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.

Two cheap Italians

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.

Mostly Tesco, Barolo and a suggestion of Ikea

Lots of updates to get through so let's not dawdle.

We drank the 2nd of three cheapo wines bought from Aldi (I'm drinking them (mostly) so you don't have to), it was the 2003 Vina Decana Reserva 2003 and it wasn't bad. It had the standard Rioja oaky, fruity flavours. Although there was something not quite integrated in the taste which I couldn't put my finger on. Still, at €7-39, Rioja drinkers could do a lot worse. We are sampling the bizarrely cheap (€4-29) 2008 Montepulciano tonight, I'm sure your prayers are with us.

As I mentioned last post I picked up a couple of rib-eyes in Aldi, for the not inconsiderable sum of €11. Happily these were delicious, Herself thought perhaps they could have had more flavour but they were very tender. We had these with the wine above which was a birthday present from June, a Marchesi di Barolo 2000. I liked this a lot, it was a big, full bodied beast. Lots of fruit , a decent structure and a nice lengthy finish.

Tesco in Dundrum consistently have a better selection of wines than the flagship Merrion Centre for some reason, so I headed that way today and picked up a bottle or three (at left). I should really, from a blog perspective, have gone for three wines that I have never tried before but...meh, I'm lazy. Left to right, they are-

Ogio Primitivo 2008 - €5-99. I enjoyed this the last time I drank it and at €5-99 (still), it's a no-brainer.

Tesco Crozes Hermitage 2006 - €10-85. I generally like wines from here and Tesco are pretty consistent in quality so here's hoping.

Tesco Valpolicella Ripasso 2006 - €8-35. Loved this last time at €10-69, so €8-35 is a steal.

Lastly, phew, we ventured onto DNS for various reasons and ended up in Ikea on Sunday. I was keen to try the famous meatballs for a fiver and I must say the food there is good, solid and unspectacular but main courses of pasta, meatballs, fish and chips etc, all for around 5 quid is quite a bargain, but I digest... The main reason for the visit was to replace the decanter Herself broke during the week, we bought two of them (one is a spare and can also be pulled out at large dinners for effect). Again, great value at €6-99 each.

Ogio and Milano

Just back from Milano (the pizza place not the city), where for the first time ever, I reckon the pizzas weren't great. Herself's was burnt and mine was slightly undercooked. The staff however were as good as ever and we only paid for one pizza. We had a lovely Barbera D'Alba with the pizzas; one thing I always liked about Milano (Pizza Express in the UK) is that you can eat cheaply and well and the wine list although short, is well priced and everything I've had from it has been good. The Montepulciano is a favourite of mine and can be had for €23-95 I think.

Anyway, on the way home from Milano we stopped into Tesco for some essentials and I noticed this wine on special offer - 50% off - €5-99 reduced from €11-99. It's a primitovo from Pugia, the "heel" of Italy. I have had good experiences with Primitivos before. They are not subtle but are typically fruity, spicy in-your-face wines that deliver lots of flavour for a moderate outlay.

I'll update later when we've made a hole in it.

Note: DNA testing has confirmed that genetically Primitivo is identical to Zinfandel.

**Update**

Both of us liked this - it opened up to be a fruity, slightly new worldy red. It's not as good as something like the Protocolo but at €5-99 you can't go wrong.