RJ Spagnols en Primeur Amarone della valpolicella Diamonds

[Ricky]

Racked my amarone today,and to my surprise there was a layer on the bottom of the carboy..i thought it was sediment...but NO!...it was a fine layer of diamonds, after i broke them up,they where like thick paint chips....made my day!..my half gallon top off jug had them also....i put the wine in my unheated garage for about 2 and a half months.....tested the so2 levels and it was 44ppm so i didn`t add anything.... so i finished with 1 and a half teaspoons of grand cru tannins and 1 french medium plus oak spiral... before the additions,it tasted great....i think i`m gonna start another one of these bad boys....

 

[Wade E]

Oh yeah, the EP's drop diamonds for sure!!!!

 

[nbwii]

So what are the "diamonds"?

 

[rezod11]

I believe that they are tartaric acid crystals...though I'm still unsure why this is good or important.

 

[ibglowin]

Its a sign that the must had a healthy amount of acid in it. Its always good to get it out pre-bottling if possible rather than have a bunch of crud in your bottle to have to keep a look out for when you pour. Another reason to not be in a hurry to bottle and take your wine through at least one winter where it will cold stabilize on its own in the carboy.

 

[nbwii]

Thanks Mike. Is this just with Amarones or does this happen with other wines. I have never had amarone but it seems to be very popular on this site so I think I will go try a bottle and probably order a kit. Which kit would you recommend?

 

[Wade E]

Pretty much all the RJS EP reds. Not sure about the whites.

 

[ibglowin]

The EP kits are notorious as Wade has mentioned. Every one of my CC Showcase reds have dropped diamonds. The only reds that never dropped anything was the Mosti Renaissance kits. That should tell you something about them......

The EP whites come with KrystalBlock which is supposed to block diamond formation for 12-14 months or so. I think its only in EP Whites but I could be wrong.

 

[rjb222]

All EP red and white come with metataric acid. This is supposed to hold the crystals in suspension for about 12 months. I personally don't use it as with EP I don't open a bottle for a couple years so I would get Crystals any ways. I do as the first poster and allow a cool environment drop out the crystals. One word of note is get the wine as cool as you ever intend it to get as if it drops down cooler you will get another drop out.

 

[ibglowin]

I used it on my EP Sauv Blanc I made last year. So far they are still clear as can be which says its working as my cellar has been 55 for the last 4 months now. Makes sense for a White for sure as most will be consumed inside of 2 years max usually.

 

[rjb222]

All I have personally done for myself in this line is reds. For customers I have a cooler and cold stabilize and filter absolute sterile. None of my customers have said there was a drop out since I started doing my processing this way.

 

[Ricky]

You are correct Rjb,all the RJS EP kits come with metataric acid(all the one i`ve done anyway) questions about this subject..if cold stablizing, you get to 35 degrees at it`s lowest point....you bottle, for some reason it gets cooler then 35...more crystals can form?...and does the LOSS of diamonds affect the taste or PH of the wine.....do you do anything with the diamonds?

 

[rjb222]

I would imagine that if the wine got below 35 degrees then there would be some drop out but that would be small. The acid balance is just fine when using cold stabilization. If I had the processing capabilities I'd make some cream of tar tar. But for now they get washed down the drain.