WineXpert My year old Lodi Ranch 11 Cab vs:

[wineh]

Disclaimer: I'm in Canada so I pay a lot more than most of you do for commercial wine.
-2012 Hester Creek reserve Cabernet Franc; We loved the 2011, so even at almost $28.00 a bottle, I didn't hesitate. Although it is structured and moderately tannic, the mouthfeel is thin, and my my Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon has much better mouthfeel (more like milk as a texture) and is fruit forward. I wouldn't say my cab is better, just different. It did hold up well against this boutique wine. My wife gave the nod to our wine, I called it a draw, which is pretty good.
2012 Rodney Strong Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon ($22.00). My favorite wine! I really thought it would make my Lodi Cab seem horribly inferior, but it didn't. Although Rodney is much more tannic and powerful than mine, the Lodi Cab (less tannic, more fruit forward) showed pretty good, and didn't make me want to pour it down the drain. (yes, Rodney wins)

Not bad for a $6.00 (ish) bottle of wine!
I have examples of each in a box(es) that will not come out until summer of 2016 and 2017.
I can hardly wait!

 

[heatherd]

Disclaimer: I'm in Canada so I pay a lot more than most of you do for commercial wine.
-2012 Hester Creek reserve Cabernet Franc; We loved the 2011, so even at almost $28.00 a bottle, I didn't hesitate. Although it is structured and moderately tannic, the mouthfeel is thin, and my my Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon has much better mouthfeel (more like milk as a texture) and is fruit forward. I wouldn't say my cab is better, just different. It did hold up well against this boutique wine. My wife gave the nod to our wine, I called it a draw, which is pretty good.
2012 Rodney Strong Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon ($22.00). My favorite wine! I really thought it would make my Lodi Cab seem horribly inferior, but it didn't. Although Rodney is much more tannic and powerful than mine, the Lodi Cab (less tannic, more fruit forward) showed pretty good, and didn't make me want to pour it down the drain. (yes, Rodney wins)

Not bad for a $6.00 (ish) bottle of wine!
I have examples of each in a box(es) that will not come out until summer of 2016 and 2017.
I can hardly wait!

That's the gratifying part about making wine!!!

I recently received a bottle of commercial pinot noir for a gift. Of course I have two pinot noir kits (Oregon LE and British Columbia) bottled last year to compare by. I didn't get to do a side-by-side taste test because the commercial pinot poured almost orange out of the bottle and was so oxidized that I couldn't compare them at all. So I poured it out and drank some of my own wine.

Received another gift bottle that was Oregon Lemberger. That must be an acquired taste!

Both gift bottles were not as tasty as the stuff I make myself.

 

[Brian55]

We opened a three year old bottle of Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cab last night. It was excellent. Unfortunately we only have a couple bottles left from that batch.

 

[Johnd]

I'm thrilled to hear your Lodi's are doing great as they are aging, as I did one early in 2015 and bottled it. Curiosity killed a bottle of the Lodi at 4 months in the bottle, and I was impressed even at that age. Being skeptical that it would last beyond 18 months, I have another batch bulk aging as we speak! Hope I can get some to the ripe old age of 3!!

 

[Brian55]

The premium kits just keep getting better with age so far. We have about a half dozen at or around the three year mark and they're all still improving. Some of the other mid level kits we did got better for about 12 to 18 months, then started to drop off after about two years.

 

[ericcif]

I have about two thirds of my Lodi Cab left and at just over two years old it's outstanding! I really need to get another batch going as I've been using this for making a awesome braised short rib recipe I have. I should probably make a cheaper Cab to keep on hand for cooking. Any suggestions?

 

[Brian55]

I have about two thirds of my Lodi Cab left and at just over two years old it's outstanding! I really need to get another batch going as I've been using this for making a awesome braised short rib recipe I have. I should probably make a cheaper Cab to keep on hand for cooking. Any suggestions?

Eclipse Cab from LP is less than $4.50 per bottle. There's not much point in making something cheaper, unless you're really strapped for cash. Keep the short ribs awesome!

 

[ericcif]

Eclipse Cab from LP is less than $4.50 per bottle. There's not much point in making something cheaper, unless you're really strapped for cash. Keep the short ribs awesome!

Good point. Guess I didn't think it thru mathematically