Superquinn Supervalu French wine sale 2014

Some wines from the Supervalu French wine sale 2014 link

Etienne Barret Crozes-Hermitage 2012 - €12
I keep buying this wine and for the life of me I don't know why. I loved the 2008, but really didn't care for the 2009 & 2011. Not sure why I thought the 2012 would be an improvement. Turns out, it wasn't. Last time out I described it as "pleasant but unremarkable" - plus ça change.

Saint-Laurent Corbieres 2012 - €10
Started off a bit meh, but it has been pleasantly evolving over the last couple of hours in my decanter. It's not fantastic but it has a nice balance. Worth a look for a tenner, IMHO.

Domaine de Cristia Grenache 2013 - €10

Remy Ferbras Vacqueyras 2013 - €10
Really liked this. Lots of plummy fruit with a long, tannic finish. Took a while to get there though, needs a good decanting. Very drinkable and great value as priced. Not sure what the rrp is but well worth a tenner.

Xmas Wine Choice & Tasting - Live!*

Well it's Xmas again and I have have been tasked with choosing the wine for a number of festive occasions over the holiday season, given that I am now gainfully self-employed.

I popped into Garrett in Baggot St Wines and asked him to choose three reds for me to taste and ultimately pick from. The parameters were as follows; approx €15, not too light, not too jammy. I vetoed a Rioja early on and the three reds above were what we finished up on. Symmetrically and ecumenically we ended up with one French, one Spanish and one Italian.

The wines are as follows (l-r)

Carpineto Dogajolo Toscana 2011 - €13-99. Per Garrett this is a budget Supertuscan, with 70% Sangiovese and 30% "Other". A Supertuscan at this price would indeed be a find.

Camille Cayran Vacqueyras 2011 - €16-99. The most expensive of the bunch so the one with the most to prove. I have had many lovely Vacqueyras since I started the blog so here's hoping.

Flores de Callejo Ribera Del Duero 2010 - €13-99. I'm in a Ribera place at the moment after some lovely ones, particularly in Pichet. (Martin Berdugo I think?)

And it's a blind tasting...for Herself anyway, Your Humble Blogger will attempt to forget, or fail to remember. I poured the three wines into my three decanters and numbered them and the wine labels, so I would know but she wouldn't. We started with a glass of Number 3.

Wine #3
Herself - finding it a bit tannic. Not impressed. [Guess - French]
YHB - I like it. It's complex but it needs more time to coalesce, probably a disadvantage in a party wine, where you would probably be serving bottles just after opening.

Wine #1
Herself - liking it a lot. She can "taste it all over her tongue". Ahem. [Guess - Spanish]
YHB - wildly different from #3, lots of cherries. Not sure it's a party wine though. Might be a bit "fancy" for some palates.

Wine #2          
Herself - Perfumed and lovely. Favourite of the night. [Guess - Italian]
YHB -  Yummy, my fave too. Full bodied and a little spicy.

Answers...
Wine #3 - Ribera
Wine #1 - Supertuscan
Wine #2 - Vacqueyras

 Herself picks most expensive wine shocker!

* Sort of live, I've been writing this for the last hour as we have been tasting.

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...

It's Special

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.

Back from the Sale

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!

Hola Amigos

Apologies for the lack of posts. I've been way busy at the grindstone this week. Not much to report apart from a few Tesco related things:

They are selling ten 440ml cans of Stella Four (4%), as opposed to the usual "wifebeater" strength of 5.2%, for €7, which is well cheap and the beer isn't bad.

Also on special four 500 ml cans of Zywiec for €6 - one of my favourite beers, although this is one of those beers that is much better out of a bottle.

The Tesco Vacqueyras, which I love is only €8-99 and the Cotes Du Rhone Villages is €7-49 (I got a couple to go with my first co-production of Boeuf Bourguignon). I know it sounds like I'm shilling for Tesco but it does seem to be the best place for inexpensive French and Italian wines. Although it does depend which Tesco you go to. The selection in the Merrion centre is invariably poor whereas in the Dundrum centre (where all of the above examples come from) there is choice aplenty.

Lastly June brought over Tesco Chianti Classico 2005 which we may have tonite with a rib-eye or I may buy a Clos Du Val Zinfandel I've had my eye one for a while (€20 in O'Briens). The Ridge Geyserville would be my preferred route for a steak but at €40 a pop its in "Special Occasion" territory.

Liveblog - Ferraton Cotes Du Rhone and a Lidl bit extra*

Another movie, another Liveblog. The wine (at right) is a Ferraton Cotes Du Rhone 2007 from O'Briens, the movie is "Rachel Getting Married" a well regarded indie flick from Jonathan Demme with a star turn from Anne Hathaway. I bought six of these (the wine) for a post Xmas dinner with the in-laws. They were on special offer in O'Briens at about a tenner apiece and Ramon, who has steered me right on a number of occasions, recommended them as the best value red in the place.

7pm - Opened and decanted. The other night the in-laws barely put a hole in this while myself and Herself quite liked it, it was not a huge in-your-face wine but was medium bodied, pleasant and very potable.

8pm - I was down at Bombay Pantry in Rathfarnham and lo and behold Lidl was open. I could not resist its siren song and picked up the other two bottles pictured. The Lidl Vacqueyras (at left), I have had previously and really liked it, this time it was on special at €9-59, a huge bargain at that price. The Chianti (center €7-39), I took a punt on and will report on in due course.

8-30pm - My world has been rocked, I got a lousy main course from Bombay Pantry. I ordered the New Delhi Housewives choice, a particular favourite of mine, and it was poor. Bland, flavourless and poor. I have been eating from there for many years and it has been universally great, which makes this even more disappointing, but I digress.

9-pm - Half an hour into the movie and it's pretty good. Very hand-held camera, indie, angsty and all that but well acted and if you are in a large family and I'm in two of them, a lot of it rings true. The Cotes Du Rhone is now very nice, a little bit choclatey with a little bit of red fruit. Herself is getting caramel notes, but she has just eaten a(Cadbury's mini Caramel) so that explains that.

10-pm - The finish on this wine is getting longer and developing a little dryness as the evening wears off and the movie continues on to its inevitable conclusion. At this price I can definitely recommend it. The movie is quite good, perhaps a little indie for some people, you know who you are - every misguided soul who hated Requiem For A Dream. Anne Hathaway who gave a great, Oscar nominated performance here, went on to the dreck that was Bride Wars, so I just don't know what to tell you.

10-30pm - The wine is getting even better at the very last and we have to comb through cookbooks to pick out a main for New Years eve. I'm back at work as of today (boo) so I'll be keeping the booze in check (boo again) until that day or perhaps tomorrow night at JK's 4oth (woo-hoo).

* It's a lousy pun, I know

It's about lots of things...

It's Sunday evening and it's been an eventful few days in the booze related life of YHB. Firstly I should update on the three Tesco wines bought last week.

Tesco Vina Major Ribera Del Duero 2005 - €10-09

Had this first of the three. Initially I wasn't overly impressed with this, there was a lot of fruit but not much else. However in the last third of the bottle it all came together with some fine structure and balance and I was reminded of my other cheap Spanish fave Protocolo, which is high praise indeed.

Bellicia Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2007 - €8-19

Not great. Lots of acidity but not much else. Even at this price I wouldn't bother.

Tesco Vacqueyras 2007 - €7-99

I loved this the last time. Alas, we drank this last night and I daresay my heart wasn't in it , coming as it did at the end of The Hangover (tm) - see below, I will have to try this again to do it justice, as at this price, it should be a steal.

The Hangover

I suppose I should accept it an as occupational hazard, if you are going to drink and blog about it, occasionally you will come a cropper. I can't blame Allpay, who provided me with some of the fuel for the flames of my misfortune. He generously showed up at my humble abode for one of our irregular poker games with a bottle of the whiskey at left, which was delicious btw, and kudos to him for spending 20 minutes in Heathrow duty free getting expert advice on what to buy.

This was not the big mistake I made, which was to buy Tyskie Polish beer at 5.6% to drink during the cards. Normally I buy regular Vitamin H at 4.3% in a vain effort to stay moderately sober and not lose my drunken ass (BigNose - Vodka & Lucozade anyone?).

Anyway - yesterday (Saturday) was a long painful experience which, counter intuitively, got worse as the day progressed, until a couple of hours restorative kip was the only way to soothe my pounding head and queasy stomach. After this and a hot Thai take away (Kanum on Mespil road- very good btw), my taste buds were shot so this may account for my lack of appreciation for the Tesco Vacqueyras.

Finally, I know it been a long haul, but we are just finishing up another bottle of the Domaine la Brunely Vacqueyras, from the Superquinn French wine sale. Damn - it's still really tasty. I think there's a couple of days left in the sale, if you are in the neighbourhood, please buy some.

Tesco - More wines

Well, one of the advantages of living in our city pad is the proximity of both Oddbins and Tesco. As I noted last time, Tesco Baggot St sometimes has a great selection of wines. Tonight was no different, there were many wines I would like to have bought, but I settled on three...

Tesco Vacqueyras 2007 - €7-99

Last time I sought this I loved it and it cost €12. I has decided to buy only wines I hadn't tried before but this went by the board when I saw this for €7-99. A huge and spicy bargain at this price.

Tesco Vina Major Ribera Del Duero 2005 - €10-09

Have just started this and will review anon, worth a punt to get a decent Ribera at this odd price.

Bellicia Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2007 - €8-19

Another punt here but at this price its definitely worth a shot.

Superquinn - Two out of Four Ain't Bad

Right, its Monday night and YHB is feeling festively plump after a couple of heavy weekends, methinks I will have to moderate my food and booze intake or I'll be fat as fool when middle-age rests her blue-veined hand on my shoulder.

Anyhoo - over the weekend we sampled the first two of four Superquinn wines from the French Wine Sale, starting with the elaborately monikered Combe D'Aline Du Domaine des Escaravailles Cairanne Cotes Du Rhone Villages 2007.

Name: Combe D'Aline Cairanne Cotes Du Rhone Villages

Year: 2007
Price: €9 (Reduced from €12-99)
Notes: As I mentioned in my last post this smelt very "Rhoney" on opening. However it didn't taste quite so much so after a short while decanting. The blurb said "warm cherry fruits" and I'll go along with that, it was a little more modern and upfront in style that a lot of Cotes Du Rhone but quite nice with it, well balanced, moderately fruity, smooth and very good value at €9.

Next up the relatively expensive Vacqueyras.

Name: Domaine la Brunely Vacqueyras

Year: 2005
Price: €13 (Reduced from €17-99)
Notes: Some confusion here as the wine Parker gave 90/100 to is called Domaine de la Brunely , which is what is says on the label on the back of the bottle so whether this is the prize pig or not is anyone's guess. Long story short, not much nose off this but a delicious complex lingering flavour. The blurb says this is a bargain Chateauneuf-du-Pape but this was a lot rounder and smoother than that. Not sure if it's worth €17-99 but at €13 I'd buy this again, no questions.

Superquinn French Wine Sale Autumn 2009 - Purchases

Finally made it down to Superquinn Blackrock to nab a few samples from the latest French wine sale as initially posted on here. I think I did the selection of wines a disservice as the actual selection is a lot more extensive than is obvious from the flyer. Although the corollary of this is that, as before, the entire range of wines did not appear to be present, there is supposed to be a Corbieres for €7 which I could not locate.

Anyhoo, I bought four reds and as usual I decided to sample mostly from the budget end of the range. The wines are as follows (L-R)...

**Update - added "Reduced from" prices, although I am sometimes dubious about the veracity of these.

Chateau Le Mayne Bordeaux Superieur 2005 - €8 (reduced from €10-65)

The Book says - "deliciously ripe, rich red"

I say - €8 for a 2005 Bordeaux is definitely worth a punt.

Combe D'Aline Cairanne Cotes Du Rhone Villages 2007 - €9 (reduced from €12-99)

The Book says "Cairanne is consistently good...warm cherry fruits"

I say - I have just decanted this and it smells nice, very "Rhoney"

Domaine la Brunely Vacqueyras 2005 - €13 (reduced from €17-99)

The Book says - "organic and biodynamic - made in accordance with the phases of the moon"

I say "What - the moon?", the most expensive wine I bought today but I've had good fortune with Vacqueyras before so worth a try. Have just Googled this vintage and apparently Robert Parker gave it 90/100! Not sure if this is the same wine though...

Domaine de Christia Cotes du Ventoux 2007 - €8 (reduced from €14-99)

The Book says - "a soft, medium bodied wine".

I say - I liked the Grenache in the last sale so I took a chance on this.

I'll report back tomorrow on the Cairanne.

Lidl Vacqueyras

The last time I bought an expensive Lidl wine (that time also by accident) it turned out well, this time I also lucked out. As previously mentioned I have had some lovely Vacqueyras of late, and I wanted to compare this wine with its Tesco equivalent.

Name: Lidl Vacqueyras AOC

Year: 2007
Price: €12-99
Notes: A warm, fruity, well balanced wine with an incredible finish. This was less "Rhone"-ish than the Tesco version, less cherries, more forest fruits (phew! - got that in). It's not cheap at €12-99 (for a Lidl wine), but it is worth it. It confirms a theory of mine that if you buy something expensive in a "cheap" shop, you tend to get quality.

Rating: 7/10 - definitely worth a punt.

Lidl Wines - Again

Back to Lidl on the Grange road tonight, as promised to get some more of their cheap, I thought, wine and I was also out of beer so I thought I'd reacquaint myself with my old friend Grafenwalder.

I bought two new Lidl wines and one I'd had before - the Tarragona (with a new label). The two new wines are a generic Chianti DOCG, could be nice and a Vacqueyras, which I could not see a price for but was worth a punt as I have had some lovely examples of this and lately. This turned out to be a lot more expensive than most Lidl wines but I have made that mistake before and it turned out OK.

The prices were as follows:

Chianti DOCG - €5-65

Tarragona Reserva - €6-49

Vacqueyras AOC - €12-99

We'll probably drink the Vacqueyras over the weekend - review to follow.

Tesco Finest Vacqueyras 2007

Tonight another experiment - I going to liveblog this wine from start to finish over the course of the evening. This wine is one of Mary Dowey's 100 great wines under €12, I had it once before and liked it but had not seen it in any Tesco since.

This is the infuriating thing about Tesco, they produce some cracking Finest wines at decent prices but they are often hard to find. Bizarrely I found it in Tesco Upper Baggot St which has always had a shockingly poor selection of wines, catering mostly to the pile 'em high sell 'em cheap philosophy.

I'm not all that familiar with Vacqueyras, I know that's its in the Southern Rhone and its made from mostly Grenache. The blurb on the bottle says "A full and rich red with black cherry aromas coupled with a smooth, dark fruit and lightly spiced palate", we shall see.

7-30 pm

I'm opening the bottle, I'm not going to decant it as I would normally do as I reckon most people wouldn't decant it either and I'm aiming for some verisimilitude.

9-00 pm

First sip; cherries - check, spice - check, smooth dark fruit - not so much yet. All round though this is very tasty, nicely balanced and belying its 14% alcohol. Herself says "Lovely" and "Blackcurranty". Next up - we'll try it with Cambozola and Ardrahan cheeses.

10-00 pm

Firstly - Carr's Cheese Nibbles, delicious but deadly - you can't stop eating them. The wine has opened up a little in the glass, it's a little less spicey and a little more rounded and fruity, still very nice and a worthy foil to the cheeses.

Note: Tonight's TV is just awful, we have gone from Farah Fawcett's cancer to Jim Carrey and that's probably the best thing on! New episodes of South Park are also on but... (makes whipped sound). Roll on Jonathan Ross.

10-30 pm

About to finish this off - it's just getting better, the finish is getting longer and the balance really is remarkable, if you see this in Tesco, buy it - I think it was about €12. Perhaps that's why this is never in stock, cos it's so good?