What's in your glass tonight?

[Hazelemere]

retaste

Pacific Chardonnay 2021-2022

This Brehm frozen California 2021 Chardonnay juice in a pail and cut with russet cyser about 85/15. The Chardonnay was a bit tangy and buttered popcorn like without any Sonoma or Carneros like fruit cocktail smell that I love in really good California Chardonnay. So I hit my apple honey wine from my organic russets ground and pressed with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey. This worked!

Colour - nice lemon yellow

Smell - very nice and complex - I'll try to describe this - bananas, lychees, marzipan....after that I'm lost

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - rich, complex Chardonnay with a really nice aftertaste. This will age. I have 8 left so will let them age for at least 4 years in my cooler (i.e. open one every 6 months or a year). I rate it as very good right now

I had to use this as a top up so I had enough left at the end of a bottle to retaste. I'll leave it alone from here.

My comments:

Colour - clear deep lemon yellow

Smell - very nice and complex - I'll try to describe this - bananas, lychees, marzipan....after that I'm lost

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - good rich, complex Chardonnay with a really nice aftertaste that lingers. This will age. I now have 7 left so will let them age for at least 4 years in my cooler (i.e. open one every 6 months or a year). I rate it as very good right now. I love really good Chardonnay French or Californian and even Washington (which takes a pile of work to create what I like but is possible). For me it is a challenge to make unless you start off with killer fruit e.g. Carneros Sangiacomo Chardonnay.

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste:

Marechal Foch 2023

Home grown organic hand-destemmed and uncrushed with RC212/71B yeast combo with medium toast American oak during malolactic fermentation. SG 1.092 at ferment (no chaptalization). Grapes were in really nice condition.

Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance: inky purple

Smell - rich cocoa, plums and venison

Tannin - good

Acid - very slightly high but that should let it age

Flavour - this is good decent house red, the best unblended one I've made. 71B/RC212 yeast combo seems to improve it. This was oaked with medium toast American oak and went through natural malolactic fermentation.

retaste:

Marechal Foch 2023

Home grown organic hand-destemmed and uncrushed with RC212/71B yeast combo with medium toast American oak during malolactic fermentation. SG 1.092 at ferment (no chaptalization). Grapes were in really nice condition.

Here are my comments on this wine on this retaste::

Appearance: inky purple

Smell - rich cocoa, plums and venison

Tannin - good

Acid - good, has improved since the last tasting

Flavour - this is good decent house red, the best unblended one I've made. 71B/RC212 yeast combo seems to improve it. This was oaked with medium toast American oak and went through natural malolactic fermentation. It has a bit of oakiness in the aftertaste.
This tastes like it will age from the acid and the oak tannin. This tastes like it can rise above "house red" quality (e.g. to very good?!!!!. That would be a treat!!!!) with enough aging so my gut tells me to use the same yeast combo in 2024. I'll side and top prune my Marechal Foch tomorrow morning for the 3rd! time and then bird net it to try to pick it at SG 1.098 or even higher. So far, this year's Foch look really good so I'm going for deluxe Marechal Foch. I have early stage veraison so want to prevent any bird damage before I pick. If I'm lucky I'll get 65 bottles.

retasted 1 day later after aeration aka winemaker 81 to see how that changes it:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - same as yesterday

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - good with a long finish. Tastes like it needs lots of time in storage to soften and become more complex. One day aeration didn't seem to change it much so it just needs lots of time to develop IMHO.

 

[Hazelemere]

tasting from a bottle:

Regent 2023

Appearance - inky purple, slightly petillant

Smell - good nose, cocoa, cherries, prunes

Tannin - good

Acid - good (lowest I've ever had without any chemical treatment over 10 years)

Flavour - this is good with an interesting aftertaste which is totally different than the Marechal Foch described above..

Bottom line - this is the best Regent I've ever made. Adding low acid 2nd run white and using 71B yeast looks like a winning recipe going forward. I think that it will improve over time and become more complex. I never heard of 71B until this year on this website. I'll absolutely use 71B yeast on Regent in the future in combination with RC212.

retaste:

Regent 2023

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good nose, cocoa, black cherries, prunes

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is not "very good" or "excellent" but it is certainly "good" with an interesting aftertaste which is totally different than the Marechal Foch described above. It tastes like it needs to age to soften and become more complex. This year when I make it I'll leave it alone in storage for at least 2 years to see how it ages. Im trying to create very good Regent and maybe I can. So the message is to leave this wine alone to age in a cooler at 57 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hope you have fantastic luck with your wines.

Namaste

Klaus

 

[Hazelemere]

Moraine 2023

This is homegrown hand destemmed and uncrushed 50/50 blend of organic Marechal Foch and Regent, grown in glacial moraine soil 3 degree southeast slope fermented with RC21/71B yeast blend vitamin B containing nutrient. Vines are fed annually with kelp meal, fish bone meal, sulpo-mag, rock phosphate and trace elements including born. No synthetic pesticides including herbicides are used. All vines are mulched with slow-released fertilized lawn clippings to keep down the weeds. I rototill or how weeds between rows. I have ~130 grape vines

Here are my comments on this wine in a split"

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good clean nose, a bit non-descript

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. To improve it even more I think that I would cut it with 2nd run homegrown white wines with no added water or sugar i.e. skins from first pressing mixed with first run sediment plus pectic enzyme to extract smells. IMHO this is the best homegrown red that I've ever made and I will work going forward with this combo together with the 2nd run white wine to try to make it even better i.e. maybe.....................very good?! I might try some of it with K1V1116/71B yeast combo vs RC212/71B yeast combo with and without 2nd run homegrown white vinifera to make 4 different versions of this wine which I will absolutely do to learn my craft at the ripe old age of 74.

retaste after tasing Foch and Regent on their own:

Moraine 2023

This is homegrown hand destemmed and uncrushed 50/50 blend of organic Marechal Foch and Regent, grown in glacial moraine soil 3 degree southeast slope fermented with RC21/71B yeast blend vitamin B containing nutrient. Vines are fed annually with kelp meal, fish bone meal, sulpo-mag, rock phosphate and trace elements including born. No synthetic pesticides including herbicides are used. All vines are mulched with slow-released fertilized lawn clippings to keep down the weeds. I rototill or how weeds between rows. I have ~130 grape vines

Here are my comments on this wine in a split"

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good clean nose, a bit non-descript

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is fine, not "very good" or "excellent" but certainly "good". It tastes like it will improve so I will let it.

I'll probably make all 3 homegrown reds in 2024: Marechal Foch, Regent and Moraine (Foch/Regent) blend. They are all decent and taste like they can improve in the bottle. Plus Regent Rose just for a new experience.

 

[Cedar Hill]

retaste:

Marechal Foch 2023

Home grown organic hand-destemmed and uncrushed with RC212/71B yeast combo with medium toast American oak during malolactic fermentation. SG 1.092 at ferment (no chaptalization). Grapes were in really nice condition.

Here are my comments on this wine on this retaste::

Appearance: inky purple

Smell - rich cocoa, plums and venison

Tannin - good

Acid - good, has improved since the last tasting

Flavour - this is good decent house red, the best unblended one I've made. 71B/RC212 yeast combo seems to improve it. This was oaked with medium toast American oak and went through natural malolactic fermentation. It has a bit of oakiness in the aftertaste.
This tastes like it will age from the acid and the oak tannin. This tastes like it can rise above "house red" quality (e.g. to very good?!!!!. That would be a treat!!!!) with enough aging so my gut tells me to use the same yeast combo in 2024. I'll side and top prune my Marechal Foch tomorrow morning for the 3rd! time and then bird net it to try to pick it at SG 1.098 or even higher. So far, this year's Foch look really good so I'm going for deluxe Marechal Foch. I have early stage veraison so want to prevent any bird damage before I pick. If I'm lucky I'll get 65 bottles.

retasted 1 day later after aeration aka winemaker 81 to see how that changes it:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - same as yesterday

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - good with a long finish. Tastes like it needs lots of time in storage to soften and become more complex. One day aeration didn't seem to change it much so it just needs lots of time to develop IMHO.

Thanks for the yeast tip.
My Marchal Foch Will be ready to harvest within the week.

 

[Hazelemere]

what is the SG on your Foch? I try to pick at 1.098 or even 1.100. Never less than 1.092.

 

[Cedar Hill]

what is the SG on your Foch? I try to pick at 1.098 or even 1.100. Never less than 1.092.

I picked yesterday. The SG was 1.096

 

[Hazelemere]

I picked yesterday. The SG was 1.096

should be fine

 

[Hazelemere]

taste at racking from my carboys in my cooler

Petite Pinnacle of Verdot 2021, 2023 (50% Petite Pinnacle of Verdot with 50% Pinnacle of Verdot). Pinnacle is Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot is from Dineen, Petite Sirah is from Mettler. This blend cuts the original Petite Sirah 2021 dose in half in the original Petite Pinnacle of Verdot. I'm trying to make my wife's new super primo red. She loves petite Sirah but not at 29 brix which this one was. Here are comments on her new primo red (she gets 30 bottles):

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - very aromatic but hard to describe because its slightly cool having just come out of 2 fifteen bottle carboys from my walk in cooler.

Tannin - very good

Acid - very good (high enough to improve the smell over time)

Flavour- this is young but really good, super intense red. This is a perfect result from sky high brix Amarone style Mettler Petite Sirah grapes. It should last for eons because of the acid and the tannin. This is very good right now. When it ages properly it should be excellent i.e. a perfect gift to my wife Carol. Trust me. I will drink it but I know her palate and this wine is hers: super rich, not too acidic, not too tannic, very fragrant. So since it is hers I'll let her open each bottle after it ages in the bottle. I'm thinking at least 3 years in the bottle before she opens the first one. This has the potential to be sensational in 5 years.

retaste while bottling 15 of 30.

Appearance - deep purple

Smell - prunes (from Petite Sirah), cocoa, marzipan (strong), blackberries, black currants, black cherries

Tannin - very good

Acid - very good, not flat from the Petite Sirah

Flavour - this is delicious and a perfect way to use up a wild and crazy Petite Sirah. It has a really good aftertaste. I made it for my wife as a premium red. I think that I've give her 15 and take the rest for myself. Apparently marzipan (toasted almond smell) is typical of wines fermented like this uncrushed (i.e. carbonic maceration). "Often the aroma of marzipan or almond paste can be associated with some vintage Ports and Cabernet wines. It is a relatively rare aroma and highly prized amongst wine makers."

 

[Hazelemere]

last one for a while

Black Iris Moraine 2023

This my Marechal Foch grown on glacial moraine (powdery rock, clay, sandy) soil on a slight southeast slope (about 3 degrees) near the top of a hill 5 miles from the ocean blended with my Regent and Black Iris (my neighbout iris' wild black cherries, wild blackberries and dried elderberries). Now that I have discovered the value of 71B yeast I'm going for high-end homegrown reds in a cool climate i.e. ~1700 grape growing Fahrenheit heat units, very complex

Here are my comments:

Appearance- inky purple

Smell - good nose

Tannin - good

Acid - very slightly high but not by much (should age)

Flavour - this is decent, not great but certainly decent (i.e. good). In future I'll try cutting in 2nd run white wine grapes to give it a more interesting smell and to drop the acid and improve the body. As a cooking wine this should be good because the tannin isn't too high and it has an interesting flavour and aftertaste.

I retasted 2/3 Moraine with 1/3 Black Iris.

Here are my comments:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good complex interesting hard to describe smell

Tannin -good

Acid - good

Flavour - I find it slightly sweet from the Black Iris. The flavour is good. If the black iris was less sweet this would taste better. If I can drop the sweetness in the future e.g. 2024 harvest this could be good and possibly very good. I don't like sweetness in my red table wines although I know that many people do.

So I tried to see if I could fix this re-blending it so I took 2/3 Moraine with Black iris (call it blend 1) and I re-blended it 2/3 blend 1 with 1/3 Moraine

Here are my comments on that blend;

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good clean smell, hard to descrive

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this still sweet but the flavour is ok. I'll be really carefull to drop the sweetnes of any red wine from grapes or fruit wines added to grape wines.

So I did it one more time to see if I could fix it i.e. 2/3 "last wine - look above" and 1/3 Moraine

Here are my comments on this last blend and tasting:

Appearance - clear inky purple

Smell - good clean nose which I won't describe here

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is much better even though I still get slight sweetness. If I can make Black iris with no sweetness this blend could be very good.

 

[Neb Farmer]

Tonight the feature wine is***
A Mauro Viglio 2019 Barbera D'Alba

A nice, inky deep red wine...15%...dry...and for some reason the bouquet has hints of ArmiCarb ( sprayed my vineyard earlier today )

still, a nice wine!

 

[ibglowin]

 

[Hazelemere]

Dineen Vineyard Pinnacle of Verdot 2023

I had 3 small carboys (15 bottles each) of Washington Dineen Vineyard Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon fermented with RC212 hand destemmed and uncrushed with nutrient containing B vitamins for 12 days followed by malolactic fermentation and oaking with medium toast American oak cubes to 14.0% alcohol. The grapes were in boxes in perfect condition.. My son in law made the same wine but used more oak than I did. We racked all of the wines off of tartrate sediment and raised the total sulphite level from 45 to ~65 parts per million (guessing free sulphite at ~22 ppm). The Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon ("Pinnacle") were blended 50/50 and tasted. My son in law who has never tasted Petit Verdot said he thought the blend was sensational and that the Verdot gave the wine a beautiful, complex smell and a long, wonderful finish. So he got ~150 bottles of the blend oaked his way and I got 90 oaked my way. He then took 60 of his 150 and re-blended it 80 (Verdot blend)/20 (petite sirah blend) of Mettler Petite Sirah 2021 (74% Petite Sirah and 26% Regent (homegrown) 2/3 with Marechal Foch (homegrown) 1/3. I made 15 of this blend "Petite Pinnacle of Verdot" 2021, 2023. He made 60. This is my wife's primo red wine. This is rich, complex and tasty with a long finish and a really good smell. Finally I saved about 8 bottles of the Petite Sirah 2/3 Marechal Foch 1/3 blend which is very intense and much better IMHO than the Petite Sirah on its own since the alcohol level is ~14.5% instead of 15.5%. We have one carboy (30 bottles) of Lodi Mettler Vineyard Petite Sirah 2021 left which we will blend with this year's homegrown Marechal Foch to drop its alcohol and improve its alcohol, acid level and complexity.

If you can get Petit Verdot I suggest that you try it. My son in law says that the Verdot wines that we just blended are the best we have made since 2009 (Washington Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah). I agree. We'll leave our wines in our walk in cooler until Xmas-New Years 2024 and then bottle them to age for at least 5 years, maybe even 10.

Good luck with your wines.

retaste:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good complex nose - hard to describe on a wine just removed from a cooler but I will try - cocoa, plums, blackberries, cherries, oak

Tannin - very good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is really good and has the potential to be excellent. The finish is really long and really good. This should last for at least 5-7 years in the bottle.

Bottom line - I've said this before - look for dead ripe Petit Verdot

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste

Pacific Chardonnay 2021-2022

This Brehm frozen California 2021 Chardonnay juice in a pail and cut with russet cyser about 85/15. The Chardonnay was a bit tangy and buttered popcorn like without any Sonoma or Carneros like fruit cocktail smell that I love in really good California Chardonnay. So I hit my apple honey wine from my organic russets ground and pressed with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey. This worked!

Colour - nice lemon yellow

Smell - very nice and complex - I'll try to describe this - bananas, lychees, marzipan....after that I'm lost

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - rich, complex Chardonnay with a really nice aftertaste. This will age. I have 8 left so will let them age for at least 3 years in my cooler (i.e. open one every 6 months or a year). I rate it as very good right now

retaste

Pacific Chardonnay 2021-2022

This is Brehm frozen California 2021 Chardonnay juice in a pail and cut with russet cyser about 85/15. The Chardonnay was a bit tangy and buttered popcorn like without any Sonoma or Carneros like fruit cocktail smell that I love in really good California Chardonnay. So I hit the Chardonnay my apple honey wine from my organic russets ground and pressed with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey. This worked!

Colour - deep yellow

Smell - very nice and complex - bananas, lychees, pears, honeydew melon

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - rich, complex Chardonnay with a really nice aftertaste. This will age. I have 7 left so will let them age for at least 3 years in my cooler (i.e. open one every 6 months or a year). I rate it as very good right now. The Russet cyser spike seems to have improved it a lot.

 

[jswordy]

Fresca and Smirnoff No. 21 Vodka... currently with a lil mini-iceberg...

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste:

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 5 bottles left after opening this one..

Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance - deep purple red

Smell - really good intense fragrant nose - lavender, lilacs, toffee, cocoa, caramel, blackberries, black currants, sour licorice, coriander

Tannin - perfect

Acid - perfect

Flavour - This is delicious Cabernet Franc with a really good aftertaste. First class! Washington Dineen Cabernet Franc kills!

retaste one last time before I leave it alone:

retaste:

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 4 bottles left after opening this one and may rebottle this 5th one in a split. That is what I did. I now have 4 1/2 left which I will let age some more. I want to see how this wine develops over at least the next 2 to 3 years.

Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance - deep purple red

Smell - really good intense fragrant nose - lavender, lilacs, violets, toffee, mocha chocolate, caramel, blackberries, cherries, black currants, sour licorice, coriander. The nose is surreal!

Tannin - perfect

Acid - perfect

Flavour - This is sensational Cabernet Franc with a beautiful aftertaste. I give it a perfect score and is certainly among the best reds that I have made in the last 56 years of winemaking. It has a really good aftertaste. First class! Washington Dineen Cabernet Franc kills!

 

[David Violante]

Brazilian lemonade with Havana Club rum… oh my…!

 

[jswordy]

Very nice! The time in the cellar has been good to this wine, which is now velvety with just a hint of pepper at the finish. (And this is the first picture on the new countertop.)

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste:

Appearance - slight fizz which disappears with 10 minutes in a glass, clear lemon yellow

Smell - very fragrant muscat similar to Gewurtztraminer

Tannin - fine

Acid - fine

Flavour - rich tasty dry muscat. This is really good. Acid is just high enough to balance it. It has a super long finish. The aftertaste is excellent and lingering. This is 100% homegrown organic Siegerrebe/Ortega Dry Auslese. I can't make this every year because my climate doesn't allow it. I'll save the last 7.5 bottles as long as they last without oxidizing even a tiny bit, because of the killer aftertaste.

This year I'll try to make a spatlese i.e. SG 1.083+ on juice or if I'm really lucky an auslese SG 1.093 (like this one) on juice. The aftertaste on the auslese is unbelievable!

retaste:

I found it be a tiny bit flat but otherwise just fine so I try to bump the acid by making up in a glass 80% Muscat Auslese 10% Australian Orange Muscat and 10% Chilean Viognier

Appearance - slight fizz which disappears with 10 minutes in a glass, clear lemon yellow

Smell - very complex fragrant muscat similar to Gewurtztraminer

Tannin - fine

Acid - fine

Flavour - rich tasty dry muscat. I'll save my 20 Orange Muscat and 20 Viognier to blend with this year's Siegerrebe 50? to boost its acid. I'll use d47 yeast instead of 71B to maximize malic acid in the Siegerrebe. i.e. Pacific Muscat Spatlese 2023-2024.

 

[Hazelemere]

Regent Black Iris 2023

This is a blend in a glass of 50/50 Regent and Black Iris:

Appearance - inky purple like the photo posted above

Smell - the wild cherries, blackberries and dried elderberries in the Black Iris improve the smell of the Regent to give it an intersting complex nose something to Spanish Tempranillo (or California Valdepenas)

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this seems to be a really good way to make a house red (everyday drinking wine) from Regent. The flavour is complex and decent. On a scale of fair, good, very good or excellent I'd rate it as good and would definitely make it again as a way to enhance my homegrown Regent. I might try making some as a port (using EC1118 yeast) in which case I might add some homegrown raspberries e.g. Regent Black Iris Port 2023 and Regent Black Iris Framboise Port 2023 (say 15 bottles of each). I might even make a seedless grape liqueur (e.g. Reliance in vodka with corn sugar or even unpasteurized honey aka Drambuie - scotch and heather honey) or just use something like Metaxa (Greek raisin brandy to get the alcohol from 18 to 20%). Better yet I could soak the seedless Reliance grapes in Metaxa with corn sugar or honey to mimic Drambuie which IMHO is a killer top up for Port.

retaste:

Regent Black Iris 2023

This is a blend in a glass of 50/50 Regent and Black Iris:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - the wild cherries, blackberries and dried elderberries in the Black Iris improve the smell of the Regent to give it an interesting complex nose something like to Spanish Tempranillo (or California Valdepenas)

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this a decent house red. I'd rate it as good. I'd like to try it with more wild cherry and less blackberry.

then I tried this wine blended 2/3 to 1/3 Marechal Foch. Her is what I get from this blend:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - very complex good nose

Tannin - good. The Foch boosts the tannin.

Acid - good

Flavour - this again decent. I rate it as good. It is rich and has a nice finish.

Bottom line 2024 - I think I'll add all of my pitted wild cherries to my Marechal Foch hand destemmed uncrushed at SG 1.098 if I can get it and make a Rose which I have never done out of my Regent with 71B yeast to drop the malic acid. I'll oak the Foch but not the Rose. A Sedelescombe Regent Rose 2015 ranked first in a continental European Rose competition scoring 97 out a 100 points. So I have to try doing that once in my life! My Regent is at least as ripe as British Regent. I'll shoot for SG 1.086+ on the Regent.