Mosti Mondiale MM Renaissance line

[Rocky]

I am not trying to start an argument here, but I would like to know what have peoples' experiences been with the MM Rennaissance line. I have the Barolo and the Amarone on at present and at this point (they are in a carboy in the bulk aging stage) I have to say I am somewhat disappointed.

Further, I have been generally disappointed with MM reds, which have been confined to the All Juice Original juice buckets. I recently purchased two of the All Juice Masters Edition Granbarolo and they are in secondary at present. I am really bummed out by the Renaissance Barolo and Amarone. They taste thin, very little fruit taste and are not clearing very nicely. Indeed, the only good thing I can say about the Renaissance series is that I had about 1.5 gallons of Barolo and Amarone that would not fit into a 5 gallon carboy so I mixed the two in a 3 gallon carboy (I call it "Barone"), and it is better tasting, more mouth and fruitier than either of the component wines. I am thinking of blending it all into "Barone."

What have others experienced? Thank you.

 

[tonyt]

Rocky, I have done several of the MMR's (Rosso d'Avola, Cab/Shiraz and Chardonnay) and been very pleased with all of them. I have NOT tried any of the new ones with skins but plan to do so. As far as clearing it has been my experience that Mosti products are a bugger to clear. The Meglioli's are the worse, I had to follow up with Sparkoliod in both MMM kits I did. The MMR's require filtering to finish up. But the end product has been good IMHO. I don't do the MMM's because I like the Rens just as well and save almost 100 bucks. Let me also say that I usually add raisins in primary if no grape pack, add tannins and oak spirals in aging and glycerin at bottling.

 

[Rocky]

Tony, thank you for the great information. What rating filter do you use? I was going to run it through a 5 micron filter or should I go finer? I had added the kieselsol and chitosan that came with the kit and I thought about repeating the process. Also, and this disturbs me more than anything else, I seem to get a very find residue inside my wine thief when when I take a sample and that seems to be the contributing factor to the hazy appearance of the wine. Another part that confuses me is that although both the Amarone and Barolo are hazy, the "Barone" is crystal clear!? Lastly, the kit came with both raisins and a grape pack and the instructions said to add one or the other. I added both thinking it would give me a better wine with more mouth. I don't think this is the cause of the problem, though, because of the "Barone."

BTW, looking through my records, I have made the straight Renaissance kits a few times and they turned out great.

 

[Wade E]

I must say Im not impressed with any big wine that came from a kit without grape pack. Rocky, I couldnt agree more with you on the All juice buckets and have stated it here and on Georges site dedpite him not liking me saying it there!!!! Its why I always pushed people into the RJS Winery or EP series kits for the bigger red wine kits. I dont have an opinion on the MM Impression series yet as its too young but so far it does seem decent but still a little thinner then the Winery series from Rjs.

 

[shoebiedoo]

I have made 2 Renascence kits, the Castel de Papa and the Old Vines-Merlot. Both with grape packs and both mediocre. i did not experience any problems with clearing and such but they are unimpressive. SO, unless you want to argue the same point you'll get no arguement from me.

So now we have 3 bottle to compare eh Rocky?

 

[tonyt]

Rocky I use 5 micron for reds. I have noticed the fine residue on several high end kits, last night with a CC LR Red Mt. Trio. Impossible to clean out of racking cane. Sanitizing solution clears it from equipment. Time and filter clears it from wine.
Guys, Keep us posted on Impressions taste. I hope to do one soon.

 

[ibglowin]

I went through a "Renaissance" period a couple of years ago.....

Check my sig link for the MM kits made.

I switched back to CC Showcase after making quite a few of the MMR kits. They were OK, but thats it, OK, didn't blow me away really.

I switched back over to CC Showcase after that period and thats about all I have made kit wise in the last 18 months. Much happier with the quality of the juice and outcome of the product.

The MM AJ's are a total waste of $$$ IMHO.

Worst wine I ever made was the MM AJ Sangiovese. Still have 2 bottles left and its almost 3 years old. About the only thing it was good for was meat marinade.

I was however very pleased with the MM AJ Amarone. Just had a bottle last night, again almost 3 years old. Fantastic. I have 3 bottles left and may just serve them up at the wedding this Summer.

Very pleased with the MMR Rio Grande Rojo. Definite winner winner chicken dinner....

Very pleased with the MMAJ Petite Sirah. I added a CC Syrah grape pack, Tancor grand cru and 3 mo in a Vadai barrel. Now almost 2 years old and fantastic. Another wedding wine for sure.

MM La Bodega Port. Simply one of the best wines I have made to date. Fantastic.


MMR Nero D'Avola...... Pretty good added raisins, good bouquet and body, would make again with some tweaks.

MMR Valpolcella.... Pretty good. Came with raisins, good bouquet and body, would make again with a couple of tweaks.

Other MM disappointments:

MM AJ Pinot Noir....... Bleh. Drinkable but thats about it. NO Pinot Bouquet or flavor.....
MMR Chilean Pinot Noir. Bleh (again). Could label it as strawberry wine as thats about all it tastes like, no Pinot bouquet or flavor profile whatsoever......

The MMR white wines were OK but they didn't have much staying power. They tasted good and looked good for first 12 months or so then the color went off and they all turned dark brown as they aged. The all had PLENTY of sulfite as well so it wasn't due to lack of SO2. All stored in pretty close to perfect conditions as well.

I am making mostly wine from fresh grapes these days except for whites, the CC Showcase whites are hands down exceptional quality. Especially the LR kits. I just picked up the CC Showcase LR Sauv Blanc-Chardonnay- Semillon on sale from FVW. I also pick up anything from Red Mountain, WA. The CC Showcase LR Red Mountain Trio is tucked away ready to go when I need something to keep the barrels filled.

Thats my experience, some hits, quite a few (too many) misses for me overall.

YMMV as they say as tastebuds are all different.

Cheers!

 

[shoebiedoo]

Mike, Have you tried your Gruner Veltliner yet? mine's turning out pretty good!

 

[ibglowin]

Ohhhhhhh yeaaaaaaaa!!!

Having a hard time not sticking a long straw in it! I think I should bottle it so its not so tempting.

Mike, Have you tried your Gruner Veltliner yet? mine's turning out pretty good!

 

[shoebiedoo]

I Bottled mine a couple weeks ago. Stole a bottle the other night!! It's going to be even harder to resist once bottled.

 

[Wade E]

Considering when the Impressions kits came out like I said its too early to put a label on these.