Random reds on the Ballyogan Road

Well it's been quite a while since I did a wine post (I've done a few beer posts) and given that I started my blogging career in wine it ill behooves me to ignore it now. I checked my "cellar" last night and all I had on the top shelf (day-to-day drinking shelf) and all that was there was bottle of Montrachet and various bottles of cheap/old non-vintage Champagne..

So I popped into Molloys on the way home from work and grabbed a couple of Reds on special offer. I was looking for a Chateau Boucarut but there was none to be had. So I got the bottles at left. They are:

Jerome Quiot Cairanne 2010 €11.99
I had this once before, a couple of years ago and I didn't like it, but I only found this out after I got home so, here's hoping it has got better since.
Update - we drank this but we didn't love it. It was a bit sharp or something. The flavours didn't really hang together, so it wasn't a particularly pleasant experience. I hope I remember this before I buy it a third time..

Sancho Garces Rioja Crianza 2010 €11.49
I'm always on the lookout for a nice Rioja so here's hoping... 
Update - Liked this. There was plenty of fruit, plenty of oak and a nice finish. Good value as priced.

By the way, Molloy's have a couple of very good Irish beer offers at the moment, if that's your bag.

The High Council

I wrote a post about wine from Consejo de la Alta almost exactly 4 years ago. It has been a family staple ever since, courtesy of Papa Willie and Papa Vincent (long story). Anyhoo, at a family "do" recently the Papas were having a lively discussion about the merits of the "Novo" from 2010.

Papa Willie opined that it couldn't possibly be any cop (I'm paraphrasing, obviously). I generously offered to arbitrate the dispute so long as I got some for free.

Papa Vincent duly obliged, with the not only the 2010 Novo but with various other Consejo de la Alta vintages and styles. See below...

Left to right, they are:

Reserva 2004, Reserva 2005, Crianza 2008, Novo 2010, Alta Rio Crianza 2010

I think Alta Rio is the second wine (now) of this winery, but I'm not sure, as they appear to have used Google translate to generate the English language version of the website...

Reserva 2004
Selfishly, I'm keeping this for a future vertical tasting. I already have a 2001 and a 2005 Reserva in my "cellar" against just such a possibility.

Reserva 2005
Big alcoholic wash at first. Some fruit, some tannins, very long finish. Very nice.

Novo 2010
Not bad - good nose. A little sharp at first but got better over the course of the evening. Not a patch on the Reserva but pretty decent.

Crianza 2008
Very very tasty, and, in the absence of tasting directly against the Reserva, this comes off very well. 

Alta Rio Crianza 2010
Corked, desafortunadamente.

A Lidl Troika

There has been a lot of chat, speculation and scuttlebutt recently about bailouts, bank debts etc, and how our German partners in Europe are viewing our aspiration to move our Bank debt off our books and onto the ESM's. With that in mind I decided to revisit our local branch of our favourite German discounter LIDL and see what they have on offer from France, Spain and Italy.

Lidl Chianti 2011 - €4-99
The label reminds of the famous Lidl Montepulciano which I have purchased for a variety of negligible amounts over the years and it was always decent. So I was not surprised that this Chianti was drinkable but that's literally all it was. If I wasn't poor and/or blogging it, I think it would have gone down the sink.

Lidl Vacqueyras 2010 - €9-49
As the most expensive of the three I  was expecting something good here.  In 2009 I had the 2007 and I really liked it. Reading that review I can't help but be disappointed with the 2010. While it was decent; rich and fruity, it didn't have any of the complexity of the 2007 and the finish was a bit - meh.

Cepa Lebrel Rioja Crianza 2008 - €6-99
I loved the Reserva of this and I had the Joven (drunk) one night and I think I liked that too, so I figured it was time to check out the middle sibling - the Crianza, and very pleasant it was too. It didn't have quite the depth of flavour or complexity of the Reserva but it is a very decent Rioja at this price. However as the Reserva is only 50c dearer (or it was when last I bought it), it's a no-brainer for me.

So there we are, 1.5 out of 3, it beats 6-1 I suppose.
I, for one, welcome our new Teutonic overlords...

Well, I'm back (from Lidl)...

So I've been home for about a month now, and the question that has been exercising my tiny mind is whether to resume blogging or not. Given that I no longer have the hellish commute and the associated pressure of a high profile project delivery (the fact that you didn't read about this migration in the papers is a sign of success), the assumption was that I'd start back blogging on my return.

However, when it came down to it, I wasn't sure I wanted to. Call it an existential crisis if you like, but I'm not sure what I'm bringing to the party anymore. To alleviate this dreadful ennui I sallied forth to my local Lidl with a view to picking up some cheap reds with the hope of jump-starting my blogging motor (see picture above). Alas, this didn't work.

On Sunday, however, my faith was restored (sort of). Someone whose wine palate I respect, asked when I was going to resume blogging, and it was enough. If one of my tens of readers wants more, then, by FSM, I shall provide.

To that end let's discuss the three Lidl wines above. I purposely avoided the very cheap stuff, electing to sample the "mid priced" reds (€6 - €8), one from each of France, Spain and Italy.

Let's start with the cheapest and work up...

Lidl Cotes Du Rhone AOC Villages 2011  €5-99. Meh. Not bad, drinkable but not great and with a slightly astringent finish. Should be fine with food but not fab on its own.


Lidl Chianti DOCG Riserva 2008 €6-99. Better, not quite what you'd expect from a moderately priced Chianti from the supermarket but, at this price you could do a lot worse. Some nice cherry flavours and decent balance.

Cepa Lebrel Reserva Rioja 2007  €7-49. Now we're talking. This was a lovely wine with some lovely soft vanilla flavours. Tasted like a much more expensive Rioja (c €15) so a steal as priced. Note: They also have the Crianza and Joven versions from this producer but they are not much cheaper so I don't know why one wouldn't plump for the Reserva...

BTW - I have mostly drinking FinkBrau Pils, also from Lidl, €3-99 for 6x33cl bottles, 4.9% abv. Very crisp and clean and cheap(ish) to boot.

I'm not sure how often I'm going to blog from now on, but rest assured, I still have plenty more waffly, deluded and sometimes frankly boring opinions to share on wine, beer and whisk(e)y.

Next Up - Something completely different...

Tasting at the opening

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.

French, Spanish and Italian from Baggot St Wines

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.

A long night's journey into day

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.

Birthday Wines II - The Stragglers

Just a quick note on a couple of other fine wines I also got from more generous souls for my birthday.

Chateau Belgrave Haut Medoc 2004 - Cheers Rigo - looks lovely.

Chateau Lynch Bages 2000 - My all time favourite wine that, I have never tasted, cheers Papa.

Faustino 1 Gran Reserva 1996 - A classic Rioja from S&V

Note: This blog been way Off Topic the last couple of weeks, its supposed to be about good value wine in Dublin, not a parade of fancy, pricey wine that people give me. Thanks to everyone for the fine wine and normal service will soon be restored, once I drink all the good stuff 8-)

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.

A trip around France - of sorts.

Last night we had the Bergerac six over for dinner in our town pad, homemade (spicy) tomato and roasted pepper soup and a bastardised Jamie chicken stew, made with a proper organic chicken. I think a lot of this organic business is a bit of a con but this chicken definitely used to run around the outdoors and tasted as such, but I digress - there was a wide variety of wine sampled.

After the obligatory beer - Carlsberg Export*, we had a bottle of Gavi of which my brother had given me a half dozen of a while back, we all liked it although opinions ranged bizarrely widely on the sweetness or lack thereof, we agreed - let's all drink more white.

After this I decided we should drink the Lynch Bages 2001 which I'd got from BE here. Again we all liked this but perhaps we were a little disappointed, while it was lovely it wasn't the ultimate expression of the Bordeaux craft, I blame myself, for some reason.

I was supposed to take delivery of 6 Argentinian Malbec and 6 Jacques Boyd but that seems to have fallen through so I had some of this handy, which we had next and which stood up well after the Lynch Bages.

Next up was a 2002 Pecharmant, from the 2008 Bergerac trip, which BE had brought over a couple of. We agreed that it seemed a little thin after the Bordeaux and the Rioja, however myself and Herself are finishing off the second bottle now and it definitely has gained some complexity after being open for a while.

BigBog had brought along a Burgundy (and a Sancerre), a Satenay 1er Cru La Comme 2006. As I have often avowed, it is virtually impossible to get good cheap Bordeaux or Burgundy, and this confirmed it. It was delicious and a welcome change of pace from the very full bodied wines we'd been drinking up to this.

I'd like to say that this was all we had to drink on the evening, so I am going to say it, that's all we had to drink, no more beer, Beaujolais, Balvenie or Macanudos. Definitely not.

We did watch BE's wedding video, all 2+ hours of it, at my insistence. As expected my speech was short, my voice squeaky, my pace too fast, only partially rescued by a closing joke cribbed from a wedding book which depended on having adequate comic timing, which I possessed by virtue of being a lot more sober that I intended, resulting in my feeling as nervous as I actually was as opposed to hiding my insecurities behind a haze of 2006 La Fleur D'Armens.

Anyhoo, tomorrow I intend to drink a Famiglia Terracia Chianti I got in Tesco yesterday at at 50% discount, (€13-99 reduced to €6-99), allegedly.

* This beer, a slightly stronger version of the standard brew is for sale in various Tescos for approx €6 for four 440ml cans. I love this beer and have bought it a few times, however....

For some reason whenever I buy it I get charged €6 per can, it must be in the computer wrong, which is fine but it's been this way for at least 9 months. Only that I'm tight and always keep an eye on the tab I might have paid over the odds on more that one occasion.

The Last Day of Summer

I suspect the above title is probably true so it's just well we spent last Sunday sitting in the sun drinking wine. Herself, the in-laws, June & I sat out for the afternoon happily tippling, well, all except June and Granny G who were driving, boo.

June had brought the Rosé, at left, from a wine shop in Lucan (June - which one?) and it was very pleasant. I can't go into that much more detail as, while I remember it being delicious, I couldn't tell you what exactly I liked about it. That probably says more about my lack of wine experience with Rosé than about the wine itself. I only ever drink Rosé on hols, typically during the day and that's the best (and probably only) time to drink it.

After a little of this (very little left!), which we had with a BBQ'd butterflied leg of lamb from The Market*, we finally got around to opening the last of the three wines I bought in Molloys last week.

Name: Oyster Bay Pinot Noir

Year: 2007
Price: €16-49
Notes: This is one of the more expensive wines I've bought of late. As I explained I've left Burgundies/Pinot Noirs largely untouched. The style isn't really my bag but I decided to take a punt on this as I'd tasted it before and remembered liking it. This was a lot fruitier than I remembered and I suspect is equivalent to the New World Shiraz vs Old World Syrah in that the NZ style is fruitier and more upfront that the Burgundy equivalent. I liked this, but I didn't love it and it's not cheap. Give it a go if you like this style, its well made and moderately complex for a New World wine.

*The Market is a posh-ish shop just opened in Belarmine, they have a cracking butcher (Lawlors) and I'm gonna go back and try a few of their wines.

Lidl Rioja Montecielo Reserva 2004

Well, it was Friday night. We were at home again, due to out un-hectic social life so I decided to crack open one of the four Lidl wines I bought earlier in the week and stick on a DVD (Woody Allen's Bananas - not as funny as I remembered from previously).

Name: Montecielo Reserva

Year: 2004
Price: €8-99
Notes: This started off well, the classic Rioja flavours all present and correct. The finish however was dissapointing, slightly sharp a little unpleasant. Overall, there is much better value to be had if you are looking for wine in Lidl, the Montepulciano for one. The fact that the Reserva wasnt't great also bodes ill for the Crianza and the Joven. Drop me a line if you've tasted either. Disclaimer: I've been drinking a lot of this recently which doesn't help the Montecielo's case.

Next: Decanters and me - All you never wanted to know and were never bothered to ask.

Alta Rio

After my brother gave me a couple of dozen bottles of Alta Rio (Consejo De La Alta), I promised I would finally write a review, given that I have been drinking this wine for nearly 15 years - link to site here.

This wine, which was once simply known as Alta Rio has been the wedding wine at a family wedding, the christening wine for Little Bill, as well as the go to wine for many family do's. We get it in bulk through a family connection so there is always plenty to go around.

The wine that arrived earlier this year is the Reserva 2004, whilst the two dozen I got last week are the 2001 vintage. (I think 2002 & 2003 were not great years in Rioja). I compared the two when the 2004 arrived and thought that the 2001 was fuller and more complex, whether this is a judgement on the wines themselves or merely a reflection of their relative ages, only time will tell.

Taste-wise, this a classic Rioja, made from 100% Tempranillo, ripe fruit, lots of oak and some firm tannins giving it a lovely structure, and all very well balanced.

I don't know if you can buy this in shops here, I have never seen it myself. If you do see it, its definitely worth a try even if Riojas are not your normal tipple. I suspect it would retail around €15 - €17.

Next: I keep planning to go back to Lidl and buy a few more random bottles but I keep being sidetracked. Rest assured this blog will get back to its roots and stated aims very soon.

Guest Blogger - Finca Valpiedra Reserva 2001

I had a request from my friend June to blog about a wine she sampled in Shanahans over the weekend, so over to you June...

Name: Finca Valpiedra Reserva

Year: 2001
Price: €45 
Notes: Obviously you can't avoid the restaurant mark up but it was lovely, very rich and smooth with spicy backnotes.....Went very nicely with the steak and would definitely order it again.....would buy it if I saw it in a shop (I'd imagine it probably retails at about €20)......

Rating: 7/10

Willie says - I'm a big fan of Shanahans food & wine but not their prices. One of my favourite wines is Lytton Springs from Ridge Vineyards in California. €89 in Shanahans, €60 in Town Bar & Grill, €30 in a shop*. I can do a 100% markup but 200% is taking the piss. 

* I don't think this is still on either wine list anymore...

Campo Viejo Reserva 2004

Name: Campo Viejo Reserva
Year: 2004
Price: €12 (approx)
Notes: This wine is generally a go-to wine. If this is the only familiar wine available, it's a safe bet, a solid oaky Rioja for reasonable money. We were a little disappointed with this bottle however. It tasted a little thin and anaemic, with no great amount of flavour. Perhaps because I didn't decant it, as I have been doing of late or perhaps because we have been drinking lots of this (superb) of late, I don't know.
Rating: 5/10. - Was going to be 4/10 but gets the extra point for being better than this on previous occasions.

Coto de Imaz

This was a  present from our guests on Saturday and we drank it last night. Big, full bodied oaky rioja. Very nice.

Name: Coto de Imaz
Year: 2004
Price: ??
From: ??

Rating: 7/10