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Bottle Aging Reviews 1 Month - Well we just had to open a bottle for educational purposes. Couldn't drink it though. It has a LOT of mellowing out to do. 2 Months - Wow, I can actually taste a big difference, in the right direction. Finished over 2 days, perhaps stubbornly. 3 Months - Not a big jump from last month, but some subtle firming up. 2 days again... 4 Months - Ok another nice big jump, really coming together nicely now. I'm starting to look forward to next year more and more. Finished in one night! 5 Months - Bouquet is noticeably more pleasant now, harsh nose almost completely gone. Starting to be more dependable than some rather popular big name bottles at this point. 6 Months - Further development and refinement of the bouquet, quite floral this month with barely a hint of the harshness that characterized the early tastings. Still some acid related bubbles and a little grapey but that's a good direction from alcohol. We got apple on the mid-palette, which we thought interesting for a red blend really. Interesting. Looking forward to next month's revelations. 8 Months - Quite a nice bouquet now with typical descriptors coming out much more noticeably than before. Still detecting some apple on the mid-palette, interestingly enough, but now along some developing cherry and cranberry notes as well as mixed dark berries in general. Gave the bottle this week an hour-long breathing spell before dinner and that seemed to be quite agreeable. Not sure when this wine "peaks" but kit wines do indeed peak, so that's something to watch for. Overall I'd probably not bother with another kit wine but it's been a really fun experience, so I'd still recommend it for anyone looking to further their "wine adventures". 13 Months - Continues to mellow as far as heat on the nose, still getting some apple on the mid-palette and a lot of deeply ripe cherry. At this point the taste is superior to the bouquet, which while it's lost it's heat is not overly pleasant. The wine is not bad on the mouth feel or taste tho, although to this day I have a hard time believing the fermentation was stopped 100% and on time, which leaves it a bit "lively" on the tip of the tongue which I do NOT like one bit. I wonder if when the wine begins to fall off the far side of the peak if something with that will be a sign. We'll have to wait and see. | ||