WineXpert Limited Edition 2014 Triumph

I ordered and picked up 2 of the Triumphs a bit ago. I figured that a nice red blend would be something that could hang around a while. I haven't gotten them started; this might be my first batch in my double fermenter.

I just picked up a couple of 5 gal oak barrels, so now that I know they don't provide cubes, I may do 5 in one as my first batch in barrel.

Since I'm in the Fro-Zone, I've been focusing on whites while my 'ferm corner' is still letting me do mid 50's. I started one of my LE Rieslings this weekend. Also racked my Muller Thurgau to conditioning and 2013 LE Viognier into secondary. Told ya I was on a white tear.

I'm gonna make a yeast selection here pretty quick, probably start fermenting in May or something. I need carboy space!

This is a great opportunity for experimentation using different yeasts, fermentation temps, oak, etc.

I had opened a bottle of this about a week ago and an was it cloudy! So I inspected al of them only to find that I did not give this one enough time to clear before bottling. I made decision to uncork and clear, bottled them this morning after learning with chitosan. Having a taste of it now, color is plum, nose some oak maybe vanilla and tobacco. Palate fresh tart cherries to slightly flat?
Another year to go I think.

My wife and I had a friend over for dinner last night and he happens to be in a wine tasting group, so he does have an appreciation for good wine. So of course, we broke out a few bottles during dinner, the first being an Eclipse Barolo and the second being one of my Triumphs. The wife and I have been drinking the Barolo regularly, which is about 2 years old and he and I both believed it could probably benefit from a little more time, so I'm going to set aside my last 5 bottles for now. Then I opened our first bottle of Triumph, which is now just under 2 years old. And wow! It is absolutely fantastic and a pleasant surprise. Admittedly, I had somewhat lower expectations for this one. My friend loved it so much he probably drank half the bottle himself. He admitted that he is not the greatest at identifying flavor profiles but he could definitely note the vanilla undertones. I used RC212 and added 2 oz French oak medium+. What a great surprise this was. Of course, he didn't go home empty handed

I got in to winemaking just as the last of the Triumphs were leaving the shelves... never got to make one. [emoji30]

oh man, I need to pop open a bottle of this and see how it has aged.
I've been so into mead the last couple of years, I've completely forgotten about this one and the Mosaic.
I'm betting they are both pretty good by now.