Mosti Mondiale Cab or Amarone?

[First250]

I have narrowed the selection of my next batch to the 16 liter MM Amarone w/raisins, and the WE Selection Ltd 16 liter Chilean Carmenere Cab.
I have never tasted amarone, but the raisin addition sounds good.On the other hand I believe that amaronemeans 'bitter' in Italian.


I like decent merlot and cab. Which of these two- amarone or the cab- do you think might be more flavorful ? The more fruit flavor the better.




Thanks in advance for your opinions!




JimEdited by: First250

 

[bj4271]

Amarone is my pick.

 

[jjk1991]

I'm a huge Amarone' fan followed by Barolo so I'm biased. Cabs okay, but I think you will love the Amarone'.

 

[Okie1]

JMHO, Amarone is too sweet for me. I'm like you, I like Cab's and Merlots best. Working on a Barolo kit now so it will be a year or two before I can say on that.


My suggestion would be to look at an En Primeur Cab. It is a premium kit with a real nice crushed grape pak. I have made 2 of them and they are bulk aging.


Then also look at the En Primeur Pinot Noir. My experience with commercialwinery Pinot Noir's is that they seem flabby, but my En Primeur Pinot with close to 1yr in bottle is big, bold, and wonderful. I have gone through 10 bottles of it since I opened the first one about a month ago.


Anyway, just my two cents.






p.s. did i say that i also love cellar craft kits? theytoo have a nicecrushed grape pak

 

[grapeman]

My vote would be for the Mosti Renaissance Amarone kit. I certainly would not rate it as sweet, but it has a nice rounded profile. I can't speak for the Cellar Craft kits since I don't make those. I do lean towards the Mosti product right now since they make a very good product at a fair price.

 

[Wade E]

I have the RJ Spagnols En Primeur Amarone bulk aging and it is definitely not sweet. I have only had a glass of this wine and a semi expensive bottle of commercial Amarone to date but must say that it is awesome but a Cab is awesome to.

 

[jobe05]

I have a Cellar Craft Amarone tat I will bottle this weekend. It has a nice fruit/ sweetness over the tongue taste right now after bulking for the past few months. After a year it should be about half way to Great! Can't say the same for my last batch.

Haven't done a Cab yet, but may have to soon. I have done a Stag's Leap Merlot and after just a few months (7) in the bottle it is the best that I have ever had, a definite "Do Over" Wine.

 

[smurfe]

I have not made the Mosti Amarone but I have the Cellar Craft. It is a unique wine that is indeed bitter but has a faint residual sweetness that comes from the subtle raisin flavor in the wine. It is definitely a big, bold, in your face wine.


While many make the Amarone kits and enjoy them in a fairly short period of time, this is a wine that can really use some time to age. This is a three to five year in the bottle wine to truly appreciate its full potential. It is also a wine that you can really watch evolve over that time frame. You will bottle it and try a bottle 6 months later. Somewhere around the year to year and a half you might try one and think "Oh my" something has went wrong as it will be very bitter and unpleasant tasting. 6 months later you try another and it is fantastic. At least that is my experience with the 3 kits I made.


The WE Chilean Cab is a fantastic wine. I am guessing this is the same wine they offered in their Limited Edition series in 2005 and decided to make it a regular offering. That is the wine I made when I did my photo tutorial. I am just now enjoying this wine as it has aged and evolved very well and I have to say itpossibly my best non grape pack wine to date. I don't know though as the WE Woodbridge Cab and the Stags Leap Merlot are right their with it.I haven't sampled any of my Mosti kits yet though. I believe you are going to find the Cab a much more fruit forward wine than an Amarone.


If you have a local wine shop pick up a bottle of Amarone and give it a try. Expect a decent bottle to cost $30.00 or better easily. Don't expect your kit you make to taste that good for quite some time. I will say though that I have a very sensitive palliate so you may enjoy it much sooner than I can. It is a great wine and it is good to broaden your tasting horizons to appreciate varietals across the board. On the flip side though, you know what you like and their are tons of options to make what is tried and true to you. You might seriously consider the Mosti Cab's as well as the Estate Series WE kits. I am savoring a Stags Leap Merlot right now. It is to die for.Edited by: smurfe

 

[Wade E]

I cant even find a bottle of Amarone around here for under $55 and was told that is a lower quality. I traded a few of my wines for and $40 for a $85 bottle. I seen a few in "The Back Room" for well over $200!

 

[smurfe]

Wade is correct that Amarone can be very expensive due to the extended production time frame from drying the grapes for close to a year. I saw a bottle the other day they wanted over $600 for here locally!


Certain vintages such as any 95 or 97 will cost out the box. I bought a 2003 vintage a while back, I believe it was a Zenato that was very nice for around $50.00. It wasn't 98 Amarone della Valpolicella good but then again, I don't think 98 Amarone della Valpolicella is $350.00 a bottle good. I was able to sample some a while back when my wife worked at the law firm at a retirement party for the founding partner that one of the junior partners brought. It was a fantastic wine but I have tasted others that came real close that were priced at the working mans level.


Look for a $30.00 to $50.00 bottle to get a feel of what the kits will represent. You will not duplicate a $300 bottle of wine with any of the kits but you will make a fantastic Amarone "type" wine that will be quite enjoyable.

 

[First250]

Thank you all for the great feedback. I decided to go with the Cab due to the comfort level in knowing that I like Cab.


Lot's of folks obviously love Amarone, and I find the various opinions interesting- sweet/not sweet, bitter/not bitter, etc. Gotta' try it!


Thanks againfor everyone's input. Can't wait to get my Cab kitand my third carboy next week. It would be a shame not tokeep them all full!


P.S. I bought a 1 gallon glass carboy/airlock with my first kit and am not sure why.Any suggestions on what to do with it? Right now it's justgathering dust.


Jim


<'(((((<

 

[smurfe]

P.S. I bought a 1 gallon glass carboy/airlock with my first kit and am not sure why.Any suggestions on what to do with it? Right now it's justgathering dust.


Jim


<'(((((<

Why it's quite simple. Do a gallonbatch of Joe M's Ancient Mead.

 

[Wade E]

You could try your hand at making a fruit wine with some fruit at a farm stand or you can use it to store a pre-made batch of sanitizer. You will find a use for it believe me.
As for the Amarone, it is a bit bitter and is not sweet but may be perceived as sweet. It ferments very dry but just a this smooth flavor that just rolls on the palate with the little bit of bitterness and together well, just try it someday!

Edited by: wade