What's in your glass tonight?

[Hazelemere]

Xmas Dinner 2023 homemade Cabernet Verdot 2014 from Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon and Meek Petit Verdot

Appearance - deep mahogany, excellent colour for a 9 year old wine aged in a cool basement

Smell - good

Tannin - fine

Acid - good

Flavour - smooth, rich and balanced. No taste of oxidation i.e. over-aging

I would have liked a bit more fruitiness but the flavour was good with roast Xmas geese. This was hand destemmed uncrushed. So the lesson for me is that high quality grapes with right yeasts, hand destemmed and uncrushed can make long lasting rich and tasty wines. I have a walk in computerized cooler at 57 Fahrenheit which should be able to age wines this long.

 

[Boatboy24]

 

[jswordy]

View attachment 108887

A near-mystical experience, no doubt!

 

[jswordy]

Leftover from a friend on our October beach trip. Mexican Bud Light, minus the "controversy."

 

[David Violante]

Wonderful passion fruit mead…

 

[ibglowin]

Had some leftover beef short ribs from Xmas and dug in the cellar for something good to pair it with and needed to be opened more than likely and picked this. DNS! Needed an hour still to warm up and open. Not even close to over the hill. Red Mountain Bordeaux blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc and Syrah. Good storage makes for good wine drinking!

Cheers!

 

[Hazelemere]

Dineen Cabernet Franc 2020

This is hand destemmed, uncrushed Washington Dineen Vineyard Cabernet Franc in perfect condition in boxes fermented with RC212 yeast for 22 days before pressing at 14.9% alcohol i.e. dead ripe Cabernet Franc. I have 11 bottles left.

Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance - deep purple red

Smell - good fragrant nose

Tannin - perfect

Acid - very good considering the ripeness of the grapes

Flavour - rich, complex, tasty. This is really good, with a really good aftertaste, and tastes better now than the last time. My wife finds it high in alcohol. I don't even though at 14.9% it is. This is getting better in the bottle especially over the last 6 months so I won't taste more than one every 6 months as it ages so I can see how it develops. Right at this moment its very good with a beautiful aftertaste.

 

[tullamore]

made 2 batches my home made Bailey's irish cream
added a little tad too much Irish Whiskey(Tullamore of course) - but still tasted great!

 

[Hazelemere]

Cyser 2023

This is from 300 lb King apples, 30 lbs Russet apples and 30 lbs of Moonglow pears all organic and homegrown ground, pressed to SG 1.047 and then chaptalized with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey to SG 1.092 and then fermented with pectic enzyme, nutrient and 71B yeast. It was racked and treated with bentonite to remove protein mid ferment at SG 1.040. It finished at SG 1.000. I racked and sulphited it today with citric acid, sulphite and sorbate because I found it to a bit sweet. I added 1.5 tsp citric acid to ~30 bottles and here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance - clear, pale gold

Smell - very fragrant. The honey gives it a really intense and interesting nose

Tannin - fine

Acid - with the citric acid addition it is much better wrt balance. Flavour was there before the citric acid..

Flavour - the citric acid balances the SG 1.000 sweetness by boosting the acid. This is rich, complex and very tasty with a predominant pleasant aftertaste. This year if I make a cyser I'll try to get the SG lower than 1.000.

 

[Hazelemere]

This is Carol's Muscat Dry Auslese 2023 from a carboy in my cooler made from 27% Ortega, 55% Siegerrebe and 18% Reichensteiner homegrown organic at SG 1.093, 1.092 and 1.092 respectively with un-chaptalized juice, bentonite treated mid-ferment with 71B yeast and nutrient. Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance - clear lemon yellow

Smell - very fragrant muscat similar to Gewurtztraminer

Tannin - fine

Acid - I thought it might be flat from malic acid conversion by 71B yeast but it isn't. Carol my wife says don't mess with it.

Flavour - this is delicious, the best one I've tasted in 10 years. I'll get 40 bottles. If it does go slightly flat I'll bottle 25 of those for Carol and 15 for myself spiked with a tiny bit of citric acid. I'm tempted to leave it until the end of the summer before tasting it again and then bottling it after I adjust the sulphite level and acid. I'll post an image as soon as I have one. The grapes were picked dry, hand destemmed and sorted, undamaged by wasps, mildew or botritis. Just for fun I mixed it 50/50 in a glass with California Chardonnay 2022 from Brehm frozen juice. That is also good with more acid, an interesting Chardonnay-Muscat nose and a good aftertaste. In future if I could I'd make all three 1) Carol's unacidified version 2) my acidified version 3) my version with Chardonnay e.g. Washington Sheridan vineyard Chardonnay in boxes.

 

[Hazelemere]

Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

This is hand-destemmed and uncrushed Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon in boxes in perfect condition fermented with nutrient and RC212 yeast for 12 days. This is racked into a glass carboy and is near the tail end of a malolactic fermentation with 38 medium toast American oak cubes in a 25 bottle carboy to make sure it has no hydrogen sulphide issues. Here are my comments:

Appearance - nice deep purple

Smell - good clean nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this very nice, rich, complex and interesting. I'll try to keep my mitts out of it wrt to bottling it alone or in a blend until the end of the summer 2024. I am thrilled to have 50 of these! No hydrogen sulphide smell at all. The oak level is fine and not overpowering at this dosage of cubes. I'll post a photo when I have one. We've used Dineen grapes for years. These were 1st class 14% PA.

 

[Hazelemere]

Dineen Petit Verdot 2023

This is hand-destemmed and uncrushed Dineen Petit Verdot in boxes in perfect conditon fermented with nutrient and RC212 yeast for 12 days. This is racked into a glass carboy and is near the tail end of a malolactic fermentation with 38 medium toast American oak cubes in a 25 bottle carboy to make sure it has no hydrogen sulphide issues. Here are my comments:

Appearance - nice deep purple darker than the Cab described above i.e. inky purple

Smell - good clean nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is rich, complex and interesting. I'll try to keep my mitts out of it wrt to bottling it alone or in a blend until the end of the summer 2024. I am thrilled to have 50 of these! No hydrogen sulphide smell at all. The oak level is fine and not overpowering at this dosage of cubes. I'll post a photo when I have one. We've used Dineen grapes for years. These were 1st class 14% PA. I actually think that this is better than the Cabernet Sauvignon right now although the the Cab is very good. So now I'll comment on a 50/50 blend of Cab and Verdot near the end of MLF:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good clean nose although the Verdot is more intense

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is rich and tasty. The oak level is fine. There is no MLF stink from RC212. Right now of the 3 wines I've described i.e. 1) pure Cab 2) pure Verdot 3) 50/50 Cab/Verdot, I like this one the least. The Petit Verdot on its own right now is the winner IMHO i.e. really good. I'd make it again in a heartbeat. The Cab is very good also but having said that I prefer the Verdot right now. What amazes me is how good these wines are at the tail end of MLF with oak cubes and rC212 fermentation with really good nutrient DistilaVite from Bosa Grapes in Burnaby B.C.

To make sure that I'm not full of Sh*t I retasted the pure Petit Verdot

Here are my comments on the retaste:

This is really good! If you can find ripe Petit Verdot try to make some. I will absolutely make it again if I can.

Enough said.

Good luck to all of you in 2024

Namaste

Klaus

 

[Hazelemere]

Marechal Foch 2023

This is homegrown organic Marechal Foch hand destemmed and uncrushed at SG 1.094 (unchaptalized) in very nice condition fermented with a mix of RC212 and 71B yeast and natural malolactic bacteria plus medium toast American oak cubes.
Here are my comments on this wine out of a carboy in my cooler:

Appearance dark inky purple

Smell - good slightly funky nose like South African Pinotage i.e. a bit venison like

Tannin - fine

Acid - slightly high but ok

Flavour - decent and should improve. I think the 71B yeast improved it vs RC212 alone. I have 15 of these and will let them age after bottling them probably in the spring. I'm tempted to make this again and blend some of it with wild black cherry wine with or without blackberries and dried elderberries. I went back into my cooler and found Foch with resurrected Sheridan Syrah plus Black Iris (my neighbour Iris' wild black cherries, wild blackberries and dried elderberries) plus Regent blended with Black Iris and no Syrah. Both are decent. I have a wine called Moraine which is a Foch Regent blend which is certainly drinkable but I'll use it as a cooking wine for myself and my daughter to make Coq au vin, Beef Bourguignon and Beef stroganoff.

 

[David Violante]

2nd Run Zin/Sonoma

I made this at the beginning of last year after doing an EM on both. I thought it would be a good try. I have no idea what happened. I mean, I know from my notes, and I did everything I typically do, but wow… it begins as a Zin, moves to a touch of a Madeira, and finishes with a touch of nuttiness. I’m quite happy with it to be honest. I’m not sure what I would pair it with but it’s great just sitting and relaxing. It’s also quite smooth with a nice mouthfeel and not harsh at all. Lovely...

 

[Cedar Hill]

Marechal Foch 2023

This is homegrown organic Marechal Foch hand destemmed and uncrushed at SG 1.094 (unchaptalized) in very nice condition fermented with a mix of RC212 and 71B yeast and natural malolactic bacteria plus medium toast American oak cubes.
Here are my comments on this wine out of a carboy in my cooler:

Appearance dark inky purple

Smell - good slightly funky nose like South African Pinotage i.e. a bit venison like

Tannin - fine

Acid - slightly high but ok

Flavour - decent and should improve. I think the 71B yeast improved it vs RC212 alone. I have 15 of these and will let them age after bottling them probably in the spring. I'm tempted to make this again and blend some of it with wild black cherry wine with or without blackberries and dried elderberries. I went back into my cooler and found Foch with resurrected Sheridan Syrah plus Black Iris (my neighbour Iris' wild black cherries, wild blackberries and dried elderberries) plus Regent blended with Black Iris and no Syrah. Both are decent. I have a wine called Moraine which is a Foch Regent blend which is certainly drinkable but I'll use it as a cooking wine for myself and my daughter to make Coq au vin, Beef Bourguignon and Beef stroganoff.

I made my first Marechal Foch varietal in 2023, and am pleased with the taste, aroma, and mouth feel.
You mentioned that you would be bottling in the spring; how long will you age it before you serve it?

 

[Hazelemere]

I made my first Marechal Foch varietal in 2023, and am pleased with the taste, aroma, and mouth feel.
You mentioned that you would be bottling in the spring; how long will you age it before you serve it?

April through the summer

 

[Hazelemere]

Black Iris Framboise 2023

This is 50% Raspberry with Chambord liqueur (1 Chambord for 16 to 25 Raspberry wine at 6 lbs sper Imperial gallon with 71b yeast) with 50% Black Iris which is my neighbour Iris's wild black cherries with wild blackberries and dried elderberries on medium toast American oak cubes and same yeast. My cat knocked over a glass of this onto wall to wall carpet by my rocking chair so I spent the last half hour throwing Himalayan salt onto the stain to strip it out of the carpet. She screwed up accidentally and I didn't punish her for it even though she knew she screwed up and ran into her room. I have to give her a mulligan on this one.

So now that my brain is semi-normal over the red wine spill (this one) I'll give you my comments on it:

Appearance - good deep purple

Smell - really good nose, very complex

Tannin - perfect ( I didn't add any and never add tannin to anything that I make for the last 25 years. None of my wines lack tannins)

Acid - perfect

Flavour - this is really good. As a fruit wine it kills. Really tasty. I will absolutely make this again. It has a long finish. Absolutely first class, not because I made it......because it is that good..................a sensational wine.

PS I don't have many sensational fruit wines but this is stunning fruit wine IMHO.

Namaste

Klaus

 

[Cedar Hill]

April through the summer

Thanks!

 

[Boatboy24]

Fermented in 2013, bottled in 2015. Amazing how it has held up with the Lafitte corks.

 

[Hazelemere]

Black Iris Foch Syrah 2021-2023

This is a repair job on an out of whack Sheridan Syrah from a stinky MLF using RC212 yeast without nutrient (a HUGE MISTAKE!!). Black Iris is wild blackberries, wild cherries and dried elderberries. Foch is homegrown post malolactic. This is slightly off dry and sorbated. Here are my comments:

Appearance - deep inky purple

Smell - the orignal Syrah (from 2021) "burnt rubber" nose is replaced by a "caramel" nose. The wild cherry smell (2023) overpowers the Syrah smell. The smell on this blend is fine.

Tannin- good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is slightly off dry and will make a decent house red especially for people who don't like their wines bone dry. The medium toast American oak level is fine. The Syrah repair job was definitely a success. I have 15 of these. It should also be a very good cooking wine.

This is on par with Gallo Hearty Burgundy which my partner and I drank because it was cheap and tasty during a 10 speed bicycle trip from Toronto to New Orleans via Nashville in the fall of 1975.