WineXpert Crushendo Montagnac

[peterCooper]

bottled my crushendo Montagnac last night. Had a bit of a spill. At least half a glass missed the bottle and ended up in one of my favorite Napa Valley tumblers

At first taste I knew that I had a winner. One of the perrenial questions about red kits has I think been answered for me at least. In contrast with every other kit I've made I could feel the tannins. They were well to the front and pretty harsh as would expect them to be in a young wine. It dawned on me that much of the problem I have with the reds (and I'm not going to call it kit taste') is that the tannins are either toosubtle or too soft or,quite frankly, not there. One result is probably an earlier drinking opportunity. Another is a perception of excessive residual sweetness because the tannin is missing. Maybe this is the '' jolly rancher'

So, here's my question. Other than the Crushendo series, which other kits offer a big early tannin that blends over time to produce complexity I am looking for?

 

[Dean]

I have found that only the grape pack kits seem to have the additional tannins that are you looking for. However, all is not lost, as some of the companies are starting to experiment with post fermentation tannin additions using oenological tannins like TanCor and Tannin Plus. You could add these to any kit to obtain the tannin profile that you like.

RJS also has a restricted quantity it is releasing around march that is a Tannat Merlot blend, which is supposed to be very tannic. I've also found their Monastrell Cabernet in the Cru Select series to be quite tannic as well. Other than that, anything with a grape skin pack, either jammy wet or dry skins do seem to add teh additional tannins that you like.