Willie's Wine Blog

A Molloy's Quartet

2012-01-06T18:34:00.000Z

From looking at the blog it appears I haven't shopped in my local Molloy's for about a year. The quality there has been variable but always worth a punt so these are the wines I picked up. Three are new with the Trapiche Malbec being an old favourite of ours, although we haven't had this vintage before so here's hoping.

Moulin De Gassac 2009 - €6-99
Tor del Colle Montepulciano Riserva 2007 - €7-99

Trapiche Malbec 2010 - €10-39
*Update* Hmmm - we used to like this wine a lot, maybe 5 years ago, now; not so much. "It's not you, it's me", might be appropriate here. Our tastes may have changes more then the wine, I found this a little sweet and cloying, drinkable but not great.

Chateau Du Donjon La Pujade Minervois 2010 - €11-99
*Update* The most expensive wine of the bunch and well worth the price, this one. The back label made lots of grandiose claims IIRC (alas I threw it out), but these were pretty much borne out by the product, which was a tad unusual. Lots of interesting flavours, chocolate not the least. I'll be getting more of this.

Updates to follow as they are drunk with the Minervois currently in mid-decant.

Xmas Beers

2011-12-22T18:34:00.000Z

Contents of beer fridge

As regular readers of this blog will know I have spent the last year and a bit commuting for work to Edinburgh. While this is a major pain in the ass there are compensations. Firstly Edinburgh is a cracking town, with lots of great bars and restaurants; it may have a cracking nightlife too but I'm too old and lazy to find out. Secondly, there is lots of ale there. Not just the "twigs in your beard" real ale, but loads of IPAs (India Pale Ales), stouts, porters and everything in between.

Pretty much every bar has one or more "Guest Ales" plus whatever ales are Brewery mandated. The Haymarket bar near me, has a rotating selection of about eight "Guest Ales", with the result that every visit is a voyage of discovery. In Ireland, with a few notable exceptions (go Porterhouse!), there is very little decent ( non mass-produced) beer available on draught.

There has certainly been an increase in the availability of "Craft Beers" in off licences and to a lesser extent Supermarkets recently, but the selection in most pubs is poor at best. I know when we go out for a jar in Embra we will walk out of any pub that doesn't have at least one decent ale (or hoppy Lager - see below).

I wonder is there a gap in the Irish market for some decent draught Ale? Perhaps the cost of storing/serving cask conditioned ales is prohibitive compared to cooled, pasteurised mass produced beer? I did try Smithwicks Irish Pale Ale and while it was a noble effort I found it a bit fizzy, cold and mild compared to what I was used to in Auld Reekie.

Anyhoo - ramble/rant over. I have had a lot of beer related thoughts rumbling round my melon for a while and wanted to put them down on "paper". I ended up with some time to kill in Carrickmines this morning, for a variety of reasons, so I popped into O'Briens with a view to stocking up with some festive beer.

Note1: I'm not a Beer snob (OK, maybe a little), but I'll drink just about any beer put in front of me, apart from those terrible watery US lagers (Bud, Coors, Miller etc); it might be an idea to put them through the horse a second time...

Note2: As evidence of this see bottles of Vitamin H in picture above, I do like me a cold 'ken on occasion. However I'd never drink it after any of the below as it probably wouldn't compare well.

Anyway, this what I done did get...

From Harviestoun Brewery
Schiehallion Lager (€2.99 50cl) - A very hoppy/fruity beer that I didn't believe was a lager for ages. Like no other Lager you'll taste, a favourite of mine on draught in Scotland.

Bitter and Twisted (€2.69 50cl) - Another magnificent beer, this time a hoppy golden "Blond"ale.

From Brew Dog Brewery
Punk IPA (€2.40 33cl) - Hoppy, fruity and fantastic; a fuller, stronger iteration of their Trashy Blonde (IMHO).

77 Lager (€2.15 33cl) - Another full, flavoursome hoppy lager.
Note3: They do a red ale "5am Saint", which is a dry-hopped masterpiece.

Misc.
Budjovicky Budvar (€2.99 - 50cl) - The real deal from the Czech Republic. Apparently I am a "legend" for drinking six bottles one night in the Orchard and not being off my head, but I don't remember...

Grolsch (8x50 cl cans for €10) - of all the mass produced lagers, this, (and Becks) are probably my favourites and 8 for a tenner is damn good value.

Xmas Wine

2011-12-22T16:08:00.008Z

Xmas Eve wine - See "Lastly"...

This year I was charged by Herself-in-law with selecting some wines for the entire clan from Baggot St Wines. The request was fairly non-specific but I suggested a single bottle of dessert wine, some white and some red, with all the wines being "moderately" priced. I was trying to select wines that would appeal to all the various palates in the clan, rather than just my own. Time will tell if I have succeeded.

I can't find the receipt but all the wines were around €15 or less (the Perez Cruz is on at €9-99, which is a steal). I spent some time perusing the shelves with Garret and picked the following:

Dessert:
Domaine des Bernardines Muscat be Beaumes de Venise 2010
The outlaws have been enjoying sweet wines of late and this should be a good example.

White:
La Chablisienne "Le Finage" Chablis 2009
I hadn't had a Chablis in ages and we had a lovely one last weekend in a certain DNS golf club, hence the demand for more.

Walnut Block Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Herself-in-law loves this style, although I think we overdid it during this summer and last. Have a bottle in the fridge and just waiting on Herself to come home.

Laxas Rias Baixas Albarino 2010
After choosing a classic New World and a classic Old World I asked Garret for something different and we settled on the above.

Red:
Perez Cruz Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2009
A cracker from the Maipo valley and a wine I would never have expected to like. Big bold and quite fruity, but balanced by some nice structure.

Plic Plic Plic Monsant 2009
A recommendation from Garret - from a region I confess I hadn't heard of Monsant - although it almost completely surrounds the delicious Priorat. Had a bottle the other night and it was like its cousin, big and muscular with lots of flavour, maybe lacking a little of the complexity of its more illustrious neighbour, but good value as priced (IIRC)

Tour Des Gendres Bergerac 2010
Very French, lots of acidity and ripe fruit.

Second lastly: One tradition I have kept up this year, is that as my contribution to the Xmas dinner in the Out-laws, I supply some decent red to have with the Turkey. This year I chose a La Chappelle de Bébian Coteaux Du Languedoc - Pezenas 2007 - €16-99, also from Baggot St Wines. We had it recently, and loved it.

Lastly: If you are wondering about the picture at the top, this is the wine Herself and I will have on Xmas eve at home. We have a tradition of smoked salmon and Champagne (Tattinger NV this year) followed by a good Bordeaux. This Giscours is the last of six bottles of 2000 bordeaux we got from June* as a wedding present, all those years ago - Cheers June!.

* For the record, the six were: Lynch Bages, Palmer, Chasse Spleen, Giscours, Pavillion Rouge and mumble mumble.

A visit to the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society

2011-12-09T14:57:00.001Z

Hola Amigos,

First off, apologies for the lack of posts in the last month; between the work, the commute to Scotland - gotta love those high winds, and various family commitments I haven't had a lot of time for blogging.

I did, however manage to get out in Edinburgh this week to the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society (Queen St branch) courtesy of m'colleague N Smith. N isn't a big whiskey drinker but is a member, and generously offered to bring me along as a guest when he heard I was into a wee dram.

Anyhoo, after a delicious burger and a couple of pints of Schiehallion in The Cambridge we ambled along to the SMWS on Queen St. The SMWS down in Leith is apparently an even nicer place. It was a school night so we didn't go mad, but we did try four different whiskys - see details below.

I should explain that the SMWS doesn't sell "regular" whisky, that you can buy in a shop. What they do is buy a cask of whisky direct from the distillery and bottle it themselves. Big whoop, I hear you say, this is what the distillery does. Bong! Wrong answer. The distillery does two things typically, 1) They blend various casks of the same age/batch to produce a harmonious "blend". 2) They water down the whisky from "cask strength" approx 55% - 60% abv. to 40+% odd.

So what you get from the SMWS is 1) a unique, never to be repeated expression 2) pretty damn strong, which means you are pretty much obligated to water down the drink (I only tend to add water with very peaty or very strong malts), which can be a variable experience as you could easily add too much or too little AND the minerals in the water can have subtle affects on the taste.

Our expert "barman" suggested the malts below based on my ramblings and while the bottles only have a number on them, the staff will "translate" for you, if, for example you were keen to try a Macallan or a Talisker (sadly out of stock) or whatever. The prices range from £4 up and they serve other drinks too; I had an Aussie beer, a delicious Little Creatures Pale Ale as a chaser.

Anyway, the whiskys we had were as follows (with "codes" in parantheses). The number on the left of the decimal point represents the distillery, the number on the right is the cask number from that distillery, in chronological order. Star of the night for me was the 19yo Clyneish, btw.

Isle Of Arran 9yo (121.50) - A little rough, needed plenty of water.
Clyneish 19yo (26.77) - Complex and delicious.
Highland Park 15yo (4.157) - Expecting more here but nice.
Laphroaig 20yo (29.108) - Subtle.

Four Cheap Tesco wines reviewed in 12 words

2011-11-04T16:14:00.000Z

French Connection Classics - Cotes du Roussillon Villages Rouge 2009 (€7)
Awful - down the sink.

French Connection Classics - Languedoc Rouge 2008 (€7)
As above.

Les 2 Chenes Corbieres 2008 - (€8)
Meh - drinkable, just.

Laurent Miquel Heritage Vineyards Syrah 2008 (€8)
Lovely, quite lovely.

Specials From O'Briens - Updated

2011-10-29T22:10:00.000+01:00

It's been ages, well months anyway, since I've blogged about wines from O'Briens. I have definitely been in least one of their shops during this time as I ventured into their newest premises in picturesque Cabinteely, not long after it opened.

Anyhoo, I was down in Dunnes in the Beacon buying limes, as you do, and decided to do an O'Briens special run. This is where I buy four or five reds on special from the many on display. I try to only get new (to me) wines but occasionally I weaken (viz Pic Saint Loup)

The wines I bought are (from Left to right):
L'Ostal Cazes Eclipse 2010 (€14-99 - Not on Special)
I bought this on spec as I loved the last wine I had from Domaine L'ostal Cazes, a minervois, so I had high hopes, especially at fifteen quid a bottle. We drank it last night and it was...OK. Per O'Briens site "this is like taking what’s great about St.Emilion and the best parts of the Languedoc and mixing them both together" for me, I think this fell between those two stools. It was perfectly drinkable but didn't do it for me, or Herself.

Domaine de Nizas Rouge 2008 (€12-99 - reduced from €15-99)
As I type we are just finishing this off and boy howdy, it is fine. I think we had a bottle of the 2007 at Xmas ( I think - it looks like they have changed the label for the 2008). Loved it then, love it now. A steal as priced.

Gerard Bertrand Pic Saint Loup 2009 (€9-99 - reduced from €14-49)
I've been a big fan of this since I first discovered it last year. This is a new vintage for me, so fingers crossed.
Sorry - I din't have my blogging hat on when we drank this so it can't have been particularly good or particularly bad, apologies.

Reserve de Bonpas Cotes Du Rhone 2010 (€8-99 - reduced from €10-99)
Liked the price and the bottle looked kinda classy...
Another OK CDR, nothing to write home about, a little light perhaps on the body/flavour side.

Domaine Condamine Syrah-Mourvedre Cotes Du Thongue 2009 (€7-99 - reduced from €9-99)
Cheap and cheerful, I guess and hopefully not too "easy drinking"...
Pleasantly surprised with this, lots of nice ripe fruit and a bit of body makes this very good value as priced and pretty decent at a tenner a bottle.

Note 1: I was experimenting with the photo - didn't really work, sorry.
Note 2: I have just noticed all five bottles are French and I don't know what to tell you about that.

Whiskey note 1:
Cragganmore 12yo 70cl in O'Briens - €55, price per litre €78.57
Cragganmore 12yo 100cl in Edinburgh Duty Free - £32, price per litre approx. €38
I make that, less than half price - nice one.

Whiskey note 2: Bough a Glenfarclas 15yo in Edinburgh Duty Free last night, haven't tasted it yet but it smalls lovely

Superquinn Autumn Wine Sale 2011 - Updated

2011-10-10T22:41:00.004+01:00

So I finally made it down to the Superquinn Autumn Wine sale on Sunday. It had been a busy weekend up to this, with late night Poker on Friday (I won, for a change), leading into early morning World Cup rugby watching (we lost, for a change), leading to Saturday afternoon Leinster rugby watching with Lil Bill (tm), his first live rugby match, (we won, eventually).

It wasn't all roses however, as I had also purchased a set of shin-pads in Blackrock, for the aforementioned Bill's Sunday soccer, which I left hanging from the hook on the convenience trolley as I replaced it back at the rank. If you find them, send them my way...

Anyhoo, due to time and budget constraints I limited myself to four reds; I was trying to only buy new (to me) wines and apart from the Crozes Hermitage(which I couldn't resist), I succeeded.

Left to Right we have:

Chateau Lorgeril Cabardes 2008 (€9-00 - reduced from €11-99)
I suspect this wine is from the same producer as one of my "go to" wines from Dunnes, Chateau de Pennautier, although I can't find it on the Lorgeril website. Confidence is moderately high.
**Update - Not bad. A little rough and ready initially, but rounded out over an hour or so to be a chunky, if unsubtle red.

Etienne Barret Crozes Hermitage 2009 (€11-00 - reduced from €14-99)
Loved this in the 2010 sale, so there's that.
**Update - Meh. Not much going on when opened, and we hoped it would improve in the decanter but alas, no. Lots of tannins but not much else. All the lovely fruit from the 2008 seems have evaporated.
A disappointing vintage, it seems

Longue-Dog 2009 (€8-00 - reduced from €11-99)
I am a big fan of this producer's other, also punningly titled, wine in the sale "Chat En Oeuf", and had high hopes for this. I cracked it open on Sunday, and it proved delightful. It tasted a little light at first but over an hour or so it developed some lovely complexity and soft tannins. Very good value as priced.

Collioure Cuvee Des Peintres Rouge 2009 (€10-00 - reduced from €14-99)
I really liked the white from this producer last year but I think this is the first time the red has been included in the sale. A punt, therefore, by definition; but an informed one, nonetheless.
**Update - Loved this. Well balanced and moderately fruity with a little spice. Will buy this again, methinks.

**Update 2 - I ended up in Superquinn again today, cos I like their fish, and the nice man behind the counter cleaned and descaled the fresh sardines I was buying, but I digress. I perused the remnants of the sale and grabbed a Domaine La Brunely Vacqueyras 2010 (€12) and Charles Vienot GSM Rouge 2010 (€7)

Tasting at the opening

2011-10-01T15:26:00.001+01:00

Myself, Herself and B&G (not the winemakers) attended the official opening of Baggot St Wines last night, along with a couple of the victorious Dublin GAA team, in the pissing rain. Given the appalling weather, it was good to see so many people packed into the shop.

They had set up five "barrels" or tasting tables, four wine and one beer (The Porterhouse,which we didn't get to, blues) but we did manage to taste the vast majority of the wines from the four different suppliers. I'm not going to go through all the wines as I didn't take any notes, I just marked on the program the wines we really liked. We liked the lions share of the wines we tasted, which augurs well for future visits. Here are my favourites from the night:

White:
Chablis, Domaine Gerard Tremblay €17-99 - Very Tasty
Picpoul de Pinet, Domaine Delsol €10-99 - Unusual grape but nice wine from the Languedoc.
Gruner Veltliner, Alte Reben €27-99 - Expensive but lovely.
Libalis Blanco €15-99 - Nearly sweet (made from mostly Muscat) and apparently great with Foie Gras.

New World Red
El Grano, Carmenere €13-99 - Surprisingly complex (The Perez Cruz Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 is also good and much better than the standard Chilean fare.)
The Bean, Pinotage €15-49 - Wine with added coffee (not really - see comments). Big and bold and not my style but interesting, none the less.

Old World Red
Cedre Heritage, Cahors 2009 €13-49 - We all loved this, very elegant.
Chianti Rufina, Il Colognole 2006 €14-99 - tastes like a much more expensive Chianti - v nice.
Bajondillo, Mentrida 2010 ,€11-99 from a small appellation near Toledo - fantastic.
Bai Gorri Crianza, Rioja €18-99 - pricey but full of lovely vanilla.

I bought a few bottles on the night and the above are what's left. BigBog bought a heap of beer which we worked our way through while munching on fab Mexican food from Tolteca across the street. If you are into Beers they have a huge range of craft beers also.

The Scotch Experiment

2011-09-23T17:34:00.000+01:00

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am also big into my Scotch single malts, so if that divine nectar doesn't do it for you, please look away now. Anyway, during the course of my last stint in Scotland I endeavoured to refill my whiskey shelf with bottles from the amply stocked Edinburgh Duty Free, which is a bit of a misnomer as all the whiskies are Duty Paid, but discounted. Nominally I decided to purchase approx one bottle per month, alternating between known favourites and experiments.

The results of that spree can be found here. I did OK but found it hard to really push myself out of my comfort zone. For this iteration of the project I am going to do things ~~less~~ more scientifically, to whit, I am going to use Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible 2011, a stocking filler from Herself last Xmas. I don't really read much Whiskey writing so I don't know how well regarded he is (Wikipedia article here), for all I know he could be the Robert Parker of Whiskey writing.

Anyway, his "Bible" is what I have to work with, for better or worse. We seem to share similar tastes in whiskey; he loves two of my faves: Dalwhinnie 15yo and Glenmorangie 10yo and doesn't really care for Balvenie Doublewood or Highland Park 1998.

My method is thus; I select a few likely contenders from the "Duty Free" based on price (around £30 for a litre) and just a general "vibe" when perusing the shelves. I then check these out in the "Bible" and I select those whiskeys which score the highest. Likely contenders so far (JM scores in parentheses)

Glenfarclas 15yo (95)
Glendronach 12yo (92)
An Cnoc 12yo (90)
Aberfeldy 12yo (88.5)
Glengarioch 12yo (88.5)
Aberlour 12yo (88)

Looks like my next three bottles are accounted for. BTW, I realise that I am taking a large punt on Jim Murray's tastes and mine being very similar and I don't really know what to tell you about that.

**Update Got the An Cnoc last week and it's very good. Reminds me of the standard Glenmorangie, whihc is quite a compliment.

French, Spanish and Italian from Baggot St Wines

2011-09-16T22:01:00.000+01:00

Between the travel and the whatnot I realised I probably wasn't going to make it into Baggot St Wines anytime soon, so I sent Herself in. Her instructions were as follows, ask "the man" for three reds priced between €12 and €15 and I would blog on them.

La Vendimia Rioja 2010 - €12-99, was first up. I should have told Herself not to buy Rioja; we drink a lot of this Consejo De la Alta (currently the 2005 vintage), and we love it. A young, moderately priced Rioja wouldn't stand up well to this, and so it proved. While there was nothing wrong with the wine, it didn't do it for either of us. It was bit light with not enough fruit, oak or "oomph"...

La Chappelle de Bébian Coteaux Du Languedoc - Pezenas 2007 - €16-99 was next up. Slightly outside the price range but highly recommended by our man in the shop. We cracked it open on a quiet Saturday night with June and ended up having it with Thai food as I had just dropped our only bottle of chilled white on the tiled floor. Anyhoo - this was fabulous; subtle and fruity with some surprising tannins creeping in towards the end of the bottle.

Baglio Del Sole Nero D'Avola 2009 - €11-49 was the last wine on the same evening and while our taste-buds were probably not at their best we both really enjoyed it. Light and a touch fruity but nicely balanced; probably a wine we should have drunk earlier in the evening but it still worked.

On the whole a pretty good showing, especially as if I had been choosing the three reds I wouldn't have picked the Rioja that I wasn't keen on.

Coincidentally, as I write this I am sipping a Perez Cruz Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 from Chile, also from Baggot St wines. I am on the record as rarely liking this country/grape combination (except for a fantastic and expensive Domus Aurea), so I was presently surprised by this. It has the requisite blackcurrant and tannin wings but there is enough in the middle to make it work as a whole.

Trying Tesco

2011-09-02T21:38:00.004+01:00

I haven't bought any significant amount of wine in Tesco for a good while; for the last while anytime I've been there shopping and have browsed the wine, I find there's very little I'd want to try. I used to drink a lot of their own brand wines, particularly from Italy and the Rhone. I guess I must have overdone it because I went off them, and to this reviewer's eye they don't seem to add new stuff that often.

Anyhoo, I was down in Dundrum today in a hurry and grabbed the three suspects in the picture at left. The top shelf in my "cellar" is empty apart from a Pink Elephant Rosé and an "invisible" bottle of Ogio Primitivo (long story, but at €6 odd in Tesco it's great value)

Note: I lost the receipt, so all prices are approximate.

We recently sampled one of Laurent Miquel's "Grandes Cuvées", the Bardou St Chinian Syrah 2007 (approx €12), on special from Dunnes and it was divine. I can't find this wine, a Heritage Vineyards Syrah 2008 on their website, so I am not sure where it fits into the Laurent Miquel hierarchy. I'm enjoying a glass right now as Ireland struggle to come to terms with Slovakia. I'm rather liking this, it's not terribly complex but it is exceptionally well balanced and very tasty, another classic old world syrah.

Next up is a Piccini Chianti Reserva 2008 (approx €8), I had this once before in June's and loved so here's hoping, especially at this price.
**Update - eh, this was fine, not sure I'd buy again, even at this bargain price.

Lastly, a rule breaker. I have a rule never to buy cheap Bordeaux or Burgundy as it is never worth it. I bought a Chateau Haut Langlade 2008 (€10 reduced from €20) from the Montagne St Emilion region. If this is a genuine €20 bottle then this may be a good bet.
**Update - decent, but again nothing to write home about, more of a generic French red than any particlular Bordeaux-like qualities, but not bad for a tenner.

Site news and Links

2011-08-27T16:18:00.002+01:00

Site news first -

I'm heading back out to parts foreign next week, last time I was did this I decided (after a while), to put the blog on hiatus, as I felt I couldn't deliver the quality of content I wanted, given the time, travel and work pressures. Until I get stuck into this next project I won't know the answer to the question of whether or not I can I feel I can usefully blog. In the interim, here are some links...

Kevin Ecock waxes lyrical on the En Primeur system here.

Spuds? from The Grapefruit here.

I bought lots of this lovely CDR, courtesy of SourGrapes here.

Also, I have been planning to try the new wine shop which replaced Oddbins on Upper Baggot St, cunningly called "Baggot Street Wines", as herself is based nearby and I believe some of the Oddbins staff are involved in the venture. Best wishes to them...

A long night's journey into day

2011-08-07T20:00:00.005+01:00

We've now been down in the "sunny" South East for a week and it's been a mixed week, wine-wise. However, June and BigNose arrived down for the night and they brought with them a veritable cornucopia of wine. June picked up hers in Power and Smullen in Lucan whereas BigNose bought his in Greenacres in Wexford town.

Anyhoo, Herself provided some Dublin bay prawns and some nice fillets of beef (which YHB BBQ'd inexpertly) and the wines above were dispatched in order (left to right) on the night.

June is on a Riesling kick at the moment (as am I) and BigNose followed suit with this Dr Burklin-Wolf Riesling Trocken 2009 - We all liked this, some nice zingy citrus and a good length.

Next up a "Lucan" Riesling - a Kayena Vineyards Tamar Ridge Tasmanian 2009 Riesling - which we also liked but this a much lighter, crisper wine; probably well suited for quaffing in the sun.

June's next offering, and the first of the reds, a Cabanon Cuore Divino La Botte 18 2006 an unusual (Cab Sav only) Italian which apparently was the last Pope's favourite tipple. I liked this but I was expecting something bigger and bolder; this was quite restrained. Very nice, though. I can't work out from the label where it is from in Italy...

BigNose's last contender was a Saint Cosme Cotes Du Rhone 2010 from Greenacres, priced at a modest €13-99. I gave out last year about the prices in Greenacres but they do seem to be now offering more moderately priced wines. This particular CDR was very pleasant with some nice fruit.

The last wine of the night a Navajas Crianza 2007 from Rioja. Alas, it was late in the night when this was drunk and I don't really remember what this was like. I expect it was perfectly fine but at that stage of the evening I can't be sure...

All in all a very interesting wine evening, thanks to our guests for the various wines. I intend to carry out a full scale recce of Greenacres during the week and will report back anon...

Note: Also from Greenacres but beyond my everyday budget was a Setriolo Chianti Classico 2006, which we had in a friend's house on Thursday evening and it was fantastic.

Sundry Summary Judgements

2011-07-27T20:43:00.008+01:00

I noticed today that I have teased you (all tens of you) with the promises of opinions on various wines and then shamefully, not delivered. So here are some very quick reviews...

1) Some Lidl Wines from this post..

Lidl Cotes Du Rhone Villages 2009 - €5-99
Drinkable, but not great.

Lidl Chianti 2007 - €4-99
Piss, poured down sink.

2) Some white wines from the Superquinn €5 bin-end sale from this post.

Chalkers Crossing Hilltops Semillon 2008 - Nice, crisp and refreshing.

Il Nicolaio Soave Classico 2008 - Full and "luscious".

3) I meant to post on this but forgot.

Tesco Finest Alsace Riesling 2009 - €8-99 - Awful, tasted burnt and chemically. I hope this was "off" in some way, as it was undrinkable.

4) Bought a Puccini Memoro - €8-99 in Tesco yesterday. I've had a number of their wines and they have been generally good and are often on special in Tesco. I couldn't find a grape or a region on the bottle, and with good reason - It's a bit of a mongrel, using 4 different grapes (40% Primitivo, 30% Montepulciano, 20% Nero D'Avola, 10% Merlot de Veneto, from 4 different regions (Veneto, Abruzzo, Puglia and Sicily). I'm finding it a bit jammy in Shirazzy way, but Herself is loving it, so there you go.

5) Stocking up with plonk to bring to the sunny southeast, got a few random bottles in a Superquinn on-line shop plus another random few (including some of this) in Dunnes.

A Blur of Scotch Whiskeys

2011-07-21T17:21:00.013+01:00

I looked for the collective noun for Whiskey on the interweb and all I could find was a "blur" of whiskeys, which makes sense, I suppose. Anytime I have had occasion to open multiple bottles things have tended to get a bit blurry.

BTW - this will be of little interest to the non whiskey drinking oenophiles out there, but I wanted to write a bit about the eight different single malts I picked up as I made my weary way home every week from Auld Reekie, over the last few months. Also, I don't think wine and whiskey are that dissimilar in terms of the effort and time required to produce a drink of great quality.

My intent was to buy something I had not tried before, at least every second bottle, to force me to try some new styles and producers. I also decided to buy the standard (youngest) expression of each whiskey. In terms of cost, apart from the final two bottles (£38), all were around the £30 mark. See below for how successful this experiment proved to be.

The whiskeys in the pic above are in purchase order (l-r) with the first purchase, a Cragganmore 12 yo, now sadly finished.

Caragganmore 12yo
Very smooth and very tasty. A good whiskey to give to a non regular whiskey drinker.
Experiment? Yes
Hit or Miss? Hit

Talisker 10yo
Perhaps more of an acquired taste than above - it's a little peaty, a little salty and I think rewards the more adventurous drinker.
Experiment? No
Hit or Miss? Hit

Old Pulteney 10yo
A lighter, sherried cask style of whiskey for when something sweeter is required.
Experiment? Yes
Hit or Miss? Hit

Caol Ila 12yo
I bought this because I had a bottle of the 18yo some years ago and it was fabulous, not overly peaty but rich and complex. The 12yo expression tastes a bit bland for me. There is some peat going on but not much else. Disappointing.
Experiment? Yes
Hit or Miss? Miss

Glenmorangie 10 yo
The standard exoression from this distillery is wonderful - Incredibly rich, spicy and complex on the palate.
Experiment? No
Hit or Miss? Hit

Highland Park 1998
I couldn't find the standard 12yo so I plumped for this Airport only "1998" (there is also a "1994" and a "1990"), assuming erroneously that it would be the same or within spitting distance of the 12yo (which I love). Alas, I was mistaken. Jim Murray, in his "Whisky Bible" 2011 finds it "pleasant but disappointing by HP standards". It just doesn't do it for me. It tastes like a photocopy of the 12yo. I made the mistake of reading this review before trying it and so it's entirely possible I am not giving this whiskey a fair go, but the damage is done now.
Experiment? Yes
Hit or Miss? Miss (mostly)

Dalwhinnie 15yo
Another fantastic Highland single malt. Warming, smooth and another whiskey to tempt the non-whiskey drinker with.
Experiment? No
Hit or Miss? Hit

Dalmore 12yo
I tried this immediately after renewing my acquaintance with Dalwhinnie, and it came off as a little rough and ready. However I did sample it again a couple of weeks ago and it performed much better on its own. It's not a subtle whiskey - big, bold and fiery. If this is your style of single malt then fill your boots, lofty.
Experiment? Yes
Hit or Miss? TBC

Note1: The Dalwhinnie, the Cragganmore and the Talisker and part of Diageo original "Classic Malt" range, which I was unaware of. Not a bad place to start, as it also includes Oban 14yo (Fantastic), Lagavulin 16yo (A peaty monster), and Glenkinchie 10yo (perfectly fine)

Note2: Apologies for the blurry picture, it wasn't intentional. I had to use my old smartphone as my brand new super duper HTC is in being fixed (long story short - great multi media device/crap phone performance).

A lidl on the side*

2011-07-20T16:51:00.008+01:00

Now that I am returned to the blogging game I felt it was time to get back to my roots (and my second ever post, indeed) by visiting Lidl and seeing what they had to offer the bargain hunting wine buyer. A lot of same old wines are there; some I have tried, some I wouldn't try and I bought a couple of wines that are new to me.

From Left to right they are:

Lidl Cotes Du Rhone Villages 2009 - €5-99
No particular Village is mentioned here and no producer either, so I'm hoping this is one of those undiscovered gems...

Lidl Chianti 2007 - €4-99
This appears to be from the same producer as the extremely cheap (€3-29 and up) Lidl Montepulciano that I find eminently drinkable but others disagree. Worth a punt for that reason alone.

* sorry.

Assorted Nuts

2011-07-16T13:18:00.006+01:00

First off I bought a couple of reds as part of Dunnes "Mediterranean Festival", to whit-

Laurent Miquel "Bardou" Saint Chinian Languedoc 2007 (?13-99?) - Fabulous. I think this was reduced from about 20 lids and that's probably a fair price. A classic old world Syrah; long, silky and complex. A steal at this price.

Florentina Chianta Riserva 2007 (?9-99?) - this was perfectly fine, a bit of nice acidity and OK value as priced but nothing special.

Poker with the Guys last night and no wine news as such ( I broke even on the last hand of the night - my palace* of tens beating a palace of nines and a royal flush and yes - this particular variant is a travesty of the great game of Poker, with lots of wild cards). Anyhoo, we had on hand both Glenlivet 12yo and Glenfiddich 12yo and decided to do a blind tasting.

Of the five who tasted, four of us preferred the Glenfiddich, with three of the four correctly guessed its identity (YHB was sadly mistaken). I had professed previously to not really caring for the 12yo Glenfiddich, but I really liked it last night. I guess sometimes it takes a blind tasting to show one the error of one's ways...

On the whiskey front I intend to post soon enough on my various purchases while commuting to Edinburgh, and the large range of moderately priced whiskies in the Airport "duty free", from which I made my selections.

On the wine front - we are rapidly working our way through the bargains from Dunnes and Superquinn, so I think a trip to Lidl/Aldi is called for, I haven't been in ages and also, I'm skint...

*Five of a kind

A fiver a pop - cheap for most things...(Updated)

2011-07-06T15:38:00.014+01:00

A little bird (@SuperquinnWine) tweeted on Tuesday evening that they were starting a €5 a bottle bin-end sale on Wednesday, so being the bargain hunter (read: cheapskate) that I am I made a beeline* for Blackrock yesterday. Our little bird had also helpfully included some favourites to aid selection from the long list.

When I got there I was initially disappointed to see only a selection from the list present, but I guess this was due to space constraints. My disappointment turned to joy when I spotted a certain NZ pinot for a fiver which I really liked last time out.

The rest were all punts based on recommendations from @SuperquinnWine, so I reckon I'll soon discover if our tastes are similar.

Red

Waipara Hills Pinot Noir 2008 (left) - I got a few of these to entertain with on Saturday - here's hoping our guests (and I also) appreciate the subtleties of this wine.
*Verdict - had this on Saturday as an accompaniment to BBQ'd spatchcock organic chicken and I thought it worked well. Lighter than I remembered but still full of luscious fruits.

Roureda Llicorella Priorat 2005 - I'm on a Priorat kick at the moment and this guy liked it.

*Verdict - Disappointing and a little sharp at first but after a couple of hours in the decanter it really developed into a complex beefy treat, but it really needed the time (approx two hours)

Chateau De Sours Bordeaux Rouge 2007 - I never buy "cheap" Bordeaux, I've been burned too often, maybe it's because I was brought up on the good stuff - anyhoo, I'll stick my neck out once again on this.

*Verdict - Had this "late" on Saturday and it was drinkable but unremarkable.

White

Roureda Llicorella Blanc 2005 - A white Priorat, who knew?**
*Verdict -Me and June lamped into this while herself, "slim and strawberry blonde" apparently, was putting the war paint on. P yellow in the glass, it tasted (to us) somewhat like a good Aussie reisling, which was nice.

Chalkers Crossing Hilltops Semillon 2008 - Bought based on recommendation alone.

Il Nicolaio Soave Classico 2008 - Bought based on recommendation alone.

Also

Rare Vineyards Carignan Vielles Vignes 2010 - I quite liked this before (I thought I had blogged on this previously, but I can't find it, so I don't know what to tell you...) It's not in the sale but is available for a mere €6, so I grabbed a couple.

*Verdict - cracked a bottle of this last night while I was left home alone (sniff) and as before it was very tasty and I had to stop myself drinking the entire bottle.

*This is a myth, btw - bees zigzag all over the place.

**Obviously not me...

More From Dunnes (and me)

2011-07-06T10:21:00.007+01:00

Apologies folks for the delay in posting - It's been a hectic few days in Casa di Willie. There were various entertainments on last week, literally as soon as I got back from parts Foreign. Herself had bought some Protocolo 2009 for entertaining purposes from O'Briens and I was pleasantly surprised. The last Protocolo I tasted (2008) was a little jammy for my tastes, compared to the original 2006 which I loved and of which I still have one in my "cellar". It's possible of course that the wine doesn't exhibit that much annual diversity and "it's all in my head" but hey ho that's the beauty of the web - anyone can write any old crap and call it Gospel (and I do...)

Anyhoo - I decide to pay one last visit to Dunnes in the beacon to a) get some more of the lovely Priorat and b) to have a butchers at any other wines I might have missed. As it happened I was just in time as there were less than 10 of the Priorat left, so I grabbed a few and have added one to my "cellar". Note: yesterday I discovered a large cache of the Priorat in another Dunnes, which shall have to remain my little secret.

I also picked up the following (prices are approximate as I threw away the receipt and can't find the prices online - boo)

Florentina Chianta Riserva 2007 (?9-99?) - I like Chianti generally so...

Laurent Miquel "Bardou" Saint Chinian Languedoc 2007 (?13-99?) - One of Laurent Miquel's "Grande Cuvees". Per the website this is a "Syrah based single vineyard Saint Chinian from a selected block named Bardou on his reputed family-owned estate. The site has very poor ,stony soils and the vines are about 26 years old (see photo). This unique terroir coupled with a windy, dry microclimate means that yields are low (approximately 30 HL/Ha) and the fruit is intensely flavoured and concentrated. Aged in French oak barrels (both new and 2nd use)." Sounds interesting.

The return of "that guy"... (Now Updated)

2011-06-24T18:51:00.012+01:00

Howdy folks. It's been an awfully long time since I blogged at ya - 6 months to be precise. For me, the time has flown; I've been up to my furry bits in a complex IT project, which went live successfully last weekend. I still have a week to go, both tidying up and pissing up, but I should be home for good next week - woo hoo!

John Wilson's column in the Irish Times on Saturday mentioned that Dunnes are having a "Mediterranean Festival" so I stopped by their Beacon store on my travels today and picked up six reds from Spain and Italy. The French offerings didn't look particularly appetising to YHB so I passed on them.

I looked up the "Festival" on the Dunnes site for a bit more info, but the page isn't a "mind of information" as they'd say on DNS. Judge for yourself. I'd expect a minimum of a PDF or at least a more readable page. Superquinn's many and multifarious wine sales would seem to be the benchmark here.

Note: The display shelves in the shop show the notional "full" price but neither the receipt in my sweaty little fist, nor the Dunnes website can help me out in retrospect here.

Anyhoo - the six wines are:

Crossos Priorat 2008 (€12-99) - Any Priorat I've had to date I've really liked so...

Verdict - This is fantastic, big and bold - I need to buy more asap.

Arroyo Ribera Del Duero Crianza 2008 (€10-99 - John Wilson specifically recommended this so...

Verdict - Similar to the Barbaresco this was quite light in colour, but was quite fruity in a strawberry, New World Pinot Noir-ish way, strangely. Not unpleasant, but not something I would probably buy again.

Masseria Del Fauno Salice Salentino 2010 (€5-99) - I do like wines from here, they are tangy and acidic and good pizza/pasta wines IMHO, and at this price it's worth a punt.

Verdict - Only got around to this last night and it is a steal at this price, some nice acidity and a very well balanced wine for thsi money.

Il Burchino Toscana 2007 (€12-99) - This looked classy, beyond that, I don't know what to tell you. Tomás Clancy had this as his "One to Buy" last Sunday in the Turbine, although (see comments), this in not an uncontested opinion.

Verdict - We probably didn't give this wine the best opportunity by drinking after a hot Thai penang curry but even so it was pretty good. A solid chunky Tuscan, and decent value at this price.

Riva Leone Barbaresco 2008 (€9-99) - A Barbaresco for a tenner? Again, I pretty much had to. Also, Dunnes have a Barolo from the same producer for about 15 notes. Let's see how this ones goes first.

Verdict - Herself demanded another red be opened after the lovely Priorat and chose the Barbaresco. Disappointing. Quite a light colour in the glass and similarly lacking in flavour on the plate. Not offensive but a bit "meh" and not what was expected...

Campomagio Toscano 2006 (€11-99) - I hadn't intended buying two "Toscanas" [IGT] so here's hoping.

Verdict - Again a perfectly pleasant Tuscan, nothing to write home about but perfectly fine. For the extra Euro I'd buy the Burchino.

In conclusion, kudos to Dunnes for the wines, but their promotion and presentation could do with some work.

And yes - it's good to be back.

Hiatus

2011-01-09T11:43:00.003Z

For various reasons - mostly job related, I'm going to take a break from blogging. I seem to be lacking that energy or passion that I used to have for this blog. I suspect the travelling and associated stress of commuting to the UK has sapped whatever surfeit of vim, zest or moxie I normally possess.

I still enjoy the wine; the seeking out of bargains, the joy of quaffing a fine claret (mostly on somebody else's nickel - I admit), and the pleasure of just writing something, and getting it out onto the intertubes for better or worse.

However, without the requisite passion, I feel I wouldn't be able to produce content that would be much beyond a list of what I've recently sampled, which wouldn't be particularly entertaining or edifying.

So until this current project is finished - approx. six months hence, I won't be doing much blogging. I will continue to tweet - http://twitter.com/willieswineblog as this seems to be a more suitable medium for the kind of contribution I wish to make...

End of line.

Xmas Cheer from O'Briens - Part 2 and Leo Sayer*

2010-12-29T19:40:00.008Z

Since my last post, we've only had one of the three remaining wines and it was the Ferraton Le Grand Courtil Crozes Hermitage 2007- (€26-95). As I noted at the time I bought this by mistake and was hoping this wouldn't prove to be an expensive mistake.

I opened this for our house guests from France the other night in advance of them bringing us out to our super local resto The Box Tree in Stepaside. After an hour or so in the decanter I was a little bit disappointed at first taste, as my guest rightly pointed out, we were expecting something more full bodied, and while it was perfectly pleasant at this stage it was not a wine worth 30 notes.

To its credit, it improved over the next hour or so and did develop some length and complexity in the glass but as to my chances of buying it again - sadly it's a "no".

As yet undrunk are the Schloss Schönborn Riesling Trocken 2006 - (€16-95) and the Clos Du Val Merlot 2006 (€15-99 reduced from €22-95) .

*This review should probably be taken with a pinch of salt as me and, my now identically monikered friend, had already polished off, by this stage - A bottle of Bolly (NV), a sixpack (6X 355ml) of Brooklyn Lager and my famous Bombay Sapphire (double) G&T, before this pre-dinner bottle of red.

At the Restauraunt, we each had a pint (Guinness for him, Belfast Blonde lager for me), 500ml of a cheeky Touraine, a bottle of Chateau Neuf Du Pape (I can't find the wine list online, and I can't, understandably, remember their names). This was followed by an after dinner whiskey (Black Bush for him, Bushmills Malt 10yo for me) and then off home with us, where we cracked a bottle of 16yo Lagavulin, which needed a beer chaser and then...

Note 1: Herself was present for all of this but remained relatively abstemious.

Note 2: Do not try this at home - Experienced professional drinkers carried out this reckless activity.

Xmas cheer from O'Briens - Results Part1

2010-12-22T18:57:00.008Z

Hola Amigos, apologies for the delay. Between work in Edinburgh, Xmas shopping and working from home this week (Best Decision EVER) I haven't had much chance to blog. Anyway - below are some micro reviews of a those wines that I have sampled out of the dozen odd I got on special in O'Brien's last Friday week.

Rizzardi Pinot Grigio 2009 - (€10-99 reduced from €11-89). I didn't love this, this time around, for some reason. Perfectly fine but nothing to write home about.

Clos Du Val Zinfandel 2006 (€15-99 reduced from €22-95). I have been wanting to try this for years and at this bargain price it was sold out when I got everything else. However, I popped in between snow showers on the off chance and got lucky. The girl in the shop said it was her favourite wine so I was sure not to be disappointed, but I was. Again, there was nothing wrong with this wine, some fruit, reasonably balanced but not a world beater and definitely not worth 20+ euro, but may be worth a punt if you like your U.S. zins.

Ferraton Plan de Dieu Cotes du Rhone Villages 2009 - (€9-99 reduced from €12-99). Very nice indeed, we both liked this a lot. Nicely balanced and a big finish.

Domaine De Nizas Coteaux de Languedoc 2007 (€12-99 reduced from €16-45) Bought this as a punt and lucked out. An elegant and exceptionally well balanced wine, great value as priced.

Mas Belles Eaux Les Coteaux Languedoc 2006 (€13-99 Reduced from €19-45). Fruitier than I had expected this was still a classy wine. Big and bold and not for the faint of heart.

Gerard Bertrand Pic Saint Loup 2008 (€9-99 Reduced from €14-45) Another two bottles drunk and still performs very well. Would be a perfect wine to entertain with over Xmas.

Rizzardi Tacchetto 2009 (€12-99 Reduced from €16-99) This the only wine on the bunch to date that I didn't like at all. It reminded me of a cheap, new world cab sav. From looking at the reviews on this page on the O'Briens site, I seem to be in the minority, so I just don't know what to tell you.

That's it so far. As I drink the rest of them I'll let you all know how I find them.

Looking forward to Xmas eve, we'll start with a bottle of Bollinger NV, and then the second last bottle of June's wedding gift, from the depths of my "cellar", a Chateau Chasse Spleen Moulis-En-Medoc 2000.

Xmas cheer from O'Briens

2010-12-10T17:55:00.010Z

I have bought precious little wine of late, most due to weather related difficulties; being stuck in Edinburgh or trying to get there and the associated knock-on effect onto my free time. I got stuck in Edinburgh Airport on Thursday night so I did some research on the OBrien's website. I noticed they had 150 wines on special,and I haven't stocked up for Xmas, so I went along yesterday armed with a printed wish-list.

I didn't get everything I wanted and I bought a couple of wrong-uns (so to speak) but on the whole I think It was a successful trip.

First the whites:
Schloss Schönborn Riesling Trocken 2006 - (€16-95). I had intended to buy a slightly different Riesling from this producer, which was on special but ended up with this which is not on the O'Briens website (that I can find). Everyone raves about Riesling, I've been underwhelmed with the last couple of (reasonably expensive) ones I've had, perhaps this will change my mind.

Rizzardi Pinot Grigio 2009 - (€10-99 reduced from €11-89). I've had this a couple of times (different vintages I suspect) and really liked it.

Now the Reds:
Clos Du Val Merlot 2006 (€15-99 reduced from €22-95) Had another bottle of this recently and can't praise it enough. A slightly fruitier version of a good Pomerol at a fraction of the price. I had intended to get a bottle of their Zinfandel also but it was all gone - alas.

Ferraton Plan de Dieu Cotes du Rhone Villages 2009 - (€9-99 reduced from €12-99). I've drunk gallons of their other CDR "Samorens" and this had a good write up so...

Ferraton Le Grand Courtil Crozes Hermitage 2007- (€26-95). This was a mistake. I had intended to buy their cheaper Crozes Hermitage "Le Matiniere", on special at €13-99. I'm sure it will be nice (If I don't return it) but the plan was to only buy from the specials.

Domaine De Nizas Coteaux de Languedoc 2007 (€12-99 reduced from €16-45) Bought this purely from the blurb on the website, but I do think there is huge value in Southern France.
Have just dcanted for drinking tonight - will update tomorrow.

Mas Belles Eaux Les Coteaux Languedoc 2006 (€13-99 Reduced from €19-45). Robert Parker gave this 90 points, who am I do disagree?

Gerard Bertrand Pic Saint Loup 2008 (€9-99 Reduced from €14-45) Another wine I had again recently and it was delicious as usual. I bought two.

Rizzardi Tacchetto 2009 (€12-99 Reduced from €16-99) Bought this one because I have liked all of their other wines that I have tried, and it's pretty good value for a Bardolino.

This is just to say

2010-11-29T23:34:00.006Z

It's late. I'm tired. I was at the airport at 5am. And again at 12pm. Four journeys. Lots of snow, icy roads and flashing ABS lights. No flight to Edinburgh, though. Lack of appreciation for efforts from powers that be, check. Same again tomorrow or (shudder) Prestwick, check. Rant over, check.

Anyhoo, many thanks to all concerned for my birthday dinner on Saturday, chez Papa and Grandma. We started with a Chateau Carbonnieux Pessac Leognan Graves 2004/6?, followed it with a Chateau Calon Segur Saint Estephe 2000 and finished with my present from my eldest bro, a Yalumba Museum Muscat dessert wine, it was delicious, so sweet and so cold.

Links und Recht

2010-11-27T11:43:00.004Z

Another link post cos I'm too tired, hungover and snowbound* to review anything...

Interesting piece on tasting notes here from WineRant.

Kevin Ecock's take on Organic, BioDynamic etc. here for all you budding eco-weenies.

I really wish I could make it to this, I was at John Wilson's version a year ago.

Thanksgiving Wine recommendations here, I guess you could use them for Xmas.

Last night I ended up drinking, along with a large quantity of Oban 14yo, a few wines I had blogged about from O'Briens. Our host had been to said shop and ended up selecting one of these, one of these, and a couple of these, quite without reference to YHB's opinions.

We didn't get to the Minervoios, but the Pic Saint Loup was very tasty and the Clos Du Val Merlot was fantastic, again. BigNose didn't like it, for some reason. More for me so...

*Not really - 4WD to the rescue.

Simply Wines Xmas Wine Fair

2010-11-20T18:42:00.007Z

Part 1 [Saturday] - In which I talk about the wines to be drunk..

Although I am only five minutes away I had never been down to SimplyWines on the Ballyogan Road, I had some spare time on Friday so I popped down. One of our guests tonight doesn't drink much red so I figured I'd pick up a couple of Chateau Bauduc, Gordon Ramsay's house white. If it's good enough for him...

As luck would have it the shop was quiet so I was able to spend a good while with main man Ian and I tasted a good number of reds. I was looking for a red to have for my (and BS's) b'day dinner tonight chez nous. I settled on the two reds, and the aforementioned white, above to have with our experimental chicken. Left to Right they are...

Cable Bay Marlborough Pinot Noir 2006 - €17-60 (Reduced from €22). I hadn't intended spending €18 odd on a wine on this occasion, but I tried this and loved it. Quite an Old-World style of Pinot and I hope the guests like it as much as I did.

Chateau Bauduc Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2009 - €12. Liked it on the day, about to have some more.

La Forge Estate Vielles Vine Carignan 2009 - €12 (reduced from €16). Inky purple in the glass, lots on vanilla on the nose and unusual on the palate. I'll be interested to see what the guests think of this - it'll be the after dinner wine, I think the Pinot should go well with the main course.

Part 2 [Sunday]- In which I talk about the wines we have drunk

All three performed well on the night although I think the Carignan suffered from being drunk immediately after a splendid Chateau Tertre Daugay Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2003, brought along by BE from his stash. It, the Carignan, didn't seem to have the same vanilla, oak and fruit that it had in the shop, but I have another bottle so I'll try it again on its own and see how it fares.

On the whiskey side BigBog helped me break the seal on my newest Scotch purchase a bottle of12yo Old Pulteney Single Malt, from the "rugged town of Wick on the tip of the North-East coast, facing the Moray firth". Have just looked on Google maps and it does indeed look quite rugged. The whiskey spends some time in Sherry casks and this imparts a gentle sweetness to the dram, and a singular addition to my whisk(e)y press.

This port (in a storm)...

2010-11-12T17:48:00.011Z

After the harrowing events of last evening, (flying into Dublin airport in a propeller driven plane, into the teeth of a gale, stone cold sober), I felt in need of some nice wine, a haircut and a non sequitur. As luck would have it all are available on Upper Baggot St. After being correctly denuded (you'd be surprised how hard it is to get "3 on the top, 1 on the back & sides" right), I ambled into Oddbins across the road.

I nearly bought a South African wine, any South African wine in an effort to prove myself wrong that there is no decent value SA red out there*. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the wine, at left. It's a Quinta das Setencostas Alenquer DOC 2007. The last time I had this wine, about 2 years ago, I was enthused enough to buy a case immediately, it was that good (I suspect it was the 2005, btw). My eldest bro is also a big fan, as were various punters I entertained with said case.

Since that day I have not seen it in Oddbins or anywhere else for that matter. I have just decanted a bottle and am trying to remember what I liked about it. It was inky purple in the glass, big and spicy on the palate. In my memory it was made with the Touriga Nacional grape but now that I read the label I see it is made with Castelao, Camarate, Tinta Miuda and some Preto-Martinho; that's me told.

Update to follow, disappointment probability - 20%.#

**Update - this was very nice indeed, more fruit forward than I remembered but not overly so. Lots of spice and depth made this a delicious tipple.

* I appealed for examples on Twitter to no avail...

Whiskey, and lots of it.

2010-11-05T17:49:00.008Z

Yes. It's that time again. My semi-annual wallow in my only other (legal) vice. Given that I am going through Edinburgh Airport every week I've surprised myself by only having bought two (litre) bottle so far. These were a Speyside (Cragganmore 12yo) and an Island (Talisker 10yo). I am aiming to get at least one Highland (Glenmorangie perhaps) and an Islay (probably Caol Isla 12yo) before Xmas.

I may then dip into the Lowlands, or else with a solid base of Whiskey in the cupboard, I may sample some whiskeys outside of my comfort zone; Jura, Auchentoshan, Glenrothes, An Cnoc, or one of a few others that have caught my eye.

Anyhoo - here's the bit I'm sure you all have been waiting for:

Single Malt Scotches (L-R)

Caragganmore 12yo

Desc: I brought this Speyside out at the last Poker game and the lads loved it. Very smooth and a good whiskey to give to a non regular drinker.

Remaining: 0.8 bottles

Talisker 10yo

Desc: I also brought this out, but it proved less popular. It's a little peaty, a little salty and I think rewards the more adventurous drinker.

Remaining: 0.8 bottles

Bruichladdich Moine Mhor (3 different years)

Desc: A strong (50%) dram, sweet and peaty. A special edition which was a gift from Herself. Works well with a drop of water.

Remaining: 0.6 bottles

Lagavulin 16yo

Desc: My previous favourite Islay. Smooth and smoky and very peaty.

Remaining: 1 bottles (thanks MP!)

Bowmore 18yo

Desc: My new favourite Islay, even though I drink it only rarely.

Remaining: 0.6 bottles

Springbank "Longrow" Gaja Barola 7yo

Desc: A non-Islay peaty beast with a whopping 55.6% alcohol, this whiskey is delicious with a drop of water. This also spends the last 2 years of its life in Barolo casks. Who'd a thunk it?
Remaining: 0.5 bottles

Blends & Other bottles (L - R)

Jameson Original
Desc: The standard expression. Had this recently at a neighbour's house and was very pleasantly surprised by it. Warm , spicy and intense.
Remaining: 0.9 bottle

Bushmills Malt 16yo
Desc: A nod to my own heritage, a big warm sweet whiskey.
Remaining: 0.2 bottles

Woodford Reserve
Desc: A present from MP, an impressive bourbon. Light years ahead of Jack Daniels et al. Although not as smooth as a single malt.
Remaining: 0.4 bottles

Bushmills Malt 12yo
Desc: Haven't opened this yet although I expect good things after the 16yo
Remaining: 1 bottle

Lark Distillery SingleMalt.
Desc: A present from JP & MP all the way from Tasmania. A different and slightly less refined malt from our Antipodean cousins, another nice change of pace.
Remaining: 0.4 bottles

Mystery Amarone and a welcome arrival.

2010-11-01T20:11:00.006Z

Just a quick post from out foreign like. We had the wine above on Saturday night, one of our guests ( I think it was BigHead) brought it along recently. It was a Cantina Di Soave Amarone Della Valpolicella Rocca Alata 2007 and delicious it was too. It started off with some nice acidity and a little cherry fruit and over the next couple of hours it developed into a wine of some depth and complexity, with some gentle tannins creeping in at the finish.

On the local front, a new Gastropub opened up in Stepaside village, The Wild Boar along with its its sister restaurant The Box Tree, which is due to open November 1st. Both are courtesy of the man behind One Pico, Eamonn O'Reilly. Before the Amarone above, we ventured down there with Little Bill (tm); I had drawn the short straw and was driving, so no wine for me. The service was friendly, and a little haphazard, but the food was a revelation. Top quality nosh at rock bottom prices, my pork belly main with [stuff] was €11 while Little Bill's (tm) fish and chips (€7-95) was crisp light and gorgeous, freshly battered and something I'd have been well happy with myself.

I can't report much on the wine front, there was no wine list to be seen, only a few wines available by bottle and glass on the specials board. Herself had a glass of the Montepulciano with her fantastic rib-eye and it was perfectly fine. I'm sure the wine list issue will be resolved with the opening of the main restaurant and I'm looking forward to going back.

A couple of chancers from Blackrock...

2010-10-22T18:15:00.009+01:00

Finally made it down to Superquinn in Blackrock for my habitual Friday fish (It's not a religious thing - I'm a Pastafarian), but they do nice fish. Thus forearmed with three large pieces of hake, I wandered down the aisle to the wine and picked up the following:

Collioure Cuvée des Peintres 2009 - €10. This was part of the last wine sale and the blurb says: "Made from a traditional blend of Southern French grape varieties (Marsanne, Rousanne, Grenache Blanc), a third of this wine is fermented in oak to add complexity to the final blend. This wine has a fresh and fruity nose with notes of white peach." It comes from Banyuls-sur-mer which is near the French-Spanish border on the Med.

I read some good things about it at the time of the sale, so I reckoned it was worth a punt. In fact, I'm going to open it now. [Time Elapses, for a while then - POP] Yum. Crisp, nice acidity, some delicate fruit but I ain't getting peaches, maybe a hint of tropical fruits? Very pleasant all round, though.

Next up a Sammicheli Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano 2007 - €7 - reduced from €11-99, I think. A Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano for €7 is always worth a punt. It has been decanted and is (not literally) hovering over my right shoulder as I type.

**Update** - This proved to be a perfectly acceptable tipple, a little light but with some nice cherry and dark fruit flavours. Definitely worth a look at this price.

Lastly I have not had a drop of wine on my new work commute, yet. I guess I appreciate the grape all the more on weekends.

Really lastly, for those of you who missed the media blitz, YHB (and three other Irish wine bloggers), were featured last Sunday in The Sunday Tribune in an article by Lar (also from SourGrapes.ie). Thanks again to Lar - full article here.

I am ze pahty pooper...

2010-10-15T18:15:00.009+01:00

I did a quick run around the Beacon quarter earlier today, first stop was a "bazzer" (that's Cork slang for a haircut - get your mind out of the gutter) and then onto Dunnes. We are having the usual suspects over for dinner tomorrow to celebrate BigHead's 40th and I wanted to buy some wine to go with the slow cooked lamb shanks.

I had to buy some veg. in Dunnes so I deciced if I could get find decent wine there, so be it, otherwise it was across the car park with me to O'Briens. Luckily they had lots of this - Art de Vivre Saint Chinian 2008, Reserve de Gerard Bertrand. I loved it last time and at €8-99 it's good value. I also picked up an Arthur Metz Gewurztraminer 2009 (€9-95) which I have just sampled and to be honest , I'm not loving it. It's perfumed, sweet, peachy/apricotty and a little syrupy, perhaps I'm just not in the mood for that style of wine tonight.

On the red front I picked up a Chateau Pennautier Terriors D'Altitude 2006 (€9-00). Way back when, (July to be precise) Lar from Sourgrapes turned me onto their basic red (€6-95) which was delicious and a steal at that price. At the time I noticed the Terroirs D'Altitude but didn't try it. Tonight is the night.

Lastly, we'll be starting the wines tomorrow with the Meursault at left, it's the last of several bottles I got for my birthday last November, and I'm looking forward to it. The shame (or the joy for us wine drinkers) is that three of the attendees tomorrow don't really drink that much wine and will (probably) not partake. More for the rest of us, I guess.

**Update** I enjoyed the Meursault, but I think I was the only one, and to be brutally honest I enjoyed it somewhat because it tasted the way it should taste, rather than the fact that I liked it hugely. I should explain; at the last couple of tastings I have attended (and I don't get to many) I have tried some expensive (mostly Aussie) Chardonnays and they have quality of flavour that was amply present in the above wine. Leading me to believe that a good chardonnay ought to taste this way.

So, while this was undoubtedly a very fine wine; a) it may not be a wine to impress non wine buffs with and b) at this stage of my wine education I don't think I'm getting enough out of wines like this to justify buying them.

Results of the Dalkey Jury

2010-10-11T21:22:00.004+01:00

I bought the following wines in On the Grapvine on Saturday, a Domaine de Bisconte Cotes Du Roussillon 2008, and a La Cabotte Colline Cotes Du Rhone 2007, both wines were about 11/12 euro.

The Domaine de Bisconte is popular - I was informed, and no wonder. I don't know what I was expecting but not a young, fruit-forward, New World-like wine. By no means unpleasant, it was a bit too jammy for me, but if you like your New World wines, you won't go wrong here.

The La Cabotte was corked. I tried the cling film rescue trick and it took the edge off the TCA but the wine remained stubbornly undrinkable. I was 0 for 2 in Dalkey, unfortunately, but I will go back.

I heard it...

2010-10-09T18:38:00.010+01:00

Hola, amigos. It's been a while since I blogged at ya. I'm still trying to find some equilibrium given my current UK commute and today is the first chance I've had to put pen to virtual paper in two weeks.

By chance, or by design, we had a couple of hours to kill this lunchtime in the Killiney/Dalkey area so off we popped to Dalkey village for a read of the paper and a nice lunch. After a distinctly poor lunch in a large well-known Dalkey pub (three different dishes - two poor, one average and not cheap either), we wandered disconsolately through the town and found ourselves near On the Grapevine, a Dalkey wineshop whose blog I read.

We had previously been in the local O'Briens where I wanted to sample a Valpolicella Ripasso which was open for tasting, but there were no clean glasses. One sale lost there, I suppose.

Happily we stumbled across On the Grapewine and I had a good peruse and the lady in the shop was very helpful and suggested the two wines pictured when I said I wanted a reasonably priced red to go with a steak.

The wine at the top of the post is a Domaine de Bisconte Cotes Du Roussillon 2008, which is decanted and is sitting temptingly just behind me, and which has been flying off the shelves of late, apparently. The wine immediately above is a La Cabotte Colline Cotes Du Rhone 2007, their blog post about it is here. Both wines were about 11/12 euro, (I lost the receipt). I even got a loyalty card but as I am in Dalkey about once every three years, I don't think I'll fill it up.

I have to say I don't normally shop in independent off licences, purely based on the fact that my local supermarkets are much more convenient, but it was a revelation to see row after row of virgin (new to me) wines. I shall have to get out more.

Site News and some fine Wines

2010-09-26T12:07:00.004+01:00

Well, it's finally happened. From tomorrow I'll be commuting a lot for work off to parts foreign. I expect that I won't be able to blog as much as I have been doing (on average twice a week) for the last few months. Given the commute, family time will be at a premium so if I can get one post a week out I'll be doing well.

The content of this blog normally comprises budget, supermarket wines with the odd fine wine thrown in just to mix it up a bit. This is one of these times. The Occasion was a significant family birthday and the food and wine (apart from Herself's chocolate cake) were supplied by various other family members. A great time was had by all and special thanks to Big Sis for hosting.

The wines on the night were as follows:

Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2000 - Much better than the last time we had this back in June. Crisp, toasty with lots of zing.

Domaine Hubert Bouzereau-Gruère et Filles 2006 Meursault - From a small family operation, this was buttery and very smooth. We had this with some hard-carved leg of Iberico Ham brought back from Spain, yum.

Chateau Lynch Bages 2004 Pauillac - An old family favourite, I had not had the 2004 before and it was very good. It had a hard job against the peppery beef main course but it held its ground.

Cru Barrejats 1996 Sauternes Fantastic, I'm really getting a taste for Sauternes, pity I can't afford to buy any.

Lastly Big Bro had brought a tincture of Armagnac from 1940, yep 70 year old Armagnac, in honour of another family occasion. YHB and Herself were the only ones who really liked this, surprisingly.

Anyway, I'm off now - I'll see you next time I see you.

Superquinn Autumn French Wine Sale Final Report

2010-09-25T11:29:00.003+01:00

Last week I bought four wines in the Superquinn Autumn French Wine Sale, here are the results on the last two...

Saumur Cabernet Franc 2009 (€7 reduced from €10-49) This was not bad, not great but not bad. There was some nice raspberry fruit and some decent tannins but I don't think the various elements gelled to form a cohesive whole.

Rare Vineyards Malbec 2009 (€6 reduced from €9-99) Initially this tasted a bit cheap and cheerful, but as we slowly finished off the bottle the original slight harshness wore off and the flavours rounded out a bit. Again, not bad and for €6, what do you expect? But for a few quid more I'd drink this every time.

I should also say that there are several old favourites of mine on the sale that deserve a mention:

La Baume Viognier (€8 reduced from €10-65) - Delicious with lots of peachy fruitiness.

Superquinn Classic collection Petit Chablis (€10) Crisp, lean and lovely.

Domaine Cristia Cotes Du Ventoux (€7 reduced from €14-99) Spicy and Rhoney and great value as priced.

Chat En Oeuf (€8 reduced from €11-99) A budget Chateauneuf that really delivers.

Domaine De Brunely Vacqueyras (€12 reduced from €17-99) I wouldn't pay full whack for this but as priced it's a big beefy bargain.

There are a few more expensive Bordeaux but I haven't had much luck with them over the last 18 months. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

A morning in the Yarra with Kevin Ecock (and Phil Sexton)

2010-09-24T20:00:00.003+01:00

A couple of weeks back I was at a consumer tasting of Yarra valley wines organised by John McDonnell from Wine Australia with special guest Phil Sexton from Innocent Bystander/Giant Steps. Kevin Ecock reproduced my report of the evening tasting on his blog here, and also said some generous things about my blog.

In return, I'm reproducing his report on the trade/press tasting held the following morning. There weren't that many wines in common but it seems the wines I liked, he wasn't crazy about and the wines he liked I was lukewarm about! The only thing we both strongly agreed on was the 2004 Harry's Monster Giant Steps, which we both loved. Anyhoo, here is his report...

Yarra Valley with Phil Sexton - Regional Hero

Phil Sexton is a wine maker, brewer, pilot, cheese and coffee aficionado, storyteller and seemingly all round interesting and happy guy. Wines of Australia did well to bring him in to Dublin last week for a series of tastings in their Regional Hero programme. Readers of this blog know that Wines of Australia do things well and do 'well things' often. Last week I reproduced Willies Wine Blogs take on a Yarra Valley consumer event. Phil also presented a Morning in the Yarra to the trade and press in Fallon and Byrne. It was a substantial tasting and packed full of nuggets of info from Phil.

Phil Sexton sold a successful winery in the Margaret River in Western Australia and chose to begin again in the Yarra. I had always assumed (usually a a mistake) he meant that he'd looked around Australia. Not a bit of it. Seems he looked all the way from Oregon to New Zealand. A bag of cash really does give you freedom. His choice therefore was based on what the Yarra was uniquely capable of. He set up the Giant Steps winery slap bang in the middle of a small town called Healesville. I wrote up a bit about Giant Steps after I visited it earlier this year. It's a fantastic place and its a winery I'd love to work at - even if I had a choice of Oregon or New Zealand! Everyone seemed to be drawing positive energy from everyone else. That includes the baker, barista, waiting staff, wine makers and just about everyone really.....

The Yarra has a diverse range of ancient rocks and soils. It's a relatively cool area; serviced and is visited often by a Melbourne population eager to buy wine; it specialises in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sparkling wine and it looks absolutely fantastic.

Yarra in purple just East of Melbourne

Our tasting last week began with the 2004 Yarra Burn Blanc de Blanc. (Most of the wines at this tasting had been included to show how brilliant the Yarra is and are for the most part not available in Ireland. Indeed Phil sourced some of the rarer wines himself). Phil told us with a great deal of sadness that Constellation Wines had just announced it will shortly close Yarra Burn down. Unbelievable and further proof that the likes of Constellation shouldn't be allowed near wine. This is iconic sparkling wine of the highest quality. It is a skilled and living work of art.

2008 Donny GoodMac Chardonnay: Very charming style with crisp lean edges to ripe citrus fruits. Fabulously long and peppered finish.

2008 Chardonnay Tarraford Vineyard, Giant Steps: Complicated bouquet showing 'gunsmoke' (Phil), warmed nuts and a rich fruit sauce. Great intensity here. Love the wine until the finish - too sudden!

2008 Chardonnay Sexton Vineyard, Giant Steps: Fruit dominant nose yields to complexity and intensity leads to extreme and well balanced acidity holding a rich and balanced citrus dominated fruit together expertly. Fabulous wine.

2008 De Bortoli Chardonnay: Warm nose showing heat; soft and only marginally interesting. Leaves too much to the end, revisit.

2008 Yarra Burn Bastard Hill Chardonnay: Lean tight and rich.Super acidity, fantastic depth of quality. Extremely fine example of high quality cool climate chardonnay from Australia.

2008 Yarra Yering Chardonnay: I wrote a full page of notes on this wine and I expect most people won't like it at all! Bizarre. Loads of buttered effects on nose leads to soft and voluptuous style; very big fruit but also a very buttery finish. This wine shows texture and warmth and wine making like no other.

2008 Pinot Noir Gladysdale Vineyards, Giant Steps: Fine and light pour; intense young raspberry; enticing perfume showing oak and rose well; tannin a tad lighter than the fine acid; tantalising wine.

2008 Tarra Burn Bastard Hill Pinot Noir: (only 200cs made) Rhubarb and beetroot; captivating warmth to the nose; soft and warming on palate; silky and smooth; loses its pure varietal character as it progresses to the finish.

2008 De Bortoli Riorret The Abbey: (Riorret is Terroir backwards...) Found this quite young and in need of time. Showing a bit rough and ready and dumb for my liking.

2008 Yering Station Pinot Noir: Big style with very ripe dark plums and some sweet liquorice; palate is rich, warm and inviting. This is a very obvious wine and would work well as a teaching aid to the Yarra.

2008 Harry's Monster, Giant Steps: (Cab Sauv, Merlot, Petit V and Cab Franc)Big fleshy and well peppered; tremendous palate with super big fruit; needs to be as tannin and acid come in quickly; mind you they both stay respectful and not aggressive!

2008 Punt Road 'MVN' Cabernet Sauvignon: V small nose with leaf and berries looking out; soft and intense wine; everything is super extracted; savoury strong varietal effect; has a brilliant future.

2008 Dry Red Wine No. 1 Yarra Yering: Expressive; obvious, precise and excellent fruit. Incredibly well defined. Clean as a whistle, very attractive; this is outstanding. Seamless blend (Cab Sauv, Merlot, Petit V and malbec) and very soft tannin hovering in the background. long, well structured and soft wine of immense charm and pedigree.

2008 Jamsheed Yarra Syrah ' Silvan Vineyard': Rich young purple ruby with enormous nose of rich dark and soft fruits balanced by pepper and spice. Game and earth lead to dark fruits and buckets of tannin and acid. Rich, big and long; exquisitely built, strong and muscular and excellent all round.

2006 Yering Station Shiraz Viognier: Full depth ruby; dirty and toasted; clay and dried brush wood; lifted palate with bright notes to the fruit; some beetroot and rhubarb leading to black olives and dried herbs; well structured but also a bit clumsy with the odd tannin stumbling about. Superb finish.

At long last - I get to the Sale.

2010-09-18T10:39:00.013+01:00

I finally made it down to Superquinn in Blackrock to see what's left of the sale. I had a shopping list in my head and I would not be deterred. However, the best laid plans etc. The wine that I had been most looking forward to was the Rare Vineyards Carignan Vielles Vignes which has been getting lots of love in the press and in the blogosphere. I was a victim of its success, however, as it is now sold out, although the nice man in the shop said he thought there was some left in the Ranelagh branch.

I swallowed my tears and bought some other stuff, left to right the wines are:

Charles Vienot Macon Lugny 2009 (€9 reduced from €12-49) Had a quick glass of this before dinner last night and was impressed. A nicely balanced Burgundy.

Etienne Barret Crozes-Heritage 2008 (€11 reduced from €14-99) Drank this last night. Lots of plummy fruit, some surprising spiciness and a vanilla finish. Great value as priced.

Saumur Cabernet Franc 2009 (€7 reduced from €10-49) I have a soft spot for Reds from the Loire. If done right they can be interesting and unusual; the blurb says "This fruity wine is attractive and easy to drink" This description is often the kiss of death, but we'll see.

Rare Vineyards Malbec 2009 (€6 reduced from €9-99) I couldn't get the Carignan so I got this instead. Part of an attempt to reclaim Malbec from Argentina, I guess, it was originally a French grape - one of only six allowed in Bordeaux wines, now sadly underused in that area.

Lastly, a wine I got in the sale in an on-line shop - a Corbieres Le Fournas 2008 (€8 reduced from €10-99) as Kevin Ecock said in his review of the sale:

"This wine from the Hautes Corbieres in the South of France was sent in more in hope than expectation. After all, its a Grenache, young vine Syrah and Carignan blend. The grapes are hand harvested and there's only 25,000 bottles made each year. This is not typical supermarket fare and it would need a brutally honest, fair and experienced tasting panel to even appreciate it - dense purple, serious wine"

Firstly this is indeed a serious wine, not for the faint hearted. On the nose it was full, rich and spicy and then the fun started. Apart from the dark fruit and copious spice there was initially an undercurrent of something, maybe overripe fruit, I don't have the palate to place it. Herself did not like it, at all. After a while however, the flavours rounded out, harmonised and the tannins kicked in like a melonfarmer. As Kevin pointed out, this is not a bog-standard supermarket wine, but it's definitely worth a punt if you want to expand your horizons. We drank it without food but I think with those tannins, it's crying out for accompaniment, something hearty I would think.

We are off to Town Bar And Grill tonight to celebrate seven years of captivity. They used to have an interesting wine list, back in the day, including an interesting selection of Californian wines. I'm curious to see what the list is like after their near death and resurrection.

** Update - We had a L’âme de Familongue, Terrasses du Larzac 2006 from the Languedoc with our meal which was delightful and decent value to boot.

Wine Australia Yarra Valley Tasting

2010-09-16T10:06:00.017+01:00

Last night myself and a couple of likely lads had the pleasure of attending another one of John McDonnell's Ozzie tastings. This evening it was the turn of the Yarra Valley, a cool area just north of Melbourne. John was joined by Phil Sexton of Innocent Bystander/Giant Steps wines.

Phil gave us a potted history lesson on the Valley e.g.

Viticulture only really started there in the 60's.
The Wine output of the valley is tiny by Australian standards.
There are approx 600 vineyards and about 120 producers.
In terms of temperature the Yarra is warmer than Burgundy but cooler than Bordeaux
Bushfires in 2009 nearly destroyed the entire crop.

We started with a glass of Domaine Chandon NV - I liked this a lot. It was toasty and creamy and I'd have been hard pushed to differentiate between this and Champagne in a blind tasting. Fool your friends for the modest price of €20

The main tasting was divide into the sections by varietal; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz.

The Chardonnays

2009 Innocent Bystander Chardonnay (€14-99) - Big fruity nose, quite acidic and citrusy on the palate. Not subtle but tasty.

2009 PHI Chardonnay (€32-95) - Lovely, much more depth of flavour, less sharp and a bit minerally. Twice the price of the wine above though.

2008 De Bortoli Yarra Valley Chardonnay (€30-00 - pictured) - Best chardonnay of the night for me. Lots of fruit, big round flavours, smooth and a huge finish.

2006 Yering Station Chardonnay (€18-99) - Soft and creamy, again lots of acidity here.

The Pinot Noirs

An interesting tidbit from Phil - "Pinot Noir expresses its origin ruthlessly" i.e. you can't make Burgundy anywhere else. Terroir is King.

2009 Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir (€14-99) - Sweet on the nose, quite acidic with some nice berry fruit. Good value at this price.

2009 Shelmerdine Pinot Noir (€22-95) - We all loved this. With some gentle acidity, this was oaky, smokey and very long. Very good value for this complex wine.

2008 William Downie Yarra Valley Pinot Noir (€49-99 - pictured) The star of the night for me. This guy only makes Pinots, nothing else, and it shows. A supple perfumed nose, raspberry fruit and some gentle tannins made this one special. The most Burgundy like - and yes, also the most expensive, I'm not a cheap date.

2008 Yering Station Pinot Noir (€18-99) - Not bad, plummy and oaky. Perhaps suffered in the tasting from following the William Downie.

The Shiraz's

2008 Innocent Bystander Shiraz (€14-99 - pictured) - A gem, with 2% Viognier this was sweetish but not sickly, very tasty. Phil maintains this is the only Shiraz on the night to taste of Pink peppercorns, as opposed to white.

2007 De Bortoli Shiraz Viognier (€30-00) - A little bigger and rounder than the Innocent Bystander but not enough to justify doubling the price, in this blogger's opinion.

2006 Yering Station Shiraz Viognier (€18-99) - perfectly fine but I didn't think it was as special as the brochure made out. Tasty and rich though.

2004 Harry's Monster Giant Steps - (€18-00) - This is a very unusual blend of 25% of each of the following, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Petit Verdot (I think). This was fantastic; big, bold, fruity, tannic. I'd love to get more of this but I don't think it's imported to Ireland, boo!

Lastly we had a 2009 Innocent Bystander Pink Moscato, which I thought (sorry Phil), was vile. I do like me a sweet wine but I just couldn't get behind this highly original concoction. However I was definitely was in the minority, so what do I know.

We then had supper accompanied by a 2008 Innocent Bystander Pinot Gris and a 2006 Little Yering Shiraz Viognier. They were both fine, I wish I could tell you more about them but by this time I was famished so I concentrated more on the grub than the vino, apologies.

I did learn, however, than Pinot Gris (or Grigio) is a red grape. But when the juice is left in contact with the skins, the result is foul, hence Pinot Gris (or Grigio) grapes normally make white wines only.

Big thanks to John and Phil for a very enjoyable evening in the Yarra Valley.

**Update 1 - Kevin Ecock has posted this entry as a guestpost on his blog, thanks Kevin.

**Update 2 - Thanks to John McD for the images above.

Gerard scores again

2010-09-13T18:44:00.012+01:00

Point the first - Superquinn Autumn French Wine sale. All of the wines that are in the sale should be available to order as part of an on-line shop. There is a serious lack of joined up thinking when only half (I'm guessing) the wines are available. I wanted to try the Rare Vineyards Carignan Vielles Vignes and their Malbec as well (both reduced to €6), but these were nowhere to be found on the shopping site. I also ordered some of the Crozes Hermitage Etienne Barret (€11), but alas this never arrived.

I did pickup a bottle of the much talked about Superquinn Calssic Collection Petit Chablis and I liked it, very lean and dry and a nice change from all the fruity white we've been sampling of late. The other successful delivery was of a Domaine Sainte Croix Corbieres le Fournas 2006, which I did not like at all last time but has been singled out by Kevin Ecock and others as delicious, so it's worth another try. The Brochure for the Sale is here.

Point the second - The title refers to Gerard Bertrand (not, alas, Steven Gerrard) whose Pic Saint Loup I have been enjoying very much of late. In Saturday's IT, John Wilson recommended his Art de Vivre Saint Chinian 2008, Réserve de Gérard Bertrand, a snip at €8-99 in Dunnes. I'm a sucker for a recommendation so I picked up a bottle on Saturday. As John said in the article "This combines a rustic touch with some attractive mellow dark fruits, and a smooth finish". I can't add much to that except to say that it was very, very tasty, and it did taste "rustic"; I'll be going back for more. Note: Dunnes (Beacon) also stocked the Art De Vivre Corbieres 2008, which has to be worth a try also.

Point the Last - I'll be attending the Wine Australia Yarra Valley Wine tasting this Wednesday 15th in Fallon and Byrne, please come and say hello. I'll be attending with a couple of burly fellows from Laois and Lisburn respectively, but don't let that put you off. I'll be the short, fat, speccy bloke knocking back the vino like it's going out of style. See you there.

Pascual Toso Malbec 2009

2010-09-10T13:21:00.010+01:00

We received a present from a neighbour last weekend, a Pascual Toso Malbec 2009 from Mendoza, website here. After being opened and decanted for about an hour and a half we tucked in. Immediately we were impressed. There was some nice plummy fruit, delicate tannins and a long finish, this was a very well balanced wine; reasonably fruit forward in a New World style but with some lovely structure to balance it out.

If you are having a steak or like your Malbecs then you will not go wrong with this wine.

About two weeks ago I picked up a few disparate bottles in Superquinn, Blackrock. We drank the last of these last night. It was a Vina Albali Gran Reserve 1999 (€6). When I bought it I said "This wine is probably very tired... and priced to move, but you never know".

I hate to say I told me so, but I was not wrong. This wine was tired, with not a lot going for it, some fading fruit and vanilla flavours and a sharp, and slightly unpleasant taste on the finish. Herself liked it, but there's no accounting for taste, she married me after all.

**Update - Nov 12 2010 - Saw this Malbec in Donnybrook Fair for €9-99. A steal!

Waipara Hills Pinot Noir 2008

2010-09-04T11:26:00.006+01:00

Last Friday in Superquinn I picked up a Waipara Hills Southern Cross Pinot Noir Central Otago 2008 - €12-00 reduced from €15-99. This was a Gold Medal winner in the International Wine Challenge 2010. I've been trying to broaden my wine palate in recent months by drinking a lot more white (and even the odd rosé) and also by trying to get into Pinot Noir.

In my, albeit limited, experience you have to pay a tidy sum for good Burgundy, the cheap stuff, like cheap Bordeaux, is simply not worth it. The obvious alternative is to look to the New World. I know there are some excellent Pinots from Oregon, Washington and the cooler regions of California but I never see them over here.

The obvious next stop is New Zealand. The wine at left is from the Central Otago region which seems to be the up and coming place for NZ pinots. In the glass, this wine was much darker than expected; a lot of NZ pinots I've had recently have been very light in colour and delicate, almost weedy to taste. This was more full bodied, still medium to light but with some substance.

There was some nice plummy flavours and Herself got some oak (according to the website this spends 7 months in French Oak), and some gentle spiciness. On the whole this was a nicely balanced and elegant wine. At this price its well worth a punt.

According to Decanter - Wiapara is the new Marlborough, who'd a thunk it?

Second Lastly - I got a couple more of the delicious Pink Elephant Rose in Superquinn - €5 a pop, anticipating a lovely sunny Saturday, looking out the window at the lashing rain makes me realise I should never mess with the weather gods.

Lastly - I'm giving up Beer (not Booze - what am I, crazy?) for the next month as an experiment to see if it has any effect on my ever expanding waistline, so if I'm in bad form you know the reason why.

**Update - I'm back on the beer. It's a long story but basically I'm going to be stressed with work and work related travel for the next while and doing this without the crutch, and in fact, comfort, of a pint is not on the cards at the moment. I hope to return to this worthy goal once things have settled down.

Links

2010-09-01T15:36:00.007+01:00

More links including a link to a link site with links to some of the sites I've linked to here.

Kevin Ecock on the Superquinn Autumn French Wine Sale.

Glass of Wine - a new wine blog to me.

My Grape Escape with a timely missive on Rosé.

The Grapefruit speaks of wines for the season of Autumn.

WineIreland - A fantastic Irish Wineblog aggregation site by Lar from SourGrapes. It's been up a while but I am only linking to it now.

Schnippets

2010-08-31T15:20:00.007+01:00

As I mentioned recently I picked up a cracking Languedoc in O'Briens Beacon recently a Pic Saint Loup 2008 from Gerard Bertrand, and last Saturday I got to test this selection against the discerning palates of June and BigNose. I had picked up the last three bottles hidden on the shelf so I figure it's selling well with the South County Dublin wine cognoscenti. All our guests liked it a lot and it went well with the lovely Moroccan tajine Herself had made for the occasion.

At the very tail end of that night we opened the Penelope Sanchez Garnacha Syrah 2009, which I had grabbed in Superquinn in the sale for a modest €8. Given the time of night and the depth of tiredness/emotion quotient I was presently surprised that this held up well. Big, fruity and quite spicy in that Grenache/Rhoney way. It's from the Campo de Borja region of Northern Spain, which I had never heard of until now, I confess.

Lastly and in the picture at left is a Chateau La Raze Beauvallet 2005 Medoc, this was on offer in Tesco, allegedly reduced from a stiff €19-99 to a more reasonable €9-99. I have had no experience of this Chateau so I checked their website, where I learned the blend is 60% Cab Sav, 39% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot and I also learned that they haven't updated their website since the 2003 Cru Bourgeois Classification was annulled, a fascinating story as detailed by thewinedoctor here. I'm not expecting too much from this but it should be a reasonable tipple.

**Update - We Drank this on Sunday and it was very average. Bizarrely, it had a cracking nose, rich, full and complex. Alas, on the palate it was quite modest and uninteresting. Certainly not worth €20 and I'd struggle to justify it at a tenner as priced.

BTW - I'm you are a geek like me (and you probably aren't) - you'll love Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, I did.

Superquinn - Rosé and the rest

2010-08-28T15:20:00.009+01:00

As a member of the Superquinn wine club I got an email recently about how various of the wines they sell had got on in the International Wine Challenge 2010, consequently they are having an Award Winning Wine sale with some very attractive wines at reasonable prices. So off I popped.

First thing I saw on arrival in the wine section was a man giving out free samples of a Rosé. I know Rosé can be drunk anytime but if you are like me, you only ever drink it on holiday. I have fond memories of eating sardines washed down with some delicious Minuty rosé on the beach in Cannes (before the crash, of course).

It turned out I know the man (long story). The wine itself is Pink Elephant, from Portugal. I had a taste and liked it. Crisp with some nice acidity and not too sweet, the way I like my Rosé. I got a bit of a shock when he told me the price - €5. I bought a couple straight away and we tried one later with our fish supper - very pleasant it was too. The wine claims to be ideal for spicy food and this seems to prove it.

I also picked up some other reds on sale. From left to right they are:

Pink Elephant Rose 2009 - €5 - As described above

Penelope Sanchez Grenache Syrah 2009 -€8 - Took a punt on this.

Waipara Hills Southern Cross Pinot Noir Central Otago 2008 - €12-00 reduced from €15-99 - Gold Medal winner in the International Wine Challenge 2010

Vina albali Gran Reserve 1999 Valdepenas - €6 - Silver, Best In Class in the International wine and Spirits Competition 2007. This wine is probably very tired at this stage (being 11 years old), and given that it is priced to move, but you never know.

Ch Camplazens La Garrigue La Clape 2007 - €12-00 reduced from €15-99 - "Trophy" in the International Wine Challenge 2010 (not pictured). I was given a 2004 of this last year and liked it. The 2007 was very different; big, bold and fruity.

We are entertaining tonight so I bought more of the Pic Saint Loup, which is a bleedin' steal at €9-99.

Results of the O'Briens jury...

2010-08-27T20:30:00.010+01:00

We have now finished the last two (of three) wines that I picked, seemingly at random, from the various specials on offer in O'Briens Beacon.

First up (at left) is the Gerard Bertrand Pic Saint Loup 2008, (€9-99 reduced from €14-45), a Couteau De Languedoc. I knew I recognised the name, in turns out I have drunk his Tautavel many times from Dunnes and he also makes the same for Tesco Finest (I think).

This wine is a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan and Grenache and comes from the small Languedoc Cru of Pic Saint Loup, and very fine it was too. Well balanced and elegant with a long finish, I would heartily recommend this at this, even at full price. O'Briens link here.

Last up the the La Piuma Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2009 (€7-99 reduced from €9-99). I had thought this might be a bit "cheap and cheerful", but we were pleasantly surprised; there some nice plummy fruit and some nice acidity to make this a perfect pasta/pizza wine. Very good value as priced.

Next up: lots of wines I bought in Superquinn today, including (drum roll) two bottles on Rosé.

More random wines on Special offer from O'Briens

2010-08-24T17:02:00.006+01:00

After returning from Hols, I decided to partake of one of my favourite wine pastimes, which is going to O'Briens in the Beacon and randomly picking three reds on special. I have done this many times and the results are generally good. From let to right they are...

Gerard Bertrand Pic Saint Loup Coteaux du Languedoc 2008 (€9-99 reduced from €14-45). No idea what grapes are in this but I like the look of it.

Ramos Tons de Duorum 2008 (€9-99 reduced from €12-99). From the acclaimed winemaker Jose Maria Soares Franco, apparently. We drank this on Sunday and it was OK. Drinkable but not memorable in any way. I didn't really have my blogging hat on, I apologise.

La Piuma Montepulciano D'Abruzzo (€7-99 reduced from €9-99). Hmmm, this could be a bit "cheap and cheerful". We'll see.

Post Holidays Blues (and reds)

2010-08-24T16:34:00.009+01:00

Well, I'm back after a very relaxing two weeks in the (genuinely) sunny south east. We drank a decent amount of wine, all the while struggling to find a source of decent affordable wine.

Greenacres in Wexford town is exceptionally well stocked with "quality" wine but boy howdy they ain't cheap; it's like the recession never happened.

Pettits Supervalu (also Wexford town) is not stocked with wines I would buy (to put it kindly), they do the Masi range which I would have chosen if I hadn't found an alternative.

Tesco (the new gargantuan-sized shop in Wexford town) stocks all the usual suspects, if that floats your boat, I availed of some when entertaining.

Supervalu in Rosslare Harbour was a bit of a hidden gem, lots of solid wines to choose from and a couple of interesting wines tucked away, more of that below.

I'm only going to comment on a couple of the wines sampled over the two weeks, most of the rest have been reviewed here before and some I won't review to avoid insulting those who brought them down 8-)

On one particular night our guest had brought down a Woolaston Estates Nelson Pinot Noir 2005. As I have mentioned before I only seem to like expensive Pinot Noirs; pricey wines from NZ and good Burgundies. This wine proved no exception; delicious, complex and with a very long finish.

On the same night I took punt on a Concannon Central Coast Petite Sirah 2006 which I found in the aforementioned Supervalu. This was a curious wine, lots of tannins and some nice dark fruit. We had it on its own but I think it would definitely benefit some food.

The Final Three

2010-08-16T14:19:00.004+01:00

Castillo de Montearagon Gran Reserva Carinena 2002 - €6-39. Not bad. Oaky and Rioja-ish. OK Value at this price.

Tesco Valpolicella Ripasso 2008 - €8-99. Still good. Lots of nice fruit and structure.

Tesco Cotes du Rhone Villages Reserve 2008 - €7-49. A little lighter than I remembered and very Rhoney. OK.

I'm still on my jollies and I have an excellent Golf tan - normal service will resume next week.

Half Way There

2010-08-09T09:51:00.004+01:00

I'm officially on my jollies so I won't be doing much posting over the next couple of weeks. However we have tried three of the six bargain wines bought in Tesco last week so here is the interim report card.

Bastide de Garille Cabardes 2007 - €5-99. Solid. Some nice flavour here. Great value.

St Hallett Barossa Gamekeeper's Reserve 2008 - €9-35. Way too sweet for my palate. No finesse whatsoever.

Tesco Nero D'Avola 2008 - €5-99. Decent but unremarkable. Drinkable and decent value at the price.

Two packets of three, for the holidays.

2010-08-04T18:18:00.010+01:00

We are off on our jollies soon and where we are heading in Ireland is not a Mecca of good wine (I think, and I hope to be proved wrong). But just in case I figured I'd get a half dozen red as emergency wines in case no decent affordable wine can be found in the locality. Tesco Dundrum normally has a few wines on special, some own-brand, some random wines from across the globe.

I picked up three of each today, The non-Tesco wines are...

Bastide de Garille Cabardes 2007 - €5-99. Regular readers will know I recently found a lovely Cabardes in Dunnes at the modest price of €6-95. Hopefully this one will be as successful.

Castillo de Montearagon Gran Reserva Carinena 2002 - €6-39. I recently had another bargain Carinena Gran Reserva from Tesco, a 2001, which was a bit tired. Worth a punt at this price, I reckon.

St Hallett Barossa Gamekeeper's Reserve 2008 - €9-35. When I saw this on the shelf it rang a bell and I grabbed a bottle. When I checked my archive I saw that I had tried it as part of a tasting back in November, John Wilson's Favourite Australians. I very much liked it then so kudos to my memory, for once.

The Tesco wines are...

Tesco Valpolicella Ripasso 2008 - €8-99. I have written about this wine on several occasions. I love it. It needs a couple of hours in the decanter but it's so worth it.

Tesco Nero D'Avola 2008 - €5-99. I had forgotten that I quite liked this the last time I tried it (unlike the 2007 which was not great). Solid but unremarkable but attractive at this price.

Tesco Cotes du Rhone Villages Reserve 2008 - €7-49. I had this once before last November, when it was the 2007 and it went well with the lamb we were having. It will be interesting to see if there is much variety between vintages.

Speaking of which I recently picked up a couple of Tesco Vacqueyras 2008, I loved the 2007 but the 2008 left both myself and Herself a little disappointed. It wasn't as full and flavoursome as the 2007. That was the first bottle, so perhaps the second one will prove the the first was an anomaly.

Even More Links

2010-07-30T15:51:00.005+01:00

Time once again for one my infrequent link posts where I link to articles on other wine blogs that have piqued my interest and they in turn link back to me (in a perfect world...)

All you ever wanted to know about wine glasses from Wine For Normal People

Cup-a-Wine from M&S is as good as you might expect from My Grape Escape

Stress is good for your wine (or something) from The Grapefruit

A new (to me) blog of video wine tastings from Kevin of Kevin's Tried and Tasted

We are entertaining this weekend (weather permitting); an old friend is visiting from La Belle France. I know he has a thing for Chateauneuf-Du-Pape but most of it is expensive and I'd probably end up with something unsuitable so I picked up some Chat-eu-Oeuf in Superquinn, which I loved last time and ticks most of the Chateauneuf-Du-Pape boxes for half the price...

Cheapest Wine EVER

2010-07-28T20:26:00.008+01:00

Before I talk about wine of the title I should mention that I finally managed to snag a bottle of the Superquinn Classic Collection Valpolicella Ripasso 2008 (€10). Ever since I read Kevin Ecock's review of the entire range, I have been looking for this wine. I liked this wine, it had some lovely dark cherry, some nice dryness and a bit of depth. Unfortunately, to my palate, the Tesco Valpolicella Ripasso has a little bit more flavour, depth and complexity, for about the same money.

In honour of Lidl's 10th birthday in Ireland, there were various beers and wines on special offer. Grafenwalder lager (4.8%) is always agreeable especially at the bargain price of 99c.

The Lidl Montepulciano 2009, was in fact the first wine I ever blogged on, way back in March 2009 (it was a 2007 back then). I liked it then and I like it now. It's not a fine wine by any manner or means but it's perfectly drinkable and at only a fiver, quids in. The discounted price is now €3-29, yes, THREE EURO TWENTY NINE CENTS, ONLY.

Since I first recommended this wine, there has been much debate among friends, in laws etc, and there has been some hate put its way, and some praise also. My take on it is this, spend the three freakin' euro - if you think it's piss - what have you lost? We are drinking the first (of two) right now that I bought and after two hours in the decanter (recommended), it's perfectly fine.

Just for giggles, I also picked up a Lidl Pinot Grigio 2009 by the same producer, Squiggle Squiggle (see picture) for the modest price of €5-39. I'll let you know how it turns out.

A couple of nice ones...

2010-07-24T11:08:00.007+01:00

As I mentioned last week I got some very nice presents of wine from the guests at a BBBQ* we had recently. June's brother brought the above Super Tuscan a Malenchini Bruzzico 2003. This wine was lovely; inky purple in the glass and dark, supple and rich on the palate. In hindsight it would have gone very well with food, perhaps not pasta but something meaty.

To be honest, my exposure to Super Tuscans has been very limited so I can't tell you that this tasted like a Super Tuscan should. I would imagine if you take the cherry from the Sangiovese, and add some depth and fruit from the Cabernet Sauvignon you get what was in this bottle.

Next up is a wine from the Southern Rhone, Les Amis de la Bouissiere 2008, courtesy of BigNose. This is a Grenache, Syrah and Merlot blend, the last of which I think is a little unusual for this area? Either way, this was medium bodied and full of lovely "Rhoney" flavours. Very tasty.

* the extra B is for BYOBB

A gem from Dunnes

2010-07-21T17:16:00.007+01:00

As I was perusing my blog list, I came across this article by Lar on Sour Grapes, which described a wonderful Southern French wine retailing at an immodest €6-95 in Dunnes (reduced from €9-95). Normally, this is my territory (finding good cheap wines in the Supermarkets), so duly intrigued, I bought a couple of bottles, as Lar is normally spot on in his recommendations. It's a Chateau de Pennautier AOC Cabardes 2008.

As Lar mentioned, this wine can be made using the "Bordeaux" grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cot (Malbec) AND also the "Mediterranean" grapes, Grenache and Syrah.

Note: Dunnes are also selling the Terroirs d'Altitude Chateau de Pennautier 2006, which appears to be the next wine up the chain and I think was reduced to a very reasonable €8-99.

I liked this a lot. Lots of dark fruit, but not in a jammy way. Lots of body and a nice finish. We drank it without food and it was perfectly fine but I'd imagine it would suit a hearty dish very well. Mary Dowey actually came across this wine last year as did Kevin Ecock here.

Next up: Tonight we visit "SuperTuscany", hopefully we'll get on better than our recent visit to Barolo country.

Sorry June...

2010-07-19T17:13:00.011+01:00

Firstly the good news...the Salomon Groovey Grüner Veltliner 2009 from Oddbins (€11-99), which I got in honour of our Austrian visitor, was quite delicious; crisp, tangy and a little spicy. We lashed through the two bottles I had bought, I wished we'd had more to go with my delicious smoked mackerel pate, which no-one ate apart from YHB, alas. I must have unique tastes.

Our guests brought a selection of wines and I shall be reviewing them as I drink them. First up is a Tesco Barolo 2005. June brought this along and was keen to know if it is any good. I have seen this in the shop and have been tempted, but it's a pricey wine to take a punt on. Tesco are very good at the moderate priced own brand reds, but can they do it with a wine from a "premium" region?

The answer is - not this time. I believe this bottle was corked, but not in the normal way. I read an article on the web somewhere recently that said there are four (I think) main ways a wine can be "corked", caused by different factors and with different effects on the taste. This wine was very sharp, almost fizzy on the tongue and very acidic. After almost five hours in the decanter it had lost some of it's harshness and you could maybe get some idea of what the taste should have been.

There's no way this wine tasted as the maker intended, ( I know Barolos historically have been huge tannic beasts, requiring much decanting, but this was not the issue here), so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and endeavour to try it again in the future. Sorry June.

You take the moon and you take the sun...

2010-07-15T19:47:00.015+01:00

On our trip into the west we decided would try and eat seafood chowder every day, not for any scientific reason, but simply because we love it and it's not easy to get a good one in Dublin.

Day 1 - Moran's Of The Weir - Superb.
Day 2 - Oliver's, Cleggan - Very Good, more of a stew than a soup but with a great variety of fish.
Day 3 - Pub that doesn't take Credit Cards, Clifden - I liked it but herself pronounced it too salty although it did come with some mini squid/octopus tentacles.

There was also another pub in Clifden that shall remain nameless as they ignored us for 10 minutes (even when I went to the bar), so we walked out. You'd think in this day and age that pubs/restaurants would be crying out for business, alas not.

We ate a huge amount of fish but didn't drink much wine with it, (we drank mostly Guinness), the only bottle of note was a Lawson's Dry Hills Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008 in Mitchell's seafood restaurant (have the crab cakes) which was perfectly fine and a good accompaniment to my hake special and Herself's mussels.

We are throwing a petite bbq'ette for June's brother and her Austrian friend tomorrow. In their honour I picked up a couple of Salomon Groovey Grüner Veltliner 2009 from Oddbins (€11-99). John Wilson in the Irish Times reviewed it a couple of weeks ago he said:

"A crisper style of Grüner with fresh melon and citrus fruits, and a tangy dry finish. This would be good with Asian-style prawns, scallops or sushi."

I'll be BBQing a butterflied leg of lamb, my absolute fave and I have a case of the wedding wine from Lil Sis's wedding to have with it. Its an Olivier Ravoire Cotes Du Rhone 2007 and it went well with the lamb at the wedding so...

Lastly, Superquinn mailed me to tell me about their "Great American Wine Sale", not much of interest for me I think, mostly cheap plonk. The list of wines is here if you want a look.

Lastly, lastly, we are trying a Tesco Finest Touriga Nacional 2008 (€8-99) from Portugal tonight. This grape is considered the finest Portugese grape and I do tend to like wines made from it. I do wish they'd so something about the label though, it's very bland and uninspiring.

**Update** This turned out to be a lovely drop. A bit of a bruiser, inky purple in the glass, lots of dark fruit and heaps of tannins. very nice if you like the full bodied style...

Into the wesht, again, for the second time.

2010-07-09T18:14:00.006+01:00

We're off for a well deserved weekend away soon so no posts for a few days. Before we go I should update on what the cheap (€8-99) Priorat I picked up on Monday was like. It was a Mas de Subira 2003, an old-ish vintage as noted by pauljkiernan in the comments.

While it smelled delicious while decanting, at first taste I thought said commenter might be right, it tasted a little tired. But, we endeavoured to persevere and after a few minutes in the glass it revealed itself. If I'd been tasting it blind I might have ventured a guess that it was a right-bank Bordeaux, but upon mature reflection this wine was beefier, with lots of tannins, not a huge amount of fruit but good balance and structure nonetheless.

Have just decanted the Tesco Chianti Classico Riserva 2005 (€7-99) to have with a well deserved pizza. We had a good result today; they say the law is an ass, well today it was Jessica Alba's. Evenin' all.

It's Special

2010-07-05T21:46:00.010+01:00

Picked up one of the specials down in O'Briens in the beacon over the weekend, a Domaine L'Ostal Cazes Estibals Minervois 2007 - €12-99 reduced from €15-99. I have a soft spot for Minervois, when it's good its very good (and not hugely expensive) like here, which I have recently found on winesdirect.ie for a modest €11-60, but when its average, it's average, like here.

Happily, this was a damn good wine. Inky purple in the glass and full bodied, it had it all; some dark fruit, some spice, firm tannins and a lovely balance. The vineyard is owned and operated by the Cazes family of Lynch-Bages 60% Syrah, 20% Carignan and 20% Grenache. O'Briens link here.

Lastly, while perusing the bargain shelf in Tesco Dundrum I happened upon a Priorat for €8-99. I don't know much about Priorat, having had only the one, but I was under the impression that they were not generally cheap. This didn't appear to be discounted, but perhaps was mislabelled. Either way, worth a punt at €8-99. It's a Mas de Subira 2003, a blend of 60% Garnacha Negra, 30% Carinyena and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. If you've had it, please let me know...

Lastly lastly, being an inveterate bargain hunter, I also picked up a Tesco Chianti Classico Riserva 2005 (never tried this) for €7-99 and a Tesco Finest Vacqueyras 2008 (always good), also for €7-99.

Redesign

2010-07-03T11:58:00.007+01:00

As you may have noticed, I've done some work on the layout and design of the blog. While I liked the original template, it was getting tired of it and it was a little Web 1.0 I'd like to say I did a huge and complex redesign using all my techy skills but that would be a lie. Instead, all I did was choose a new template and update my blog list (I have removed some blogs that seem to have died and added a few new ones - please check them out). Let me know what you think of the redesign.

Now, on to business. I was down in Superquinn Blackrock yesterday buying some Friday fish, as is my wont, and looking for the elusive Santa Rita Floresta red. Alas, this was all gone but I did pick up a bottle of scrummy La Baume Viognier first sampled here. It's now at its full price of €10-79 but is still great value if you like creamy, peachy whites. Note: While the wine was lovely it so did not go with the delicious piece of Hake, fried in butter with a pepper and salt coating, expertly cooked by Herself.

On the red front the remains of the new world wine sale are still present but as I said before, it's mostly pile 'em high sell 'em cheap fruity plonk. The red above is what I took a punt on in the end. Pretty much all of the new World Pinot Noirs I've had (all inexpensive) have been fine; light and fruity but with obviously none of the complexity of their Burgundian cousins.

It was a Chilean Agustinos Reserve Pinot Noir 2008 Bio Bio - €9-99 in the sale. After an hour or so decanting, I poured and as expected is quite pale and light in the glass and on the nose didn't give much away. At first taste we knew this wasn't your standard new world cheapie. After the subtle cherry and jammy fruits, herself got caramel notes and I swear I got a hint of mint along with some surprising dryness at the finish. A pretty complex wine for the money and absolutely delicious, a bargain Burgundy I'd suggest except that I know shag-all about Burgundies. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Find me!

2010-07-02T15:31:00.005+01:00

The title of this post will make sense if you read to the end. For now let's see what I thought of the final two bottles I picked up in Sainsbury's last weekend.

Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel 2007 - £8.99. I'm sure this is well made and has hints of yadda yadda yadda but it was way, way, way too jammy for me and Herself. A serious fruit bomb; if that style floats your boat then this is for you.

Chemin Des Olivettes - Coteaux Du Languedoc 2008 - £6.39. I liked this best of the lot. Plenty of fruit, good chewy tannins and some acidity all came together to form a very enticing wine. Not for the faint of heart I would emphasise, this was a big meaty wine, probably best served with a hearty dinner.

Now on to the title. I have been noticing a fall off in hits over the last couple of months so as an experiment I'm going to list the top ten Google searches at this moment in time, just to see what happens...

inverted nipples
mike miller
sertraline
andrew garfield
afshan azad
recursion
amagami ss
jaycee lee dugard
don coryell
better homes and gardens

I'll let you know if it works...

Whiskey Galore*

2010-06-29T19:00:00.006+01:00

As I mentioned here, I got a couple of bottles of the amber nectar up North in Sainsbury's. From left to right they are...

Sainsbury's Highland Single Malt 12yo - £18-99. I had intended only to get the Dalwhinnie, but I couldn't resist a punt on this. Had a quick sip on Friday night at cards and it was decent if unremarkable, a bit like a simplified Glenmorangie maybe, but good value at this price.

Dalwhinnie 15yo - £23-98 (reduced from £29-98). One of the poker boys, McGuyver, had a bottle of this way back when and I remember liking it and seeing as it was on special I plumped for it. And it was good, very good. Smooth and subtle, delicate and smoky, made in the highest distillery in Scotland, for what it's worth.

One whiskey I was tempted by and may buy next time is a Japanese whiskey. The Japanese are big into their whiskeys and make some very nice malts, I believe, never having had any. They have a Yamazaki 10yo for about £28. If it ever goes on special I'd be tempted.

*Two bottles isn't really a feast but I've been running low...

So far so average...

2010-06-28T17:47:00.006+01:00

To date we've had the first two of the four reds I got in Sainsbury's last week.

We started with the Sainsbury's Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2009 which cost a whopping £3-49. Throw in the exchange rate and you're looking at a wine that would cost approx. €4-50 down here, so expectations were low. This wasn't bad. It was medium bodied, fruity in a slightly cheap and fizzy way, but perfectly drinkable. I don't think I'd serve it to guests, but as a cheap (the operative word) everyday drinking wine it is perfectly fine.

Next up was the Piccini Chianti Superiore 2008 - this cost me £7-99, which is pretty good given that I saw the standard (green label) Chianti in Tesco for €15-99 today. Unfortunately this was corked. I'm not an expert in detecting this taint but I knows it when I tastes it, and this was tainted. Apparently you can remove TCA (the chemical responsible for the taint) with Cling Film (other brands are available).

Lastly we also popped open a Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 over the un-seasonably warm weekend, Herself has gone mad for NZ Sauv Blanc so this was the latest version to be sampled. Also, this was a present so I can't quote a price, but I'd say it retails for around the €13 mark. I have to say I really enjoyed this, initially I though it a bit light and fruity but it grew on me as I sat on my fat ass in the sun, eating delicious cheesy NI-sourced Quavers.

Next up - A Whiskey Post.

It's grim 'Oop North'

2010-06-25T17:48:00.012+01:00

Well, I'm back. After an odyssey north to the "six counties" as they used to be known. Just inside the six counties if truth be told, the picturesque town of Newry. We needed some Gin, Vodka, Baileys (for Herself only, I assure you), so I figured I'd check out the wines and the whiskeys (which will be a separate OT post).

There wasn't quite the selection I had been hoping for but I think the prices justified the purchases (when you add in the 1.22 odd exchange rate). The wines I got are as follows (L-R)...

Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel 2007 - £8.99. This is supposed to be very nice if very fruity wine and a bargain as priced. Tomas Clancy in the SBPost loved the 2006, check out the article here.

Chemin Des Olivettes - Coteaux Du Languedoc 2008 - £6.39. This won a Gold medal in the decanter world wine awards and sounds like a meaty treat. I don't kn ow who the Winchester Wine School are but this is what they thought...

"One for the Worzel Gummidge fans: this is a rustic, wonderfully gnarly style of wine with flavours of wild flowers, ripe cassis and sweaty horses. Like I say, not for everyone…but the meatiness makes it very food-friendly in a classic southern French way. 7/10"

Piccini Chianti Superiore 2008 - £7.99. I have had a couple of Chiantis from Piccini and all have been very good, see here. So high hopes for this one. The bog standard Chianti (orange label) was there also at about £6-50.

Sainsbury's Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2009 - £3.49. They had load of own brand wine so I picked out this as a sampler. I'm not expecting much but for about €4-50, it's definitely worth a punt.

Nostalgia - It ain't what it used to be...

2010-06-24T18:57:00.004+01:00

A few years back we used to drink a lot of Bestue. It was our Party wine, tasty but easy drinking, perfect when entertaining a large group. It was available from Dunnes at about a tenner a bottle, and although I can't remember exactly what vintages we used to drink, it was pretty consistent.

I happened to be in Dunnes Ballyogan the other day and noticed it on the shelf, given that we are low on everyday drinking wines I grabbed a bottle, a snip at €7-99. I duly opened and decanted it and we tried it after my modestly titled "best spaghetti sauce ever" (with home made garlic bread) and it wasn't good. Perhaps our palates were all garlic'd up but it tasted a bit sharp at the start.

I suggested we give it some time and it came round after a while. It was fruity and medium bodied, inoffensive but not a wine I'd now serve to guests. Perhaps it's our tastes that have changed in the last three or so years since we have had it or perhaps this vintage '07, isn't up to snuff. Either way, not one I can recommend.

Next: I'm off up North to buy booze in Sainsburys, report to follow.

Links, ftw.

2010-06-22T18:33:00.006+01:00

As is customary I have trawled the highways and bye-ways of the Internets to find just four gems from the blogosphere for your enjoyment...

This needs no Explanation - How to open a wine bottle with a shoe, from SourGrapes

An exploration of that much maligned grape - Merlot, from My Grape Escape

A very comprehensive post on the whole Cork Vs Screwcap Vs whatever, from Wine for Normal People

An amusing post of the New Pope's House, from The Grapefruit

The Teeth of the Lion*

2010-06-19T13:03:00.012+01:00

Last night we tried my two new purchases from Dandelion Vineyards what I got in the SQ NewWorld wine sale, which started on Thursday. As you can see above I got a couple of the Shiraz Rieslings and a Pinot Grigio.

We had the Pinot Grigio with some alarmingly expensive Monkfish, also from SQ. €20 for enough fish for 2 adults and a child? And even BBQ'd we thought it wasn't great, although Little Bill (tm) loved it, from now on I'll stick with Hake. Herself didn't really care for the white, I rather liked it. It had lots of crisp acidity and some restrained fruit. I think she missed the Sauvignon Blancs of the couple of weeks.

The Shiraz Riesling was an interesting beast. I guess I wasn't expecting a fruit bomb, for some reason, but this wine was very jammy. Given that the Riesling represents only 5% of the total I supposed I shouldn't be surprised. It was certainly beyond the ability of my neophyte taste buds to discern any Riesling influence, but I did like it. As I am (obviously not - Ed.) tired of saying I like something else apart from bags of fruit in my Shiraz; some elegance, some structure, and this delivered. Not as big as a Bin 389 but with a hint of velvety tannins. I'll be curious to see what this will cost at full price. I will "cellar" the other bottle and see what happens, the label says it has the potential to age.

Lastly, we sampled some more NZ Sauvignon Blanc last night, a Rockpool 2009 from O'Briens. Not bad, another one from the Astrolabe stable, €11-95 reduced to €8-99. At full price I'd go for the Durvillea first, but as always, your mileage may vary.

* The word dandelion is a corruption of the French "dent de lion"

In the nick of time..

2010-06-18T17:42:00.008+01:00

As I promised, I made my way down to the Superquinn New World wine sale today. As expected, most of it is cheap, fruity, lowest common denominator wine I wouldn't buy even heavily discounted, but I was intrigued by a new Aussie producer Dandelion Vineyards , who had a variety of wines on show including a very unusual grape pairing of Shiraz and Riesling.

When I got there, there didn't appear to be any of this left but after badgering the (helpful) staff I found a few bottles on a shelf. I guess I'm not the only one attracted to this unusual pairing. Given the 3 for €20 deal, I grabbed two of the Shiraz/Riesling and one Pinot Grigio from the same producer, which I have just sampled and its very pleasant and "Italian" in style as I was told in the shop.

More tomorrow on the unusual hybrid which I am decanting now.

Pimenta Redux

2010-06-17T15:09:00.004+01:00

As a break for ourselves from the relentless onslaught of cheap French wine I got here I decided to pick up something, anything else, just for a change, while I was in Donnybrook Fair. The wine above I had almost a year ago and I really liked it then. This time around I thought it was a little jammy and New-Worldy at first. Later on it developed somewhat, filling in the holes surrounding the blackcurranty fruit with some substance. Plus it was discounted to €9-95 from its usual €11-95, so worth a punt at that price.

The Superquinn New World wine sale starts today but before I comment on it, I wanted to post a link where you could look at what is on sale, unfortunately and stupidly, you cant see what is on sale unless you pretend to sign up for online shopping or are already a customer and even then you have to jump through hoops to find the right page. THIS appears to be the URL but I don't think It'll work unless you have registered fully or partially.

Rant over. The selection isn't great. Mostly stuff I wouldn't touch at full price. Some decent producers but not the wines I'd want, no Yalumba Viognier, no Oyster Bay Pinot Noir, although there is an intriguing Dandelions Shiraz Riesling, which I will have to try, if only to see if that grape mix works. More tomorrow after I do some shopping.

It's a kind of seaweed - apparently.

2010-06-14T17:08:00.005+01:00

Last week I tried one of Superquinn's own brand range, to whit their 2008 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, which myself and herself both liked a lot and at a tenner it's great value. Given that a) we drink very little white and b) almost no NZ Sauvignon Blanc at all, I decided to pick up the above wine in O'Briens, it's a Durvillea Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008, €14-99 reduced to €11-99, for comparison purposes.

I liked this a whole lot, Herself claimed to prefer last week's SQ offering but pffft. This was a nicely balanced wine, lots of gooseberry fruit and medium bodied and it went very well with a packet of Chilli flavour coated peanuts* (her accompaniment, not mine). I noticed on the label that this wines is produced by Astrolabe, who also make an Atrolabe Voyage Sauvignon Blanc, which I am always seeing in O'Briens and has been recommended to me many times.

As fate would have it I was at another b'day do on Sunday and the white wine being served was none other than the aforementioned Astrolabe. It may have been the fact that I ruined my palate with chili dip and beer beforehand but I think I preferred the Durvillea, it seemed more rounded and complex in style. What the differentiator between these wines is I couldn't get from the website, btw.

* On a similar theme, do you know what goes really well with a Gin and Tonic? Meanies, that's what.

The boy done good

2010-06-12T10:33:00.003+01:00

Its been a little over a week and I've had a chance to sample three of the wines I got here.

I got six of Chateau Cailleval Cotes De Bergerac 2005 and have been told, by the lady of the chateau that this should improve for a number of years. I intend to put a couple in my "cellar" but for now it's drinking well and very tasty. Its reasonably easy drinking, fruity but not overly so. Hopefully it will mature over the next few years.

We had the in-laws over for a very wet Bank Holiday BBQ and I decided we would have some of the three Chateau Tonneret St Emilion 2006, to go with the large hunk of beef generously provided by D&G. This was described to me as "a simple St Emilion, not for keeping" and so it proved, Herself really liked it. Given I have three of the the 2007 to "cellar", we'll probably drink the last one of these now.

The last of the three sampled so far is Chateau La Peyreyre Haut-Medoc 2005. This proved divisive when bought, although it was early morning and one of the tasters was very hung-over so I wasn't sure what to expect. On opening this was a little sharp and unbalanced. Two hours later however and it had all come together nicely and had become probably the best of the three, a big well balanced complex animal. I suspect has the ability to age well but I'm not sure I'll be able to resist drinking it .

Lastly, a few posts back I put up a link to Kevin Ecock's review of all of Superquinn's own brand range. The only new one I've been able to try so far is the New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Kevin said "Just what the punter wants from NZ. €10.00". If you like this style of white then you will love this version. Delicious and great value at a tenner.

Two Antipodean Aristocrats

2010-06-07T11:47:00.006+01:00

Last Saturday, myself and Herself were treated to a delicious tasting dinner in Gordon Ramsay at the Ritz Carlton in Powerscourt. We had eaten here once before and had loved it, we were also looking forward to the fact that we would be dining at the Chef's table in the kitchen. If you are a foodie, and we are, you would be fascinated to see how a top class kitchen operates for an entire service. Gordon was not present and there was no shouting, no bad language, just order and control.

We had a tasting menu and in my humble and relatively inexperienced opinion, if you are going to go to a top class restaurant it's the only way to go (if you can afford it - and I can't). Our host had already chosen the wines and after some lovely champagne in the bar (Bruno Paillard Premiere Cuvee), we moved into the kitchen and onto the white a - Framingham Malborough Riesling. I liked this but I didn't love it, I'm sure it's an extremely well made wine but the style was not for me. I like my whites to be bigger and bolder, either fruity or austere and minerally but I think this was maybe too subtle for me. (Ed. - that wouldn't be the first time)

The red however, was something of a triumph although initially I blanched when I saw the label. It was a Mitolo Serpico Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. If you are a regular reader of this blog you'll know I have a somewhat fractious relationship with pure Aussie Cab Sav's. See here and here. What I didn't expect was a marvellously balanced, silky tannin'd, fruity gem. Blind, I would have said Bordeaux, but eyes wide open it was slightly more fruit forward that its old world cousins, but still with great length and complexity.

I'll have to relate that after dinner I also sampled some Chateau Art d'Guynaisse, which brought me right back down to earth, literally. Anyhoo, muchos gracias to our hosts again.

Birthday BBQ Bonanza

2010-06-05T09:56:00.011+01:00

Last Tuesday night I attended a family birthday BBQ for Papa, who generously opened his "cellar" and produced some very fine wines. The other main topic of interest for me on the night was this humble blog, whether I would be blogging on the wines, the anonymity or lack thereof of this blog, whether I am an idiot who knows nothing about wine etc. Lots of interesting stuff and I will be doing an in depth examination of some of these issues very soon.

Let's get on with the wines, I did take pictures with my phone but the crappiness of the camera and my increasingly unsteady hand meant that the pictures are of insufficient quality to put up.

First up was a Louis Roederer Cristal Brut 2000. Unfortunately, this had not aged well. It seemed to be a bit flat. I have never had Cristal before so I was disappointed that this example didn't seem to be drinking well.

Next up, a Puligny-Montrachet Jean Claude Belland 2004. I do love a Montrachet, even if I rarely drink it due to our impecunious circumstances (the last time was here). So I was really looking forward to this. Alas, at first sip I was not pleased. Both myself and Eldest Bro thought this wasn't quite right, there was a little metallic sharpness present that was hard to get past. If it was just me who had thought this I would have been happy to write it off as my own error, but as I was not alone I waited 'til the second bottle was open to see it was the same - we were 0 for 2 at this stage so I was praying for success. Happily, the next bottle proved a winner. I really liked it but this is a very austere wine, dry and minerally, and probably in need of food to set it off. This is not a white for the faint hearted, or anyone who grew up on fruity sauvignon blancs.

Onto the reds, yay! One of my all time faves up next, Chateau Lynch Bages 2000 Pauillac. I had a bottle of this on Xmas eve and loved it. This time up I got some Blackberry fruit and lots of chewy tannins. For the first time I got that Cabernet fruitiness which to my mind often overpowers all other flavours in Aussie Cab Savs, but here its part of an integrated package.

Unfortunately, any wine following the Lynch Bages has a lot to live up to and so it proved. Next up was a Chateau Labegorce 2000 Margaux. This just didn't do it for me, it was perfectly drinkable but the fruit didn't seem well integrated and the wine as a whole wasn't balanced as I like it.

I had assumed, naively, that the 2000 Bordeaux would be appreciably better than the 1999 but I was incorrect. The Chateau Latour-Martillac 1999 Pessac Leognan was my wine of the evening. All supple tannins and velvety fruit, delicious and very fine. I could have drunk this all night but we had to move on.

We moved on to Chateau Haut-Bages Averous 1999 Pauillac, the second wine of Lynch Bages. As the evening wore off and taste buds became clogged with wine and meat , the wines had an increasingly tough job to do, this red acquitted itself well though. It obviously didn't have the depth and complexity of its bigger brother (who does!) but it was well balanced and very drinkable.

Last of the reds was a Chateau Haut-Pontet 2000 St Emilion Grand Cru, I have to confess I don't have a strong recollection of this wine, so lets assume it was great. There, done.

Lastly, a little sweetness to finish off the evening, a Chateau d'Yquem 1994 Sauternes, I was a d'Yquem virgin before this night and boy was it worth waiting for. I do not have a sweet tooth, although you'd never know it to look at me, but I loved this wine. Sweet as sin with lots of orangey fruit, the finish on this went on and on.

A big thank you to Papa for the meat and the wine and to Grandma for everything else.

Next up, either a long existential piece on the nature of blogging, identity vs anonymity, family vs friends and all that sh*t or some reviews of the first couple of the Bergerac/Bordeaux wines I got here.

Links Ahoy

2010-06-02T17:07:00.003+01:00

As has become my custom (well, I did it once before), I had a look around at some of the other non-commercial wineblogs looking for articles of interest to pass on to your good selves...

Kevin Ecock - a comprehensive review of the entire Superquinn Classic collection here as the number of wines grows to 42.

Sour Grapes - A new Bordeaux book by the always interesting Oz Clarke here, I'm going to have to buy it I think if only for the fact that I was practically breathing Bordeaux last night (post to follow)

Grapes of Sloth - A humorous post here on 2009 Bordeaux.

The Grapefruit - A few interesting facts about wine here.

Next up is a review of all the lovely wines from Papa's birthday bash.

The Fruits of someone else's labours

2010-06-01T12:44:00.008+01:00

The Boys (BE & GG) returned safe and sound from Bergerac on Sunday, sailing through customs this time. Note to any wine travelers 1) Always say all the wine is for yourself, 2) Get all receipts made out in your name and 3) Keep all the receipts handy when you arrive back on-shore.

So I went round last evening to see what my stake had been spent on and I was pleasantly surprised. Last year I picked up red, white and Monbazillac (the local sweet wine) from Chateau Cailleval a small "mom and pop" vineyard in Pomport near Bergerac. At the time the 2005 wasn't bottled and I opined here, that I wanted to go back and get some. Fair play to the lads they went and bought a couple of cases and they tried it and said that it was very nice indeed. I also asked for another bottle of the Chateau Haut-Theulet Monbazillac 2004, which materialised in re-branded form as a 2005 Chateau Cailleval Monbazillac 2005 this year.

Being a bit skint this year I didn't order too much wine, so the balance of my order was made up of Chateau Tonneret St Emilion 2006 & 2007. The 2006 is for drinking now, while according to the Chateau owner the 2007 needs another year. I also got some Chateau La Peyreyre Haut-Medoc 2005, opinions were divided on this; BE liked it , GG not so much. They were told it needs at least another year in the bottle so we'll see next year. Lastly a single bottle of Chateau Gaubert St Emilion Grand Cru 2005 to lay down. I've had various vintages of this over the last couple of years and it has never disappointed.

Here's the full list:

6X Chateau Cailleval Cotes De Bergerac 2005 - €8-20
3X Chateau Tonneret St Emilion 2006 - €8-80
3X Chateau Tonneret St Emilion 2007 - €8-50
3X Chateau La Peyreyre Haut-Medoc 2005 - €7-80
1X Chateau Gaubert St Emilion Grand Cru 2005 - €11-50
1X Chateau Cailleval Monbazillac 2005 (50cl) - €10-90

I'm going to crack open a Chateau Cailleval Cotes De Bergerac 2005 tonight, report to follow.

Bargain Report Card and other stuff...

2010-05-29T12:16:00.005+01:00

Earlier in the week I bought three potential bargains at half price in Tesco. These are the results of the Dublin jury (see what I did there?)

Reserve Des Tuguets Madiran 2007 - €6-99. I had read that wines from Madiran are supposed to be a little Bordeaux like and so it proved. While it obviously didn't have the depth of a classed growth wine it had some nice subtle fruit, a chunk of tannins and some decent length. I don't know that I'd pay full whack for this but it's pretty good value as priced.

Marques De Carano Gran Reserva 2001 - €7-99. "A very good price for a Gran Reserva", I said in my initial post, well TANSTAAFL to that. This tasted like an attempt at a decent Rioja (I know its from a different region) and although it had some of the vanilla and oak it still seemed a bit thin and tired. There was a reason this was priced to clear.

Piccini Gran Selezione Oro Chianti Riserva 2007 - €5-99. This proved to be the bargain of the day. Lovely plummy fruit and great length meant we enjoyed the heck out of this. This was solid Chianti that you might expect to pay €12-€14 for so it is a steal as priced.

Second lastly, as I type this the boys should be driving toward the ferry in France with their precious cargo of wine from Bordeaux/Bergerac. We were unable to go on the holiday this year for a variety of reasons but I put in an order ("buy me some red wine, around 6-8 quid a bottle"). This price point worked well last year and I have some inexpensive but very pleasant 2005 Bordeaux in my "cellar" maturing nicely, I hope.

Lastly, Papa is having a special b'day party this Tuesday and I am very much looking forward to the wine list. We are starting with Cristal and finishing with Chateau d'Yquem and drinking lots of 2000 Bordeaux in between. Woo-hoo! Full report to follow.

Bargain Bin-end

2010-05-25T20:50:00.004+01:00

As is the norm, whenever I am in Tesco Dundrum, I hunt around for the bargain wine area. It has a tendency to shift around within the off-licence area but the yellow bargain stickers are a give-away. I picked up the above bottles,I think they were all half price, so do the math. Left to right, they are:

Reserve Des Tuguets Madiran 2007 - €6-99. From the South-West of France, I don't think I've had a wine from Madiran before. The main grape is Tannat along with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and this is supposed to be a chewy, tannic wine not unlike a full bodied Bordeaux.

Marques De Carano Gran Reserva 2001 - €7-99. A very good price for a Gran Reserva, although I didn't realise until I got it home that it comes from the Carinena region of Spain, a region, I confess, I had never heard of until today. The wine is a Tempranillo/Garnacha mix and I could be onto a loser here but at the price its worth a punt.

Piccini Gran Selezione Oro Chianti Riserva 2007 - €5-99. I can't find this wine on the Piccini website, but I am a big fan of their Chianti Riserva which normally goes for about €15. We are currently drinking this and so far so good, lots of nice plummy flavours and a decent finish. It has not been open long so it should get better. At this price all you'd expect is something barely drinkable so it's all gravy (not literally) from here.

A nice white for a Summer's day

2010-05-23T17:02:00.006+01:00

It was Friday and I was looking for fish. Herself had decreed that fish was the order of the day so I dutifully made my weary way down to Superquinn in Blackrock.I picked up some tasty looking Plaice, some Peruvian asparagus (?), some microwave New potatoes (??) and then I decided to stroll through the wine dept and pick up some nice white.

We haven't drunk much Viognier but whenever I try it I tend to like it so I took a punt on the above wine, a Viognier 2009 from La Baume in the Languedoc. It was €10-65 reduced to €7 which seems ridiculously cheap for a decent wine but being married to a half Scot I couldn't resist the bargain.

My instincts, for once, were right on the money. This was a treat, and a steal the seven notes. It is lightly perfumed and all the reviews I can find maintain it has apricot flavours. I don't really like apricots so I'm going with peaches, lots of nice peachy flavours. I liked it so much I went back on Saturday and bought two more, the last of which is currently cooling in my vegetable drawer in the fridge.

On the red front I grabbed a couple of the Domaine Cristia Cotes Du Ventoux 2008, which has proved reliable in the past and was also on special at a mere €7 also. Should go well with the lamb chops I'm BBQing tonight for Herself and MJ from next door. Evenin' all.

I've found a new friend...

2010-05-17T16:42:00.007+01:00

The title refers to my new favourite wine but firstly I should report back on the two Tesco cheapies I picked up last week. The first to be drunk was the Tesco Nero D'Avola 2008 €8-69. I didn't love the 2007 and wasn't very hopeful about the 2008. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a lot better than the previous vintage. It had some body to it, a little fruit and some decent acidity, not fantastic but OK value for the price.

Next up was the Finest Tempranillo 2009 €9-99 from the Extemadura region of Spain.I wasn't crazy about this. It tasted very New World to me, almost Shiraz like. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but not a fruit bomb. As always, I can tolerate lots of fruit if there is some structure to back it up, alas there was none present here. Probably too much to ask for in a wine of this price.

As I mentioned in my last post I got Burgans Albarino 2009 from the out-laws and we had it with the Newlyweds on Saturday. Reaction was mixed. I though it was an decent wine for a hot day, with some nice crisp acidity but the general reaction was more... meh.

As I said at the start of this post I have a new favourite. We were having the newlyweds over for a BBQ on Saturday so I went off to O'Briens to pick a couple of reds, as usual I checked out the specials and was attracted to the Quinta Nova Douro 2008 on special at €12-95. It's made from a blend of not very well known grapes, mostly grown only in Portugal, as i understand it and they are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Cao.

This was a big wine in every way. Full bodied, lots of structure, some plummy fruit and a long finish. I'm not really doing it justice I know. It's one of those wines that when you taste it you immediately fall in love with it. I can't find a link on the O'Briens site but if you pick up a bottle you won't be disappointed, I promise.

**Update** - found a description of the wine on O'Briens blog - "It is phenomenal, packed with sweet blackberried fruit and subtle hints of spice but most of all this is smooth, very smooth; there is a lovely silken texture to it, meaning; it’s terrific with or without the food."

**Update 2** Link for the Quinta Nova on O'Briens site here.

All your hangovers are belong to us

2010-05-15T09:51:00.005+01:00

It's Saturday morning again, and as per usual I'm blogging and minding the nipper while herself sleeps off the manflu. I'm hungover but it's OK, I have an excuse - I was out drinking last night.

It was a race night to support sending some guys somewhere*, or something.

There are two long posts I have been thinking about doing for a while. The first is a sort of best wines you can get in each Supermarket while the second is a post about the various things that wine reviewers claim to be able to taste when reviewing wines and my own abilities or lack thereof. However, both of those would require energy and industry, neither of which I am replete with at the moment.

So a few word on a couple of wines I picked up this week. The first is the famous Lidl Montepulciano, famous for being indecently cheap at €4-25. I first reviewed this about a year ago at the dawn of this blog when it cost a heady €5-25 and I liked it then. Since then I have had it a couple of times and it's always been drinkable, not much more than that, but for the price of a pint how much more do you expect?

Next up is a white that I think is on special in Oddbins. Its a Burgans Albarino 2009 The in-laws bought a few because of the name and when offered one I could hardly refuse. The Oddbins blurb is here. Sounds like the kind of white you'd drink on a hot summers day, so here's hoping today turns out nice.

We are not going on the winetrip/holiday this year to Bergerac, but I am going to ask BE to pick me up a couple of dozen of the local brew. It's always a risk having someone else buy wine for me as I am so picky but BE and I go way back in wine.

*It was these guys

I first posted this without a title...

2010-05-11T14:47:00.006+01:00

I've been seeing a wine in Tesco my last few visits there and finally took the plunge today. Its a Finest Tempranillo 2009 from the Extemadura region of Spain. I've king of been spoiled on Spanish wine by the Alta Rio and rarely buy Spanish anymore. BTW has anyone else noticed a distinct lack of non-Rioja reds, particularly in Supermarkets? Give me a Toro or a Ribera for a change. Anyway, this was priced at a modest €9-99, so I gave it a go.

I also picked up a Tesco Nero D'Avola 2008 €8-69, I couldn't resist after having a lovely Nero D'Avola on the weekend. The last time I had this wine, it was the 2007 vintage and I wasn't impressed, but every dog gets one bite so I'm offering up my other cheek, so to speak.

What I hadn't noticed when I was shopping was that certain wines were part of a "2 for €12" promotion and lo and behold at the check-out I was pleasantly surprised by the saving (€6-68 to be precise). I didn't notice what wines are covered by this but if you are going down Tesco way it might be worth a look.

Olesya's Unpronounceable Wine bar

2010-05-10T20:16:00.011+01:00

Ourselves and the Fabtastic Four (three as it turned out - get well soon H) went to Olesya's Wine Bar on Saturday to eat and to sample some of their 400 wines. Before I get into the wines (and there are a few) I should say the food was very good. We started with a deluxe platter for the table which contained lots of nice meats, cheeses pates etc and it was big enough for three husky gents and two petite but hungry ladies. The main courses were all very tasty with YHB devouring a juicy lamb shank.

As we intended to drink a few bottles we eschewed ordering by the glass and decided to start with a white of my choosing. I chose the unusually monikered Chateau Tahbilk Marsanne, which I quite liked but only received a lukewarm reception from the others, it reminded me of a less intense Clos Du Val Chardonnay. I liked it a lot in John Wilson's Aussie tasting last year but perhaps it's not to everyone's taste. (€25)

Next up another failure - Domaine Juliette Avril "Le Ventoux" 2008 (€31). I really liked this little gem, it was a little spicy, medium bodied and a little Chateau-Neuf-du-Papey, but was met with polite disapproval, although BE did grudgingly admit that it had developed nicely in the glass. I was 0 for 2 at this stage so I decide to play it safe and order an Argentine Malbec.

There was only one Malbec on the wine list so it was a bit of a hail-mary but I persevered and ordered a Finca Sophenia Reserve Malbec 2008 (€28). This was a huge change of pace from the aromatic Ventoux. It was a beefy, fruity, full bodied wine, with lots of character and the perfect accompaniment to a juicy steak. Alas none of had steak and two of us even had a meatless main (for shame BE).

We decided, for some reason, to go Italian next. Note: We looked at the Bordeaux, Burgundy and Aussie lists but didn't reckon we'd be able to get a decent wine at a reasonable price, particularly from the French regions. Anyhoo, we ordered a Birgi Nero D'Avola (€30) from Sicily. Wow. Lots of fruit here (BE reckoned rasperries) and long finish. We all loved this one.

Lastly (boo) we plumped for another Italian, a Donna Marzia Conte Zecca Primitivo (€30). I've just realised that due to only drunkenly photographing the fronts of the last two wines I have no idea what year they are. I loved their Negro Amaro, and while this didn't have quite the complexity of that, it was a very nice way to finish the evening (wine-wise anyway - shudder)

We didn't explicitly limit ourselves to bottles costing €30 but that's the way it turned out and it's a good test of a wine list that there would be several decent bottles to be had for around this price. I'm off to detox for a few hours.

Saturday morning, who's gonna play with me?

2010-05-08T10:05:00.009+01:00

As is our Saturday routine, I'm in the kitchen drinking coffee and blogging, behind me Little Bill is watching his latest Movie (Alvin and the Chipmonks - Jason Lee must have some whopping gambling debts) and Herself is upstairs, catching up on her sleep. I wanted to write about something that has been exercising me of late, to whit, am I the only blogger in Ireland who reviews wines from the bargain/Supermarket/call it what you will section of the wine market here?

I'm not really sure what exactly I wanted to say beyond that, I don't know if the above is true and if so, does it bother and/or please me? Rather than bore you with some existential musings I thought I'd have a quick look around some of the non-commercial wine blogs and find some articles and bits of interest.

The image at the top of this post I took from this post on Sour Grapes, a comprehensive list of Irish wine blogs.

A humourous post on wines to be had in Leggs (we've all done it) from a blog I've only just discovered - My Grape Escape

A nice way to blow the wad in London , courtesy of Wine Perv.

A lot of Aussies reviewed on the Grapes of Sloth.

A guide to bluffing during Wine Tastings from The Grapefruit.

That's it for now - Ourselves and the Fabtastic Four are off to Olesya's Wine Bar tonight to sample some of their 400 wines (100 by the glass apparently), so I expect a hangover and some reviews tomorrow.

Something for the weekend?

2010-05-05T19:32:00.008+01:00

The wedding, I'm happy to say, went well; the weather held off, mostly, and the wedding wines seemed to go down smoothly, particularly the red. Initially I thought the white (Bougrier Sauvignon Blanc AC Touraine 2006) was a little sharp but it suited the seafood starter well. The less said about the curious incident of the allegedly punctured tyre on the wedding car the better.*

The wines at left were all bargain wines I got in O'Briens during the week. Left to right they are:

Emotivo Montepulciano 2008 - (€7-95 reduced to €6-99) - took a punt on this. Have just tried after an hour in the decanter and it tastes a bit cheap and cheerful. I'll persevere for another while to see if it improves any.

**Update** - It improved, but barely. Herself initially refused to drink it. A rare stinker from O'Briens, however cheap it was.

Ferraton Cotes Du Rhone Samorens 2007 (€11-45 reduced to €9-95) - Have bought this many times and it does not disappoint. A huge bargain. Will buy more for tomorrow night.

**Update** - Bought two more and they did not disappoint. The third was open for a day before I finished it and was quite delicious at the end.

Protocolo Tinto 2007 (€8-45 reduced to €7-95). I previously raved about the 2007 here and the 2006 here. I'm afraid to say the last couple of times I've had the 2007 I've found it a little jammy, it's still well made and has more strings to its bow than the fruit but for now I can't get past the sweetness, perhaps its needs more time in the decanter as it definitely had a smidgin more balance in the last glass.

On a whiskey note my formerly only Brother-in-law showed up at the wedding with a bottle of Highland Park 16yo for me - Many thanks JMP. And as we were left literally holding the babies at 2am on the night of the wedding we felt it incumbent on us to break the seal, and extremely tasty it was too (the whiskey - not the seal)

*Its official - I'm a tool.

Into the West...

2010-04-29T14:26:00.004+01:00

A couple of quick reviews of bottles bought in the last few days before we head off with Little Bill to the social event of the season "The Wedding"

Dino Sangiovese Di Romanga 2008 - €5-99. Rough, but we drank it (sigh). Not worth the money. Avoid.

Bethany Old Vine Grenache 2007 - Reduced from €14-45 to €9-95. Very jammy and much too sweet for me. Tasted more like a Shiraz to be honest and completely at odds with any Old World interpretation of this grape that you might be used to. The Label says "well textured palate and the long soft tannin finish". My foot. I couldn't find any tannins whatsoever. If you like this style of big unbalanced fruit bomb you'd probably be better off spending a couple of quid less (than the €14-95) on a proper Aussie Shiraz. I will admit, however, that their own G6 Shiraz while more expensive (€17-69), is a fine tipple and does indeed deliver a fruity red that has some lovely structure to counterbalance the jamminess.

Two cheap Italians

2010-04-27T14:44:00.006+01:00

The title does not refer to the people, although I once witnessed four Italian girls sup one glass of Guinness for the entire evening, but to two cheap and cheeky Italian reds I just picked up in Tesco, Dundrum, and they are...

Dino Sangiovese Di Romanga 2008 - €5-99. Reduced, I think from €10-99, I have been seeing this quite a lot of late on offer and have finally taken the plunge. Could be a stinker but worth a punt at this price.

Ogio Primitivo 2008 - €5-99. I have had this a couple of times before and it is very good value at this price, although this is one of those discounts I'm dubious of, as I have never seen it at full price.

Lastly, we drank the Villa Novare Valpolicella Ripasso 2006 - Reduced from €18-45 to €12-95, which I had gotten over the weekend in O'Briens. Disappointed, we were. This was medium bodied, drinkable but the flavour was overly light and a bit washed out. Basically there was not a lot going on in this wine and at a nominal price of €18-45 for a Ripasso, I would have expected much, much more.

No hugs, no learning.

2010-04-25T17:40:00.008+01:00

Well, I've come back from battering my hangover into submission in the gym and I have a few updates and reviews to share, so let's start with...

Clos Du Val Chardonnay 2006 . This was on special in O'Briens last week (€16-95 reduced from €22-95) and as part of my drive to drink more white I picked one up. It was interesting... Lar from Sour Grapes recommended it and said it was "Meursault style - butter, nuts and brioche." This wine reminded me of Dance. I can appreciate the skill and the effort involved but it does nothing for me; similarly with this wine, I can appreciate it but that style of buttery Chardonnay is not my cup of meat, however well made it may be. I have a Meursault gathering dust at the moment in my "cellar" and I reckon I'll have to crack it soon and compare.

After the Chardonnay I popped open a Renato Ratti Langhe Nebbiolo 2008, which I had gotten in M&S earlier. I really must wine shop there more often as they seem to have a large range at reasonable prices. I stumped up €14-99 for this and was not disappointed. Nebbiolo is the grape that powers both Barolo and Barbaresco and here in its cheaper incarnation it still packed a punch. Lots of cherry fruit, pleasingly fragrant and nice integrated if gentle tannins. Quite an uncommon taste but rather emotive, one sip and I was back in Rome (not literally of course) drinking overpriced, but delicious, Nebbiolo behind the Piazza Navona.

Just back from O'Briens in the Beacon, looking for bargains and I got the following...

Bethany Old Vine Grenache 2007 - Reduced from €14-45 to €9-95

Villa Novare Valpolicella Ripasso 2006 - Reduced from €18-45 to €12-95. I love Valpolicella Ripassos, a good one will give you near Amarone quality for half the price.

Lastly in the Sunday Business Post Today, Tomas Clancy in his "to try, buy and put by" sidebar, recommends next week's Wedding white (which I helped choose) as his "to try" choice. It's a Bougrier Sauvignon Blanc AC Touraine 2006, and he speaks very highly of it, phew.

His "to put by" is another old favourite of mine the Penfolds Bin 389, a fruity but well balanced gem of a wine, sadly priced north of €30 in this republic.

Birthday etc.

2010-04-21T09:07:00.006+01:00

I've just realised I never posted on the occasion of the first birthday of this blog which was on March 7th. It was an "interesting" year professionally for me, at the time of inception finding cheap wine to drink was less an academic aspiration and rather more a necessity. Luckily that all changed soon after and things have been ticking along (touch wood*) since then.

A couple of observations -

1) I drink a lot of wine. I haven't, and don't want to, count the number of bottles I've been a party to over the last year. When you add in pints, tinnies and whiskey, I'm amazed I have any liver left. However, what's bad news for my liver is good news for you. I can't blog about wines I haven't drunk.

2) I've largely enjoyed writing this blog so far. For the most part it has not been a chore and it's also an excuse to drink. As far as creative outlets go, it ain't poetry but it beats tormenting our party guests with my lousy singing (All: woo-hoo!)

3) I don't drink/blog enough white wine. I intend to remedy this over the next few, hopefully sunny months. Suggestions please to the usual address.

Back to business - I picked up the wine at left in Tesco yesterday on a whim, a Costieres de Nimes 2008, it was reduced to €6-99 and it was not really worth that. While it was drinkable it didn't have a lot going for it and it had a slightly harsh tannic undercurrent that was a little off-putting.

We still drank it, but I wouldn't serve it anyone, if that helps to place it in the pantheon of my wine experience. If you are shopping in Tesco there's lots better for just slightly more cash.

* Its very unlucky to be superstitious

6 Monthly Whiskey Audit

2010-04-19T22:10:00.013+01:00

It's that time again. I know this is supposed to be a wine blog but occasionally I feel the need to wax somewhat lyrical on the virtues of the grain as opposed to the grape. If you are not interested, the exit is that way...

The last time I did an audit the results were as follows, a lot has changed since then, I got a boat load of whiskey for my cough-th birthday and I'm delighted to say I've put a good hole in most of them. The Islays have survived best, I need to be in a certain place to approach these peaty monsters and most of the time a regular expression is what I fancy.

Single Malt Scotches (L-R)

Bruichladdich Moine Mhor (3 different years)

Desc: A strong (50%) dram, sweet and peaty. A special edition which was a gift from Herself. Works well with a drop of water.

Remaining: 0.6 bottles

Lagavulin 16yo

Desc: My previous favourite Islay. Smooth and smoky and very peaty.

Remaining: 1.3 bottles (thanks MP!)

Bowmore 18yo

Desc: My new favourite Islay, even though I drink it only rarely.

Remaining: 0.8 bottles

Glenmorangie Original 10yo

Desc: The Classic from the 16 men of Tain. Have polished off a whole bottle of this since the last post. A very tasty everyday whiskey.
Remaining: 0.1 bottles

Glenmorangie Lasanta 12yo
Desc: This used to be called the Sherry-wood finish. I said this about it at the Glenmorangie tasting - "Quite fruity, but not overly so. Warming, taste all over the mouth and a very long finish. My favourite on the night."
Remaining: 0.2 bottles

Springbank "Longrow" Gaja Barola 7yo
Desc: A non-Islay peaty beast with a whopping 55.6% alcohol, this whiskey is delicious with a drop of water. This also spends the last 2 years of its life in Barolo casks. Who'd a thunk it?
Remaining: 0.6 bottles

The Balvenie Goldencask 14yo
Desc: A present from poker widow Allpay, it spends its last 2 years in rum casks which adds some lovely fruit and spice.
Remaining: 0.1 bottles

The Glenlivet French Oak Reserve 15yo
Desc: Another everyday whiskey, although I don't think this has quite the character of the Glemorangie
Remaining: 0.4 bottles

Blends & Other bottles (L - R)

Jameson Original
Desc: The standard expression. Had this recently at a neighbour's house and was very pleasantly surprised by it. Warm , spicy and intense.
Remaining: 0.9 bottle

Bushmills Malt 16yo
Desc: A nod to my own heritage, a big warm sweet whiskey.
Remaining: 0.3 bottles

Woodford Reserve
Desc: A present from MP, an impressive bourbon. Light years ahead of Jack Daniels et al. Although not as smooth as a single malt.
Remaining: 0.4 bottles

Bushmills Malt 12yo
Desc: Haven't opened this yet although I expect good things after the 16yo
Remaining: 1 bottle

Lark Distillery SingleMalt.
Desc: A present from JP & MP all the way from Tasmania. A different and slightly less refined malt from our Antipodean cousins, another nice change of pace.
Remaining: 0.5 bottles

I made the list...

2010-04-18T13:31:00.007+01:00

Sourgrapes has put together a comprehensive list of Irish wine blogs and I'm on it. Go me, again!

The list is here and is a good mix of the commercial, the expert and the enthusiastic amateur. Thanks for the inclusion.

**Update** The Clos Du Val Merlot was as good as last time. We had it with a couple of fillet steaks from Dunnes (pretty decent btw) and it was the perfect accompanyment. If you are a New World Merlot hater, its definitely worth a try. It changed my mind.

Savage Flowers

2010-04-18T10:24:00.010+01:00

We're now back in our mountain home, herself is off in sunny Rosslare with "the girls" and I'm left here on my own to mind the chiseler. No better time to post on a few wine related tings.

As I mentioned last post I wanted to get into Oddbins on Baggot street and I was presented with the opportunity with the impending arrival of B&G for a spot of Thai food from Kanum, which by the way is as good as any Thai food I've had in Dublin and is pretty good value, but I digest.

One way that Oddbins falls down I find is in the cheapish €9-€13 bracket. Supermarkets, particularly Tesco have a myriad of decent, drinkable wines in this range, and most offies have a few bottles to be had for this money. If you are entertaining, on a budget, need to buy a few of something, you don't want to spend a fortune. Hence, Supermarkets clean up here.

Long story short I bought a couple of these - Chateau de Combebelle Les Fleurs Sauvages St Chinian 2007 (€13-99) and one of these for B, a Falerio Palastri Organic 2009 (a snip at €8-99).

Note, I really bought the red to be drunk after the Thai food, not with it. For the food I bought a case of 12 bottle of Veltins Pilsener (good value at €14), this proved to be a delicious hoppy treat and more than a match for the strong Thai flavours.

Anyhoo, the wine itself was very fine. Lots of spice, some nice fruitiness, a surprising, but not overpowering amount of tannins and a long tasty finish. As I mentioned above this is more than I'd normally spend on multiple bottles but I couldn't find anything else in the shop for less money that I thought would be decent.

Lastly, I have been tempted, ever since I tried one a few weeks ago, to buy more of the Clos Du Val Merlot from O'Briens. It's still on sale at the ridiculously cheap price (for the quality) of €16-95, so I bought one to have with a (hopefully BBQ'd) steak tonight. Lar from Sourgrapes suggested I try the Chardonnay also so I grabbed one of these also. Again not cheap at €16-95 (reduced from €22-95) but if the rest of the range is a guide then it should be worth it.

On a wholly OT note, I watched Zombieland last night. BEST CAMEO EVER.

Bordeaux 2009, and beyond

2010-04-13T14:53:00.004+01:00

I've read a number of of interesting articles on the 2009 En Primeur tastings which have been happening of late and the first link is a very interesting comparison of Bordeaux vs Burgundy, which is of great relevance to me at the moment - I was raised on Bordeaux with narry a sniff of Burgundy, but any of the recent (expensive) Burgundies I've had of late have been divine - the full article is here.

Lastly a couple of links to interesting articles in the WSJ, here and here.

We're staying in our city pad (minding in-laws house) which as always means a trip or two to Tesco Baggot St and Oddbins. Let's see what I can find...

Wedding Bells and Funny Smells

2010-04-09T10:37:00.013+01:00

I should firstly finish off the last two wines of the five I picked up here in Superquinn,

Domaine Sainte Croix Corbieres Las Fournas 2007- €7 (reduced from €10-99)

The Blurb said "a delightful mix of fruit, herbs and spice at a price that is a joke"

I say - Corked, even though this is a screw top, it definitely wasn't right. Will try and get more today if there is any left.

Domaine de Brunely Vacqueyras 2009 €12 (reduced from €17-99)

The Blurb said "A powerful wine with redcurrent fruit"

I say - very nice but not nearly as dark and complex as the 2005 that I have tried a few times. One to keep a eye on over the next couple of years I fancy.

Next up is the red chosen for Lil Sis's wedding next month. I had a hand in the choosing of this on a hungover Saturday morning and was dearly hoping this was as nice as I remembered. It's an Olivier Ravoire Cotes Du Rhone 2007 - The House red of the Donnybrook Fair restaurant. Myself and Herself both really liked it. It's a good wedding wine, in that it's well balanced, a little bit fruity and not too tannic or wine-snobby. A good wedding wine should appeal to both the casual drinker and the wine bore, IMHO.

**Update** - Just back from Superquinn where I picked another Domaine Sainte Croix Corbieres Las Fournas 2007, a couple of the delicious Chat-En-Oeuf 2007, and a Domaine Cristia Cotes Du Ventoux 2007 (€7 reduced from €14-99). I had thought this was new to me but when I searched this blog I found that I'd had it before here, and I really liked it. So well done me.

Off to get slaughtered and watch the Leinster game...

Bunan Bandol

2010-04-05T19:01:00.003+01:00

Firstly a quick note on wine 3 (of 5) purchased as part of the Superquinn Spring French Wine Sale.

Bunan Bandol Moulin des Costes 2005 €15 (reduced from €19-99)

The Blurb says - "a superb, Bordeaux-like wine, all leather and blackcurrant, with touches of earthiness"

I say - the blurb isn't that far off. It does initially remind you of a Bordeaux and it does have touches of earthiness. It is well balanced and a good accompaniment to red meats. However, I wold not pay full price for it (€20) myself. At €15 I would still hesitate, it was perfectly fine but for that money there are better wines out there, IMHO.

Secondly - What the hell is going on in this damn country?? We went out yesterday to do a bit of shopping in Dundrum only only to find it completely closed (the shopping part of it anyway). It seems very dark ages to me to be closing on Easter Sunday in 2010. Note: Dunnes in the Beacon was also shut. What gives?

Lastly - I had intended to buy more of the Chat-eu-Oeuf for the Easter Sunday lamb dinner but for various reasons I couldn't make it to Blackrock. I did however get to O'Briens in the Beacon and picked up a Chanson Macon Villages (on special at €9-95) and some more of the Ferraton Cotes Du Rhone Samorens (on special at €8-95). Both went down well with the Ferraton proving again to be a cracking fruity, full bodied delight and amazing value at the moment.

Evenin' all.

40% down...and rising

2010-04-03T20:03:00.004+01:00

Well we've had the first two (of five) reds that I got as part of the Superquinn Spring French wine Sale.

SQ Classic Collection Cotes Du Rhone 2007 - €7.

The Blurb said "Rich, supple, rounded dark cherry and liquorice fruit".

I say - Not bad but not great. Perfectly fine and drinkable but not a great depth of flavour, length or complexity. OK value at €7 (it doesn't say what the full price is normally), but not something I'll be buying again.

Chat-eu-Oeuf Rouge €8 (Reduced from €11-99)

The Blurb said - "A mini Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Wonderfully mature with black cherry fruit"

The back of the bottle said "ripe berry fruit flavours. A touch of soft tannin and a subtle twist of spice"

I say - The bottle has it bang on. There is some lovely Grenache'y spiciness, some nice fruit and more than a hint of tannins on the finish. It all gels quite harmoniously into a nicely balanced wine which is super value at €8 and still pretty good value at full price. I'm going back tomorrow to pick up some more to have with Easter Sunday leg of lamb in the company of the in-laws.

We have just started the Bunan Bandol and so far so good. A full report will be forthcoming soon.

Back from the Sale

2010-04-02T15:16:00.007+01:00

Well, I'm back. Back from a night playing Poker on DNS, I'm heavier in body and lighter in wallet. Yesterday I finally made it down to the Superquinn Spring French Wine sale and somewhat surprisingly I managed to find five out of six reds that I was seeking. They are (L-R)

Corbieres Las Fournas - €7 (reduced from €10-99)

SQ Classic Collection Cotes Du Rhone 2007 - €7

Bunan Bandol Moulin des Costes 2005 €15 (reduced from €19-99)

Domaine de Brunely Vacqueyras 2009 €12 (reduced from €17-99)

Chat-eu-Oeuf Rouge €8 (reduced from €11-99)

I'm calling foul on Superquinn for the Vacqueyras. The picture in the brochure is of a 2005 vintage. The wine I bought is a 2009. Harrumph. I really liked the 2005, so I am hoping the 2009 doesn't disappoint. Herself started the own brand Cotes Du Rhone last night and was underwhelmed, I'll have some later with our experimental lamb kebabs.

On a foodie note I made a Tuna Risotto last night from scratch and it was edible. Go me!