Which Red varietal - local vineyard

[grapeman]

Sounds like they are coming along nicely.

 

[ceeaton]

Chardonel update. Had bottled a few from leftovers when I moved down to a 5 gallon carboy. I took one to a reunion rehash we had on Sunday, and it was very well received by the few who tried it. When I was pouring it I noticed a few flakes floating around and really didn't think much of it, since the batch was made at the end of September.

I think it was last Friday, I must have opened a bottle here at home. Put the leftovers in the fridge, and tonight I grabbed the bottle to try and figure out what was in it, and it was loaded with crystals in the bottom, a lot of crystals. So I guess I'm putting the carboy out in the garage for some time to cold stabilize. Never did that with the Pinot Grigio bucket from the Spring, but it looks like it is necessary unless I'm going to add a "diamond disclaimer" to any bottle of Chardonel I give away!

 

[JohnT]

Never did that with the Pinot Grigio bucket from the Spring, but it looks like it is necessary unless I'm going to add a "diamond disclaimer" to any bottle of Chardonel I give away!

I'd be willing to certify those diamonds as conflict free....

 

[ceeaton]

Dornfelder update.

Had added some tannin complex a few weeks ago and racked. On sampling tonight still tastes much like the Merlot blend, but still has the green pepper notes dominating. Very young (only a little over 5 mos), but I am hoping the green pepper notes keep dying down as they have been and I think it will be a very good red wine if I give it some time.

Hoping to buy a few more carboys so I can leave this one alone to age for at least a year total before bottling.

 

[ceeaton]

Dornfelder update. After having a Forza taste, my glass was empty and the Dornfelder screamed to be noticed. Poured a few ounces and this one too is starting to really taste nice. Has had a few spirals of Med + American oak for a few months. Was tasting a little herbaceous when young, but even though still young that taste is disappearing quickly. Very dry and very enjoyable at this point. Still needs until early spring before I consider bottling it. Don't know if I'll throw in some Tannin complex or Tannin Extra Riche, not really sure it needs it. Nice dark fruit in the aftertaste at this point.

Really dark, really heavy, really bitter. Overall taste reminds me of a Chilean Malbec I had recently. Still some CO2 in the mix, so I have to get rid of that, but there is a definite black inky overall taste, with a bitter finish at this point. Was thinking of adding some Tannin Extra Riche to this one, and will probably do since it improved my Merlot/Cab Sauv/Malbec field blend from last Spring. Not terrible but not ready to bottle yet, for sure.

Need to rent some time in one of Boatboy's barrels on this one.

PS. The Chardonel is excellent, albiet light in body.

 

[ceeaton]

I've decided at my last tasting (by the time of the previous post) I must have been imbibing a bit more than usual. I will agree that it is a very dark, inky tasting red wine, but the bitterness and the earlier green bell pepper flavor I was getting is a cop-out because of my limited tasting experience. I guess that is the best way I can describe the flavors I'm tasting, but I feel my descriptions are a bit simplistic.

This is actually about 8 1/2 months old, and is a very good but tannic wine. I was drinking a very pedestrian Cab Sauv earlier in the evening, and a sample of this wine made my ears stand up (probably looked like Spock's) and taste buds salute. Has a nice nose of alcohol and red fruit, and does remind me of the Merlot blend I made last Spring.

It is fun to make and sample a wine you aren't familiar with. I chose this grape because it was available locally, and I like to support local vineyard owners who are practicing what I'd love to do at some point. The owner where I got this grape variety has been very helpful and has freely given information he knows to help me make a better wine. I'm hoping this grape is available again this fall so I can experiment some more.

 

[ceeaton]

Racked the Dornfelder today, had some residual oak cubes I didn't remember adding, but very little sediment and tasted very good. Most of the raw green pepper flavor has subsided. The nose is like my Merlot blend, overall very dry, nice light oak, some fruitiness. Can't wait until fall when I bottle it.

Siphoned off a 375ml bottles worth to give to @jgmann67 when I visit him tomorrow. Will be interested in what he thinks of it since it is a variety that not too many have sampled dry (normally sold as off dry or semi-sweet).

 

[ceeaton]

Dornfelder is almost 14 months old. Racked the 3 gallon carboy using the AIO and noticed a bit of CO2 still hanging around. Racked again, and upon tasting a sample don't notice any residual CO2 on the tongue. I can definitely say this nice dry bold, almost heavy red wine has absolutely no green bell pepper flavor. As I'd hoped it was just a product of a young Dornfelder wine, age does wonders (except for my body).

Most likely will bottle the 3 gallon carboy tomorrow a.m. and bottle the 5 gallon (heavier oaked) version later this week. This grape is definitely on my list for planting in the back yard. If not used up as a straight varietal, it would pair well with any red grape variety, I'm thinking Cab Franc, since I should be able to grow that one too, and the batch I've done this Fall seems a bit weak in the color and body aspects, where this grape seems to excel.

 

[ceeaton]

Okay, never got around to bottling the 5 gallon portion until today. I'll have to say that this wine has made, to me, an amazing transformation. Now it could be that I'm so new to this that I've never witnessed a wine aging, but this actually tastes like a real nice dry red wine. A year ago it was not all that enjoyable to drink, though when you make a wine your more willing to put up with a nasty wine because you made it, and don't want to judge your winemaking abilities too harshly. All the sideshow flavors have dissipated, and the dark red fruit is the only dominate flavor left. It has a nice mouth feel, but other than that, not real complex. Could have added even more oak, but since I haven't ever had this varietal as a dry wine, I didn't want to overdo it on my first try.

Hopefully my local connection can sell me another batch of these grapes to experiment with. I plan on giving him a bottle of this wine and the Chardonel I made at the same time. He usually back sweetens the Dornfelder that he sells, and he does sell out of them pretty quickly. I don't think he ages them much more than a year before bottling and I think if he was to sell it as a dry wine he'd have to age it a bit longer and sit it in a barrel for some time.

This grape is still one of my top contenders to end up in the back yard. We'll try a few more local ones before I make a final decision on which vines I'm going to purchase.

 

[ceeaton]

Now that this wine is getting older, I'm trying to figure out what the dark fruit flavor it has actually is. This is a very good wine, I'd just like to be able to describe it in terms that others can understand. Saying that I can put it in a petri dish and it attracts fruit flies better than an Oktoberfest doesn't help people relate to how it tastes. Yes its fruity, but what dark fruit is it? The nose to me still has a brown sugar note to it, but the initial flavor still has a dark almost dank inky flavor to it. I guess I need to send a bottle to someone with better flavor receptors than I have...

 

[Boatboy24]

I guess I need to send a bottle to someone with better flavor receptors than I have...

Don't know that I have better flavor receptors, but I just checked and I have a bottle of your Dornfelder downstairs. Small piece of tape on the back with "18A" written on it.

 

[ceeaton]

Don't know that I have better flavor receptors, but I just checked and I have a bottle of your Dornfelder downstairs. Small piece of tape on the back with "18A" written on it.

Yup that's it. Make sure you post when you give it a try. It is definitely a different taste than say a Cab Sauv. Intriguing is the best way I can describe it. The "A" verses the "B" version were oaked differently. There are no "B"'s left for some reason. I'm pretty sure I gave you that bottle because you usually are pretty good at describing what you taste, good or bad.