This is Chardonnay spiked with fresh ground and pressed Okanagan Ambrosia apples
Appearance - clear, lemon yellow
Smell - good nose. Ambrosia improves it.
Tannin - good
Acid - very slightly flat but not by much (my wife will like it so I'll leave the rest for her)
Flavour- this is tasty, low acid with a pleasant aftertaste. If I used Ambrosia again I'd cut it into something with more acid like my Russet apple as apple wine or with honey as a cyser or even 2nd run white wine grapes.
This is Chardonnay spiked with fresh ground and pressed Okanagan Ambrosia apples
Appearance - clear, lemon yellow
Smell - good nose. Ambrosia improves it.
Tannin - good
Acid - very slightly flat but not by much (my wife will like it so I'll leave the rest for her)
Flavour- this is tasty, low acid with a pleasant aftertaste. If I used Ambrosia again I'd cut it into something with more acid like my Russet apple as apple wine or with honey as a cyser or even 2nd run white wine grapes.
I felt like tasting it again so I think I'll bottle into a split to leave 3.5 bottles to age:
Smell - cocoa, chinese 5 spice, cola, elderberries
Tannin - good
Acid - very slightly high but okay
Flavour - rich and tasty with a good aftertaste. Tannin lingers in the mouth so it should have no problem aging via tannin and acid.
2017 cherry/ plum blend. Very nice flavor and aroma
, it tastes somewhat sweet but it’s a dry wine.
, it tastes somewhat sweet but it’s a dry wine.
retaste:
Black Iris Foch Syrah 2022-23
wild blackberries, wild black cherries (pitted), dried elderberries, Sheridan Syrah (repair job), homegrown organic Marechal Foch
Appearance - inky purple, slight fizz
Smell - complex, wild cherries, caramel, cocoa, Chinese 5 spice, roast duck, marzipan
Tannin - good
Acid- good
Flavour - this is interesting. I won't make it again because the Syrah was a train wreck one-off which this blend was an attempt to fix. This is a decent, rich house red with a unique and interesting aftertaste. I think that it would make a killer marinade for duck or any wild meat - venison, wild boar, elk or moose. I'll keep what I have left (a few bottles) as a marinade for wild meat. My son in law and his brothers are hunters.
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congratulations!
retaste (I have 6 left after this):
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, prunes, 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. I'll age it for her so she can drink it with a really good steak. She'll have it today with a really tasty broiled prime rib steak, with garlic mashed home-grown organic potatoes and garlic with fresh organic homegrown pole wax beans and a really tasty organic blackberry apple crumble with vanilla or chocolate ice cream. I mention organic all of the time because trust me it makes a real difference e.g. no glyphosate (Round-up) in your gut, no synthetic fungicides in your stomach. I know I could kill all of the wasps and hornets in my vineyard with synthetic insecticides but I'd rather trap them simultaneously with 3 different traps 1) strawberry jam jars 2) yellow jacket pheromones 3) W-H-Y traps. I'll cull damaged grapes from wasps and/or powdery mildew by hand before I crush and press without any remorse. i.e. I'll joyfully get what I get!
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Petite Pinnacle in a glass 50/50 with Black Iris Foch Syrah
Appearance - clear, inky purple
Smell - good clean nose, very complex, hard to describe
Tannin - good
Acid - good
Flavour - rich and tasty red. It has tannin in the aftertaste. This blend in a glass is fine
Appearance - inky purple
Smell - good clean nose, a bit non-descript right out of my cooler
Tannin - good
Acid - good, maybe slightly high but the acid will help this age
Flavour - surprise! This I can rate as "good", not very good or excellent but certainly good. It has a promising aftertaste.
Appearance - clear, inky purple
Smell - good clean nose, very complex, hard to describe
Tannin - good
Acid - good
Flavour - rich and tasty red. It has tannin in the aftertaste. This blend in a glass is fine
retaste:
Appearance - inky purple
Smell - good clean nose, a bit non-descript right out of my cooler
Tannin - good
Acid - good, maybe slightly high but the acid will help this age
Flavour - surprise! This I can rate as "good", not very good or excellent but certainly good. It has a promising aftertaste.
Pacific Muscat Spatlese/Auslese 2023-2024
This is a blend in a glass from my cooler of a very fragrant but slightly flat homegrown Siegerrebe-Ortega Auslese (SG 1.093) blended about 40/60 with my 2024 Australian Orange Muscat SG 1.083 from Fresco juice. Here are my comments:
Appearance - pale lemon yellow
Smell - good clean rich muscat nose that lingers
Tannin - good
Acid - good (not flat at all)
Flavour - this is good rich and tasty muscat. It has a good aftertaste and tastes like it will improve if it ages.
So now I'll try it blended 60/40 with Washington Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay fermented with 71B yeast to boost the acid since 71B drops malic acid. Here are my comments on this blend:
Pacific Muscat Chardonnay
Appearance - lemon yellow
Smell - very nice the Muscat improves the "buttered popcorn" Washington Chardonnay and the Chardonnay makes the Muscat blend more complex
Tannin - good
Acid - good
Flavour - this is really tasty with a good aftertaste and long finish. My son in law and I have a lot of Sheridan Chardonnay (mostly his) in the cooler to improve and we both made 2024 Fresco Australian Orange Muscat plus Fresco Chilean Viognier. I will be making Siegerrebe with as much Ortega as I can get. I'll certainly make a non-Chardonnay Muscat blend but will also certainly make a Muscat-Washington Chardonnay blend (I will get more Chardonnay as we both blend Siegerrebe-Ortega 2024). We should have enough white wines this year to make some really good Muscat blends. I'll also use any excellent condition white grape skins possibly including a first run Madeleine Angevine and/or Reichensteiner to blend with organic fresh ground and pressed Russet/Cox/King apple juice to make Apple Edelzwicker 2024. If I get a really good Madeleine Angevine (smells like nutmeg at SG 1.085+) I'll make it as a first run and use the skins in the Apple Edelzwicker. If I get a bumper crop of russets I may also make a small batch of Cyser Edelwicker i.e a Cyser Pyment 2024. That actually sounds good. I'll try to make Apple Edelzwicker 2024 (main wine) and Cyser Pyment 2024 (minor wine) e.g. 75/25 split.
Good luck to all of you with your wines!
Namaste
Klaus
This is a blend in a glass from my cooler of a very fragrant but slightly flat homegrown Siegerrebe-Ortega Auslese (SG 1.093) blended about 40/60 with my 2024 Australian Orange Muscat SG 1.083 from Fresco juice. Here are my comments:
Appearance - pale lemon yellow
Smell - good clean rich muscat nose that lingers
Tannin - good
Acid - good (not flat at all)
Flavour - this is good rich and tasty muscat. It has a good aftertaste and tastes like it will improve if it ages.
So now I'll try it blended 60/40 with Washington Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay fermented with 71B yeast to boost the acid since 71B drops malic acid. Here are my comments on this blend:
Pacific Muscat Chardonnay
Appearance - lemon yellow
Smell - very nice the Muscat improves the "buttered popcorn" Washington Chardonnay and the Chardonnay makes the Muscat blend more complex
Tannin - good
Acid - good
Flavour - this is really tasty with a good aftertaste and long finish. My son in law and I have a lot of Sheridan Chardonnay (mostly his) in the cooler to improve and we both made 2024 Fresco Australian Orange Muscat plus Fresco Chilean Viognier. I will be making Siegerrebe with as much Ortega as I can get. I'll certainly make a non-Chardonnay Muscat blend but will also certainly make a Muscat-Washington Chardonnay blend (I will get more Chardonnay as we both blend Siegerrebe-Ortega 2024). We should have enough white wines this year to make some really good Muscat blends. I'll also use any excellent condition white grape skins possibly including a first run Madeleine Angevine and/or Reichensteiner to blend with organic fresh ground and pressed Russet/Cox/King apple juice to make Apple Edelzwicker 2024. If I get a really good Madeleine Angevine (smells like nutmeg at SG 1.085+) I'll make it as a first run and use the skins in the Apple Edelzwicker. If I get a bumper crop of russets I may also make a small batch of Cyser Edelwicker i.e a Cyser Pyment 2024. That actually sounds good. I'll try to make Apple Edelzwicker 2024 (main wine) and Cyser Pyment 2024 (minor wine) e.g. 75/25 split.
Good luck to all of you with your wines!
Namaste
Klaus
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My wife tasted Regent Black Iris and scored it 8/10 which is a good score score for her. She said that "it is rich and has lots of flavour." The Black Iris - wild cherries, blackberries and elderberries were fermented with RC212. The Regent was fermented with 71B. This is a no-brainer to make again as her house red.
I'm tasting it right now after it having been opened in the bottle.
Here are my tasting comments after my wife tasted it colder:
Appearance - clear, inky purple
Smell - good clean nose very complex, hard to describe
Tannin - good
Acid - good slightly high but still ok
Flavour - this is fine as a house wine. I rate it as good. It has a unique flavour which is decent with a good aftertaste.
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Here are my re-tasting notes:
Appearance - deep rose
Smell - complex fruity smell, raspberry and honey smells are present but the russet apple smell is now slightly dominant but not by much. There is no trace of oxidation.
Tannin - now the tannin slightly high but still okay from the Russet apple.
Acid - good now
Flavour - intense, interesting, complex melomel cyser. This is actually pretty good right now. The flavour is improving as the russet tannin drops over time together with the acid. This fruit wine is coming into its own at 4 years of age. The russet apple is still dominant but not as much as before. I have 8 left in my cooler and will age them to see how long this wine can last to retain its flavour even if it starts to caramelize in which case it can become a really interesting cooking wine (e.g. roast duck, venison or Chinese 5 spice chicken marinade). Bottom line - this will be fun to age and taste over my guess: the next 4 years.
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When I bottled my 2020 wines in the fall of 2021, I had reserved 4 unoaked liters each of the wines: Merlot, Zinfandel, Vinifera Blend, Meritage, and Meritage Plus. Tonight I popped the cork on a Zinfandel. As I do with these tastings, I poured unaerated and aerated glasses:
Unaerated: Color is bright-n-purple. Smells like Zin. Initial taste is very fruity; however, the tannin a REALLY strong on the sides of the tongue. Distractingly so.
Aerated: Same color and aroma as unaerated. The flavor is markedly different -- much fruitier, and the tannin, while strong, is more subdued and approachable. This wine needs another 2 years in the bottle to mature.
There was no real surprise here, although I expected the tannin would be more relaxed. Funny, I've read articles about how Zin doesn't age well ... wine writers remind me of movie critics ... and that is not a favorable comparison.
Unaerated: Color is bright-n-purple. Smells like Zin. Initial taste is very fruity; however, the tannin a REALLY strong on the sides of the tongue. Distractingly so.
Aerated: Same color and aroma as unaerated. The flavor is markedly different -- much fruitier, and the tannin, while strong, is more subdued and approachable. This wine needs another 2 years in the bottle to mature.
There was no real surprise here, although I expected the tannin would be more relaxed. Funny, I've read articles about how Zin doesn't age well ... wine writers remind me of movie critics ... and that is not a favorable comparison.
retaste:
Appearance - inky purple
Smell - rich smoky, slightly charred roasted meat, cocoa, plums and venison
Tannin - good
Acid - very slightly high but that should let it age
Flavour - this is good decent house red, almost as good as Regent Black Iris, the best home made red wine that I've made from homegrown grapes. 71B/RC212 yeast combo seems to improve it. This was oaked with medium toast American oak and went through natural malolactic fermentation. I think that Marechal Foch Black Iris could be very good fermented with the same yeasts. I'll try to make it in 2025 when the blackberry crop comes back to normal. This years blackberry harvest was Mother Hubbard's Cupboard.
So then I went into my cooler realizing I had a carboy of Pacific Black Iris 2023 and blended it in a glass about 35/65 with Marechal Foch 2023. This is what that tastes like:
Appearance - inky purple
Smell - better more complex nose than Marechal Foch on its own, actually very pleasant
Tannin - good
Acid - very slightly high but not by much
Flavour - this is decent and almost as good as Regent Black Iris. I may do Moraine Black Iris 2025 which would be a Marechal Foch and Regent blend into Black Iris.
Some of you may wonder why I post tasting notes so often. It is partly to teach myself and partly how to teach you to use your fruit/wines in the best possible ways. I am really lucky having access to 4 wild black cherry trees in my neighbourhood and a lot of really good wild blackberries. Your access to fruit will be totally different but the principles are the same. I don't expect you to find wild black cherries. The point I'm making is to do what Winemaker 81 said - taste the fruit that goes into your wines and try his don't aerate/aerate technique which will absolutely teach you about tannin. Pick or buy the best, ripest fruit that you can. e.g. don't pick your own grapes at 18% brix when you can pick them at 20% brix or even higher brix. I never pick grapes below 20% Brix and shoot for 21-23 brix even 24 brix. Crush all fruit in your mouth, taste and smell it. I focus on smell-acid and tannin. e.g. I pick homegrown late season raspberries for wine because they taste and smell better than early season raspberries. We use early season raspberries for juice and late season raspberries for wine. I'm a chemist for over 55 years, with a pH meter and never use it. But I always use my tongue and nose Try to blend smells and flavours to get better results. Be a chef with no preconceived ideas about what to do. If you are lost and have the option do small batches ala Winemaker 81 e.g. regarding a stunning crop of frozen pitted Italian prune plums then make small batches to see what you get before you go bigger scale. If you are lucky and get something really good then try to clone the recipe.
Namaste, wild things
You make my heart sing!
If you are really serious about developing your craft then here are two books to read:
https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Wine-A...25581782&sprefix=emile+peynaud,aps,221&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Maki...25581782&sprefix=emile+peynaud,aps,221&sr=8-2
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