A Taste of Italy

I'm back in the land of the living, just, and I give thanks, as a devout Pastafarian, to the Flying Spaghetti Monster that I'm back off the wagon. It was truly the driest weekend in living memory.

Anyhoo, we having a little soirette this Saturday, to celebrate a variety of milestones, mine not the least, but especially my old friend Edwaf returning home for the weekend from Chicago (Thanks Jess!!). JK while not yet "there" will also be a guest of honour.

As the winebore in residence it would ill behoove me to serve anything other than various fine wines. I have in stock, a Monbazillac (to go with the Fois Gras) and some Bererac Sec (fish course) from May, along with some nice bubbly as an aperitif. I wanted some nice red for the main, so I went to O'Brien's with Little Bill on Saturday in the midst of the aforementioned drought.

I had thought Bordeaux or Italian, and as usual any decent Bordeaux was out of my price range given the volume I needed to buy. So Italian it was. The helpful chap recommended this Sangiovese or this Valpolicella Ripasso based on my specifications.

I went back tonight to buy both to taste them but they only had 2 bottles of the Tuscan in stock and won't get any more of it in time for the big event. The suggested alternative, a Rosso di Montalcino, along with the Valpolicello Ripasso were duly purchased, see picture above.

I decided, rather than try them on consecutive nights to open both tonight, and do a direct comparison. The Valpolicella Ripasso tasted quite sharp initially but after 30 minutes or so in the glass it evolved into a big, tannic beast, delicious but maybe not a party wine.

The Rosso di Montalcino however was a much more balanced if lighter wine, perfectly balanced and wonderful - we have a winner.

That's it for now, I'll let you know on Sunday how it all went.

Dunnes - Valpolicella Ripasso - Colognola Al Colli

I was in Dunnes in Ballyogan this weekend and it was my only opportunity to buy wine, otherwise I wouldn't have been buying wine there as there is a half decent Molloys around the corner.

Anyhoo, long story short, I bought two bottles new to me, a Valpolicella Ripasso (pictured) and an unbranded Cotes du Rhone.

Name: Valpolicella Ripasso - Colognola Al Colli

Year: 2006
Price: €10-99
Notes: This was an OK wine. Tasted much younger and sharper than the Tesco Ripasso from last week. Not much in the way of depth or balance but with some decent dark fruit.

Rating: 5/10

Note: The Cotes Du Rhone was poor, drinkable but poor. 4/10

Tesco Valpolicella Ripasso 2006

This (at left in picture) is wine three (of three) Tesco branded reds I picked up in the MerrionCentre on Saturday. Apologies - I've now used this picture four times - I'm way too lazy to take individual photos of the three wines, given that I had a "group" photo.

Name: Tesco Valpolicella Ripasso

Year: 2006
Price: €10-69
Notes: The best of the three. Lovely full flavoured, complex wine. Some cherry flavours and a little fruit but very well balanced and a long finish. A cheaper alternative to Amarone, using a similar production method.

Rating: 7/10

Saturday Night Tasting - Part 1 - The Wines.

JR came over last night and we heroically got through four bottles of red, all in the name of reviewing said wines of course. To accompany the wines we had a mystery stew, which had been lurking in the freezer, and which turned out to a delicious lamb tajine.

1) Las Casetta di Ettore Righetti - Valpolicella Ripasso - 2005.

We got this in a hamper from Sheridans Cheesemongers so I'm guessing you can get it there. This was universally acknowledged to be divine. A silky smooth velvety wine, with delicious fruits and a big chocolately* finish.

2) Penfolds Bin 389 - Cabernet Shiraz - 2005.

This wine is known as the mini Grange and I had wanted to try this for ages and about 6 months ago I finally stumped up the €30 in O'Briens. I was not disappointed. Big jammy fruits but some solid structure and a suggestion of tannins make this a winner. A perfect marriage of old and new world styles.

3) Tesco Chianti Classico - 2007.

Good solid Chianti from Tesco, ticks all the boxes and is perfect with any tomato based food.

4) Protocolo - 2006

Previously reviewed here. I'm still loving this wine.

*The ladies insisted that the wine was chocolatey - who am I to argue?