Superquinn Autumn French Wine Sale Final Report

Last week I bought four wines in the Superquinn Autumn French Wine Sale, here are the results on the last two...

Saumur Cabernet Franc 2009 (€7 reduced from €10-49) This was not bad, not great but not bad. There was some nice raspberry fruit and some decent tannins but I don't think the various elements gelled to form a cohesive whole.

Rare Vineyards Malbec 2009 (€6 reduced from €9-99) Initially this tasted a bit cheap and cheerful, but as we slowly finished off the bottle the original slight harshness wore off and the flavours rounded out a bit. Again, not bad and for €6, what do you expect? But for a few quid more I'd drink this every time.

I should also say that there are several old favourites of mine on the sale that deserve a mention:

La Baume Viognier (€8 reduced from €10-65) - Delicious with lots of peachy fruitiness.

Superquinn Classic collection Petit Chablis (€10) Crisp, lean and lovely.

Domaine Cristia Cotes Du Ventoux (€7 reduced from €14-99) Spicy and Rhoney and great value as priced.

Chat En Oeuf (€8 reduced from €11-99) A budget Chateauneuf that really delivers.

Domaine De Brunely Vacqueyras (€12 reduced from €17-99) I wouldn't pay full whack for this but as priced it's a big beefy bargain.

There are a few more expensive Bordeaux but I haven't had much luck with them over the last 18 months. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

At long last - I get to the Sale.

I finally made it down to Superquinn in Blackrock to see what's left of the sale. I had a shopping list in my head and I would not be deterred. However, the best laid plans etc. The wine that I had been most looking forward to was the Rare Vineyards Carignan Vielles Vignes which has been getting lots of love in the press and in the blogosphere. I was a victim of its success, however, as it is now sold out, although the nice man in the shop said he thought there was some left in the Ranelagh branch.

I swallowed my tears and bought some other stuff, left to right the wines are:

Charles Vienot Macon Lugny 2009 (€9 reduced from €12-49) Had a quick glass of this before dinner last night and was impressed. A nicely balanced Burgundy.

Etienne Barret Crozes-Heritage 2008 (€11 reduced from €14-99) Drank this last night. Lots of plummy fruit, some surprising spiciness and a vanilla finish. Great value as priced.

Saumur Cabernet Franc 2009 (€7 reduced from €10-49) I have a soft spot for Reds from the Loire. If done right they can be interesting and unusual; the blurb says "This fruity wine is attractive and easy to drink" This description is often the kiss of death, but we'll see.

Rare Vineyards Malbec 2009 (€6 reduced from €9-99) I couldn't get the Carignan so I got this instead. Part of an attempt to reclaim Malbec from Argentina, I guess, it was originally a French grape - one of only six allowed in Bordeaux wines, now sadly underused in that area.

Lastly, a wine I got in the sale in an on-line shop - a Corbieres Le Fournas 2008 (€8 reduced from €10-99) as Kevin Ecock said in his review of the sale:

"This wine from the Hautes Corbieres in the South of France was sent in more in hope than expectation. After all, its a Grenache, young vine Syrah and Carignan blend. The grapes are hand harvested and there's only 25,000 bottles made each year. This is not typical supermarket fare and it would need a brutally honest, fair and experienced tasting panel to even appreciate it - dense purple, serious wine"

Firstly this is indeed a serious wine, not for the faint hearted. On the nose it was full, rich and spicy and then the fun started. Apart from the dark fruit and copious spice there was initially an undercurrent of something, maybe overripe fruit, I don't have the palate to place it. Herself did not like it, at all. After a while however, the flavours rounded out, harmonised and the tannins kicked in like a melonfarmer. As Kevin pointed out, this is not a bog-standard supermarket wine, but it's definitely worth a punt if you want to expand your horizons. We drank it without food but I think with those tannins, it's crying out for accompaniment, something hearty I would think.

We are off to Town Bar And Grill tonight to celebrate seven years of captivity. They used to have an interesting wine list, back in the day, including an interesting selection of Californian wines. I'm curious to see what the list is like after their near death and resurrection.

** Update - We had a L’âme de Familongue, Terrasses du Larzac 2006 from the Languedoc with our meal which was delightful and decent value to boot.

In order to understand recursion*

It's Sunday morning, I've just washed the decanters and Little Bill is jumping around the living room as is his wont. Rather than waffle on as is my wont I'll just do a few quick updates...

We drank the two wines below last week:

Chateau De Villeneuve Saumur Champigny 2006 - I liked this, herself less so. It took ages to open up and develop and it was only in the last glass I really got all the flavours. It was somewhat acidic, fruity and at the end showed some nice tannins. It was quite a lighter style then we usually drink but nice for a change.

Masi Campofiorin 2006 - Also liked this a lot, it was different it style to its Tesco Cousin, more refined and a touch lighter and easier to drink.

Los Robles Fairtrade Carmenere 2006 - We drank this at the end of the night last night and didn't enjoy it. It had that "taste" that I get from cheap Chilean wine which I cannot abide. It's that cheap oaky, tannic flavour. Herself hated it.

What I will be mostly drinking this week are the fruits of our entertaining...

Seigneur D'Albret Medoc 2006 - The Times liked it...

Paul Jaboulet "Les Jalets" Crozes Hermitage 2006 - Snooth liked it..

Chateau Lapelletrie Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2005 - this guy liked it and I'm thinking I might lay this down in the "cellar", given the vintage.

* it is first necessary to understand recursion

Porkbelly II - The Fattening

The porkbelly went down well in Saturday night, it a long and involved recipe but it makes for some delicious tender meat from an inexpensive cut. I bought some Ferraton Cotes Du Rhone Samorens 2007 from O'Briens, which at €11-45 is an absolute steal. R0bert Parker gave it 89/100 and it seemed to go down well with m'guests. To start with we had a Rizzardi Pinot Grigio 2008, also from O'Briens. When I say we I mean me and Big Steve, as nobody else seemed to be in a white wine place, us two happily lashed into it.

The aforementioned guests brought along some interesting wines, most of which we managed not to drunkenly quaff on the night. From left to right they are:

Chateau Fontbonne Bordeaux 2006 - BigNose brought two of these and we drank one and it was nice but I don't think I did it justice as it still a little cool when we drank it. I'll treat the next one better.

Chateau De Villeneuve Saumur Champigny 2006 - June got this in Harvey Nics. I have always liked wine from this region so here's hoping..

Masi Campofiorin 2006 - S&V brought this and it is a meaty, tasty wine. It is made, I believe, using the Ripasso method which accounts for its rich flavours.

Lastly I picked up a Pegos Claros Palmela 2004 from Portugal. I loved the 2002, and was hoping for more of the same from the 2004. It was good, and still good value at €12 but it didn't have the depth and complexity of the 2002.