sour/bitter Chardonnay

I just bottled the first batch of Chard I have ever made. It was made from an RJS kit and has been in carboys for a little over 30-days. It was crystal clear, but I jarred one of my carboys and disturbed the sediment. I finished bottling and decided to give the leftover stuff a taste. It was sour and bitter. Could I have done something wrong? Is it the sediment or does it need to age a bit?

Chardonnay takes a while to settle down and mature. I would give it at least 3-6 months to age before making any real judgments. 30 days, its barely degassed.

ibglowin said:

Chardonnay takes a while to settle down and mature. I would give it at least 3-6 months to age before making any real judgments. 30 days, its barely degassed.

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Thanks for the quick reply. Now that it is all bottled, I'll just let it age a bit.

for your next kit I would wait at least three months before bottling. rack before bottling so that the carboy is clear of any sediment.

salcoco said:

for your next kit I would wait at least three months before bottling. rack before bottling so that the carboy is clear of any sediment.

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Thanks: To clarify, this batch was racked and aged for about three weeks prior to bottling. The RJS instructions said to age for 14 days after racking from primary. But I gave it an extra week. It had settled and was crystal clear. I disturbed some sediment on the bottom of one carboy during bottling and there was probably enough left for one more bottle. I decided dump that last bit and that is what I tasted.

Just because it says 5 week kit does not mean it will taste "great" at 5 weeks...... It means if you really, really want to drink this and are desperate, you can drink this at 5 weeks...... LOL

ibglowin said:

Just because it says 5 week kit does not mean it will taste "great" at 5 weeks...... It means if you really, really want to drink this and are desperate, you can drink this at 5 weeks...... LOL

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You'll get no argument from me on that one! I've been brewing beer since the 90s and have really high-end equipment. I'm still getting the proper equipment for wine, but age is definitely more important for wine. In most cases, beer is better when it's fresh, especially the really hoppy stuff.

I thought I would post a photo of the bottled product and the clarity. I'm just going to age it for several months now. Is it best to age at 55F or warmer?

Totally agree. Its a hard crossover between the two. One rewards for Patience, Patience, Patience and the other is basically "drink it now" while its still fresh tasting!

Looks crystal clear so just let it rest for a few months at a minimum. Then ease into them a bottle or so every few weeks.

limulus said:

I thought I would post a photo of the bottled product and the clarity. I'm just going to age it for several months now. Is it best to age at 55F or warmer?

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