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[Review] Sadlers Reserve Merlot Shiraz 12 btl with equipment, geterbrewed

Started by LordEoin, February 03, 2014, 08:48:03 PM

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LordEoin

Well, during the week I got a text message from M'lady saying "you've got a huge package".. giggidy!
What she meant was that there was a giant cardboard box delivered with my name on it  ;D

This review is on the contents of that box, a Sadlers Reserve Merlot Shiraz 12 bottle kit with equipment from Geterbrewed.com. Thanks GetErBrewed! :-*
Here is the kit: http://www.geterbrewed.com/sadlers-reserve-12-bottle-kits. It costs £49.95/€58.94.
I sounds a bit pricy for 12 bottles, but you actually get a whole lot of stuff in the box...

So, lets start with the equipment. Included is:

  • 30liter Fermentation Vessel
  • 13liter Secondary Vessel
  • Young's little bottler tap + bottling wand
  • Airlock + grommet
  • ~3meters PVC tubing (fits bottler and tap)
  • 240g Brew Safe Cleaner Sanitiser (10 batches worth)
It's all very good, high quality stuff. The buckets are strong, the seals are good, there's enough tubing to hang a horse, enough sanitiser for 10 uses.
The only downside I can see is that I had to widen the tap hole on the primary by about 1-2mm to fit the tap easily, and there's no metal handle for moving.


All of the equipment was packed into the FV, and all of the ingredients were in the secondary which was sealed and zip-tied in a strong plastic bag.
The contents of the 13 liter bucket:

  • 3.781kg Grape Juice Concentrate - Contains no additives or extra sugar. Brix 65.2. Diluted Brix 22 at 10.5L. Total SO2 <100mg/kg. Variety Merlot Shiraz
  • Sachet A - Yeast(yeast!), Diamonium phosphate (yeast nutrient)
  • Sachet B - Potasium sorbate(stabiliser), potassium metabisulphate(antioxidant)
  • Sachet C - Kieselsol (liquid silicone dioxide)
  • Sachet D - Chitosan (finings obtained from shellfish)
  • Large Instruction Leaflet, with quick clear checklist on the back

I'm impressed by the ingredients, they seem to have all bases covered and the only thing you need to add is the water.
I'll try to get the instructions scanned if I can.


So.. Time to sanitise and get this party started! :)
The instructions are very clear. Sanitise, add juice, top to 10.5liters with tap water, stir for 5 minutes, add yeast, ferment at 18-22C for 7-12 days.

The sanitiser is no-rinse. Add 25grams to 5 liters water, stir to dissolve, wipe down all the surfaces and soak the bits n bobs, leave it for 10 minutes.
There's no smell at all from the sanitiser.

It took no time at all to get everything together. The longest part was the 5 minutes of stirring.
The must is  OG1.092 and tastes great, so we're on the right track :)
I thought that having no handle on the bucket might be a problem, but it was fine. The bucket is solid out and there are good sized handles built into the rim.

I've it all set to do its thing and it is rigged to heat to and stay at 20C


I'll report back in 7-12 days when it's time to stabilize and clear it :)


@geterbrewed

Thanks Eoin, looks great so far, we keep the hole for the tap at 25mm to ensure no leaks, the taps will go in with a bit of elbow grease.

These premiere wine kits are truly impressive, we show cased the red wine at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast yesterday and the feedback was first class.

These are the best red wine kits that we have made and think they are going to bring a whole new generation to homebrewing wine.
Get 'er Brewed

Join the Revolution.

www.geterbrewed.ie

LordEoin

Cheers
It went in with a bit of force alright, but to save damaging the threads on the tap i was more comfortable just boring the hole out a bit more as I find the important part for a good seal is the rubber ring on the tap end. Having the tap fit too tight can reduce the pressure on it.
Otherwise though, I'm very happy with the way things went and I'm sure it will be a great quality wine :)

Edit:
24 hours in  - arrived home and she's bubbling away like a champ, temperature steady just below 20C

@geterbrewed

I have been working my way through the Sadlers Reserve Range ( it's a hard job at times lol) and to date my favourite has got to be the Cabernet Sauvignon. It is only recently bottled and already one of the nicest home brew wines I have ever tasted.

http://www.geterbrewed.com/sadlers-reserve-cabernet-sauvignon-premium-wine-kit

These wine kits are really going to shake up the home wine making scene in a huge way, it is shocking the quality of wine produced with these kits for only £1.93/€2.32 a bottle, it is slightly more expensive than some home brew wine kits but its really worth it, I believe if you make a Sadlers Reserve wine kit  you'll be genuinely impressed and its pure grape juice, no additives, just the way it should be.
Get 'er Brewed

Join the Revolution.

www.geterbrewed.ie

LordEoin


@geterbrewed

Quote from: LordEoin on February 11, 2014, 02:06:47 AM
Christ! I suppose you'll have to send me one of those too...  8)
LOL, you'll be back for another when your Merlot/Shiraz is ready, if they are this good now I'm excited to see what they are like with some time in the bottle
Get 'er Brewed

Join the Revolution.

www.geterbrewed.ie

LordEoin


@geterbrewed

Get 'er Brewed

Join the Revolution.

www.geterbrewed.ie

LordEoin

Day 11 - Feb 14th - Racking &Stabilizing

Bubbling stopped a few days ago, so I cracked on with stabilizing and beginning the clearing.
It was very quick and easy.
Just sanitize the little bucket and rack the wine into it off the lees. The yeast is nicely settled
Clean and sanitize the fv
Pour the wine back into the FV
Add sachet B(potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulphite) and stir for 2 minutes.
Add sachet C(kieselsol), and stir vigorously for 5 minutes to degas it.
Close her up and leave it for 24 hours somewhere cool



Day 12 - Feb 15th - Add Finings
The FG is 0.994
It smells great.
Lovely dark colour.
Already tastes better than many bottles of red wine I've bought in the past
Waste not, want not. I poured the trial jar into a glass to have a taste.
Even at this stage, straight out of primary, i'd be happy to pay 5-6 euro a bottle from tesco.

LordEoin

Day 19 - Feb 22
The finings did a great job, dropping out any remaining yeast and other cloudiness as gunk and fibers (looks almost like bits of hair)
I bottled this today and got about a half glass less than 12 bottles. I just topped that bottle up with boiled water.


Time to try one out and see if it's a keeper


It's  got nice flavour, no nasty yeasty notes.
You can get a hint of cherry from the merlot and blackberry from the shiraz, slight vanilla which is common to both. There's a slight apple flavour from it, but that's most likely due to it being so young.
The colour is more on the shiraz side, a bit darker than a typical merlot.
it's still a bit cloudy, but that should settle out with time.

Overall, a nice bottle of plonk.
I'll let the rest of them age for 6 months before I start into them, and check in again then

@geterbrewed

We are really excited with this range it is genuinely shaking up the home wine making scene and are pleased to be adding to the range, check out the new wines added to the range;

http://www.geterbrewed.com/sadlers-reserve-wine-kits-30-bottle/

We have a whole new generation of folk coming into the home wine making scene, it is possible to make fine wine at home at a fraction of the price of shop bought wine.
Get 'er Brewed

Join the Revolution.

www.geterbrewed.ie

LordEoin

I tried one of these over the weekend out of curiosity.
No off flavours at all. Not too dry but not sweet, nicely balanced.
It's a better bottle of wine than many i've bought over the years and unless you're a big wine buff I don't think you'd know the difference if it was presented with a fancy label  ;)
I'm not a huge wine drinker, I cook with it more. But these ones will be reserved for drinking and sharing. Too good to end up in the slow cooker!

@geterbrewed

Quote from: LordEoin on April 03, 2014, 07:42:40 PM
I tried one of these over the weekend out of curiosity.
No off flavours at all. Not too dry but not sweet, nicely balanced.
It's a better bottle of wine than many i've bought over the years and unless you're a big wine buff I don't think you'd know the difference if it was presented with a fancy label  ;)
I'm not a huge wine drinker, I cook with it more. But these ones will be reserved for drinking and sharing. Too good to end up in the slow cooker!

It's great to see these kits are getting the attention they deserve, the new wine kits in the range include white wines that ferment from 16 degrees and the new pinot grigio rose is actually made with Pinot Grigio pure grape juice and red grape skins, I think this is another first in home wine making, the rose is going to be a huge hit!

I'm excited to see what the reds will be like given some time to age in the bottle if they are this good already
Get 'er Brewed

Join the Revolution.

www.geterbrewed.ie


LordEoin

Quote from: LordEoin on April 03, 2014, 07:42:40 PM
I tried one of these over the weekend out of curiosity.
No off flavours at all. Not too dry but not sweet, nicely balanced.
It's a better bottle of wine than many i've bought over the years and unless you're a big wine buff I don't think you'd know the difference if it was presented with a fancy label  ;)
I'm not a huge wine drinker, I cook with it more. But these ones will be reserved for drinking and sharing. Too good to end up in the slow cooker!