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My week in wine (and other drinks)

Posted by admin on December 4, 2015

I drank some very good wines this week. The highlight was the Brunello di Montalcino Reserva 2000 from Col d’Orcia, but a seven year old Beaujolais provided the nicest surprise. I went to the Tesco press tasting, which I found disappointing, as I had with Aldi the week before; lots of clean, correctly made wines, lots of big names like Chablis and Châteauneuf but very little to get excited about. A few euros more really does buy you a lot.

The Black Boar Imperial Oatmeal Stout
This is made by the White Hag Irish Brewing Company, who are based in Sligo, and appeared in my Irish Times online article Take it Home. The company is uncompromising in its attitude ‘We don’t do an accessible red ale, stout and lager like most of the others. Our beers are big and bold, American style made using Irish ingredients where possible. We have a heather ale made without any hops. Our water comes from a bog and is very soft, ideal for stout. It doesn’t have to be treated, filtered or pasteurised.’ So said Joe Kearns, the brewer.

The Imperial stout was textured and packed full of flavour. I sipped a glass slowly one evening. Big (10.2% but never burns), bold and full of roasted barley and dark chocolate, with a lovely smooth texture, this demands careful contemplation on cold winter nights.

Joe Kearns, brewer at The White Hag

Moulin-a-Vent Les Trois Roches 2008
Pierre-Marie Chermette, Domaine du Vissoux

That’s right, 2008. I had read reviews waxing lyrical about aged bottles of the above wine. As they are one of my favourite producers, I laid down three bottles five years ago. This was the first I have tried. Moulin-a-Vent has a reputation for ageing but I have only every tried old bottles on a few occasions. It was delicious, light and elegant, very Pinot in style, with wonderful aromas and delicate sweet fruits. The current vintage is available from www.terroirs.ie for €29.50.

Domaine de Sainte Marthe Syrah 2014 IGP Pays d’Oc

This is a wine I have followed for many years, and was once responsible for importing it into Ireland. It is made by the Bonfils family who own twenty estates in the Languedoc and another three in Bordeaux. Generally they make good quality modern wines. The Syrah is a very attractive smooth medium-bodied wine and excellent value at €10.50 from Dunnes Stores. One to cheer you up on a wet Wednesday.

Copain “Tous Ensemble” Pinot Noir 2013
Anderson Valley, California

My sister Frances, who works as a chef in San Francisco, always brings me back an interesting bottle or two on trips home. This wine is from the cool Anderson valley north of the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. I travelled up there with Frances a decade or so ago, and loved the wild countryside and the laid-back winemakers. I remember a great visit to Navarro winery who mades some lovely wines and a very good verjus. We also visited Louis Roederer who have their highly successful American sparking wine operation here. Sadly very little gets over here to Europe.

This Pinot was light, juicy and very moreish with lovely succulent vibrant sweet cherry fruits. 12.5%. It is priced at $28 on their website. If only we could get more like this in Ireland.

Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2000, Col d’Orcia

I was fortunate to drink this at a corporate dinner with a leading firm of solicitors – I was doing the talking. It was an enjoyable evening with some great wines and some very knowledgeable solicitors.

I have never really ‘got’ Brunello, or at least the prices they charge. A few years ago, I spent a day tasting with Erin O’Keefe, Boston-Irish author of a great book on the subject, simply titled ‘Brunello di Montalcino’ published by University of California Press I felt I had advanced my knowledge if not my appreciation. We tasted the modern pumped up oaky sweet versions, which could have come from anywhere, and some deeply tannic, acidic young wines that really needed time. O’Keefe said they would eventually become almost Pinot-like with a cool savoury fragrance and elegant fruit. How right she was!

These magnums of Brunello were superb; the Riesrva is made from a single vineyard, Poggio al Vento, which in good years is released as a single vineyard wine. Pale in colour with quite delicate leafy mushroom aromas with some red fruits; the wine was fully mature with piquant red fruits underpinned by good acidity and light tannins on the finish. Very good with beef.

Tags: Brunello di Montalcino, Col' d'Orcia, Copain, Imperial stout, Moulin-a-Vent, Pinot Noir, Terroirs, The White Hag Brewing Company, Vissoux

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Take two Malbecs: France v Argentina

Posted by admin on November 27, 2015

From the Irish Times, Saturday 17th October, 2015

The two wineries are some 11,000km apart, and the wines could not be more different, but they have one thing in common; Malbec, currently one of the most fashionable grapes.

Cahors in France has just over 4,000 hectares of Malbec; Argentina has 31,000. By coincidence, winemakers from both places recently visited Ireland in the same week.

Cahors is a very pleasant city, an hour’s drive north of Toulouse, famous for the magnificent Valentré bridge. It is surrounded on three sides by the river Lot. The river meanders westwards to the wine region, where the steep serpentine slopes offer a myriad of soils and meso-climates. The lower sandier slopes are said to produce softer, fruitier wines, the limestone plateau at the top makes wine with a firmer more tannic structure.

Martine Jouffreau and Yves Hermann of Clos de Gamot have been together for 38 years and look the typical contented rural French couple with a keen interest in food and rugby. Their daughter, a nurse, lives in Dublin. The estate belonged to Martine’s grandfather who planted vines a 100 years ago that go into a special wine, Cuvée Centenaires, produced only in the best years.

I am very fond of the Clos de Gamot, a wine that represents everything that is great about Cahors. There are other wines too.

Hermann works with 100 per cent Malbec (although he did admit to growing a tiny amount of Sauvignon and Chardonnay). “Our wines are very different to Argentina,” says Hermann. “We don’t like marketing and we make Cahors, not Malbec. In fact, we call it Côt or Auxerrois. For a good wine you need acidity. Our terroir always gives a freshness. It stays with the wine, even at 50-years-old.”

People often talk of the black wine of Cahors; this actually refers to an old method of concentrating the wine before blending it with those of other regions, notably Bordeaux.

Basic Cahors can be a little thin and rustic, but there have been huge improvements in recent years. These days Cahors is more likely to be nicely aromatic, peppery and dry, with savoury plum fruits. It is not a big gutsy wine, but very satisfying. It needs to be drunk with food.

If Cahors has an aesthetic austerity, Argentinian Malbec is perfumed and vibrant, with rich succulent softly-textured dark fruits, backed up with plenty of power. It is hardly surprising this style of Malbec has become popular the world over, and in the US in particular. It is a great partner for another Argentine speciality, barbecued steak.

The Chakana estate was founded in 2002 by the Pelizzatti family, who originally came from Valtelina in Italy. I met up with the very affable Gabriel Bloise, head of operations at Chakana.

“Our style of wine is changing; we are using less new oak, and less oak overall. We trying to produce more elegant wines,” he says.

Chakana is based in Luján de Cuyo just south of Mendoza where it has 150 hectares of vines. A few years ago, it expanded into the Uco Valley further south. The Uco is one of the most talked-about regions of Argentina, partly as a tourist destination, but also for producing wines with intense colour and aroma, higher acidity and more succulent fruits.

Chakana is putting together an origin–based series of wines that will reflect the different regions where it owns vines. It has also made decisive moves towards organic viticulture. “There is no other way to produce wine,” says Bloise. “Within a year, we saw a huge change in the quality of our grapes. We were very scared at first – weeds and oidium were supposed to be a problem, but they weren’t. Now we don’t have a plan or solution for every disease; we have a super master plan!”

jwilson@irishtimes.com

Clos des Gamots 2008, Cahors
13.5%
€22.75

Lifted aromas, soft maturing ripe plums with good acidity and a solid savoury tannic core. Lovely wine.

Stockists: The Wicklow Wine Company, Wicklow

Doña Paula Estate Malbec 2014, Uco Valley, Mendoza
14%
€15.99

Very nicely balanced Malbec with perfumed floral aromas and plump ripe dark fruits.

Stockists: widely available including Tesco, SuperValu and O’Briens.

Chakana Estate Selection 2013, Mendoza
14%
€19.99

Rich meaty dark fruits with a nice fresh character and good length. With beef.

Stockists: Donnybrook Fair; Gibneys; Hole in the Wall; The Corkscrew; No 21, Cork; Thomas Woodberry.

Tags: Argentina, Cahors, Chakana, Clos des Gamots, France, Malbec

Posted in: Irish Times

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Jean-Claude Ramonet at Kelly’s Resort Hotel, Rosslare

Posted by admin on November 27, 2015

The name Ramonet is revered amongst wine drinkers the world over. Recognised as one of the greatest producers of Chardonnay, his wines are sought after and fought over by collectors everywhere. An invitation to a tasting of his wines was therefore not to be missed. I had been to a spectacular tasting of his wines some years before in Kelly’s, so I knew what was in store.

A word about Kelly’s Resort Hotel in Rosslare, Co. Wexford and Bill Kelly. Bill married into the Avril family, proprietors of Clos des Papes in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This provided him with an introduction to some of the finest estates in France and elsewhere. He now imports a large proportion of the hotel’s wines directly from the producer. His list is therefore quite incredible, and amazingly well-priced. I know wine-lovers who travel to Rosslare simply to enjoy the wines and food at very reasonable prices. Looking at the wine list in the bar, I saw Bourgogne Rouge from Rougeot, Mortet, and Benjamin LeRoux (who visited here last year), all at around €35.

Jean Claude Ramonet is a modest man, a little ill at ease giving tastings in a formal setting; I hear his cellar tastings are a very different affair. He struck me as a very pleasant man, in many ways still a traditional farmer, and someone who wears his knowledge lightly. I enjoyed his company over dinner later that night, where we drank the red Chassagne Clos de la Boudriotte 2012. It was a wonderful light refreshing wine; gouyelant I think the French would say. He was accompanied by his daughter, Ann-France who is studying in Bordeaux University.

Ramonet has 22 hectares of vines in Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet, including small holdings in Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet and Le Montrachet. He produces no less than 27 different wines each year. The average age of his vines is forty years. His grandfather arrived in Burgundy in the late 1920’s and gradually built up the estate. He runs the domaine together with his brother Noel, who looks after exports. The winemaking is deceptively simple, and sounds the same as you hear at every Burgundy cellar door. The result are not; I have yet to taste a disappointing wine from Ramonet, and most of the wines are superb. If you ever get the chance to try a bottle, don’t miss it.

We tasted the following wines:

Bourgogne Blanc 2012 – made from vines within Chassagne, a delicious lively young wine with plump elegant fruits.

Chassagne-Montrachet 2012 – a clean fresh nose with herbs; lovely purity of fruit, nervy and long. Delicious wine and a definite step up the ladder.

Puligny-Montrachet 2012 – a little broader and richer on the nose, with a lovely cleansing minerality on the palate alongside some succulent pure fruits. Excellent.

Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Clos de la Boudriotte 2012 – 30% new French oak, although you don’t taste it, from a one hectare plot of 30 year-old vines. Classic Chassagne with wet stones, rich melon fruits and real power. Delicious.

Bienvenue-Batard-Montrachet 2009 – 1,500 bottles made. Wonderful honey and honeycomb on nose and palate, big and powerful with excellent concentration and length. Superb wine.

Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Les Chaumes 2004 – excellent mature white Burgundy. Waxy nose with developed palate of grilled nuts, old cupbaords and a creamy texture.

Le Montrachet 2010 – tried later that evening, a memorable treat. Huge young concentrated fruit with honey, acacia, and subtle new oak. Mouth-coating and textured but perfectly balanced. I would love to try it again in a decade.

Tags: Chardonnay, Chassagne-Montrachet, Kelly's Resot Hotel, Le Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet, Ramonet, White Burgundy

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A GLASS APART – A GREAT NEW WHISKEY BOOK

Posted by admin on November 27, 2015

Irish whiskey was once held in higher esteem than its rivals over the water in Scotland and the United States. Battered by a series of economic and political misfortunes, it went into a steep decline for most of the 20th century. The last decade has seen a dramatic rebirth, with a huge surge of interest from Ireland and overseas. Whereas the Scots are best-known for their single malt whisky, our unique specialty is single pot still whiskey. This distillation method gives almost all of our whiskies a distinctive flavour that sets them apart from their rivals elsewhere.

Fionnán O’Connor, a postgraduate student in TCD, has an in-depth knowledge of all things related to whiskey and pot still whiskey in particular. A Glass Apart tells the long illustrious history of pot still whiskey, how it is produced, and most importantly what it tastes like. O’Connor takes the reader through all of the available Irish pot still whiskies, with comprehensive tasting notes on each. He takes an expert look on how to taste and enjoy whiskey, and profiles the personalities behind our national drink, including the distillers, the coopers, the blenders, and maturation experts. He provides an in-depth history of the craft in Ireland, covering many of the extinct distilleries in the towns and cities of Ireland. It is, as O’Connor says ‘an introduction and a love letter to the history, craft, and diversity of Ireland’s re-awoken firewater phoenix’. A Glass Apart is a lavish and comprehensive production, with excellent photography by Ove Grunnér. Published by Images Publishing it will be available in bookshops from next week. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in our national spirit.

Below O’Connor explains the history behind Power’s Whiskey – the old distillery is now the National College of Art & Design in Dublin. Behind him are the three giant copper stills.

Posted in: Beer & Whiskey

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The Call of Duty; the forthcoming budget

Posted by admin on November 6, 2015

Over the last few months, the Irish Wine Association and other groups have made a persuasive argument for a decrease in the excise duty on wine. We pay an extortionate €3.19 excise duty on every bottle of wine we buy. Add 23 per cent VAT to the price and the Government takes more than half the money you spend on a €10 bottle of wine.

Sparkling wine, for some reason, is double that. Aldi and Lidl currently both have one for sale at €10.49; the duty and VAT make up an incredible €8.34 of that. Can they be making a profit?

Sadly, there is one thing I am fairly sure about; there will be no decrease in excise duty on wine in the forthcoming budget. The Minister for Finance has made it perfectly clear in the past that he sees wine drinkers as middle class and wine a foreign luxury and therefore not worthy of his attention. I don’t believe wine should be penalised over other alcoholic drinks but at the moment it certainly is. The best we can hope for is that things stay as they are.

I do hope he has listened to the blossoming craft cider industry and harmonised the excise duty on cider with that of beer. Of all the nascent artisan drinks this must have the greatest potential to bring employment to parts of rural Ireland.

But other than that I expect that there will be no further changes. The Minister will be assisted by the growing calls for action on alcohol abuse. The entire drinks business needs to take our problems with alcohol consumption seriously. While the trade is very keen to point out that countries such as Spain, France and Italy have virtually no tax on wine and other drinks, the drinking culture in those countries is very different.

It seems that Northern European countries, genetically, culturally or simply because of the cold weather, have a propensity to drink more and to excess. Teenagers prinking before heading out for an evening has been well-documented, but our youth is not the only group who abuse alcohol. It permeates every sector of our society and we need to find ways to control it.

It breaks my heart to accept it, but if part of the solution means high taxes, that is something we should be prepared to accept. It seems strange though that one arm of the Government is proposing measures to limit alcohol consumption while others are applauding the opening of new distilleries and breweries around the country.

High rates of duty are certainly not the sole answer. The proposed minimum pricing seems to be the most sensible way forward as it targets those who buy large quantities of cheap alcohol. It would still hit hard-pressed couples who enjoy a bottle of wine once or twice a week over dinner.

A ban on below-cost selling would help too, whatever the European Union has to say. The larger retailers are well aware that drink is a major pull for shoppers and are quite happy to sell at cost or below (and claim back the difference in VAT) to increase footfall. It will be interesting to see how the multiples react to minimum pricing. Theoretically, it should allow them to improve the quality of their wines. If they simply increase the price of existing lines, the public will not be impressed.

There is still a large group of people who abuse alcohol in the pubs, clubs and restaurants around the country, and the high cost does not seem to affect them. Although the new wine shops and off-licences have been a boon for the wine lover, perhaps we need to limit the number of outlets that can sell alcohol for consumption both on and off the premises. For instance, I find it incongruous that a garage can sell wine at the same time as petrol.

This week: three quality wines to enjoy in moderation.

Domaine de Pellehaut Harmonie de Gascogne 2014
11%
€12.99
Vibrant herby rich peach fruits and a touch of honey. For sipping before dinner with friends or at a party.
Mitchell & Son; Deveney’s; Thyme Out, Dalkey; Myles Doyle, Gorey.

Vitiano Rosso 2013, Falesco IGP Umbria
13.5%
€18.99

Fragrant, elegant wine with supple rounded dark fruits and an easy finish.
Stockists: Vanilla Grape, Kenmare; On The Grapevine, Dalkey;
Number 21, Cork; Callans, Dundalk; Wineonline.ie

Wagner Stempel Spatburgunder 2013, Rheinhessen
13%
€22

Utterly seductive wine with silky light red cherry fruits.

Martin’s; Blackrock Cellar; Green Man Wines; Morton’s Galway;
Mitchell & Son; Redmonds; Sweeney’s; 64 Wine; Searsons.

Tags: Pellehaut, Vitiano, Wagner Stempel

Posted in: Irish Times

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Wilson On Wine 2016

Posted by admin on October 23, 2015

My new wine book is now out and should be available in a bookshop near you – two weeks earlier this year. I have lined up a number of tastings/signings including the following:

Monday 26th Dinner at Ballymaloe House. Places still available I think.
Tuesday 27th Tasting at 64wine.
Thursday 29th Spit tasting in Smock Alley – see spit.ie for details.
Friday 13th & Saturday 14th – O’Briens Wine Fair, Mansion House
Tuesday 24th Green Man Wines, Terenure
Wednesday 25th – O’Briens Beacon, Sandyford
Friday 27th Mitchell & Sons chq
Saturday 28th Baggot Street Wines
Friday 4th La Touche Wines Greystones
Saturday 5th 64wine Glasthule
Friday 18th Clontarf Wines
Sunday 20th La Touche Greystones

… and many others still to be finalised. Most are drop-in events, so feel free to come along and taste a few wines.

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Caught in a web: the changing world of the wine critic

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Caught in a web: the changing world of the wine critic

First published in The Irish Times, Sat, Oct 3, 2015, 03:00

Wine writer Jancis Robinson had a thought- provoking article in the Financial Times a few weeks ago on the changing fortunes of the wine journalist. Her points could probably be applied to critics in all genres, but she was fairly blunt about the rise and fall of the wine critic. As wine grew in popularity around the world throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries, new consumers sought out information and advice on what wines to drink. Prior to the internet a handful of top wine writers from a few countries were omnipotent, with the power to make or break a producer, a region or a vintage. These would have included Robinson herself. Their pronouncements were awaited with hope and trepidation by sections of the wine trade, who knew a positive review would make their jobs lot easier. Robert Parker, the high priest of wine critics, went a step further, giving each wine marks out of 100. Not only was this far easier to understand, it also allowed consumers to make direct comparisons between wines.

We now live in a much more democratic age in which everyone can voice their opinions. I can remember a time when most consumers were unwilling to give a view on any wine for fear of being ridiculed. These days the internet is coming down with multiple tasting notes on every wine as well as accounts of visits to various wine regions. Wine Searcher and Cellartracker give you access to thousands of professional and amateur tasting notes, scores and prices. Sitting in a restaurant with an intimidating wine list, you can look up apps such as Vivino on your smartphone and get multiple ratings written by consumers. In this era of social media, everybody has the opportunity to be heard.

Is the opinion of someone who has been tasting and drinking wine for the best part of 30 years any more valid than that of someone who is just discovering wine for the very first time? We all taste wine differently, and we all have personal preferences, even if professional writers try to hide these. As a reader, it is useful to know the foibles of the critic. I usually avoid wines Parker acclaims. It is not that he doesn’t have a phenomenal palate – he does – but he tends to prefer big, rich, powerful wines with lots of new oak, and I don’t.

Some online reviews are obviously well written by genuine wine lovers, many of whom have a very high level of knowledge. Others, you suspect, are being manipulated by outside interests. Apparently restaurateurs are approached by bloggers offering a positive review in return for free meals and drinks. I have been offered a reward for writing a positive review only once; the producer said he regularly paid a number of UK bloggers sums of money, or free trips for a positive write-up. I turned it down, naturally, but I am the recipient of free sample bottles of wine, as well as trips abroad. I suspect many online writers would be delighted to accept these in lieu of payment.

Although I don’t always agree with her I know I would pay a lot more attention to what an expert such as Robinson has to say about a wine than someone who enjoyed a glass in a crowded restaurant. It is the difference between reading TripAdvisor and Paul Theroux. That said, if thousands of consumers give a wine a positive evaluation, obviously it has something going for it. And who am I to say they are wrong?

The fourth edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine, edited by Robinson, has just been published by Oxford University Press.

This week: three outstanding wines that this wine critic enjoyed recently.

Five of Ireland’s leading specialist wine importers will come together to hold a consumers’ wine tasting featuring more than 150 wines. Spit Festival will take place on 29th October in Smock Alley Theatre from 6.30pm. Tickets are €25.

DSCF6122 Dao Rótulo 2012, Niepoort, Portugal
12.5%
€16.95

Delicious cool piquant blueberry and damson fruits with a lovely sour streak.

Stockists: Leading specialist wine shops.

Padras Rupestris Celler Pardas Rupestris 2013, Penedes
13%
€17.60

Fascinating organic wine with baked gooseberries, peaches and honeycomb, finishing bone dry.

Stockists: 64Wine; Clontarf Wines; Green Man Wines; Baggot Street Wines; Michaels, Deerpark; La Touche, Greystones.

DSCF6030 La Petite Ourse 2013, Côtes du Rhône, Pascal Chalon
14%
€17.99

No ordinary Côtes du Rhône but a superb rich wine with warming concentrated dark fruits sprinkled spice.

Stockists: Jus de Vine, Portmarnock

Tags: Jancis Robinson, La Petite Ourse, Niepoort, Padras Rupestris, The Oxford Companion to Wine, Wine critic

Posted in: Irish Times

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Oz Clarke: Britain’s talented wine writer’s new books

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Oz Clarke: Britain’s talented wine writer’s new books
The former actor believes in telling the story behind the wine
Grapes & Wines offers an in-depth view of the major varieties, including where and how each is grown, its history and very usefully, the best producers.

First published in the Irish Times
Sat, Sep 26, 2015, 17:00

Most of us are familiar with that broad smiling face on television, making some wisecrack to James May as the two travel around Britain, France or California in a very expensive car. More mature readers will remember his partnership with Jilly Goolden on the BBC’s Food and Drink programme, where they vied with each other to come up with the most outrageous wine descriptions. Either way, Oz Clarke has been a familiar face on our TV screens for the best part of 30 years.Behind the cheery demeanour, he is incredibly hard-working, knowledgeable and a prodigious writer. I have copies of his books on Bordeaux, Australia, and new classic wine regions, as well as his excellent Encyclopedia of Wine. There are plenty more. I spent several days in his company earlier this year travelling around Austria and Romania. He was always the last one tasting wines and making notes, full of questions for every producer and a font of information. This autumn, Clarke publishes three books, one in conjunction with Margaret Rand, the other two his own work.

Clarke is very proud of his Irish roots. His mother was an O’Leary from Graiguenamanagh (he is a cousin of writer and broadcaster Olivia O’Leary) and growing up, he spent many happy times there. “It gave a rich emotional quality to my childhood,” says Clarke. “All of the best summers of my life were spent there. The Barrow is one of the most beautiful rivers to have in your childhood memories.” He even thought seriously about going to TCD. “I knew I would have a wonderful time; and it was four years instead of three. I think it would have been a huge struggle to ever leave Dublin actually.” Instead he studied psychology and theology at Oxford. It was there that he first came across wine, captaining the wine-tasting team. Having started a career in acting and singing (he appeared in the 1978 film Superman, and played Gen Juan Perón in the musical Evita in the West End) he moved into writing about wine when the BBC was looking for an actor who knew about wine.The History of Wine in 100 Bottles is not really a history book, rather 100 chronological mini-histories of bottles, people, events and other milestones that have helped to shape the wine we drink today. “Wine writers aren’t telling the stories any more,” says Clarke, “and they need to – this is what people want to read. I worked very hard to cut each entry down to 500 words.” One entry takes a look at the use of resin as an anti-oxidant in wine in ancient Greece and Rome, a practice that continues today with retsina. Apparently Pliny was a connoisseur, preferring Calabrian resin, and enjoyed the way it stuck to his teeth with its tart taste. There is a separate entry for retsina in the 1970s along with Gallo’s hearty Burgundy (1964), the first bag-in-box (1965 would you believe?) and Marlborough sauvignon (1983). The final entry brings us up to 2014 and the story of fine wine fraudster Rudi Kurniawan.

It is tempting to see the second book, Grapes & Wines, written with Rand, another formidable writer, as Jancis Lite, a lesser version of Jancis Robinson’s magnus opus Wine Grapes. That is to do it a disservice. Grapes & Wines offers an in-depth view of the major varieties, including where and how each is grown, its history and very usefully, the best producers. The major varieties, such as cabernet and chardonnay get a dozen pages and lesser grapes a short paragraph. This is an incredibly handy, easy-to-use reference book.I am sure my copy will become dog-eared as the months go by. “The challenge with this book,” says Clarke, “was to make it interesting for people who don’t know that much about wine but at the same time useful to those who work in the business.” The final book is the Pocket Wine A-Z, a handy annual guide to producers, grapes and wines.

L DSCF6107 e Grand Blanc 2012, Côtes de Thongue, Comte de Bertier
13%
€15.95

Peaches in custard with a smooth mellow texture. Delicious. With creamy chicken dishes.

Stockists: Molloy’s Liquor Stores

DSCF6109 Cusumano Shamaris Grillo 2014, IGT Terre Siciliane
13.5%
€18.99

Lifted floral aromas followed by captivating refreshing nectarine and cantaloupe melon fruits on the palate. A very appealing wine.

Stockists: O’Briens

DSCF5917 Ottomarzo 2012, Tenute Dettori, Sardinia
14.5%
€29.50

Stunning wine. Warm ripe soft dark fruits with hints of liquorice, warm earth and herbs; full, voluptuous and rounded with real complexity.

Stockists: 64wine, Glasthule

Posted in: Irish Times

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Romanian Wines

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Discovering the wines of Romania
A tour of vineyards revealed some interesting wines
First published in the Irish Times
Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 00:00

The last thing Englishman Philip Cox wanted on leaving college was a boring desk job, so he headed to Romania, where he ended up, at the tender age of 23, as managing director of the local branch of the massive German wine company, Reh Kendermann.You may not know the name, but this is the company behind German wines Black Tower and Bend in the River, as well as a large number of own-label brands.His job was sourcing wine for various Reh Kendermann brands. Cox persuaded the company to make the wine themselves. The next step was buying their own vineyards, but the Germans baulked at this. Cox departed, and with several partners, including his wife, set up Carmela Recas. The original aim was to buy 50 hectares in Banat (in western Romania), but the government insisted they buy the entire 500 hectare estate and the winery too. Fortunately, they were given five years to pay, effectively bankrolling the fledgling business.The company has been hugely successful and now has 200 employees, and will sell 12 million bottles of wine next year. It farms 1,000 hectares of vines, and owns a franchise chain of 150 wine shops around Romania.

The vineyards and winery are run on very modern New World lines, with harvesting at night where possible (daytime temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius on a regular basis), and a large state-of-art winery.The company’s Australian winemaker Hartley Smithers spends part of the year working at Cassella – otherwise known as Yellow Tail. The aim is to produce juicy, fruit-filled wines that are sold and drunk within a year.“Our strategy is to offer a huge range to our customers,” says Cox. “We have over 250 labels and 65 different wines. We listen to our clients and innovate all the time. For 20 years they all wanted international varieties. People don’t buy our wines because they are Romanian. They buy them because they are nice wines with good labels that offer good value.” In the past two to three years, interest has grown in native Romanian varieties. The international grape varieties include Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir, the latter two proving to have real potential.

In Romania, homemade wine accounts for 50 per cent of consumption. Virtually every household has a row or two of vines out the back, and makes their own wine. “Nearly all of it,” says Cox, “tastes like s**t.”I did visit four other wineries in Romania (I travelled with other Irish and UK journalists, all paid for by Cox), but none are available in Ireland. Halewood is another company founded by an Englishman, and Serve was founded by a Corsican winemaker. Of greater interest were two small wine estates that have been restored to their original owners after the fall of Ceaucesceau. Princess Illeana Kripp-Continescu and her husband Baron Jakob built a replica of the original winery in Dragasani, in the foothills of the Transylvanian Alps, where her family have owned vineyards for 300 years. She remembers being smuggled out of Romania in an airplane in the early 1960s. The Prince Stirbey wines, made primarily with indigenous grape varieties, are very good, and available to Irish members of The Wine Society.Avincus was set up by lawyer Dr Cristiana Stoica, her husband (a professor of law and Minister for Justice for several years) and her family. As with Stirbey, this was a restitution – they rebuilt the ruins of the original home.Romania appears to have all it takes; a mix of large commercial producers and small estates, as well as its own local interesting grape varieties; aromatic whites such as Feteasca Regala, Feteasca Alba, Tmaîios and Româneasca. Of the red grapes Feteasca Neagra struck me as having real potential. Hopefully we will see more of them in this country in the near future.

Frunza Pinot Noir 2014, Romania
12%
€9.99

Delicate sweet red cherry fruits with no tannins – serve lightly chilled.

Stockists: Independents nationwide including The Vintry; Gibneys; Fresh; Higgins; Brady’s Shankill; O’Donovan’s; Next Door.

DSCF6079 Umbrele Merlot 2014, Romania
12.5%
€9.99

Smooth ripe juicy dark plum fruits with a rounded finish.

Stockists: Independents nationwide including The Vintry; Gibneys; Fresh; Higgins; Brady’s Shankill; O’Donovan’s; Next Door.

DSCF6072 Paparuda Syrah 2013, Romania
13%
€11.99

Light smooth sweet cassis and dark cherry fruits with some notes of vanilla.

Stockists: Independents nationwide including Listons; Deveneys, Rathmines; Ardkeen; Egans Portlaoise; McEntee, Kells; Carry Out; Londis Malahide.

Tags: Paparuda Syrah, Pinot Noir, Romania, Umbrele Merlot

Posted in: Irish Times

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Sherry Cocktails

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Dust off the sherry bottle – it’s trendy now
The Spanish wine is becoming a fashionable cocktail addition

First published in The Irish Times
Sat, Sep 12, 2015, 02:15

I am always reluctant to add anything to my wine. I have too much respect for both winemaker and grape. If he or she had wanted their wine to taste fizzy and have bits of fruit floating around in it, they would have added fizzy water and bits of fruit; except then it isn’t wine. Besides, good wine tastes far too nice by itself to consider meddling around with it. Even Kir, the Burgundian aperitif of Aligoté and Crème de Cassis, seems merely a way of using up a rather acidic wine.Obviously there is a point to adding things to average wine – it helps mask any deficiencies. In the cold of winter, mulled wine can be warming, and in summer, a spritzer can be refreshing. But this summer a new wine-based cocktail has become very fashionable, and it is made using a very fine wine.

I have great sympathy for the Jerezanos. They produce sherry, one of the greatest drinks known to man, one that requires lengthy ageing and expert blending. The world, sadly, ignores them much of the time. Despite sherry being hip in the wine bars of London and elsewhere, sales of the real stuff are steady rather than brilliant. However, rescue may be at hand. Sherry cocktails are taking off. You may have come across white port and tonic, muddled or garnished with fresh mint. A rebujito is the Spanish equivalent, a fino sherry with tonic and ice. Apparently they have been knocking it back for years at fiestas all around the south of Spain. It does have advantages; the lovely taste of fino sherry but less of the alcohol, so you don’t slide under the table after a few drinks. If you find fino and tonic a little too dry, you can always add lemonade instead. There are even a few pre-mixed versions available. But this is only the start of sherry and cocktails. The internet is coming down with recipes. Sherry company Lustau has its own site, with suggestions for every style of sherry. Talia Baiocchi has published a book, Sherry: A Modern Guide to the Wine World’s Best-kept Secret, with Cocktails and Recipes.

I thought this was something new, but a little research showed that sherry cocktails go back to the 19th century, which saw the creation of two classics, the Bamboo and the Adonis. And of course there is the sherry cobbler.The Bamboo, invented in the 1890s in the Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan, calls for equal parts of fino sherry and dry vermouth with two dashes of Angostura bitters and two of orange bitters. The Adonis, apparently named after a Broadway musical, is made up of two parts fino sherry to one part sweet vermouth with two dashes of orange bitters. The cobbler is of even earlier origin. Recipes vary greatly but all contain sherry (fino or amontillado), sugar and lots of ice. Most contain citrus, usually a slice or two of orange, as well.Moving up in strength, sherry brandy is also now back in fashion, as an ingredient in cocktails. This goes through a unique solera system, producing distinctive, sometimes exquisite brandies. I visited the Lepanto distillery in Gonzalez Byass earlier this year and tasted some amazing brandies. Sadly, they are not available in Ireland. However, if you are travelling back from Spain, look for them in travel retail shops – Lepanto is very cheap given the quality.At a more rarified level, Fernando Castilla and Bodegas Tradicion both make superb sherry brandies. They are not cheap, however. Celtic Whiskey has the Bodegas Tradicion brandy for €75.99 and the amazing Tradicion Platinum brandy for €289.99.I am glad that the sherry houses have found a new audience for their wonderful wines, and I hope it wins new converts to this unique drink. However, I cannot help shuddering slightly at the idea of adding the finest old amontillado to a cocktail.

Tio Pepe Palamino Fino
15%
€15.99

One of the best wine brands of all; delicious, light, elegant and refreshing with subtle flavours of almond and green olives.

Stockists: Very widely available including O’Briens, Tesco, Dunnes, SuperValu.

DSCF6033 La Iña Fino sherry
15%
€15.99

A great name in sherry, now revived. Lovely tangy fresh dry wine with nuts, green apples and a bracing salinity.

Stockists: Mitchell & Son, chq, Sandycove & Avoca, Kilmacanogue; McCabes, Foxrock & Blackrock.

Lustau Solera Gran Reserva Finest Selection, Brandy de Jerez
40%
€57.95

Remarkable brandy and remarkable value too. Coffee, caramel, chocolate, burnished old mahogany furniture and nuts.

Stockists: Mitchell & Son, chq. The Wine Centre, Kilkenny; McCabe’s;
Deveney’s, Dundrum.

Tags: Cocktails, La Ina, Lustau, Sherry, Sherry Brandy, Sherry Cocktails, Tio Pepe

Posted in: Irish Times

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