Pacific Black Iris Regent 2023-2024
This is about 5/6 65% wild blackberries and 35% pitted wild cherries plus 1 bottle of Bols Cherry liqueur from 2023, both fruits frozen then thawed and fermented with 71B yeast to drop malic acid and 1/6 home grown Regent Rose 2024 destemmed, crushed and pressed with 71B ferment to boost the acid and drop the sweetness of the Pacific Black Iris. The Regent didn't go through malolactic fermentation.
Tasting notes:
Appearance - clear, inky purple
Smell - very good clean fruity complex nose which improves as it warms up - cherries, blackberries, cocoa, currants, plums, licorice
Tannin - good
Acid - good
Flavour - this is the best red fusion wine (grapes+berries) that I've ever made. An eye opener for me and totally unexpected. I made a rose from the Regent which I've never done before with 71B yeast to drop its tannin and malic acid without malolactic fermentation at SG 1.073 for the Regent which was chaptalized to SG 1.085 with cane sugar. I didn't want high tannin, high tartaric acid, low SG Regent for a red wine.
The flavour is really good. What a surprise! I am thrilled to have 30 bottles of this which I would rate as very good with the potential to be....drum roll......very good- excellent. I can and will absolutely make this again. The lesson I get over and over is to try small, random blending experiments in a glass from all inventory to try to improve finished wines. This one kills!
This is about 5/6 65% wild blackberries and 35% pitted wild cherries plus 1 bottle of Bols Cherry liqueur from 2023, both fruits frozen then thawed and fermented with 71B yeast to drop malic acid and 1/6 home grown Regent Rose 2024 destemmed, crushed and pressed with 71B ferment to boost the acid and drop the sweetness of the Pacific Black Iris. The Regent didn't go through malolactic fermentation.
Tasting notes:
Appearance - clear, inky purple
Smell - very good clean fruity complex nose which improves as it warms up - cherries, blackberries, cocoa, currants, plums, licorice
Tannin - good
Acid - good
Flavour - this is the best red fusion wine (grapes+berries) that I've ever made. An eye opener for me and totally unexpected. I made a rose from the Regent which I've never done before with 71B yeast to drop its tannin and malic acid without malolactic fermentation at SG 1.073 for the Regent which was chaptalized to SG 1.085 with cane sugar. I didn't want high tannin, high tartaric acid, low SG Regent for a red wine.
The flavour is really good. What a surprise! I am thrilled to have 30 bottles of this which I would rate as very good with the potential to be....drum roll......very good- excellent. I can and will absolutely make this again. The lesson I get over and over is to try small, random blending experiments in a glass from all inventory to try to improve finished wines. This one kills!
