My 2011 Hands-on Harvest class met again last night to check out the progress on our 2011 Live Oak Vineyard Fallbrook syrahs. Details on fermentation and previous tasting notes are in prior blog posts. Here are our tasting notes: Batch #1 — No additional oak was added after the first racking. Peppery aromas and very peppery, [...]
Tag archive: tasting note
Last weekend the barrel of 2010 syrah had NO free SO2 detectable with the Vinmetrica SC-100. I added another 1 1/2 tsp of Kmeta, and tested the free SO2 again yesterday. I noted that the odor of acetone had already subsided, and happily the free SO2 is up to 20 ppm. I added another teaspoon [...]
I was given some samples of a new product called “One Little Drop,” touted to “improve wines.” We opened a bottle of my 2009 Merlot, which is a bit on the tannic side, so decided it was a good opportunity to test it out. Basically, you put one drop of the solution into your wine [...]
My Hands-on Winemaking Class got together last night for a potluck dinner to taste the fruits of our labors. We put French oak cubes in the wines about 2 months ago, so now is a good time to give them all a taste to see if there is enough oak, or if it needs more. [...]
The oak trials were bottled about 2 months ago now, and I’m ready to do a tasting of the panel. My husband has agreed to help me out, since there are 7 different wines to taste. First is the unoaked Winexpert Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay: dry, but not crisp, with subtle hints of apple and pear. [...]
I pulled out another bottle of my ‘La Jolla Caves’ Winexpert Crushendo “Montagnac Vieux Chateau d’Oc” red rhone blend to see if it is doing anything useful in the cellar. So far, this is one wine kit that has disappointed me all along, and I just don’t think this wine is going to come around. [...]
I realized I haven’t really done a head-to-head tasting of my 2008 Merlot lots A and B yet. After being so disappointed with the barrel batch of merlot from that vintage, I’ve been holding out to wait 2 years to pop the smaller batch of lot A. Happily, the time has come! Tasting notes: Merlot [...]
My “Hotel Del Coronado” Winexpert 2008 limited release Brunello is coming up on 3 years post bottling now. My first reaction to drinking this wine was, WOW! It is definitely at its peak, and is exceptional. Big, bold aromas of blackberry, sage, and light spice. Perfectly integrated flavors of currant, blackberry, and raisins with cedar [...]
I’ve been somewhat unhappy with my 2008 Lambert Bridge Merlot lately, but the blend of merlot with cabernet sauvignon is officially ready to drink! It is finally perfectly balanced and integrated, with big, bold, brambly aromas of ripe blackberries and spice, and mouthwatering flavors of ripe red fruits with a hint of leather and eucalyptus. [...]
I bottled both the Cellar Craft 2010 limited edition Marsanne-Viognier-Roussanne and the Winexpert Spanish Rose today, getting ready for summer sipping. The MVR wasn’t quite clear, which I think might be due to my use of marbles for topping up my wines. When wines with marbles are moved at all from their place of rest [...]