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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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Finca Resalso 2014, Ribera del Duero, Emilio Moro

Posted by on April 7, 2016
<strong>Finca Resalso 2014, Ribera del Duero, Emilio Moro</strong>

Image 1Finca Resalso 2014, Ribera del Duero, Emilio Moro
13.5%
€19.95

Tasted more like 14% or even more to me, but a very good polished wine with smooth dark fruits, very subtle oak, a bit of real power and good length too. Nice wine. Went very well with our Armenian chicken, stuffed with walnuts, prunes and sumac.

Available from Redmonds, Ranelagh; Deveneys, Dundrum; The Coachhouse, Balinteer; Higgins, Clonskeagh; Sweeneys, Glasnevin; Clontarf Wines; O’Driscoll’s, Cahirsiveen; Donnybrook Fair; Holland’s, Bray; Fresh, Canal St.; No.21, Cork; 1601, Kinsale; Joyce’s, Galway.

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Ch. Plaisance 2013, Fronton

Posted by on March 31, 2016
<strong>Ch. Plaisance 2013, Fronton</strong>

DSCF6293Ch. Plaisance 2013, Fronton
12.5%
€18.90 from Green Man Wines, Terenure; 64wine, Glasthule; Fallon & Byrne, Exchequer St.; Sheridan’s Cheese shops.

Light bouncy refreshing dark fruits, with no tannins on the finish. Perfect with a plate of charcuterie and mild firm cheeses. In the summer I would serve it very lightly chilled.

Fronton is another wine that I love. One of my happiest French holidays was spent in a gîte near Najac, close to both Cahors and Fronton, two of my favourite wines. The Ch. Plaisance (not to be confused with a St. Emilion château of the same name) is made from 50% Negrette (a local grape) and Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Gamay.

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Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2012, JJ Prum

Posted by on March 31, 2016
<strong>Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2012, JJ Prum</strong>

IMG_4463Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2012, JJ Prum
10%
€34.50 from 64wine, Glasthule.

If you fancy giving yourself a real treat, chill a bottle of this wine, sit down in the garden and slowly sip and savour with a friend. Pure essence of peachy Riesling with honeycomb and fine zesty acidity. Sublime wine.

J.J. Prum is one of the legendary producers of the Mosel and Germany, producing a string of brilliant sweet and medium-dry wines. Mosel Kabinett is one of the great wine classics, where refreshing acidity meets fine delicate fruits to produce perfectly balanced sipping wine. I admit to having drunk an entire bottle one evening many years ago. The name may be long and confusing to some, but Graach is the town, Himmelreich the vineyard, translated as Kingdom of Heaven) Kabinett the level of sweetness (or original must weight to be technical) and Riesling, of course, is the wonderful grape variety. Enjoy!

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Viognier de Rosine 2014, IGP Collines Rhodanniennes

Posted by on March 23, 2016
Viognier de Rosine 2014, IGP Collines Rhodanniennes

Image 712.5%
€33.95

A thrilling combination of peach and pineapple fruits, a touch of ginger and plenty of balancing acidity. Elegant and perfectly formed.

Expensive but worth every last cent. Stephane Ogier is one of the most talented winemakers in the Northern Rhône, responsible for some exquisite Côte Rôtie and Condrieu. This is actually one of his less expensive wines, from a single 3 hectare estate planted by Ogier in 2000, situated between Côte Rôtie and Condrieu.

Available from Searsons Wine Merchants, Monkstown; Baggot Street Wines; La Touche, Greystones; 64 Wine, Glasthule; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; The Drink Store, D7; The Wine Shop at One Pery Square, Limerick.

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Spiga 2009, Ribera del Duero, Bodegas y Viñedos O. Fournier

Posted by on March 23, 2016
Spiga 2009, Ribera del Duero, Bodegas y Viñedos O. Fournier

IMG_460014.5%
€31

Full-bodied with intense ultra-smooth dark fruits and plenty of structure. There are some dry tannins on the lengthy finish. A very impressive wine to partner with robust lamb dishes.

O. Fournier is a unique company. Founded by José Manuel Fournier in 2000, it has wineries in Spain (Ribera del Duero), Chile (Maule & San Antonio) and Argentina (Uco Valley). All produce very high-quality wines. They have a different winemaker for each country, with one overseeing the entire operation. There is a distinct house style – I would say smooth and concentrated with clean ripe fruits. Well-made, very seductive wines.

Available from Quintessential Wines, Drogheda, www.quintessentialwines.ie

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Schlumberger Pinot Blanc Les Princes Abbés

Posted by on March 17, 2016
Schlumberger Pinot Blanc Les Princes Abbés

DSCF5690Schlumberger Pinot Blanc 2013, Les Princes Abbés
12%
€18.95

Light and fresh but with very moreish juicy melon and pear fruits, and a nicely rounded finish.

Perfect as a posh aperitif, with fish or maybe an Alsatian onion tart.

Available from Searsons, Monkstown, www.searsons.com

I bumped into Séverine Schlumberger recently, at the portfolio tasting held by Tindal & Co. We had great fun doing a masterclass on Riesling together in Ballymaloe House a few years ago. Much of this family-owned estate is now farmed biodynamically. I have been enjoying a range of Pinot Blancs from Alsace over the last year, and featured several in my wine guide. They seem to have improved a lot in recent years and make for very good easy-drinking refreshing wines with lovely rounded fruits.

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The Hundred 2014, McLaren Vale Grenache

Posted by on March 17, 2016
The Hundred 2014, McLaren Vale Grenache

IMG_1893The Hundred 2014, McLaren Vale Grenache
14.5%
€25.99

Big and powerful and structured, with lovely bright vibrant red fruits, all cherries and strawberries, with a sprinkle of spice. A serious dangerously drinkable wine to match up to barbequed meats and roasts.

Available from O’Briens; La Touche, Greystones; Green Man Wines, Terenure; Jus De Vine, Portmarnock; Mitchell & Son, chq, Sandycove & Avoca; Wineonline.ie; World Wide Wines, Waterford.

Shiraz and Grenache from McLaren Vale often has this distinctive delicious fresh quality. This wine is made from dry-grown bush vines, many eighty years old. Grown in a cooler sub-region of McLaren Vale, they produce wines with a lovely aroma and succulent round fruit.

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Vale de Capucha Branco 2012, Vinho Regional, Portugal

Posted by on March 11, 2016
Vale de Capucha Branco 2012, Vinho Regional, Portugal

IMG_4091
Vale de Capucha Branco 2012, Vinho Regional, Portugal
12.5%
€19.95

An enchanting combination of zesty citrus, grapefruit pith and plump peachy fruits. One of those that gets better with each sip. Just don’t serve it too cold.

I would have this with richer fish dishes, maybe fairly plain cod, hake or black sole.

Available from Mitchell and Son, Gibney’s Malahide, Corkscrew, Redmond’s Ranelagh, 64 Wine, Glasthule.

Pedro Marques is one of the rising stars of Portuguese winemaking. He visited Dublin last year to attend the SPIT tasting (if you don’t know about it, google and make sure you get to the 2016 event) where he showed his amazing wines. The white wines are brilliant, and the reds pretty good too.

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