Aldi Reds (and one white!) - The Exquisite Collection - Update**

All from "The Exquisite Collection"

Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2011 €9.99
Funny thing about this wine, is that I liked it less on the second day. Most inexpensive wines improve, IMHO, after being opened for a day. This wine did not. Initially it was tight, focused and tasty, but as it opened up, it exposed it's own lack of subtlety, especially in the fruit dept. Not bad but not a patch on the Malbec or the Ribera.

Minarete Ribera del Duero 2013 €7.99
I blogged on this wine (the 2011) about 18 months ago and I liked it then, Herself wasn't so keen, but I reckoned there was some serious skill to produce such a tasty Ribera for such little cash, especially in  Ireland, given the punitive duty on wine. The 2013 is probably better than the 2011, with none of the former's astringency. Really good, well worth a punt at this price.

Malbec Uco Valley 2013 €8.79
Opened this still slightly cool from the shop and straight from the bottle. I didn't decant it as Herself said that she only wanted a glass (as if). Anyhoo, I decided  to join her and was presently surprised, it was quite yummy, a bit of fruit, a pinch of spice and a lingering finish. It got even better as it warmed up. The flavours amplified and the finish got more complex and even longer. I did a quick Google and it seems that lots of people including professional critics really like this wine, so kudos to me. 

Crozes Hermitage 2012 €10.99
This was disappointing. As the most expensive of the bunch I had high hopes for it. While there wasn't anything wrong with it, there was nothing special on show. Drinkable, but nothing more.

Aldi have upped their game, it seems.Of the four, two are very good, one is good and one is OK, which is not bad at all give the prices in question. I wouldn't advise you to buy them though, especially the Malbec; more for me, you see. If only they'd get their finger out on the craft beer front...

** Update - New Purchases **
Chianti Classico Riserva 2011 €9.99
Drank this a few nights ago and didn't take notes but it was pretty decent. As almost always happens when we tried it first, straight out of the bottle, it was fine; but as it warmed up and oxidised a smidge in the decanter, it really improved. Good depth of flavour, some nice plummy fruit and a well long finish make this a bargain at less than a tenner - nice one.

Gavi DOCG 2014 €7.49
This is a decent white. A little fruit , some nice acidity and well balanced. I'd buy this again, especially as it's very good value at this price.

Four Cheap screw-tops from Tesco

I found myself in Dun Laoghaire yesterday morning, so I popped into Tesco for some of their delicious houmous and maybe some vino. I have to say the selection of reds was pretty good but rather than buy some old faves I grabbed four (relative) cheapies, The Negroamaro and the SGM (?)  are new to me but the Malbec appears to be a new slant on a wine I had fallen out of like with. The Villa Maria should prove interesting, as it normally goes for north of €15, and their Sauvignon Blanc is pretty decent. 

Rawnsley Estate Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre 2012 - €9.00
Awful, cheap, and nasty. (Note: judicious use of Oxford comma) Gave it a couple of hours in the decanter and it didn't improve. Down the sink with it. Found someone else who didn't like it here.

Quindi Negroamaro 2012 - €9.00
Another "drinkable" wine - apologies for using that somewhat meaningless term again. There was a little bit a pleasant, plummy fruit and a touch of spice. Not bad value for nine europes, but probably not a runner for much more.

Trapiche Melodias Malbec 2011 - €9.00
You know, there was a more expensive Trapiche Malbec in Tesco and I should have bought it, cos I really didn't care for this melody. There was plenty of fruit but I (and Herself) found it slightly cloying. I haven't found (m)any decent Malbecs below €15 so no surprises here.

Villa Maria Malrborough Pinot Noir 2011 - €9.74
I had expected this to be the best of the four and it was, by a long way. Light bodied, but delicious with lashings of zingy raspberry fruit. If you like your NZ Pinots them go and stock up on this. It's great value as priced.

Short reviews of three wines from Baggot St Wines

Portillo Malbec €11.19
Fantastic, big, chewy and a little bit fruity. Great value as priced.

Gran Cerdo €13.99
A little thin, we reckoned, got a bit better after being open for a while but not ones the Willies cared for very much. And check out their website - a testament to shocking web design.

Matsu El Picaro €13.99 reduced from €16.99
Oh yes, this is how to do modern (relatively) inexpensive Spanish red. Wonderfully complex with a great finish.

Liveblog - Ciclos Malbec Merlot

I haven't liveblogged a wine in a while ( I haven't blogged a wine at all in a while, if truth be told), so here we go. The wine in question was a present to Herself, bought I believe in @BaggotStWines and it's Argentinian, per the bottle, from "our Valley in the North". I saw it reviewed somewhere recently but I'm buggered if I can find it online. Here's the link to the winery - I can't link to the individual wine page 'cos it's all Flash. When will they learn!

Michel Torino Ciclos Malbe Merlot 2008 - €??

20:30 The wine has been open and decanting for approx two hours so let's see what we can taste. Hmmmm, lots of fruit as expected and some oak on the finish too, I think. It's definitely a Malbec but the Merlot is bringing something to the party too. I like it, but I don't love it. Let's see where we are in an hour...

21:30 I think I have ruined my tastebuds with a big chunk of yummy Ardrahan cheese, but I'll take one for the team and press on. The tannins have softened a bit and the whole package is more integrated. I'm still not sure that the Merlot adds much, but this is a pretty decent New World wine, for those who like their New World, with a bit of Old World (like me). See you back in an hour for the conclusion...

23:00 I'll go back to where I started, I like this but I don't love it. I'd happily drink it but I'm not sure I'd spend my own loot on it. It's missing something that I find in the Malbecs that I like, and that is...love. Ha!

On that note, goodnight.

O'Briens Spanish Wine Sale

So I was down in O'Briens in Carrickmines on Saturday searching for an elusive bottle of Punk IPA, when I noticed a few interesting wines on special. I made a mental note and returned on Sunday; the wines above are the result. You may have noticed that only one is actually Spanish and I don't know what to tell you about it. From left to right they are:

Tandem Ars In Vitro 2010  €9-99 reduced from €14-99 link
This is a Tempranillo/Merlot blend from the Navarra region of Spain and all done in a very vegan friendly organic crusty manner. After an hour or so in the decanter this tasted...OK. Nothing special but "drinkable". Some acidity from the Tempranillo and some soft fruit from the Merlot I guess.  It accompanied a roast chicken and was perfectly fine. By the end of the night it had developed some nice complexity but it took a long while to get there. Fine as priced but not a runner for me at full whack.

Aruma Malbec 2010  €12-99 reduced from €17-99 link
Classic malbec. From the off, this had lots of fruit, but not in a shirazzy, in your face, fruitbomb way. Lots of fruit but plenty of other stuff, some little complexity and after it had been open a while, a delicious long finish. If you like yessir Malbec, then you won't go wrong here, especially at the sale price. This winemaker also makes the amazing Amancaya, twenty bills but worth every cent.. 

Volpetto Chianti Riserva 2009 €10-99 reduced from €17-99 link
Yummy. A very tasty Chianti. Smooth, fruity and delicious. Not sure I'd pay full price but great value at €10-99. I'd suspect it needs food to really shine but it's pretty good on its own.

Piuma Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2009 €8-99 reduced from €10-99 link
I have to say I opened this last, because I suspected it might be "cheap and cheerful"; and initially I thought I was vindicated, with the wine coming off initially as a bit tart and acidic. But after a while the acidity receded into the mix and some lovely plummy fruit appeared. By the end of the evening, this was really rocking. Well worth a look at either price.

A Post Live* from Mendoza

*Not really of course. I just picked up a cheap Malbec in Tesco and thought I'd liveblog it. I was in a cheap and cheerful frame of mind in the Merrion Centre earlier today and amongst the bric-a-brac I purchased was the wine at left. I also snagged a Tesco own-brand Chianti Classico for €6-99, which if decent would be for the win, but more of that in a separate post.

The main event is an Otra Vida Malbec 2012, a snip at €7. So it's young, New World and cheap; confidence is not high, although I do have a soft spot for Malbecs and have rarely had a nasty one. So let's have a sniff and a sip and see what's what...

19:00 - It's not bad, a little light but with some nice fruit and a little acidity. It's pleasant and easy drinking, which is probably all you could expect at this price point. I'd hope it might evolve over the next couple of hours, as young wines are wont to do, in the decanter.

21:00 - We just finished a particularly tasty meatloaf from Avoca in Monkstown and the above Malbec proved a fine accompaniment. It's probably as good as its going to get at this point (I decanted it at 17:00) and it has become more rounded and a tiny bit more complex in the finish. I'll have a final taste in a bit and hopefully a conclusion.

23:00 - All done here. In summary this is good value for €7, but if I was paying full price for a Malbec, say €12 - €15, I'd look elsewhere.

Next Up is the Ginger Beer challenge, and no, that's not Cockney rhyming slang.

Superquinn Autumn French Wine Sale 2012 - Updated

So I finally got down to Superquinn Blackrock today - I had been invited to the media tasting but couldn't go for work reasons - ahh the irony. Anyhoo, after a quick perusal, I decided to ignore the many (tasty) wines I would normally snaffle at sale prices and instead look to the new and unusual.
See below for pictures and descriptions of the rogues gallery I came away with.

UPDATE - we had a few punters back our temporary D4 pad after the Leinster game and we managed to polish off  4 of the 6 bottles in question. Updates are below...

Domaine De La Condamine l'Eveque Mourvedre Cotes de Thongue 2011 - €7.00
Never had a single varietal Mourvedre before - should be interesting.
Update - this was really, really tasty. Rich, warm and full bodied and everyone loved it. A bargain as priced.

Corsican Nature Pinot Noir 2010 - €8,00
Don't know what to expect here - pure punt.
Update - I have to assume this was faulty cos it didn't taste like a Pinot and it wasn't nice at all. I manged to get the last drunken guests to drink it though* so what do I know...

Domaine De La Condamine l'Eveque Petit Verdot Cotes de Thongue 2011 - €7.00
I think I had a pure Petit Verdot once before, possible from California, probably bought in the Co-Op in Edinburgh and I think it was pretty good.
Update - I had it on good authority that this wasn't as nice as the Mourvedre and thus it proved. Not bad and no one complained but it didn't have the warmth and/or harmony of its cousin.

Complazens Marselan Pays D'Oc 2011 - €10.00
Another new grape. "a little known grape variety that is a crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache from the South of France. "
Update - Couldn't decant this as it was drunk on opening after the Supernova was found to be faulty. Initially I wasn't sure about this but as the night wore off I started to quite like this. Some unusual flavours but all dovetailing in seamless harmony. Not sure I'd pay full price but worth a look for a tenner. 

Domaine Des Grandes Esperances Supernova 2009 - €13.00
Despite my incipient penuriousness, I plumped for this relatively expensive item.  I read a review, which I can't now find, which bigged this up.  Also, love the label.
Corked - Alas. Was looking forward to this most of all of the six, so disappointed. 

Domaine Des Grandes Esperances Gamay Malbec Caberbet Franc 2010 - €8.00
Now there's a combo, from the Loire.
Update - This very green and stalky and divided opinion. Everyone thought  it was unusual; some people were happy to drink it, others not. I dithered initially but ultimately I decided it wasn't for me.

* It was quite late I and didn't want to sacrifice/open a nice bottle at that stage of the evening, so I moved onto Goose Island IPA (fantastic). If I'd had any complaints about the Pinot I would have complied and opened something but it didn't come to that 8-)

A Molloy's Quartet

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.

Superquinn Autumn French Wine Sale Final Report

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.

At long last - I get to the Sale.

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.

Pascual Toso Malbec 2009

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!

Olesya's Unpronounceable Wine bar

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.

Jerome Jerome...

Just back from Molloys where I was buying some cheap beer for poker in the sticks. As always when I'm there I picked up a Trapiche Malbec which we are now sucking on, lovely as usual. It's a good bet for Old World junkies who want to step over to the dark side and also a cracker for those who haven't made the leap from the Americas over to Europe yet.

I also picked up a Jerome Quiot Gigondas (at right), the last time I had a wine from this producer I apparently didn't like it, but hey, I'm not one to hold a grudge so roll on Saturday night (baum). I can't find the review, I'm not even sure if I wrote one. Nuts.

**Update - found it - at the end of this post. For those who cant be bothered clicking, it read "The micro review is - NO. Drinkable, but very average, not worth a tenner."

Autumn Flavours from Corbieres

On a cold and snowy Thursday night I ventured out to the local offie to get emergency beer for the weekend. When I got there I discovered that emergency beer is the only beer I'd buy there as it is bloody expensive, €2-20 for can of Vitamin H and €2-40 for a Charlie Bird, not not mention €2-75 for a bottle of my delicious Polish nectar Zwyiec.

I can never leave off-licence without buying some wine so I had a quick look at the special offers and picked out the wine above which we had last night. A 2008 Corbieres from Chateau Du Grand Caumont imaginatively titled "Autumn Flavours". A blend of 45% Carignan Noir, 15% Syrah and 40% Grenache.

We ended up quite liking this wine but it look a little while to open up. Initially it was quite fruity but after awhile in the decanter it developed some complexity and some soft tannins. It was about €9-99 and it's certainly worth a try at that price.

**Update - We are drinking a bottle of Punto Final Malbec 2008 from Bodegas Renacer, I brought a couple of bottles out to BigEars house, from Oddbins, here, and on the night we drank it undecanted and it wasn't great. Tonight, however, it was very drinkable, medium bodied, a little fruity but nicely balanced.

I can't think of a snappy title...

Right - a few quick updates -

Got my case of this Malbec today - woo hoo. Hope it is as nice as the first bottle. I have to give some away off the bat to say a big thank you to a few people for services rendered on Sunday, it was much appreciated.

Was at another "do" last week in Donnybrook fair . We started with some Prosecco - meh. Followed by the same lovely white we had last time, yum. The red from the last evening was not served, boo, I have bought this Pegos Claros a few times since April and can highly recommend it. Instead we had another Portugese wine a Douro, I didn't get the name unf. It was a decent number, typical Douro-ish flavours.

John from Wine Australia has asked me to let y'all know about some Christmas Gift ideas here. I personally am tempted by the Barossa dinner in Fallon & Byrne on Jan 26th - Any of the usual suspects interested?

Finally, I opened the last of the bottles of Tautavel I had previously bought for the b'day dinner, last night. If you decant this wine fro at least an hour, I can't believe there's a better wine you can get for less then €8.

Tuesday Liveblog - Santa Ana Eco Malbec 2007

For no good reason I've decided to liveblog on a Tuesday, the wine in question was given to me on Sunday by my big sis during the third and hopefully final weekend of birthday shenanigans. This particular occasion was the traditional family birthday dinner - held for the first time chez nous, due to the application of two large pieces of MDF duct taped to our existing table - cheers D!. Herself made a delicious tajine and I accompanied it with copious amounts of this, which seemed to go down OK.

7-00pm - Opened and decanted. I love Malbecs and sis has good taste in wine so have high hopes for this. Smells nice although at this stage is still a little cold.

9-00pm - Just back from an emergency onion run (don't ask). I still haven't got the wine quite warm enough but even cool its very tasty. Some gentle tannins evident as well as a sort of Malbec structure for want of a better phrase, which I love.

10-00pm - Mmmm very smooth, some nice plummy fruit and a lovely long finish. Need to find out where she got this. At the moment this is a very fancy wine, up there with the Trapiche Malbec and more rounded than the Norton Privada.

10-30pm - Showing a little more fruit now but still complex, tasty and fine. When I find out where to get it I'll let y'all know.

**Update** - This turned out, not entirely co-incidentally, to be a wine I tried to buy a case of a few weeks ago to no avail. I went back to the source and have hopefully secured a case for next week. So be nice to me.

NOBby and Big Ears

Had a lovely evening yesterday at NOB and BigEars house in the country, well not really the country but Meath. We had a large selection of wine both provided by our gracious hosts and brung along by June, BigNose, and BigHead. The occasion was to celebrate June's "Hitchhikers Guide" birthday and a good time was had by all, although I'm not as good at Wii bowling as I think I am, particularly at 1-30 in the morning after all the wine below.

We started off with a home town favourite, a Rioja, specifically a 2004 Marques de Riscal Reserva, which I really like and never disappoints, with lots of vanilla and oak.

Next up was one of mine. I had brung along a couple of bottles of the Malbec at left from Oddbins, Herself had bought one for a girly night and liked it so I got a couple to go with the beef I was told we were having. As with a lot of recent wines I initially thought this was a "two pronger". I envision two prongs of flavour and a gap in between. The two prongs being fruit and tannins, but no harmony or balance to the wine. I expect this was not unrelated to the wine not having a decent chance to breathe and it did improve over time. Although that time was short as each wine was swiftly dispatched by the thirsty mob.

Next up was BigNose's contribution to the evening, a Tour Des Gendres Bergerac 2007. He wasn't impressed with it but I though it was a fine if a little dry, but perfect with food. Off to Italy with us next for a Villa Antinori 2005, as supplied by BigHead although he denied brining it, for some reason. This could be described as an affordable Supertuscan, with some red berries, soft tannins, a well balanced and delicious wine all round. They also make the Santa Christina Sangoivese which I see everywhere and this appears to be the next wine up from that.

Next up was June's wine and I think, the star of the evening for me. There were a number of d'Arenburg wines knocking about on the night ( I gave June a bottle of 2005 The Sticks and Stones), and she in turn brought along a 2001 Bonsai Vine, a Grenache (70%) Shiraz (25%) Mourvedre (5%). This was quite jammy and sweet with a very New World style, light years from its Rhone cousin. I have previously opined that a wine that jammy can only work if the sweetness is balanced by some depth and structure, and this was. Not only that, this wine felt very well made, if that makes sense. As usual d'Arenburg doesn't disappoint.

I think that was it on the wine front, there was also Baileys liqueur and some Quilmes beer from Argentina that was nice but bloody expensive from Oddbins. You think I'd have learned after the Krombacher mentioned in the last post.

Our Sunday night wine, an own-brand 2007 Minervois, was brought to us by Marks and Spencer, the number 7 and the letter Q.

Trapiche Malbec 2007

Wow. Its been an awfully long time since I drank this. I'm not surprised I can never find it. For €10 you are getting a 20-30 Euro wine. It reminded a lot me of Penfolds Bin 389 - which is about €30. Maybe not quite the complexity but pretty damn close. Wow.

Name: Trapiche Malbec

Year: 2007
Price: €10-99
Notes: Fabulous at the price. Big, fruity and quite New World initially, this has layers of flavour, complexity and balance that most New World wines would kill for. Don't buy it if you can find it though, leave it for me. I'm going to do a post soon on this style of wine which renews my faith in the new world, and its ability to produce, at a reasonable price, good solid well balanced wine.

Note: As you can see from the picture Robert Parker likes it too, not surprising I guess.

Next: Rosé in the garden, Pinot Noir in the lounge.

Molloys Wine & Beer

Went down to Molloys on Thursday as promised to see what I could find of the wines I used to get when I frequented it, back in the day. I picked up the following (L-R):

Oyster Bay Pinot Noir 2007 - €16-49. This, as you can see was not cheap, but it should provide a reasonable alternative to expensive Burgundies as mentioned in the last post. I've had this once before and really liked it so here's hoping its worth the cash.

Vitae Sangiovese 2006- €12-50. We used to drink an awful lot of this and loved it. I was a bit apprehensive on opening this last night. oftentimes you come back to a wine you loved and are disappointed, either your palate has changed, see this post, or the wine isn't as good as it used to be. We were not disappointed. The bitter cherry flavours were in abundance, along with some other fruit, and it had a decent level of complexity and a long finish. Again, another wine I'd recommend with food, rather than without.

Trapiche Malbec 2007 - €10-99. Another old family favourite. We used to drink this by the bucket load but I have been unable to find it in a long time. This was my first Malbec, I can't remember if I bought it on spec or on a recommendation. Either way I'm hoping it won't disappoint.

I also bought a couple of "premium" beers to try from Shepherd Neame, both a snip at €3-29. I drank the Spitfire last night and it was indeed delicious. The blurb on the site says "In the mouth, the finely balanced flavour opens with a blast of rounded malt before the rousing, almost spicy hops follow through to provide a complex, multi-layered finish." Sounds about right to me.

I'll try the Bishop's Finger tonight and let you know, it's 5.4% abv as opposed to the Spitfire's 4.5 % abv so we'll see if that is a noticeable component in the mix.

**Update - The Bishop's Finger was delicious, stronger (duh) and a little more fuller flavoured than the Spitfire.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

Last night we entertained June, BigNose and BigHead (the names are a long and not very interesting story). We started off with a bottle of Moet to celebrate June's XX birthday (actual age has been redacted). The trend at the moment seems to be for Cavas, Proseccos and sparkling wines so it was a nice change to have some proper bubbly. I am sick of Prosecco, just because you can buy it for a tenner doesn't mean you should.

Anyhoo we followed the shampoo with a couple of these, one of these, one of these, this Malbec, and then we tucked into the 16yo Highland Park. I should really comment on all the wines but to be honest it's all a bit of a blur. I've reviewed them all before and they were all pretty much unchanged, now leave me alone I need several days sleep.

Kudos to herself on the Tajine, btw, very tasty. And the mini apple tarts on Brioche - yum.