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A MONSTER MONASTRELL

Posted by admin on January 29, 2016

Casa Castillo Monastrell 2013, Jumilla
15%
€15.50

Available from 64wine,Glasthule; Clontarf Wines; Red Island,Skerries; Fallon & Byrne,Exchequer St, D2; Fresh Outlets.

A slightly gamey nose with plum fruits; rich and rounded with a herbal note, ripe soft plums and a subtle oakiness on the tail. Great value for money, even if it crept over the €15 limit for a Daily Drop, and a good winter warmer. Full-bodied and powerful but it handles the 15% alcohol very neatly.

Monastrell, known elsewhere as Mourvèdre or Mataro, originated in this part of the world. The wines are usually big, structured, tannic and rustic; certainly not wines to sip before dinner. However, over the last decade, producers in Spain and the south of France have been making increasingly fine wines from Monastrell. Casa Castillo has been one of the leading producers in Jumilla, a region in Murcia in south-east Spain for a decade or more.

Tags: Casa Castillo, Jumilla, Monastrell, Murcia, Red Wine, Spain

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A BIG FAT CHARDONNAY

Posted by admin on January 29, 2016

Bodegas Fabre Montmayour Reservado Chardonnay 2014, Mendoza, Argentina
14.5%
€14.95 from Whelehan’s Wines, Loughlinstown

I was bemoaning the lack of big rich buttery Chardonnays in my piece in the Irish Times last week, when this wine appeared. David Whelehan promised an old-style ‘Dolly Parton’ Chardonnay. He was half-right; it is a powerful full-bodied wine with lots of tropical fruits, some oak and a touch of butter too. But it is actually more than that; this is a well-made wine, with good acidity and balance. The oak is there but doesn’t overwhelm and the quality of the fruit is pretty good. I can see it going very nicely with chicken and richer fish dishes.

Tags: Argentina, Bodegas Fabre, Chardonnay, Whelehan's, White Wine

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Three supermarket red wines for €10 or a lot less.

Posted by admin on January 22, 2016

Three bargain red wines that I came across this week; the first featured in my weekly online piece (Take It Home) in the Irish Times on Wednesday. The other two I came across at the Lidl tasting earlier this week. I have tasted them before, but on this occasion they stood out amongst a sea of inexpensive wines. Spain is one of the few countries that continues to offer amazing value at less than €10.

Luis Felipe Edwards Gran Reserva Family Selection Pinot Noir 2013

Herewith my lightening guide to the world of Pinot Noir, fast becoming the wine everybody wants to drink. Burgundy produces the most complex wonderful Pinot of all. The best are hideously expensive, the cheapest are very variable. New Zealand probably comes next with excellent wines at the top end and lovely fruit-filled wines at the cheaper end. The problem is the cheaper end is generally around €15.

Germany, next door to Burgundy, produces some fantastic elegant wines too, but again they tend to start at €15. Sadly the best value (as opposed to cheapest) wines from the three above mentioned areas generally cost between €20 and €30, with nothing drinkable at €10. Only Chile can deliver here. The above wine, a mere €10 from SuperValu and O’Donovan’s in Cork, is a very gluggable light wine with earthy dark cherry fruits. Great value too.

Lidl DO Tarragona Reserva 2010
€6.99

Ever so cheap, this is a good soft sweet juicy crowd-pleasing red with no tannins and a decent amount of ripe red fruits.

Lidl DO Tarragona Gran Reserva 2009
€7.99

This is older, smoother and a little oakier than the basic Lidl Tarragona. Soft, easy-drinking wine at an amazingly cheap price. Not sure I would pay the extra euro for this one, but either wine would be great with a casserole or grilled red meat on a wet winter evening.

Tags: Chile, Lidl, Luis Felipe Edwards, Pinot Noir, Spain, SuperValu, Tarragona, wine

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Monte Real Rioja 2013

Posted by admin on January 14, 2016

We love Rioja in this country; posh Rioja Reserva sells like hot cakes in restaurants, wine shops and supermarkets. This must be aged for three years before release, and has spent a minimum of twelve months and usually more, in oak barrels. The idea is the wine comes ready to drink. A good Reserva will be rich and smooth with subtle sweet vanilla flavours, but you need to start off the ageing process with good wine. Cheap Reserva is frequently watery and smells of cheap wood. This Monte Real Rioja ignores the traditional Rioja categories and simply calls itself Rioja. It is lightly oaked, but the snappy dark cherry fruit is to the fore, and finishes with some light tannins. A great everyday wine to enjoy with chicken or red meats. €10 from O’Briens.

Tags: Monte Real, O'Briens, Rioja, Spain, Tempranillo

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Dolcetto d’Asti 2014, Marks & Spencer

Posted by admin on January 14, 2016

Italy makes a mind-boggling array of fascinating, individual wines. They are almost impossible to classify and must be a nightmare to market. But it means that wine-lovers can delve into a infinite number of wonderful quirky wines, often at mouth-watering prices. Today’s bottle is one such wine. Dolcetto is something of a misnomer; translated it means little sweet one, but Dolcetto is certainly not a sweet wine. It is bright and fresh with tangy damson fruits. Producers like it because it ripens much earlier than the other two grapes of Piedmont, Nebbiolo and Barbera. It is also ready to drink much sooner. The M&S version, from a highly regarded cooperative in the region, is classic Dolcetto; light and fresh with vibrant juicy dark fruits. At €10.99 it shouldn’t put too much strain on the bank balance.

Tags: Dolcetto, Italy, Marks & Spencer, Piedmont

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Closerie des Alisiers Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine 2014

Posted by admin on December 19, 2015

Closerie des Alisiers Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine 2014
€14.95

Most of us will have supped a glass of Mâcon-Lugny at some stage in our drinking lives. It appears on almost every restaurant wine list and on the shelves of almost every supermarket. It comes in various labels and in various styles but the vast majority (some 13 million bottles) is made by the Caves de Lugny, the largest wine co-operative in France. Most of it is very quaffable if a little boring at times. There is much more to Mâcon though ; thirty odd other villages are allowed to add their name to that of Mâcon. So you will find Mâcon-Uchizy, Mâcon-Vergisson or Mâcon-Davayé. There is even a Mâcon-Chardonnay, from the town of Chardonnay. These are often made by small quality-minded producers who make amazingly good wines at very reasonable prices. Such as the Mâcon above. Fresh and pure, with lovely plump apple fruits, this is a steal at €14.95. Available from Whelehan’s Wines in Loughlinstown.

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CARIGNAN PREMIUM OLD VINES COTES CATALANES 2014

Posted by admin on December 17, 2015

Carignan Premium Old Vines 2014, Côtes Catalanes
€10
Supervalu

Carignan does not have a great reputation. In her book The Oxford Companion to Wine, Jancis Robinson says ‘it is high in everything – acidity, tannins, colour, bitterness – but finesse and charm.’ Yet this was once the most widely planted grape variety in the Languedoc-Roussillon, itself the biggest vineyard in the world. Why? Well because it gave a massive crop of grapes, which in a market not very interested in quality, meant economic success. Derided for years as barely drinkable, more recently a few producers have shown that old vines grown in good sites can produce amazingly good wine. Hence the Premium Old Vines title above. My own favourite is Domaine d’Aupilhac, available from the Wicklow Wine Company. The wine above is made from very ancient vines planted in the Roussillon, close to the Spanish border. It is deliciously simple and fruity, with a smooth finish. Perfect for large dinner parties where volume is required.

Tags: Carignan, SuperValu

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Domaine de Sainte Marthe Syrah 2014, IGP Pays d’Oc

Posted by admin on December 7, 2015

The Beauty of Big. Domaine de Sainte Marthe Syrah 2014
€10.50 from Dunnes Stores

The Languedoc in France is the world’s largest vineyard, dwarfing the entire production of most countries. Domaine Sainte Marthe is owned by the Bonfils family, who own no less than 20 estates and 1,800 hectares of vines in the Languedoc, plus three more in Bordeaux. They are the largest private owners in the region. A big producer in a big region does not usually mean quality wine, and there is a plenty of dull insipid wine produced in the Languedoc. But the region also offers some of the best value wines in the world, reds especially. The Bonfils family have always gone upmarket, offering wines that deliver a little more and cost a little more too. Not too much more though; Domaine Sainte Marthe, a 70 hectare estate between Pézenas and Faugères, sells for a bargain €10.50 in Dunnes Stores.

Medium-bodied, smooth and ripe with dark fruits and liquorice, this will warm you up nicely on these cold winter nights.

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Aldi The Exquisite Collection Crozes-Hermitage 2013

Posted by admin on September 4, 2015

12.5%
€12.99

This is pretty good,and almost excellent if you like the Northern Rhône. It has very good elegant lifted peppery syrah aromas, light on the palate, and a drying finish. If it had a touch more fruit I would say brilliant; as it is not bad at all.

One to try with cold meats, charcuterie and cheese.

Crozes-Hermitage is the largest appellation of the Northern Rhône, and is dominated by one co-operative. I suspect this wine comes from the Cave de Tain, responsible for almost half of all Crozes. As with all of the Aldi Exquisite Collection, it is signed by the winemaker, but I have never been able to decipher one. If you like (as I do) light slightly austere peppery wines then this is one for you. If you prefer big Aussie Shiraz, steer well clear!

Tags: Aldi, Rhone, Syrah

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Aldi Ch. de Champtelou Anjou Rouge 2014

Posted by admin on September 4, 2015

€7.99
12%
In the Aldi French Wine Sale from 3rd September

Pale in colour with light cherry fruits and a slightly sweetish finish. Good everyday drinking at a budget price.

I had mine by itself before dinner and with an omelette.

This is the kind of inexpensive red wine that I normally like; a Loire Cabernet Franc that is light in alcohol and body with good refreshing acidity. I don’t even object to a herbaceous touch, something you used to find in Loire Cabernet Franc a lot. I know many people hate it. As it happened I was a little disappointed. I don’t know if they ran it through one of the pieces of modern machinery used to improve the balance of a wine, but I found the finish a little sweet. Still, at €7.99, it was a whole lot better than many of the confected cheapie wines you find in supermarkets.

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