A very expensive but thrilling wine

Bodegas Tradición Palo Cortado Vors

19.5%

€84.99

A tasting earlier this week with the Celtic Whiskey shop and Eduardo Davis, export manager of Bodegas Tradición was one of the highlights of the year so far. I had tasted the wines before, and visited the bodega, but now they are available in Ireland for the first time.

A very expensive wine, but this is worth smashing open the piggy bank for, or sharing the cost with a few other sherry-loving friends. It is a quite amazing wine. Palo Cortado is a mystery sherry; nobody is quite sure how it is made – or makes itself in fact. It is best described as a Fino/Oloroso hybrid, with the intense grilled nut flavours of Oloroso combined with the freshness of a Fino. Sounds weird but they taste great, this one in particular.

Utterly amazing elegant complex nose with toasted almonds, furniture polish and old wood; sounds terrible but it is fantastic. You could sniff it all day or dab it behind your ears. The palate has more toasted almonds, a funky, earthy note, and a saline touch. Finishes bone dry and lasts forever.

Available from Wines on the Green and the Black Pig, Donnybrook.

A superior Cotes du Rhone

Côtes du Rhône Les Deux Cols, Cuvée d’Alizé 2013

13.5%

€16.95

A new vintage of a wine produced by Irishman Simon Tyrrell. No ordinary Côtes du Rhône, but a very nicely crafted wine with excellent purity of fruit and a lovely freshness. Delectable just-ripe dark fruits, with prefect balance and a smooth palate. I would drink this with all manner of white and red meats, game and firm cheeses.

Stockists: 64wine, Glasthule; Donnybrook fair; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; One Pery Square, Limerick; The Drink Store, D7.

The Springs Pinot Noir 2013, Waipara

The Springs Pinot Noir 2013, Waipara

13% €17.99

Almost rosé in colour, this is a lip-smacking light wine with vivid sweet cherry fruits. Try it with grilled salmon or tuna, or cold meats.

Waipara is one of the lesser-known regions of New Zealand, but well worth checking out. It makes some pretty good Sauvignon (some of which is added to Marlborough Sauvignon) some great Chardonnay and some excellent Pinot Noir.

Stockists: Redmonds; DSix; La Touche; Ferguson, Clifden; Deveneys; Power, Lucan; Thomas, Foxrock.

Cantina Roccafiore Fiordaliso 2104

Cantina Roccafiore Fiordaliso 2104, IGT Umbria

12.5% €17.95

This has a very attractive mix of ripe peach and pear fruits balanced nicely by a strong mineral streak. The wine has a bit of real character, and would be delicious on its own, with fish or lighter chicken and salad dishes. I had mine with a plateful of seared scallops.

Made from the Grechetto grape, a variety believed to have originally come from Greece (hence the name). Grechetto is widely used to make Orvieto a wine that frequently tastes of very little. However, given the right treatment Grechetto can produce very stylish fruit-filled wines.

Stockists: Sheridan’s Cheesemongers.

Great Value Rioja (2)

Rayos Uva 2013, Rioja  –  13%  –  €17

Made by Frenchman Olivier Rivière, who features in my blog this week, this is a delicious pure Rioja, without any of the cheap oak flavours associated with so many of the less expensive wines from this region. Fabulous fragrant fresh red fruits with a real elegance and light tannins. Try it with roast lamb over Easter or with any white meats.

Stockists: Black Pig, Donnybrook; Blackrock Cellar; 64Wine, Glasthule; Sweeneys, Glasnevin; Green Man Wines, Terenure; Ennis (SCR), Clontarf Wines.

Great Value Rioja (1)

Viña Real Rioja Crianza 2010  –  13.5%  –  €15.95

Delicious smooth succulent dark cherry fruits with subtle spice. Perfect with lamb and white meats.

I was very pleasantly surprised when I tasted this wine one mid-week evening, even more so when I discovered the price. This really is a great bargain, a lovely elegant wine at a great price. It has a little oak, but as with the Rayos Uva below, it is the pure fruits that shine through.

Stockists: The Corkscrew, Chatham Street; Molloy’s Clondalkin; Deveny’s, Rathmines; Egan’s, Portlaoise; Spar, Milltown and wineonline.ie