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Barbera d’Asti L’Avvocata, Coppa 2013

Posted by on May 26, 2016
<strong>Barbera d’Asti L’Avvocata, Coppa 2013</strong>

ImageBarbera d’Asti L’Avvocata, Coppa 2013
13.5%
€19 from Morton’s, Galway; Grapevine, Dalkey; and Cabot & Co, Westport.

Apparently the owner is a lawyer, hence the name. The wine is certainly not too serious or weighty though. This is a delicious bouncy wine brimming with juicy ripe blackcurrant and dark cherry fruits. Smooth and succulent, perfect drinking for the summer months. I would drink it with pretty well any meat dish, including chicken, risotto, tomato sauced, cold meats or gnocchi.

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Ghost Corner Wild Ferment Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Elim, South Africa

Posted by on May 14, 2016
<strong>Ghost Corner Wild Ferment Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Elim, South Africa</strong>

Image 2Ghost Corner Wild Ferment Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Elim, South Africa
13.5%
€28 from Blackrock Cellar; Donnybrook Fair, Malahide; On the Grapevine, Dalkey

This appeared in the Irish Times a few weeks ago, but in case any of you missed it, this is a great wine from one of the leading young producers in South Africa. Normally the words Sauvignon Blanc and oak are enough to send me into despair, but with this wine it works and works brilliantly. Delicious mouthwatering peach fruits, with a wonderful creamy texture.

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Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico 200, Azienda COS, Sicily

Posted by on May 14, 2016
<strong>Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico 200, Azienda COS, Sicily</strong>

DSCF6556Cerasuolo di Vittoria Classico 200, Azienda COS, Sicily
13%
€30 from www.cabotandco.com; No. 1 Pery Sq.Limerick; Market 57, Westport; Grapevine, Dalkey; Corkscrew, Chatham St.; Red Island, Skerries ; Listons, Camden St..

This has been one of my favourite wines for a decade or more, and also featured in my book this year. I drank a bottle last weekend, and was fighting with my wife over the last few drops. Frappato and Nero d’Avola are both indigenous Sicilian grapes; The COS single variety Frappato is good, but this blend of the two grapes is wirth the few extra euro. Soft smooth strawberry and plum fruits overlaid with dark chocolate. Wonderful wine.

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Trimbach Cuvée Frédéric Emile Riesling 2007

Posted by on May 5, 2016
<strong>Trimbach Cuvée Frédéric Emile Riesling 2007</strong>

IMG_4795Trimbach Cuvée Frédéric Emile Riesling 2007
Around €45-50 from independent wine shops – I got mine fro €40 from La Touche in Greystones.

Light and elegant, with intense honeyed fruits, a strong mineral streak and a bone dry finish. A mere 12.5% in alcohol, but packed with flavour. Drink with crab or other shellfish.

A wine that may seem expensive but I still reckon it is a bargain. The wine pictured beside it, Clos Sainte Hune, a great wine made by the same producer, from a single vineyard, costs well over €100 a bottle if you can find it. Cuvée Frédéric Emile is made from two grand cru vineyards, although it doesn’t say it on the label. To me, it is one of the great wines of Alsace. It lasts forever too; I am hoarding the last few bottles of a case of 2002 – a brilliant wine.

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Gloire de mon Père 2014, Tour des Gendres, Bergerac

Posted by on May 5, 2016
Gloire de mon Père 2014, Tour des Gendres, Bergerac

gloryGloire de mon Père 2014, Tour des Gendres, Bergerac

€22 from Le Caveau, Kilkenny, Green Man Wines, Terenure, 64wine, Glasthule and other leading independent wine shops.

Smooth elegant wine with ripe blackcurrant fruits, a touch of spice and a long dry finish. Serve it with roast red meats.

Luc de Conti has long been a shining beacon in Bergerac, an underrated region next door to Bordeaux. I am a big fan of the Tour de Gendres ‘classique’ (see above) his entryish level red that sells for around €15. However for €7 more, you can buy the Gloire de mon Père, and glorious it is too. A blend of 50% Cabernet sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 20% Malbec, this is a Bordeaux lookalike of the very highest quality; except if it came from Bordeaux it would cost a lot more.

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Cesconi Olivar, Vigneti delle Dolomiti, Trentino 2012

Posted by on April 21, 2016
<strong>Cesconi Olivar, Vigneti delle Dolomiti, Trentino 2012</strong>

IMG_4684Cesconi Olivar, Vigneti delle Dolomiti, Trentino 2012
13.5%
€32.99 from La Touche Wines, Greystones; Green Man Wines, Dublin 6; Wineonline.ie

The Cesconi wines generally combine rich almost opulent fruit with a lovely clean nervy acidity. It is a very attractive balanced style of wine that goes well with food but you can happily drink them solo. I tried this in La Touche Wines, my local wine shop. This wine is a single vineyard blend of Chardonnay (40%) Pinot Grigio (40%) and Pinot Bianco (20%). It has luscious apricot and peach fruits, some subtle spice and a fine crisp acidity. Nicely mature. Try it with chicken or possibly creamy white fish dishes.

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Capezzana Carmignano di Barco Reale 2014

Posted by on April 21, 2016
<strong>Capezzana Carmignano di Barco Reale 2014</strong>

Image 1Capezzana Carmignano di Barco Reale 2014
13.5%
€22.99 from The Corkscrew; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock;
Sweeny’s, Dublin 11; Searsons, Blackrock; Grapevine, Dalkey;
Thomas’s, Foxrock.

This has been one of my favourite wines for many years; I love the clean refreshing note that makes it so easy to drink. Lovely vivid pure blackcurrants and dark cherry fruits. Captivating wine to serve with cold meats, pork and chicken dishes.

Capezzana is a lovely large family-owned and run estate in Tuscany. As well as producing some excellent wines and a great olive oil, there is a cookery school, a small hotel and a wine bar. If you go there on holiday, it is well worth a visit.

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Bolo Mountain Wine, Godello, 2015 Valdeorras

Posted by on April 15, 2016
<strong>Bolo Mountain Wine, Godello, 2015 Valdeorras</strong>

Image 3Bolo Mountain Wine, Godello, 2015 Valdeorras
13.5%
€17.95 from 64wine, Glasthule, Whelehan’s, Loughlinstown; La Touche, Greystones; Blackrock Cellars; Sweeney’s, Glasnevin; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; Baggot St Wines and Clontarf Wines.

Lovely refreshing pure plump peach and pear fruits balanced perfectly with a mineral acidity. This went down a storm at home – one of those bottles that disappears as if by magic! A good all-rounder with fish and white meats or simply by itself.

I tried this twice recently and was reminded just how much I love good Godello. In the right hands, and Rafael Palacios is certainly the right hands, it has some similarities with Chardonnay but with a character all of its own. Delicious wine worth seeking out.

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Bairrada 2012, Lagar de Baixo, Niepoort

Posted by on April 15, 2016
<strong>Bairrada 2012, Lagar de Baixo, Niepoort</strong>

IMG_4467Bairrada 2012, Lagar de Baixo, Niepoort
12.5%
€23.95 from Baggot Street Wines; Whelehans Wines, Loughlinstown; Corkscrew; Chatham St; Hole in the Wall, D7; Redmond’s, Ranelagh; Martin’s, Fairview.

Lovely cool wild dark fruits, all damsons and brambles, with a fine mineral acidity and firm tannins on the finish. Perfect with a fatty roast of pork.

Winemakers have been trying to tame Baga & Bairrada’s fierce tannins for years now with some success. Having worked there for several years, Douro producer Dirk Niepoort took over this estate in 2012. Here he believes the limestone soils and cool Atlantic climate make for more refined and elegant wines.

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Rizzardi Costeggiola Soave 2014

Posted by on April 7, 2016
<strong>Rizzardi Costeggiola Soave 2014</strong>

ImageRizzardi Costeggiola Soave 2014
12.5%
€15.45

Textured red apple fruits with a touch of honey. With hake, cod or salmon.

I wrote about Custoza last week; this week it’s better-known neighbour, Soave. Inexpensive Soave is often very watery to the point of tasteless. Pay a little more, and you get a lightly fruity crisp dry white. At the top end (€20+) there are brilliant wines, worth considering for a posh dinner with light shellfish dishes. The above wine is made in a richer style, which works really well.

Available from O’Briens

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