RJ Spagnols Which kit would you pick 16L or 12L w/skins?

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Engler

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I am thinking of doing Barolo kit, the ones which cought my attention are:

RJ Spagnols Cru International Italian Nebbiolo (Barolo) 12L with skins

RJ Spagnols Cru Select Italian Nebbiolo (Barolo) 15L

Which kit would potentially make a better wine?

16L kit is about $20 more, but lets forget the price, I wonder if 12L kit with skins will come close or equal to 16L kit without skins.

Please comment from your general experience with 12L vs 15L kits.
 
Interesting rjs would include skins in a smaller kit. The notes and flavours for each kit are different on there website. Id probly just look at which one intrigues you more and go by that. However i ussually opt for the 18-16 liter kits vs the 10-12liter kits, just because im getting more less concentrated juice, although ive done a couple 12 liter kits id consider pretty good and early drinkers but im no sommelier.
 
16l would be better. you can always add fermentation tannin and oak post fermentation to get a better affect then grape skins would supply. Barolo needs a long time to really develop and added tannin would help.
 
16L w/ skins will always be better but as salcoco mentions, a straight 16L would be better too as it can be added to, to create a nice wine.

I assume you have typos in your post as you have 12, 15 & 16L listings. I personally have never seen a 15L kit.
 
I beleive the rjs cellar classic is a 15 liter.
Primere:18 liter
Cru select: 16 liter
International: 12 liter
Grand cru:10 liter

I havent seen any cellar classic 15 liter kits in my days, just found it on google.

IMG_3447.PNG
 
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Cant speak for rjs as I cant get them in my country but I've done a we selection merlot 16 liter kit without skins and a we wv 10 liter merlot with skins and the 10 liter with skins is a hands down favorite and winner with everyone that's tried it, skins make a big difference but as others say if you get 16 liter kit with skins even better again. also the skins added 2 liters so ended up 12 liters.
 
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If you're willing to step up to an 18L kit, the Winexpert Eclipse Italian Nebbiolo kit comes with grape skins. The batch I made in accordance with the kit instructions has aged a little over a year at this point. It is as good as a $40 bottle of Barollo I recently had at a dinner party. That wine was served with spaghetti topped with a bolognaise sauce.

I'm very pleased with the wine that I made from this kit.
 
That is very impressive, seems like 16L kit with skins is the thing...

I noticed nobody so far commented on 12L kits with skins, I presume they are relatively new thing, Spagnols offers bunch of them, looks like that WE is jumping on that bandwagon too, they have 3 12L kits with skins at this time I believe, but I might be wrong.
 
Ive done a few of the 12 liter kits, there decent early drinkers, when summers coming up and my inventorys low i make a few for guests as i dont like sharing my aged wine haha.

Im actually doing one right now, the RJS franc rose, and i just recently bottled the pinot grigio.

I did a taste test when i had a few guests over, the pinot grigio 12liter kit couldnt have been more than 2 months old i think, i bought a box of copper moon pinot grigio and gave everyone a blind taste test of both and 5/5 people choose my cheap kit wine over the commercial copper moon

However i prefer the 18 liter kits myself. For myself. When the guests leave.
 
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I've done the 16l Kenridge Showcase Australian Shiraz, 16l WE Selection Vieux Chateau du Roi and the 12l (with skins) WE World Vineyard Washington Merlot (note this is ~10.4l of juice and ~1.6l of skins).

The 12l Washington Merlot is hands down my most popular wine. Everyone who has tried it raves about it, some even prefer it to the 18l Stags Leap Merlot. It was drinking well at 3 months and has improved up to 12 months.

My conclusion - skins take wine kits to the next level and makes them more like commercial wines. I won't be making any kits without skins again.
 
The 12l Washington Merlot is hands down my most popular wine. Everyone who has tried it raves about it, some even prefer it to the 18l Stags Leap Merlot. It was drinking well at 3 months and has improved up to 12 months.
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Just curious because I was planning on trying the Stags Leap Merlot. How would you describe the taste difference between these 2 kits. thanks
 
Just curious because I was planning on trying the Stags Leap Merlot. How would you describe the taste difference between these 2 kits. thanks

It's quite similar in style but you can definitely tell the SLM is the better kit. It's got more tannins and oak, and has a lot more depth of flavour.

The Washington Merlot is a nice easy drinker. The SLM is more intense and I think that's why many of my friends prefer the Washington Merlot. It's more similar to what they're used to drinking.
 
I beleive the rjs cellar classic is a 15 liter.
Primere:18 liter
Cru select: 16 liter
International: 12 liter
Grand cru:10 liter

I havent seen any cellar classic 15 liter kits in my days, just found it on google.

I stand corrected. I have never seen a 15L before.
 
It's quite similar in style but you can definitely tell the SLM is the better kit. It's got more tannins and oak, and has a lot more depth of flavour.

The Washington Merlot is a nice easy drinker. The SLM is more intense and I think that's why many of my friends prefer the Washington Merlot. It's more similar to what they're used to drinking.
That makes sense.
Thanks
 

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