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 poured it through a Vinturi aerator, which helped, but still not great. Weak aromas of overripe red fruits with faint hint of cedar box. Flavors of stewed fruits with light spice, still heavy on the acids, but a little more mellow and balanced. The Vinturi is probably helping a lot, will give it some time in the glass to open up. It’s not a bad wine, but not as good as I expected it to be.

One reason I was prompted to open this wine again is the announcement by Winexpert that they will be reinstating crushed grape pack kits again. They say the new kits will be an improvement over the old Crushendo kits, and after my experience with this one kit (and the only Crushendo I made, I admit) I hope they mean it! The new kits should be out soon, and I’ll definitely get them in stock at Curds and Wine (shameless self promotion).