- Joined
- Oct 24, 2016
- Messages
- 333
- Reaction score
- 414
This is the long and winding saga of a 2017 LE kit. I bought this because, at the time, my wife was mostly a white drinker and only liked reds that were off-dry and fruit forward. Started this 4/15/18 and went through 4 rackings (June 2019) with minor tannin and oak additions along the way. At one point (due to glass limitations) I racked down to 5 gal and set aside the other 1 gal to blend elsewhere. In Oct 2019 this was not progressing as desired so I racked with sorbate and added a small amount of simple syrup and glycerin hoping to bring out the fruit and improve mouthfeel. In March 2020 I decided to take more drastic action and racked to a 6.5 gal, added 350ml of simple syrup, basic tannin, tannin riche, a homemade raspberry F-pac and topped up with 1.5 gal of a WE World Vineyard WA Merlot kit. Getting better, but still not satisfied in Oct 2020 (7 months between rackings), I added another small F-pac and let it sit until last week. I finally bottled it this past weekend, just over 3 years from dropping the yeast.
It's pretty darn good now, but it was a long road to get there. I expected an 18L LE kit to be hitting its stride at the 18 month to 2 year mark, but this one took longer. This is the longest I have ever held a kit in the carboy and the most input I have made to any kit so far. The end result was worth the effort, but in the meantime, my wife's palate has expanded and now she's become a fan of most of my other reds. I guess I'll have to share.
It's pretty darn good now, but it was a long road to get there. I expected an 18L LE kit to be hitting its stride at the 18 month to 2 year mark, but this one took longer. This is the longest I have ever held a kit in the carboy and the most input I have made to any kit so far. The end result was worth the effort, but in the meantime, my wife's palate has expanded and now she's become a fan of most of my other reds. I guess I'll have to share.
