Xmas cheer from O'Briens - Results Part1

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.

Find me!

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...

It's grim 'Oop North'

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.

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.