RJ Spagnols Anyone tried the RJS Cellar Classic

With the grape packs? I just bought a Cab and a Valpolicella ( kits). These cost a little more than I normally spend, but I'm hoping that they will make some better wines. I will start them this weekend. Thanks

What does that mean "with the grape packs"?

These kits have Grape packs that come with the juice. According to the disciptions it allows for more solids, ( skin and stems ) to impart flavors to the wines. Cellar Craft and WE , are also making some kits with grape packs. Edited by: dizzy

It has stems too. Do we really want stems in there?

Dizzy, I have made the Super Tuscan with the grape packs. Smelled really good!! Extracted more flavor, at least I want to think it did!! Unfortunately, it has only been bottled one month!!


Francie

I have made all 4 of the orignal Winery Series! The shiraz has won the hearts and tastebuds of all my friends, the merlot is totally like a commercial $20 bottle of merlot, the Cab is very bold and the closest I have come to making a commercial cab (but still needs MORE tannin I think), and I'm drinking a glass of the Valpolicella right now.

They are all very very good! For those who don't know, this is RJ Spagnols answer to the WE Crushendo series. They have also released 2 more in the series that I have not tried yet; Supertuscan and Old Vines Zinfandel. The Merlot, Shiraz and Cab have all been aging about 1 year now, and the Valpolicella is about 10 months old. The Val is a good early drinker, hence why I am ejoying a glass tonight. Make sure you age these appropriately, and you will be rewarded with an excellent wine.

Thanks for the input Dean but for the benefit of all would you please clarify "age these properly" as some are under the belief that if it has been corked over two weeks it has been agedappropriately

Thanks for all the replys, I think I may pick up the other 4 and give them a try as well.

Waldo said:

Thanks for the input Dean but for the benefit of all would you please clarify "age these properly"  as some are under  the belief that if it has been corked over two weeks it has been aged appropriately

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LOL! I would age all of them, with the exception of the Valpolicella a minimum of 8 months. I took tasters of them as they were progressing, and they were quite disappointing until about the 8th month. I don't know what happened then, but they all seemed to change almost overnight. They all developed a wonderful nose, started to show wonderful fruit characters, and most importantly, they started to taste like the varietal they are.

I find that reds from kits all tend to taste very similar for the first little while. After a good bit of aging, the true flavors come out.

Thanks Dean, I have enough wine stockpiled now to just seal all of these up in cases and let them age. I may even do some bulk ageing. I'm going to try and wait a year on these if I can .

dizzy said:

These kits have Grape packs that come with the juice. According to the disciptions it allows for more solids, ( skin and stems ) to impart flavors to the wines. Cellar Craft and WE , are also making some kits with grape packs.

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What are the WE kits with the Grape Packs??

and do they really have stems too, do we really want stems? Ive been
asking this question to rosco. they are not listed on Georges site and
every time I see someone doing one of these kits it has elderflowers or
raisons in it. I want the grape skins not raisons.

bmorosco said:

dizzy said:

These kits have Grape packs that come with the juice. According to the disciptions it allows for more solids, ( skin and stems ) to impart flavors to the wines. Cellar Craft and WE , are also making some kits with grape packs.

Click to expand...

What are the WE kits with the Grape Packs??

Click to expand...

I think they are the crushendo's.

wade said:

and do they really have stems too, do we really want stems? Ive been asking this question to rosco. they are not listed on Georges site and every time I see someone doing one of these kits it has elderflowers or raisons in it. I want the grape skins not raisons.

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"and do they really have stems too"
I'll let you know tomorrow,


I'll know more about the grapes then also. They look like grapes through the jar.

Thanks...............

All the kits with "skins" have highly processed skins, seeds, and a few stems. It mostly looks like jam as we only get 7 days to extract all we can out of them. A little bit of stems will add some stronger tannins and complexity to the wine.

Kits with skins are always red wine. Here are the kits:

Winexpert Crushendo series
RJS Cellar Classic Winery Series
Cellar Craft Showcase Edition

There are also some kits with raisins:
Mosti Mondiale Amarone
RJS Valpolicella Ripassa (with Mi-Pak dried winery skins)
RJS En Primeur Amarone

<DIV id=post-178357 ="postcolor">Well I broke down and ordered 2 more . I have the Super Tuscan and the Syrah on the way . I will order the Merlot and the Zinfandel in about 2 weeks . After that I'm going to have to get some Celler Craft kits shipped in. I really wish I could pick up the Celler Craft kits locally , That's the main reason I'm doing these RJS kits easy access. Edited by: dizzy

Im going to try some of the celler crafts from my local store and some
of the Crushendos from Geaorge in about 2 months Thats when I'll be
free and clear of my financial burden finally. Phew!

I see people talk of the Cellar Craft...Are they any better than the WineExpert kits? I really like the WE kits I have tried!!! Just curious. I know George does not carry them, nor does my local store. Didn't George carry RJSpagnols at one time? Why did he stop carrying them? Once again, just curious. Trying to learn more as I go along with this hobby!


Francie

Personally I see more people rave about the Cellar crafts. I myself
have done neither but plan to. I think George was unhappy with them
because they were not supplying him with what he wanted because they
could not meet the demands if I remember correctly.