Liveblog - Orellan Bierzo Roble 2009

Tonight I shall be liveblogging a red that I picked up in OBrien's in Carrickmines on special not one hour ago. I went there looking for some beers but the selection in this shop is much inferior to the wide range available at their Beacon Store, for some reason.

I should also mention our weekend wine experience. As we have recently celebrated 10 years (legally) together, we decided (and we had a voucher) to go to the Cliff House in Ardmore for some Michelin starred food, and for a quiet weekend away.

Long story short, the food was amazing and not bad value when you factor everything in. Three courses of Michelin starred food for €68, which included an amuse-bouche (four separate things) and a tasty sorbet before the main course; sounds like a lot of dough but when the grub is that good I don't think it's bad value. I suspect you'd pay a lot more than that in Paddy Giblets or one of the other starred places in Dublin.

We opted for the optional wine tasting accompaniment (specially chosen) for our three courses which was another €27 per head. My smoked salmon starter (done about 8 ways) came with a Tahbilk Marsanne, a white not for the faint hearted ( I ordered it once before, for a group and just about nobody liked it) but it suited the salmon well. My veal main came with a glass of Chateau Ksara from Lebanon, which I initially decided was much too tannic but actually worked really well with the meat, although it's a wine that resolutely needs food to accompany it. With my various apple deserts (spiced apple cake = best dessert ever), I was given a decently large glass of an Austrian sweet wine called Kracher, which was delicious.

Anyway - on to tonight's live blog and pictured above -
Orellan Mencia Bierzo Roble 2009 €9.99 (reduced from €15-99)

7pm. I like it. Apparently it's made from the Mencia grape with which I am not familiar, but at this early stage it's elegant and well balanced with a hint of plummy fruit. I think this will improve as the night wears off.

9pm. I still like it. Smooth. The O'Brien's website reckons it's not dissimilar to a Pomerol and I'd go along with that, its not as big, but it echoes the right bank.

11pm.Surprisingly, this didn't improve markedly during the night, started well and finished well. Not sure I'd pay 16 quid for it but as priced it's great value and would probably be a good wine to entertain with.

Short reviews of three wines from Baggot St Wines

Portillo Malbec €11.19
Fantastic, big, chewy and a little bit fruity. Great value as priced.

Gran Cerdo €13.99
A little thin, we reckoned, got a bit better after being open for a while but not ones the Willies cared for very much. And check out their website - a testament to shocking web design.

Matsu El Picaro €13.99 reduced from €16.99
Oh yes, this is how to do modern (relatively) inexpensive Spanish red. Wonderfully complex with a great finish.

The Fourth Protocolo - It's not you, it's me*

I've fallen out of love. It happened a couple of years ago although it took me until last night to realise it. When Protocolo first came out, in, I think 2008, (the 2006 vintage), I loved it. I picked up a bottle in O'Briens as part of one of my regular trawls of their reds on special offer, and I loved it.

I loved it so much I recommended it to all my friends, some of whom also loved it and used it for parties. I believe it was John Wilson from the Irish Times (but I can't find the link) who raved about it, and suggested it had the potential to age and would be worth cellaring. Also, it was not your typical Spanish red, it was fruitier, and, I suspect, made to appeal to a younger, New World influenced wine drinker.

So I took a bottle of the 2006 and duly "cellared" it, for future consumption. Over the next four  years, I bought the 2009 & 2010. I don't know what happened to the 2007 & 2008; I know I missed one of them and I suspect the other never made it to the shop floor but I couldn't be sure. Either way, I picked up the 2011 yesterday for tasting purposes.

I need to confess that I last time I bought the Protocolo was in summer of 2012 (the 2010 vintage), for old time's sake, and I didn't enjoy it. I don't know if the wine has changed or I have, but one of us has moved on.

Anyhoo, I have been looking for an opportunity to do a vertical tasting of the various vintages for some time and last night presented the perfect occasion. It was forecast to be a lovely sunny evening, we had our new chiminea to burn our old patio table in,  a butterflied leg of lamb to bbq, and we had our neighbours Tricki'n'Baz from one side in, and MJ from the other, along with Aunty June, whom we hadn't seen for a while.

The ladies had been on the white wine for a while and me on the Grolsch, so I figured I'd start with the oldest first before we all got too squiffy to taste anything.

2006 - First off, everyone else liked it, but I didn't really care for it. It had a big alcoholic wash and had lost pretty much all its fruit. Not unpleasant, but not what I was expecting. Which was? Dunno, not this. They say most wines are made to be drunk with a short number of years so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.

2009 - Really didn't like this. There was a slight sharpness to this wine that I didn't care for. Our guests didn't comment as such but that could be just politeness. I pride myself on serving nice wine to anyone who comes to my house for dinner but I feel I let myself down here; at the very least I need to like what I'm serving.

2010/2011 - Not much in the difference here, as I mentioned above, this wine just doesn't do it for me anymore, I'm sorry to say.

So there you have it, a failed love story for my part, but do try it yourself (it generally retails for about €8.99), even if you don't like it you won't be out of pocket by too much...

* Probably

The High Council

I wrote a post about wine from Consejo de la Alta almost exactly 4 years ago. It has been a family staple ever since, courtesy of Papa Willie and Papa Vincent (long story). Anyhoo, at a family "do" recently the Papas were having a lively discussion about the merits of the "Novo" from 2010.

Papa Willie opined that it couldn't possibly be any cop (I'm paraphrasing, obviously). I generously offered to arbitrate the dispute so long as I got some for free.

Papa Vincent duly obliged, with the not only the 2010 Novo but with various other Consejo de la Alta vintages and styles. See below...

Left to right, they are:

Reserva 2004, Reserva 2005, Crianza 2008, Novo 2010, Alta Rio Crianza 2010

I think Alta Rio is the second wine (now) of this winery, but I'm not sure, as they appear to have used Google translate to generate the English language version of the website...

Reserva 2004
Selfishly, I'm keeping this for a future vertical tasting. I already have a 2001 and a 2005 Reserva in my "cellar" against just such a possibility.

Reserva 2005
Big alcoholic wash at first. Some fruit, some tannins, very long finish. Very nice.

Novo 2010
Not bad - good nose. A little sharp at first but got better over the course of the evening. Not a patch on the Reserva but pretty decent.

Crianza 2008
Very very tasty, and, in the absence of tasting directly against the Reserva, this comes off very well. 

Alta Rio Crianza 2010
Corked, desafortunadamente.

Liveblog - Romanico Toro 2010

So when Tricki'n'Baz came over the other night they brought with them a lovely Monsant from O'Briens which I am no stranger to. They also said they had picked another Spanish wine which had been highly recommended by the chap in O'Briens whose blurb says the following:

"Imagine Australian Shiraz meets Rioja and you get an idea of what this might be like. Big, rich and packed with fruit but never losing its distinctly Spanish accent and excellent structure. This is a phenomenal new wave wine from the Toro region and is from the hands of master winemaker Marcus Eguren" 

Romanico Toro 2010 €13-99 reduced from €17-99.

19:00 It's been open and decanting for over two hours now. Lots of bright fruit flavours initially but there is some structure behind it. Very pleasant indeed, although I'm not sure how much it will it will improve as the night wears off.

21:30 I do like this, maybe it's the influence of a "medium" Chicken Karahi (actually quite hot) from Bombay Pantry but I'm finding this a much more integrated beast than before. I don't know that it will impress old-world lovers but if you like your wine with a little fruit, fill your boots.

23:30  I'm still liking this and the finish is cracking but would I pay €17-99 for it? No. €13-99? Maybe. It's a grown up Protocolo, which is not an insult, buy I'd want more for this money. I'd buy it if I was entertaining and I knew the guests were big fruity new-world freaks. This would be right up their alley, so to speak.

Some bargain Spanish wines

So I'm looking for some reds for Xmas and also for our New Years eve extravaganza, so I  popped into O'Briens in Carrickmines and grabbed a couple of reds on special offer.*

Luzon Jumilla 2011 €10-99 link
The blurb from the site says:
"Made from 70% Mourvèdre and 30% Syrah grapes, this richly textured red is brimming with rich, dark berry and ripe plum fruit. A silky smooth wine that is as good on its own as it is accompanying meaty dishes. Quality wise this has the depth of fruit and myriad of flavours of many wines twice its price." 

I wasn't sure about this at first but it has been growing on me for the last hour; nice fruit, nice acidity, nice balance. It's not a massive complex wine, just solid everyday drinking. Good value as priced.

Cruz De Pieda Seleccion Especial 2010 - €9-99 (reduced from €13-99) link
The blurb from the site says:
"This is a revelation, we have tried wines before from Calatayud that overdelivers to this extent. Superb depth of sweet ripe black fruit, luscious with sweet spices and a long finish of that super-ripe fruit"

Yummy. Herself says it's nicely rounded, and I agree. This is definitely a balanced wine, like the man says, there is plenty of ripe fruit but it's not cloying and there is a lovely long finish.

I also got some nice beers. The first two below are two of my all time faves, the third is something I have wanted to try for a while but have never come across...

Goose Island IPA - €2-59
Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted €2-73
Anchor Liberty Ale - €2-79

* OBriens shop in Carrickmines needs to improve their selection of Whisk(e)ys. The Beacon shop puts it to shame.

Pascual Toso Malbec 2009

We received a present from a neighbour last weekend, a Pascual Toso Malbec 2009 from Mendoza, website here. After being opened and decanted for about an hour and a half we tucked in. Immediately we were impressed. There was some nice plummy fruit, delicate tannins and a long finish, this was a very well balanced wine; reasonably fruit forward in a New World style but with some lovely structure to balance it out.

If you are having a steak or like your Malbecs then you will not go wrong with this wine.

About two weeks ago I picked up a few disparate bottles in Superquinn, Blackrock. We drank the last of these last night. It was a Vina Albali Gran Reserve 1999 (€6). When I bought it I said "This wine is probably very tired... and priced to move, but you never know".

I hate to say I told me so, but I was not wrong. This wine was tired, with not a lot going for it, some fading fruit and vanilla flavours and a sharp, and slightly unpleasant taste on the finish. Herself liked it, but there's no accounting for taste, she married me after all.

**Update - Nov 12 2010 - Saw this Malbec in Donnybrook Fair for €9-99. A steal!

Schnippets

As I mentioned recently I picked up a cracking Languedoc in O'Briens Beacon recently a Pic Saint Loup 2008 from Gerard Bertrand, and last Saturday I got to test this selection against the discerning palates of June and BigNose. I had picked up the last three bottles hidden on the shelf so I figure it's selling well with the South County Dublin wine cognoscenti. All our guests liked it a lot and it went well with the lovely Moroccan tajine Herself had made for the occasion.

At the very tail end of that night we opened the Penelope Sanchez Garnacha Syrah 2009, which I had grabbed in Superquinn in the sale for a modest €8. Given the time of night and the depth of tiredness/emotion quotient I was presently surprised that this held up well. Big, fruity and quite spicy in that Grenache/Rhoney way. It's from the Campo de Borja region of Northern Spain, which I had never heard of until now, I confess.

Lastly and in the picture at left is a Chateau La Raze Beauvallet 2005 Medoc, this was on offer in Tesco, allegedly reduced from a stiff €19-99 to a more reasonable €9-99. I have had no experience of this Chateau so I checked their website, where I learned the blend is 60% Cab Sav, 39% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot and I also learned that they haven't updated their website since the 2003 Cru Bourgeois Classification was annulled, a fascinating story as detailed by thewinedoctor here. I'm not expecting too much from this but it should be a reasonable tipple.

**Update - We Drank this on Sunday and it was very average. Bizarrely, it had a cracking nose, rich, full and complex. Alas, on the palate it was quite modest and uninteresting. Certainly not worth €20 and I'd struggle to justify it at a tenner as priced.

BTW - I'm you are a geek like me (and you probably aren't) - you'll love Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, I did.

Nostalgia - It ain't what it used to be...

A few years back we used to drink a lot of Bestue. It was our Party wine, tasty but easy drinking, perfect when entertaining a large group. It was available from Dunnes at about a tenner a bottle, and although I can't remember exactly what vintages we used to drink, it was pretty consistent.

I happened to be in Dunnes Ballyogan the other day and noticed it on the shelf, given that we are low on everyday drinking wines I grabbed a bottle, a snip at €7-99. I duly opened and decanted it and we tried it after my modestly titled "best spaghetti sauce ever" (with home made garlic bread) and it wasn't good. Perhaps our palates were all garlic'd up but it tasted a bit sharp at the start.

I suggested we give it some time and it came round after a while. It was fruity and medium bodied, inoffensive but not a wine I'd now serve to guests. Perhaps it's our tastes that have changed in the last three or so years since we have had it or perhaps this vintage '07, isn't up to snuff. Either way, not one I can recommend.

Next: I'm off up North to buy booze in Sainsburys, report to follow.

Bargain Bin-end

As is the norm, whenever I am in Tesco Dundrum, I hunt around for the bargain wine area. It has a tendency to shift around within the off-licence area but the yellow bargain stickers are a give-away. I picked up the above bottles,I think they were all half price, so do the math. Left to right, they are:

Reserve Des Tuguets Madiran 2007 - €6-99. From the South-West of France, I don't think I've had a wine from Madiran before. The main grape is Tannat along with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and this is supposed to be a chewy, tannic wine not unlike a full bodied Bordeaux.

Marques De Carano Gran Reserva 2001 - €7-99. A very good price for a Gran Reserva, although I didn't realise until I got it home that it comes from the Carinena region of Spain, a region, I confess, I had never heard of until today. The wine is a Tempranillo/Garnacha mix and I could be onto a loser here but at the price its worth a punt.

Piccini Gran Selezione Oro Chianti Riserva 2007 - €5-99. I can't find this wine on the Piccini website, but I am a big fan of their Chianti Riserva which normally goes for about €15. We are currently drinking this and so far so good, lots of nice plummy flavours and a decent finish. It has not been open long so it should get better. At this price all you'd expect is something barely drinkable so it's all gravy (not literally) from here.

I first posted this without a title...

I've been seeing a wine in Tesco my last few visits there and finally took the plunge today. Its a Finest Tempranillo 2009 from the Extemadura region of Spain. I've king of been spoiled on Spanish wine by the Alta Rio and rarely buy Spanish anymore. BTW has anyone else noticed a distinct lack of non-Rioja reds, particularly in Supermarkets? Give me a Toro or a Ribera for a change. Anyway, this was priced at a modest €9-99, so I gave it a go.

I also picked up a Tesco Nero D'Avola 2008 €8-69, I couldn't resist after having a lovely Nero D'Avola on the weekend. The last time I had this wine, it was the 2007 vintage and I wasn't impressed, but every dog gets one bite so I'm offering up my other cheek, so to speak.

What I hadn't noticed when I was shopping was that certain wines were part of a "2 for €12" promotion and lo and behold at the check-out I was pleasantly surprised by the saving (€6-68 to be precise). I didn't notice what wines are covered by this but if you are going down Tesco way it might be worth a look.

TorreSilo - Ribera Del Duero 2006

Just a quick note on the Ribera at left, another of my ever decreasing stock of good (i.e. b'day) wine. I've had plenty of moderately priced Riberas and they can be very good but often you need to shell out some decent wedge for a fine example. Ribera is seen as more young cool and trendy compared to its older and more staid neighbour Rioja.

This Torresilo proved no exception, it was quite a modern and upfront in style, but as I love, it was wonderfully balanced, some nice concentrated fruit, light unobtrusive tannins and a lengthy finish. I suspect it wasn't cheap but if you are in the market for this style or you want to impress your host...

Bizarrely I had occasion to dine twice on Friday in the same upmarket Chinese/Asian Fusion restaurant. At lunchtime a Montes Cab Sav Reserve from Chile was chosen, I was not overly looking forward to this as I have found similar wines in the past to be either overly fruity or overly oaked. I was pleasantly surprised however as this wine was neither of these things, fruity yes but not overly so and it had a little structure to counterbalance any jamminess, so much so that I chose it for the evening repast and I think it went well with the food.

Just goes to show you that sometimes you should you should take a chance on a wine, or a horse, well maybe not a horse...

Trying Birthday Wines 1- The Phantom Menace

This probably not the best time to do a wine write up, after several pints of Arthur's finest but hey, the show must go on. After trying the first two I feel I should at least do a quick review.

Scala dei Cartoixa Priorat 2005 - I didn't know what to expect here having never had a Priorat before. Quite a big fruity nose when I decanted it but not so much in evidence after an hour. A big powerful wine, Herself reckoned quite Bordeaux like, I thought it more mid-Atlantic, with some fruity characteristics along with some old-world structure. Very nice all told and I will endeavour to try more from this regions as the purse allows.

Norton Privada 2006 - I noted in my initial post that "the privada is a premium version, with Cab Sav & Merlot added, so am expecting good things here". This was to be its strength and its undoing. I really liked the care that into making this wine, sometimes you can taste it, but I wasn't such a fan of the sweet, fruity notes therein. Perhaps this was to do with the fact that Cab Sav and Merlot had been added to the normally Old World-ish Malbec (one of only six wines allowed when making Bordeaux).

Note: I have mixed feelings about not being 100% enthusiastic about wines which I have been generously given as birthday presents but I guess there's always the dichotomy between "journalistic" integrity and something something - screw it, I'm off to watch the Late Late Toy Show.

Lidl Rioja Montecielo Reserva 2004

Well, it was Friday night. We were at home again, due to out un-hectic social life so I decided to crack open one of the four Lidl wines I bought earlier in the week and stick on a DVD (Woody Allen's Bananas - not as funny as I remembered from previously).

Name: Montecielo Reserva

Year: 2004
Price: €8-99
Notes: This started off well, the classic Rioja flavours all present and correct. The finish however was dissapointing, slightly sharp a little unpleasant. Overall, there is much better value to be had if you are looking for wine in Lidl, the Montepulciano for one. The fact that the Reserva wasnt't great also bodes ill for the Crianza and the Joven. Drop me a line if you've tasted either. Disclaimer: I've been drinking a lot of this recently which doesn't help the Montecielo's case.

Next: Decanters and me - All you never wanted to know and were never bothered to ask.

Lidl Redux

I wanted some cheap beer so I headed off to Lidl for some Grafenwalder, at €1-15 a pop for a 500 ml can, it ticks all the boxes; it's cheap, cold and beer flavoured. Not to mention its tastes pretty OK. Anyhoo, while I was there decided to again buy some cheap-ass wine, most of which I had tried before and see how they all taste six months later.

Of the four wines above, the Rioja is the only one I didn't buy in the famous and very early in my blog-life post.

Lidl Montpulciano 2007 - €4-89. At this price I should have bought a dozen, but I only got two and we had one last night. It tasted a little sharp at first, I didn't decant it (long story), but it smoothed out and became rather tasty, just let me repeat FOUR EIGHTY NINE for a decent wine!!

Lidl Batturica Tarragona Reserva 2002 - €6-99. I owe this wine an apology, I said here that this previously tasty wine had become nasty. Now I realise that the 2002 was theGran Reserva and the 2004 was the Reserva, some difference.

Lidl Sangiovese di Roma 2007 - €6-99. I hated this last time, all the booze must have clouded my memory, dang.

Montecielo Rioja Reserva - 2004 - €8-99. They also had the Crianza and the Joven but I figured I'd start at the top. If the Reserva's not nice then there's not much point with the younger and cheaper versions.

O'Briens - Update

Well, we've drunk all three...

The Protocolo 2007, with much trepidation we started on this. Thank all the stars this is pretty damn special. It's got it all; fruit, acidity, tannins, balance and finish at a bargain price. If you paid €20 for this you would not be disappointed.

The Torbreck Old Vines Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre. While I appreciate that it is well made wine, this is not my cup of tea. Herself put it well when she said she found it "syrupy". It's a modern take on a Rhone wine but it hasn't enough structure, for me, to match up to the fruit. However, if you like Oz Shiraz then this is a step up from the standard fare (at the discount price).

Lastly, the Saumur-Champigny, La Bretonniere. While this was pleasant, we both found it a touch light. Again, well made, with nice acidity, typical French fruitiness but not enough body for my perhaps jaded palate.

Next: A small Hiatus while BE get hitched, I'll report on how the wine BE & GG chose goes down at the reception. Let the record show I recommended the Chateau Guillou but was overruled 8-).

Lidl Baturrica Tarragona 2004

The last time I bought this wine, the 2002 vintage, it had a different label and a very different taste. The writing was on the wall with the different label but in the interest of bloggers integrity or some crap like that I figured I'd try it again and the results of the Lithuanian jury are now in...

Name: Lidl Baturrica Tarragona

Year: 2004
Price: €6-49
Notes: An entirely different wine to the last time, in fact apart from the name on the label, I don't see any connection to the last wine. This tasted cheap, fruity and unpleasant, I tried to drink it but on Sunday nights I like to drink something nice and have some smelly cheese with it and I couldn't face drinking this and this alone.

Rating: 4/10 - if you like this style of wine, like a cheap badly made Aussie Shiraz, this Buds for you.

After we poured this down the sink we cracked open the Lidl Chianti, it was fine; perfectly drinkable but nothing special, not very Chianti like, then again what do you expect for €5-65?

Alta Rio

After my brother gave me a couple of dozen bottles of Alta Rio (Consejo De La Alta), I promised I would finally write a review, given that I have been drinking this wine for nearly 15 years - link to site here.

This wine, which was once simply known as Alta Rio has been the wedding wine at a family wedding, the christening wine for Little Bill, as well as the go to wine for many family do's. We get it in bulk through a family connection so there is always plenty to go around.

The wine that arrived earlier this year is the Reserva 2004, whilst the two dozen I got last week are the 2001 vintage. (I think 2002 & 2003 were not great years in Rioja). I compared the two when the 2004 arrived and thought that the 2001 was fuller and more complex, whether this is a judgement on the wines themselves or merely a reflection of their relative ages, only time will tell.

Taste-wise, this a classic Rioja, made from 100% Tempranillo, ripe fruit, lots of oak and some firm tannins giving it a lovely structure, and all very well balanced.

I don't know if you can buy this in shops here, I have never seen it myself. If you do see it, its definitely worth a try even if Riojas are not your normal tipple. I suspect it would retail around €15 - €17.

Next: I keep planning to go back to Lidl and buy a few more random bottles but I keep being sidetracked. Rest assured this blog will get back to its roots and stated aims very soon.

Vega Real Crianza 2005

I had seen this in Dunnes on a number of occasions but hadn't taken the plunge as €17 is a lot to drop on an unknown wine in a supermarket. However Tomás Clancy had it as his "To Buy" pick two weeks ago in the Sunday Business Post  so I took a punt on it.  It makes a nice change from all those Oaky Rioja monsters.

Name: Vega Real Crianza

Year: 2005
Price: €16-95
Notes: This was a big wine in every respect. An inky purple in the glass, this wine had some lovely dark fruits but also had a fine structure and long lingering finish. I'd say its just about on the money value-wise.                                       

Rating: 7/10

Guest Blogger - Finca Valpiedra Reserva 2001

I had a request from my friend June to blog about a wine she sampled in Shanahans over the weekend, so over to you June...

Name: Finca Valpiedra Reserva

Year: 2001
Price: €45 
Notes: Obviously you can't avoid the restaurant mark up but it was lovely, very rich and smooth with spicy backnotes.....Went very nicely with the steak and would definitely order it again.....would buy it if I saw it in a shop (I'd imagine it probably retails at about €20)......

Rating: 7/10

Willie says - I'm a big fan of Shanahans food & wine but not their prices. One of my favourite wines is Lytton Springs from Ridge Vineyards in California. €89 in Shanahans, €60 in Town Bar & Grill, €30 in a shop*. I can do a 100% markup but 200% is taking the piss. 

* I don't think this is still on either wine list anymore...