Tan'Cor Grand Cru

[Dean]

For those of you who use the stuff, what is your preferred dosage to start with? I know, you are supposed to use bench trials for each wine, but over time, you'll start to see an average of where you like it to be.

So do you like it in the 10g/hl range as a mild addition or in the 30g/hl range at the top level? To put that in perspective, 10g/hl range is 2.3g per carboy in kits and 30g/hl is 6.9g. That usually means anywhere from .5 to 1.5 tsp per carboy.

Do you find that it masks the fruit and starts to make all the wines taste similar? I'm just looking to see how others have experienced this. Personally, I think in the lower to mid range, this kicks up almost any red kit, and makes it taste almost like it was barrel aged and concentrated.

 

[PeterZ]

I can't say, Dean, as my first purchase of it arrives today. I will be starting at the low end (thanks for running the computations) and waiting for some age to evaluate it. I currently have a MM Meglioli Barolo in secondary that will be the first experiment.

 

[Goodfella]

I just got my first batch. I have had the same questions. Lets see if someone tunes in here that has used it. If need be, I could call George.


PeterZ.... I also have a meglioli Barolo aging.

 

[RickC]

I added this to a MM AJ Amarone kit at the 10g level. It was definitely noticable on the tongue and very good start according to my taste buds. Only time will tell when I finally open the first bottle. I didn't feel like it masked the fruit flavors at all, only enhanced the mouth feel. I would definitely start low and add more after additional bulk aging if needed. I could see where you could over do it. Also according to George, higher end kits will require less, if any at all, as their tannin levels are already higher. Lower end kits will benefit much more.

 

[Wade E]

It really depends on what wine youre using. Ive used it 4 times now to beef up wines from grapes and each has been different. The Malbec required about 1/2 tsp, the Sang/Zin needed 1tsp, the Cab/Merlot was 1 1/4tsp, and I also added 1/2tsp to my Elderberry/Blackberry Port.

 

[Dean]

And you can taste the different fruit in all of these Wade? It didn't make everything taste alike?

I've been hearing reports that it can do that, and it's got me a little freaked out now. The ones that I've used it on, are all great, but still too young to really see long term effects. I'm still drinking my 2005s and 2006s right now, so I have no idea what I've done. All I know is that the bench trials were amazing and it even made the kits taste like commercial wines after 3 to 4 weeks.

 

[Big Ike]

Dean,

I used about 4 grams in a MM Meg Cab about two weeks ago. I thought it was a little thin in the middle and on the end and I expect the Tan Cor Grand Cru to fix the latter. Too early to know the results for sure, but I'll test late tomorrow (if I can) and report back.

 

[Wade E]

I think it brought more of what the wine had to offer out truthfully but I can see if someone were to add too much it would make them all taste alike. At one of our wine functions we played around with different additions of this in one wine and its amazing how little it takes to make a flabby wine taste great and then make that great wine way too tannic in the flick of the wrist. It can over power a wine very fast so do be careful and best way is to have a few people over when doing the bench trials cause if your taste buds are a little off that night your wine can get ruined easily. The way we did it was to take a straight sample and divided that into three parts with each one being a different level of addition. Each person would take a sip of it straight and then a sip of the smallest addition. Then each would take a sip of the straight and then a sip of the slightly stronger and so on and then we would take a vote on what we liked the best. At that point we would take the sample that won and try adding a little more but not as much as the higher level that was tested and judge that against the 1 that 1 and see if it was still too much or if made any improvement. We did this with a wine that was very young and the improvements were big.

 

[ibglowin]

Good thread guys.

Please do report back on how things progress as the wine matures.

 

[Big Ike]

Gang,

I tested the cab and I definitely got a tannin boost in the mid and finish palate of the wine. I would say a little too much on the finish right now. It should mellow.

I was planning on blending the cab with a merlot to balance the structure (one of my merlots has great structure at the finish), but that may not be necessary. Now I'll have to see what happens with the flavors.

 

[fiat84]

Curious how did the long term updates turn out short term compared to long term, do the wines all end up tasting the same? Which specific kits was TanCor added to and the effect?

Thanks to ibglowin who mentioned adding Tancor Grand Cru(we used 1/8tsp) to an eye bottle dropper solution as a taste test with water, then adding one drop at a time to some well aged Ren Amarone and Ren Shiraz kits wines...wowsers this stuff is amazing. Has an immediate effect just as George describes below. It brings out the fruitiness and oak, and smooths out any roughness. Consensus of the group was it vastly improved the wines. Even added to a commercial white Sauv Blanc which had a noticeable improvement. Did notice in one test glass if you use too much it does make an oak bomb which was still good. Rather dramatic improvement. Appears long term results will be at least similar and hopefully even more dramatic.This stuff will require adding then re-bottling or adding to a glass.

http://forum.finevinewines.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=10329&KW has some more recent TanCor points:

http://www.finevinewines.com/Post_Fermentation_Tannins.html - George's Tan'Cor Grand Cru test results on a 10L Vinifera Noble Castel del Papa kit. "In summary,
the wines with the tannin addition were smoother and more fruit forward than
the control wine. </span>As the dosage of
tannin increased, the fruit became more emphasized although this emphasis
seemed to diminish with time. </span>Both
products improved the mouth-feel of the wine; however, the improvement was more
apparent in the wines that had the Tan'Cor Grand Cru added. </span>The
difference between the treated and the untreated wine is not subtle; the
difference is very evident. </span>The
tannins integrated well into the wine and there was no noticed harshness or
excess astringency. </span>Based upon our
tasting, these tannin additions can make an improvement in a young wine. </span>Unfortunately, because of frequent sampling
we do not have enough wine left to determine the longer term effects of these
tannin products."