More From Dunnes (and me)

Apologies folks for the delay in posting - It's been a hectic few days in Casa di Willie. There were various entertainments on last week, literally as soon as I got back from parts Foreign. Herself had bought some Protocolo 2009 for entertaining purposes from O'Briens and I was pleasantly surprised. The last Protocolo I tasted (2008) was a little jammy for my tastes, compared to the original 2006 which I loved and of which I still have one in my "cellar". It's possible of course that the wine doesn't exhibit that much annual diversity and "it's all in my head" but hey ho that's the beauty of the web - anyone can write any old crap and call it Gospel (and I do...)

Anyhoo - I decide to pay one last visit to Dunnes in the beacon to a) get some more of the lovely Priorat and b) to have a butchers at any other wines I might have missed. As it happened I was just in time as there were less than 10 of the Priorat left, so I grabbed a few and have added one to my "cellar". Note: yesterday I discovered a large cache of the Priorat in another Dunnes, which shall have to remain my little secret.

I also picked up the following (prices are approximate as I threw away the receipt and can't find the prices online - boo)

Florentina Chianta Riserva 2007 (?9-99?) - I like Chianti generally so...

Laurent Miquel "Bardou" Saint Chinian Languedoc 2007 (?13-99?) - One of Laurent Miquel's "Grande Cuvees". Per the website this is a "Syrah based single vineyard Saint Chinian from a selected block named Bardou on his reputed family-owned estate. The site has very poor ,stony soils and the vines are about 26 years old (see photo). This unique terroir coupled with a windy, dry microclimate means that yields are low (approximately 30 HL/Ha) and the fruit is intensely flavoured and concentrated. Aged in French oak barrels (both new and 2nd use)." Sounds interesting.

The return of "that guy"... (Now Updated)

Howdy folks. It's been an awfully long time since I blogged at ya - 6 months to be precise. For me, the time has flown; I've been up to my furry bits in a complex IT project, which went live successfully last weekend. I still have a week to go, both tidying up and pissing up, but I should be home for good next week - woo hoo!

John Wilson's column in the Irish Times on Saturday mentioned that Dunnes are having a "Mediterranean Festival" so I stopped by their Beacon store on my travels today and picked up six reds from Spain and Italy. The French offerings didn't look particularly appetising to YHB so I passed on them.

I looked up the "Festival" on the Dunnes site for a bit more info, but the page isn't a "mind of information" as they'd say on DNS. Judge for yourself. I'd expect a minimum of a PDF or at least a more readable page. Superquinn's many and multifarious wine sales would seem to be the benchmark here.

Note: The display shelves in the shop show the notional "full" price but neither the receipt in my sweaty little fist, nor the Dunnes website can help me out in retrospect here.

Anyhoo - the six wines are:

Crossos Priorat 2008 (€12-99) - Any Priorat I've had to date I've really liked so...

Verdict - This is fantastic, big and bold - I need to buy more asap.

Arroyo Ribera Del Duero Crianza 2008 (€10-99 - John Wilson specifically recommended this so...

Verdict - Similar to the Barbaresco this was quite light in colour, but was quite fruity in a strawberry, New World Pinot Noir-ish way, strangely. Not unpleasant, but not something I would probably buy again.

Masseria Del Fauno Salice Salentino 2010 (€5-99) - I do like wines from here, they are tangy and acidic and good pizza/pasta wines IMHO, and at this price it's worth a punt.

Verdict - Only got around to this last night and it is a steal at this price, some nice acidity and a very well balanced wine for thsi money.

Il Burchino Toscana 2007 (€12-99) - This looked classy, beyond that, I don't know what to tell you. Tomás Clancy had this as his "One to Buy" last Sunday in the Turbine, although (see comments), this in not an uncontested opinion.

Verdict - We probably didn't give this wine the best opportunity by drinking after a hot Thai penang curry but even so it was pretty good. A solid chunky Tuscan, and decent value at this price.

Riva Leone Barbaresco 2008 (€9-99) - A Barbaresco for a tenner? Again, I pretty much had to. Also, Dunnes have a Barolo from the same producer for about 15 notes. Let's see how this ones goes first.

Verdict - Herself demanded another red be opened after the lovely Priorat and chose the Barbaresco. Disappointing. Quite a light colour in the glass and similarly lacking in flavour on the plate. Not offensive but a bit "meh" and not what was expected...

Campomagio Toscano 2006 (€11-99) - I hadn't intended buying two "Toscanas" [IGT] so here's hoping.

Verdict - Again a perfectly pleasant Tuscan, nothing to write home about but perfectly fine. For the extra Euro I'd buy the Burchino.

In conclusion, kudos to Dunnes for the wines, but their promotion and presentation could do with some work.

And yes - it's good to be back.

Hiatus

For various reasons - mostly job related, I'm going to take a break from blogging. I seem to be lacking that energy or passion that I used to have for this blog. I suspect the travelling and associated stress of commuting to the UK has sapped whatever surfeit of vim, zest or moxie I normally possess.

I still enjoy the wine; the seeking out of bargains, the joy of quaffing a fine claret (mostly on somebody else's nickel - I admit), and the pleasure of just writing something, and getting it out onto the intertubes for better or worse.

However, without the requisite passion, I feel I wouldn't be able to produce content that would be much beyond a list of what I've recently sampled, which wouldn't be particularly entertaining or edifying.

So until this current project is finished - approx. six months hence, I won't be doing much blogging. I will continue to tweet - http://twitter.com/willieswineblog as this seems to be a more suitable medium for the kind of contribution I wish to make...

End of line.

Xmas Cheer from O'Briens - Part 2 and Leo Sayer*

Since my last post, we've only had one of the three remaining wines and it was the Ferraton Le Grand Courtil Crozes Hermitage 2007- (€26-95). As I noted at the time I bought this by mistake and was hoping this wouldn't prove to be an expensive mistake.

I opened this for our house guests from France the other night in advance of them bringing us out to our super local resto The Box Tree in Stepaside. After an hour or so in the decanter I was a little bit disappointed at first taste, as my guest rightly pointed out, we were expecting something more full bodied, and while it was perfectly pleasant at this stage it was not a wine worth 30 notes.

To its credit, it improved over the next hour or so and did develop some length and complexity in the glass but as to my chances of buying it again - sadly it's a "no".

As yet undrunk are the Schloss Schönborn Riesling Trocken 2006 - (€16-95) and the Clos Du Val Merlot 2006 (€15-99 reduced from €22-95) .

*This review should probably be taken with a pinch of salt as me and, my now identically monikered friend, had already polished off, by this stage - A bottle of Bolly (NV), a sixpack (6X 355ml) of Brooklyn Lager and my famous Bombay Sapphire (double) G&T, before this pre-dinner bottle of red.

At the Restauraunt, we each had a pint (Guinness for him, Belfast Blonde lager for me), 500ml of a cheeky Touraine, a bottle of Chateau Neuf Du Pape (I can't find the wine list online, and I can't, understandably, remember their names). This was followed by an after dinner whiskey (Black Bush for him, Bushmills Malt 10yo for me) and then off home with us, where we cracked a bottle of 16yo Lagavulin, which needed a beer chaser and then...

Note 1: Herself was present for all of this but remained relatively abstemious.

Note 2: Do not try this at home - Experienced professional drinkers carried out this reckless activity.

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.

Xmas cheer from O'Briens

I have bought precious little wine of late, most due to weather related difficulties; being stuck in Edinburgh or trying to get there and the associated knock-on effect onto my free time. I got stuck in Edinburgh Airport on Thursday night so I did some research on the OBrien's website. I noticed they had 150 wines on special,and I haven't stocked up for Xmas, so I went along yesterday armed with a printed wish-list.

I didn't get everything I wanted and I bought a couple of wrong-uns (so to speak) but on the whole I think It was a successful trip.

First the whites:
Schloss Schönborn Riesling Trocken 2006 - (€16-95). I had intended to buy a slightly different Riesling from this producer, which was on special but ended up with this which is not on the O'Briens website (that I can find). Everyone raves about Riesling, I've been underwhelmed with the last couple of (reasonably expensive) ones I've had, perhaps this will change my mind.

Rizzardi Pinot Grigio 2009 - (€10-99 reduced from €11-89). I've had this a couple of times (different vintages I suspect) and really liked it.

Now the Reds:
Clos Du Val Merlot 2006 (€15-99 reduced from €22-95) Had another bottle of this recently and can't praise it enough. A slightly fruitier version of a good Pomerol at a fraction of the price. I had intended to get a bottle of their Zinfandel also but it was all gone - alas.

Ferraton Plan de Dieu Cotes du Rhone Villages 2009 - (€9-99 reduced from €12-99). I've drunk gallons of their other CDR "Samorens" and this had a good write up so...

Ferraton Le Grand Courtil Crozes Hermitage 2007- (€26-95). This was a mistake. I had intended to buy their cheaper Crozes Hermitage "Le Matiniere", on special at €13-99. I'm sure it will be nice (If I don't return it) but the plan was to only buy from the specials.

Domaine De Nizas Coteaux de Languedoc 2007 (€12-99 reduced from €16-45) Bought this purely from the blurb on the website, but I do think there is huge value in Southern France.
Have just dcanted for drinking tonight - will update tomorrow.

Mas Belles Eaux Les Coteaux Languedoc 2006 (€13-99 Reduced from €19-45). Robert Parker gave this 90 points, who am I do disagree?

Gerard Bertrand Pic Saint Loup 2008 (€9-99 Reduced from €14-45) Another wine I had again recently and it was delicious as usual. I bought two.

Rizzardi Tacchetto 2009 (€12-99 Reduced from €16-99) Bought this one because I have liked all of their other wines that I have tried, and it's pretty good value for a Bardolino.

This is just to say

It's late. I'm tired. I was at the airport at 5am. And again at 12pm. Four journeys. Lots of snow, icy roads and flashing ABS lights. No flight to Edinburgh, though. Lack of appreciation for efforts from powers that be, check. Same again tomorrow or (shudder) Prestwick, check. Rant over, check.

Anyhoo, many thanks to all concerned for my birthday dinner on Saturday, chez Papa and Grandma. We started with a Chateau Carbonnieux Pessac Leognan Graves 2004/6?, followed it with a Chateau Calon Segur Saint Estephe 2000 and finished with my present from my eldest bro, a Yalumba Museum Muscat dessert wine, it was delicious, so sweet and so cold.

Links und Recht

Another link post cos I'm too tired, hungover and snowbound* to review anything...

Interesting piece on tasting notes here from WineRant.

Kevin Ecock's take on Organic, BioDynamic etc. here for all you budding eco-weenies.

I really wish I could make it to this, I was at John Wilson's version a year ago.

Thanksgiving Wine recommendations here, I guess you could use them for Xmas.

Last night I ended up drinking, along with a large quantity of Oban 14yo, a few wines I had blogged about from O'Briens. Our host had been to said shop and ended up selecting one of these, one of these, and a couple of these, quite without reference to YHB's opinions.

We didn't get to the Minervoios, but the Pic Saint Loup was very tasty and the Clos Du Val Merlot was fantastic, again. BigNose didn't like it, for some reason. More for me so...

*Not really - 4WD to the rescue.

Simply Wines Xmas Wine Fair

Part 1 [Saturday] - In which I talk about the wines to be drunk..

Although I am only five minutes away I had never been down to SimplyWines on the Ballyogan Road, I had some spare time on Friday so I popped down. One of our guests tonight doesn't drink much red so I figured I'd pick up a couple of Chateau Bauduc, Gordon Ramsay's house white. If it's good enough for him...

As luck would have it the shop was quiet so I was able to spend a good while with main man Ian and I tasted a good number of reds. I was looking for a red to have for my (and BS's) b'day dinner tonight chez nous. I settled on the two reds, and the aforementioned white, above to have with our experimental chicken. Left to Right they are...

Cable Bay Marlborough Pinot Noir 2006 - €17-60 (Reduced from €22). I hadn't intended spending €18 odd on a wine on this occasion, but I tried this and loved it. Quite an Old-World style of Pinot and I hope the guests like it as much as I did.

Chateau Bauduc Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2009 - €12. Liked it on the day, about to have some more.

La Forge Estate Vielles Vine Carignan 2009 - €12 (reduced from €16). Inky purple in the glass, lots on vanilla on the nose and unusual on the palate. I'll be interested to see what the guests think of this - it'll be the after dinner wine, I think the Pinot should go well with the main course.

Part 2 [Sunday]- In which I talk about the wines we have drunk

All three performed well on the night although I think the Carignan suffered from being drunk immediately after a splendid Chateau Tertre Daugay Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2003, brought along by BE from his stash. It, the Carignan, didn't seem to have the same vanilla, oak and fruit that it had in the shop, but I have another bottle so I'll try it again on its own and see how it fares.

On the whiskey side BigBog helped me break the seal on my newest Scotch purchase a bottle of12yo Old Pulteney Single Malt, from the "rugged town of Wick on the tip of the North-East coast, facing the Moray firth". Have just looked on Google maps and it does indeed look quite rugged. The whiskey spends some time in Sherry casks and this imparts a gentle sweetness to the dram, and a singular addition to my whisk(e)y press.

This port (in a storm)...

After the harrowing events of last evening, (flying into Dublin airport in a propeller driven plane, into the teeth of a gale, stone cold sober), I felt in need of some nice wine, a haircut and a non sequitur. As luck would have it all are available on Upper Baggot St. After being correctly denuded (you'd be surprised how hard it is to get "3 on the top, 1 on the back & sides" right), I ambled into Oddbins across the road.

I nearly bought a South African wine, any South African wine in an effort to prove myself wrong that there is no decent value SA red out there*. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the wine, at left. It's a Quinta das Setencostas Alenquer DOC 2007. The last time I had this wine, about 2 years ago, I was enthused enough to buy a case immediately, it was that good (I suspect it was the 2005, btw). My eldest bro is also a big fan, as were various punters I entertained with said case.

Since that day I have not seen it in Oddbins or anywhere else for that matter. I have just decanted a bottle and am trying to remember what I liked about it. It was inky purple in the glass, big and spicy on the palate. In my memory it was made with the Touriga Nacional grape but now that I read the label I see it is made with Castelao, Camarate, Tinta Miuda and some Preto-Martinho; that's me told.

Update to follow, disappointment probability - 20%.#

**Update - this was very nice indeed, more fruit forward than I remembered but not overly so. Lots of spice and depth made this a delicious tipple.

* I appealed for examples on Twitter to no avail...

Whiskey, and lots of it.

Yes. It's that time again. My semi-annual wallow in my only other (legal) vice. Given that I am going through Edinburgh Airport every week I've surprised myself by only having bought two (litre) bottle so far. These were a Speyside (Cragganmore 12yo) and an Island (Talisker 10yo). I am aiming to get at least one Highland (Glenmorangie perhaps) and an Islay (probably Caol Isla 12yo) before Xmas.

I may then dip into the Lowlands, or else with a solid base of Whiskey in the cupboard, I may sample some whiskeys outside of my comfort zone; Jura, Auchentoshan, Glenrothes, An Cnoc, or one of a few others that have caught my eye.

Anyhoo - here's the bit I'm sure you all have been waiting for:

Single Malt Scotches (L-R)

Caragganmore 12yo

Desc: I brought this Speyside out at the last Poker game and the lads loved it. Very smooth and a good whiskey to give to a non regular drinker.

Remaining: 0.8 bottles

Talisker 10yo

Desc: I also brought this out, but it proved less popular. It's a little peaty, a little salty and I think rewards the more adventurous drinker.

Remaining: 0.8 bottles

Bruichladdich Moine Mhor (3 different years)

Desc: A strong (50%) dram, sweet and peaty. A special edition which was a gift from Herself. Works well with a drop of water.

Remaining: 0.6 bottles

Lagavulin 16yo

Desc: My previous favourite Islay. Smooth and smoky and very peaty.

Remaining: 1 bottles (thanks MP!)

Bowmore 18yo

Desc: My new favourite Islay, even though I drink it only rarely.

Remaining: 0.6 bottles

Springbank "Longrow" Gaja Barola 7yo

Desc: A non-Islay peaty beast with a whopping 55.6% alcohol, this whiskey is delicious with a drop of water. This also spends the last 2 years of its life in Barolo casks. Who'd a thunk it?

Remaining: 0.5 bottles

Blends & Other bottles (L - R)

Jameson Original

Desc: The standard expression. Had this recently at a neighbour's house and was very pleasantly surprised by it. Warm , spicy and intense.

Remaining: 0.9 bottle

Bushmills Malt 16yo

Desc: A nod to my own heritage, a big warm sweet whiskey.

Remaining: 0.2 bottles

Woodford Reserve

Desc: A present from MP, an impressive bourbon. Light years ahead of Jack Daniels et al. Although not as smooth as a single malt.

Remaining: 0.4 bottles

Bushmills Malt 12yo

Desc: Haven't opened this yet although I expect good things after the 16yo

Remaining: 1 bottle

Lark Distillery SingleMalt.

Desc: A present from JP & MP all the way from Tasmania. A different and slightly less refined malt from our Antipodean cousins, another nice change of pace.

Remaining: 0.4 bottles

Mystery Amarone and a welcome arrival.

Just a quick post from out foreign like. We had the wine above on Saturday night, one of our guests ( I think it was BigHead) brought it along recently. It was a Cantina Di Soave Amarone Della Valpolicella Rocca Alata 2007 and delicious it was too. It started off with some nice acidity and a little cherry fruit and over the next couple of hours it developed into a wine of some depth and complexity, with some gentle tannins creeping in at the finish.

On the local front, a new Gastropub opened up in Stepaside village, The Wild Boar along with its its sister restaurant The Box Tree, which is due to open November 1st. Both are courtesy of the man behind One Pico, Eamonn O'Reilly. Before the Amarone above, we ventured down there with Little Bill (tm); I had drawn the short straw and was driving, so no wine for me. The service was friendly, and a little haphazard, but the food was a revelation. Top quality nosh at rock bottom prices, my pork belly main with [stuff] was €11 while Little Bill's (tm) fish and chips (€7-95) was crisp light and gorgeous, freshly battered and something I'd have been well happy with myself.

I can't report much on the wine front, there was no wine list to be seen, only a few wines available by bottle and glass on the specials board. Herself had a glass of the Montepulciano with her fantastic rib-eye and it was perfectly fine. I'm sure the wine list issue will be resolved with the opening of the main restaurant and I'm looking forward to going back.