Superquinn Italian Wine Sale

A little bird, my friend June in fact, let me know on Friday that Superquinn was having an Italian Wine Sale, and they never told me! Anyhoo, after a lovely weekend in Kelly's in Rosslare, en famille, we all ventured down in search in bangers, spuds and Vino.

I bought four reds, seemingly at random, as detailed below and pictured above. I know they were all reduced but I don't have the brochure to hand and the receipt only showed two of the four reductions, for some reason.

Emotivo Montepulciano 2011 €8-00 (reduced from €11-49)
Superquinn Classic Collection Chianti 2012 - €7-00 (reduced from ???)
Santa Christina Toscana 2011 €10-00 (reduced from 12-49) 
Sammicheli Chianti Riserva 2009 €11-00

I'll be drinking them over the next few days  but tonight we start with the 

Santa Christina Toscana 2011. I'm not trying to damn this wine with faint praise but it was very...easy drinking.Some nice acidity and fruit, well balanced and no food required to enjoy it. Decent value for a tenner.

Emotivo Montepulciano 2011. We're not loving this. It's a bit vegetal both on the nose and to taste, in a not entirely pleasant way. But, given our shockingly precarious financial situation, there'll be no more pouring wine down the sink. I even went to Lidl tonight and bought 6 bottles of cheap red (of which more anon).

Part 2 is here

Superquinn Classic Collection Chianti 2012
As with the Santa Christina, this was a tasty "easy drinking" little vino with some subtle cherry fruit and a little acidity. Its not going to knock your socks off if you are an Italian wine buff, but is very good value as priced and should be liked by most folks.


Sammicheli Chianti Riserva 2009
This was definitely the pick of the litter, a classic Chianti with lovely plummy fruits, and some nice complexity at the finish. Definitely a buy at 11 europes.

Next Up - I continue my voyage down the plughole with the first two IPA semi-finals.

Rossa Piceno - Something new from Italy

So it's been a long time since I bought a wine in Donnybrook Fair, a long time. The problem being that I don't shop in Donnybrook, since I moved away (sob) and the Baggot St branch is right beside Baggot Street Wines. However, being dinnerless, wineless and in Stillorgan this afternoon I ended up purchasing the wine above in DF #3, Stillorgan.

It's Brecciarolo Rossa Piceno Superiore €14-99 from Velenosi.I had never heard of the Rossa Piceno DOC and indeed there is no English Wikipedia page on it (there is an Italian one, if that floats your gondola). The wines are made predominantly from Montepulciano and Sangiovese with a little of local varietals added.

It was a little tart in the beginning but it's a bit smoother now with some nice acidity and a little fruit. It's perfectly fine but I'm not sure I'd spend 15 notes on it again.

BTW I have been posting a lot of beer-related posts of late, if you're fine with this, give me no sign whatsoever. Seriously, I have been contemplating starting a separate beer blog - negotiations are ongoing.

Dunnes Wine Sale

I have to take Dunnes to task. I have been in three separate Dunnes over the last couple of weeks, looking for some of the wines that are part of their "Wine Sale". In each store they had maybe 5 or 6 wines (that I could find) and virtually no promotional material. Just some small placards attached to the shelves. Maybe I caught the end of the sale and stocks were low... They should take a lesson from Richard Moriarty in Superquinn. That's how to do a wine sale.

Anyway, I bought a few reds, some are from the sale, not sure which; it's late and I'm tired with a dicky tummy and a dodgy back so reviews are limited to six words apiece.

Marques de Almonacid Carinena 2009 - €9.00 (reduced from €12-50)
Fruity, light and pleasant. Not bad.

Poco a Poco Tempranillo 2012 - €7-50 (reduced from €11)
Cheap cheerful, but not for me.

Chateau Millegrand Minervois 2011 - €11-50 (reduced from €16)
Awful, down the sink with it.

Laurent Miquel Nord Sud Syrah  - €10-50
Cheap cheerful, needs lots of air.

Next Up - More Beer, probably.