Extreme air time

[Geronimo]

I made a WE Lodi Ranch 11 Cab Sav about 10 months ago. I expected it'd be reaching it's peak about now, but it's plain nasty. Seriously, the taste is medicinal right out of the bottle. So I took some advice I got on this board, and tried some hard core decanting/breathing. I took a funnel and splash/racked the wine from one bottle to another. Within 2 hours it was a little better.

Now, 24 hours later, it's quite good. Fruity, tart, tasty, and the aroma is little better too (not as good of an aroma as other kits I've done though).

Personally, I think this is just unacceptable. I can't decant each bottle a full day before serving.

I'm guessing this means the wine needs a couple more years of aging. Am I right? Please chime in with your opinions on what this means. Since it's a "Gold medal" wine, I'm guessing it's true potential is way out in the future... but it seems a bit weird for a kit wine to need THAT much time.

 

[ibglowin]

Kit has nothing to do with it. That is a BIG Red so 2 years to reach its peak is more about right, not 10 months! A wine that has lived its entire life in glass (no barrel) will not have much of a bouquet unless its gets a lot of air. Thats what the barrel does slowly over a long period of time. What you experienced by letting it sit for 24 hours is exactly what many of us have done as well with many a kit wine. You can plan ahead or just keep a few bottles open at all times. I think they can easily last 3-4 days half full with a cork in them. Its fun to see how they change from day one to day 3-4.

 

[Brew and Wine Supply]

you need to stash it away for another year or two or three... way to early to drink.

If you need to drink it now ( like nothing else in the house ) go with what Mike said and let it air. This is something you need to pack away and forget about, then when you re discover it it'll be great.

 

[tonyt]

My rule of thumb on big reds is one year from bottling. Since I usually bulk age six months or more that makes the wine 18 months or so. Most are ready by then but some are still quite tight. That's why I do several splits to taste along the way when tempted.

 

[JordanPond]

In April of 2011 I started a cab. sav. from juice from Chile and bottled it in January of 2012. At that time my wife and were greatly disappointed because it didn't taste very good. So we waited and tried a bottle April and again it wasn't very good. More disapointment :-(

We tried a bottle this week and ta-da! It was tasting very good and showing lots of promise. I contunue to read the wise advice of the old WMT sages, Patience, Patience, Patience. They have been spot on. Imagine that.

I've made some mid range kits that were very drinkable at 6 months. The higher end kits have been taking more time.

 

[Geronimo]

Thanks guys!

The part that puzzles me is that I've made 3 Cellar Craft kits (Barbera, Red Mountain Cab Sav, and Amarone) all which exemplified the body and aroma of a fine wine almost immediately. These We kits (cab sav and Merlot) taste baaa aaa aaaad. I can see waiting and watching them mature into great wines, but I'm also going to do the same with the CC kits and see if they improve.

Which, unfortunately, leaves me with nothing to drink LOL!

 

[robie]

Thanks guys!

The part that puzzles me is that I've made 3 Cellar Craft kits (Barbera, Red Mountain Cab Sav, and Amarone) all which exemplified the body and aroma of a fine wine almost immediately.

Which, unfortunately, leaves me with nothing to drink LOL!

As far as when it matures, I haven't had any better luck with one kit manufacturer over another. It all depends on the wine and the quality of the kit. Any premium or ultra premium red kit is going to take longer to mature compared to some of the 12 liter kits.

Give it some time. Other than summer wines, which are ready to drink right after they clear, (IMO) it takes at least a couple of years for the reds to come around and one year for the whites. A high quality kit wine or fresh/frozen grape wine deserves to be allowed to mature before it is judged and consumed.