Natural Wines and where to find them

Pierre Foillard and Thierry Puzelat

 This is an extended version of an article from the Irish Times, 28th April, 2018

NATURAL WINES

Mere mention of the words natural and wine is still guaranteed to start a row amongst wine lovers, although less so than in the past. This is partly down to critics being won over, but also because the wines are improving every year. There are fewer wines that smell of poo or taste like cider.

I like the comparison of natural wine to punk rock. Punk burst on to the music scene in the late seventies and early eighties, an antidote the mega bands that used three drummers and an entire orchestra to produce a concept album. Instead you had three or four piece bands playing simple (often very simple) three minute rock songs. It was a breath of fresh air. For the first time, you could go and see your favourite bands locally. I am old enough to have experienced it all; in the first few heady years, I saw The Jam, the Stranglers, The Clash, The Ramones, and even a few of the Sex Pistols, and many many more.

In the same way, the natural wine movement brought wine back to its roots. Small producers making tiny lots of wine, generally from unfashionable areas, using local grapes. Instead of hugely expensive ‘luxury’ wines pampered and cosseted every step of the way by a large corporation, or cheap mass-produced wines that had been made in a laboratory, you had simple wines, made with minimal interference. You can take the punk analogy further; many of the bands were truly awful. The ability to play an instrument was considered optional, and a host of ‘artists’ deservedly sunk without trace. Others went on to achieve international stardom, wealth and, in time, joined and improved mainstream music. You can say exactly the same about natural wine; along with some thrilling fresh fruit-filled wines, you have others ‘that taste like they’ve been filtered through a porcine duodenum’, to quote Observer food critic Jay Rayner. I suspect the natural wine movement has obliged mainstream producers to question their production methods, while commercial realities may have reined in the more extreme natural winemakers.

My first encounter with natural wine was back in the mid-1990s while on a wine-buying trip in France. Looking for a supplier of Crozes-Hermitage and Hermitage, we visited Dard & Ribo, a producer we had heard good things about. The wines were incredible, fresh and invigourating with superb fruit and an amazing vitality. Monsieurs Dard and Ribo explained in French their new way of working with low or no added sulphur. Thrilled with our new discovery, we asked for samples to be sent to Dublin. There they languished in my office for a month or so. When we finally go around to tasting them, it was a massive disappointment. The wines were dull, some oxidised, others stinking of Brett. We didn’t buy.

Fast forward twenty years to April 2018, and I tasted a Crozes Hermitage Rouge Les Baties 2016 from the same Dard & Ribo at the Le Caveau spring portfolio tasting. It was stunning; fragrant and bursting with fruit, charged with that same wonderful vibrancy and life. Obviously, this natural wine producer has changed for the better and Le Caveau know how to store them.

Two high priests of the movement visited Ireland recently. Both gentlemen are very French in very different ways. Thierry Puzelat is enthusiastic and passionate, Jean Foillard is less effusive and initially withdrawn. Both paid homage to ‘the Pope’ the late Marcel Lapierre, a producer in Morgon who started it all back in early 1990’s. ‘Lapierre was the father of it all’, says Foillard. ‘He converted a small group of people (his youngest friends) and the message spread out from there. It (natural wine) seems obvious today, but it was very lonely back then. Everyone, even your neighbours, told us we were doing it wrong.’ However, Lapierre in turn was a disciple of Jules Chauvet, a traditionalist who railed against much of what was happening in Beaujolais throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. Foillard was joined by Jean-Paul Thévenet in Mâcon, and Guy Breton in Beaujolais. Lapierre passed away in 2010.

Jean Foillard also owns vineyards in Morgon in Beaujolais, and Thierry Puzelat in the Loire valley. Inspired by Lapierre, they began to take wine back to it’s roots. ‘We did not invent anything, We simply returned to what our grandfathers did,’ says Puzelat. ‘I went to school where I learnt to make wine in the normal way, using all the standard treatments. Then one day I tasted a glass of wine and thought s**t! That’s what I want to drink; and to make.” Neither uses organic or biodynamic certificates or symbols on their labels, but say the have all the certificates. ‘It is all about the quality, not the signals’, says Foillard. Both say they prefer less ripe vintages. With his father, there were only a few ripe vintages in a lifetime. Now they are commonplace and less interesting to make. 2014, Foillard says, was a long slow maturing vintage that doesn’t have the richness or power of the 2015, and had higher yields, but the wines are good, (his are excellent).

There is no legal definition for natural wine. Many argue that all wine is natural, yet that ignores the level of manipulation, – additives and treatments – that are standard in a great many ‘normal’ wines, inexpensive wines in particular. These days, many prefer to use the terms low-intervention or light-touch instead of natural. The basic tenets are organic or preferably biodynamic viticulture, but certainly never using herbicides or fungicides. In fermentation there is no indigenous yeasts, no enzymes, filtering or fining, no chaptalisation or acidification, and most controversial of all, little or no sulphur. A winemaker walks a tightrope when they under-sulphur or don’t add any at all. Sulphur (a natural byproduct of fermentation) has been used since Roman times to prevent bacterial spoiling and oxidising.

I came across an interesting article about bread in The Guardian by Joanna Blythman. Much of what she writes could also apply to wine. “Others prefer to stick with tried and tested “natural” foods made by traditional methods because they quite legitimately interpret the presence of multiple additives in products as signifiers of debased factory food, mainly used for purposes of fakery….proponents of our industrial food system slur defenders of traditional food standards and practices as luddites, hopeless romantics, scientifically incompetent scaremongers railing against technological progress. They would love to tie us up in a never-ending philosophical debate about what “natural” means. She writes that our own Food Safety Authority of Ireland has tried to define the word natural (alongside three other debased terms – ‘Artisanal’, ‘Farmhouse’ and ‘Traditional); “The ingredients are formed by nature and are not significantly interfered with by man.” Obviously this is open to all sorts of interpretation, with many food (and sometimes wine) producers using all sorts of ‘natural’ flavourings, and additives as well as complicated processes that can hardly be described as natural. Blythman finishes ‘We live in a world where big food manufacturers and retailers constantly use our food vocabulary to fit their own agenda. The word “natural” is in the frontline of our battle to reclaim it”.

Natural wines are a mixed bag. Some are clearly faulty, or at least, have aromas that have little to do with wine (or ‘terroir’ as some claim). Others taste more like cider. Puzelat agrees: For the first five years, we made a lot of vinegar’, he says, adding that it takes a decade or more to convert your vineyards to sustainable viticulture. But the good natural wines have a wonderful freshness and purity, a liveliness not always found in everyday wines. They are a joy to drink.

While it is easier to farm organically in warmer, drier climates, wines from cooler regions have higher acidity, which acts as a natural antiseptic. It may be no coincidence that the highest concentration of natural wines are found in the Loire and Beaujolais, both regions that produce wines high in acidity and low in alcohol.

The natural wine movement has gathered momentum over the last five years and generated huge in interest in wine amongst younger consumers who may have been put off by a perceived (or real) stuffiness in wine drinking. It has also brought focus back to genuine artisanal growers. I believe that generally, the best, most interesting wines come from small producers who care for their vineyards and often work organically or biodynamically. They also use as few treatments as possible in the cellar. Some may describe themselves as natural, but others clearly are not. Pascal Rossignol of specialist importer Le Caveau probably got it right when he argued it is not just about levels of sulphur. ‘Honest wine is about trust; wine that is made by good growers, working with good importers and sold to wine drinkers who care’. ‘Natural wine is not the aim’, says Puzelat. ‘It is not enough. We have to make good wine naturally’. Few could disagree with that.

Soave Colli Scaligieri Castelcerino 2015 Filippi
12.5%, €18.65
A delicious light Soave with a waxy touch, some peach and yellow apple fruits mixing in with marzipan and a lively streak of mineral acidity. Made from biodynamically grown grapes with minimal sulphur, it has a pleasant leesy touch too. Drink by itself or with lighter seafood dishes.

Stockists: Le Caveau, Kilkenny lecaveau.ie;  64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie; The Corkscrew, Chatham Street, thecorkscrew.ie; Green Man Wines, Terenure, grenmanwines.ie; Bradley’s, Cork, Bradleysofflicence.ie

Thierry Puzelat Le P’tit Blanc du Clos Tue-Bouef 2016, Vin de France
13%, €22
Sauvignon with a difference. Organic, low-sulphur wine, lightly aromatic with clean apple and quince fruits, a refreshing texture, finishing dry. By itself or with creamy goat’s cheese salad.

Stockists: Le Caveau, Kilkenny, lecaveau.ie; The Corkscrew, Chatham St, thecorkscrew.ie; Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie; 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie.

Laderas del Valle Malbec 2015, Barbarians, Tupungato, Argentina
13%, €15
Malbec with a difference; light, vivid, mouth-watering dark fruits with hardly a tannin in sight. Instead of steak, go for lightly spicy pork or lamb kebabs. 

Stockists: Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, jusdevine.ie; Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie; Deveneys, Dundrum; Redmonds, Ranelagh, Redmonds.ie

Morgon ‘Le Classique’ 2016 Foillard
13%, €25
Superb fresh crunchy red fruits, all cherries and blueberries, with a cleansing backbone of acidity. Drink now or keep for five years. Perfect with all manner of charcuterie or a grilled pork chop.

Stockists: Le Caveau, Kilkenny, lecaveau.ie; Bradleys, Cork, bradleysofflicence.ie; The Corkscrew, Chatham St, thecorkscrew.ie; Baggot St. Wines, baggotstwines.com; Blackrock Cellar, blackrockcellar.com; MacGuinness Wines, Dundalk, Dundalkwines.com; Green Man Wines, Terenure, Greenmanwines.ie; Fallon & Byrne, Exchequer St, D2, fallonandbyrne.com; Mitchell & Son, IFSC, Glasthule & Avoca Kilmacanogue and Dunboyne, mitchellandson.com; 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie;  World Wide Wines, Waterford, worldwidewines.ie

Great Portuguese white wines

First published in The Irish Times, Saturday 5th May, 2018

Spring, if not summer, started this morning as I put pen to paper. Met Éireann promises temperatures today of 15 to 19 degrees – possibly even 20 – and a warm, sunny weekend. Time to break out the white wines, then.

I suspect many of us think of Portugal as hot and sunny, and therefore more suited to making red wine rather than white. But regular visitors will be aware that it produces plenty of white wines – and that they have improved out of all recognition over the past decade. Most are still relatively inexpensive and fit modern tastes perfectly: they are light to medium bodied, with plenty of fresh fruit and usually no new oak. They make great summer wines, drunk solo or with all kinds of seafood, white meats and lighter salads.

Most are made from fascinating local grape varieties, which also means Portuguese wines have a unique set of flavours, guaranteed to please the most jaded of palates, while still remaining accessible to the rest of us.

Grape varieties do not respect international boundaries, so this part of the world shares many grapes with Galicia, just over the border with Spain

Northern Portugal is cooler than the south of the country, and the wines’ lightness and freshness reflect that. Vinho verde, or green wine, is the best-known type. It is named after the verdant countryside, not the colour of the wine. (You can find red vinho verde.) Grape varieties do not respect international boundaries, so this part of the world shares many grapes with Galicia, just over the border with Spain. Albariño, best known as the grape behind Rías Baixas, becomes Alvarinho in Portugal, Treixadura changes to Trajadura, and Godello to Gouveio. This is only the start; there are plenty of other interesting varieties, both red and white. Either side of the border, all of these grapes make for mouth-watering wines. (I would avoid the really cheap vinhos verdes, which can be lightly fizzy and fairly sweet.)

Farther south other grapes are exclusively Portuguese. Encruzado, grown in the Dão region, produces superb wine, often compared to white Burgundy, with structure, minerality and an ability to age. Lisboa, Tejo and the hot Alentejo have cooler subregions, or grape varieties that retain acidity in the heat. Look out for wines made from Antão Vaz, Arinto or Roupeiro. Even the baking Douro is producing some superb whites.

I tasted a range of exciting, refreshing dry white wines. I could have included another six here. Only one cost less than €10, but all offered great value for money. So this summer, whether in Ireland or Portugal, instead of Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, go for Alvarinho, Arinto, Fernão Pires, Loureiro or Encruzado. You will be very pleasantly surprised.

Bottles of the Week

Julia Florista 2016, Portugal, Vidigal Wines 12% €7.95 (down from €9.95)
A multiregional blend of grape varieties. Light, soft and very pleasantly fruity. Drink solo or with summer salads.
From O’Briens

Dão Branco 2016, Casa da Passarella A Descoberta 13%, €18
Impeccably balanced, refreshing wine with flowing light green fruits, a touch of orange peel and a lovely long, clean finish.
From Baggot Street Wines, Dublin 4; Grapevine, Dalkey, Co Dublin

Aphros Loureiro Vinho Verde 2016 12%, €21.95
A vibrant, crisp dry wine with a beautifully textured palate of orange peel and juicy pears. Perfect with seafood salads or as an aperitif.
From Baggot Street Wines, Dublin 4; Lilac Wines, Marino, Dublin 3; 64 Wine, Glasthule, Co Dublin; the Corkscrew, Chatham Street, Dublin 2; Green Man Wines, Terenure, Dublin 6; Blackrock Cellar, Blackrock, Co Dublin

Xisto Ilimitado 2016, Douro Branco 12.5%, €22.50
A stunning, utterly enjoyable wine, with complex but delicate saline green and yellow fruits that slowly unfurl.
From Clontarf Wines, Dublin 3; 64 Wine, Glasthule, Co Dublin; Green Man Wines, Terenure, Dublin 6; Baggot Street Wines, Dublin 4; Redmonds of Ranelagh, Dublin 6; Fallon & Byrne, Exchequer Street, Dublin 2

The sun is shining, why not try a Chenin Blanc?

This is a longer version of an article printed in he Irish Times, Saturday 21st April, 2018.

The shelves in my local wine shop said it all; the Loire section carried one Muscadet (Melon de Bourgogne), two Chenin Blancs – and twenty two Sauvignon Blancs. When are we going to rid ourselves of this Sauvignon obsession? This is not a criticism of the retailer, who was only meeting customer demand. Nor do I have a problem with Sauvignon, but the world of wine is full of so many interesting grapes and those two other above-mentioned varieties offer some of the greatest treasures of the Loire Valley. I will return to Muscadet later in the summer, but we should really be drinking a lot more Chenin Blanc. Chenin Blanc is to be found in two places; South Africa, where it produces excellent wines, and in it’s home territory of the Loire Valley.

Loire Chenin comes in various guises, from cheap to expensive, but generally very good value, and from dry to sweet (and even sparkling too). In the right hands, it produces one of the world’s greatest and most long-lived wines. It deserves to be far better known.

Dry Chenin Blanc from a lesser vintage used to be fairly challenging, with very high levels of acidity. Nowadays it is typically made into sparkling wine, usually sold as Crémant de Loire, or sometimes as Vouvray. The best, usually aged for a few years to develop, can be really good. You can find some excellent dry white wines from better vintages, still bracing and best served with food, but full of fantastic fruit. Off-dry Chenin is very popular and widely available in the multiples. Marks & Spencer has the very tasty Ch. Moncontour (€15), SuperValu the La Vigne du Sablon (€14.95) and O’Briens the Les Dimes (€15.95. All are worth trying. I haven’t tried the Tesco Anjou for €7.89. Locally they would favour chicken in a creamy sauce with the demi-sec style, but I find it goes really well with pork dishes –(including barbequed pork belly) and mild creamy curries. Dry Chenin is a great partner for soft goat’s cheeses, and white fish.

The most famous Chenin is Vouvray. You will find it in all of the above mentioned styles; sparkling, dry, off-dry or sweet. Confusingly they don’t always let you know which style on the label. These days, much of the excitement centres on Montlouis, a region that lies across the river from Vouvray, which can rival it in quality, but at a lower price. The other big name for dry Chenin Blanc is Savennières. Here the wines tend to be softer, with more fruit. Domaine des Baumard is probably the best producer; Clos de la Coulée de Serrant, run by the irrepressible Nicolas Joly, has it’s own appellation within Savennières. Joly is a passionate believer in biodynamics and has published a book on the subject. The wines are very natural.

Sweet Chenin Blanc is certainly worth seeking out; Vouvray, Bonnezeaux, Quarts de Chaume and Coteaux du Layon all produce stunning wines, comparable with the greatest sweet wines of all, and usually at a fraction of the price.

All that acidity means the wines last for decades, and retain a wonderful freshness. The sweet wines in particular, develop hauntingly beautiful complex flavours of grilled nuts, honey and quince. I recently tasted a range of exquisite mature Chenin Blancs from Domaine des Baumard (Searsons have an offer running in their shop at the moment) going back to 1967. A 2008 Quarts de Chaume was exquisite. The dry and sweet wines of wines of legendary Vouvray producer Gaston Huet are excellent, but sadly very expensive nowadays.

In this longer online version, I include several extra wines, including a brilliant wine from La Taille aux Loups, priced at around 30, from winesdirect.ie. and a few recent discoveries, a wine from Domaine de Belliviere in Coteaux du Loir (as opposed to Loire), imported by Nomad Wines, and two new Chenin Blancs from Tindal & Co

Bottles of the Week

Chenin Blanc Les Hauts Lieux 2015, Vin de France, Famille Bourgier 12%, €13.95
Fresh, aromatic and dry with soft pear fruits. Drink solo or with white meats. Hake baked in foil with dill and lemon.
Stockists: O’Briens Wines, obrienswine.ie

Vouvray Cuvée de Silex 2016, Domaine des Aubisières 12.5%, €14.85
Beautifully crafted lively dry Vouvray with mouth-watering peach fruits, edged with ginger and citrus. Drink with soy-glazed salmon steaks.
Stockists: Jnwine.com

Vouvray Sec La Coulée d’Argent 2015, Bourillon Dorléans, Vieilles Vignes 13%, €21.50
Quite delicious; light, fresh lightly honeyed with peaches and quince, grilled nuts, with a richness and texture that marry perfectly with the acidity. Mild chicken curries.
Stockists: Karwig Wines, Carrigaline, Karwigwines.ie; J.J. O’Driscoll, Ballinlough, Cork, jjodriscoll.ie

Savennières Clos du Papillon 2013, Domaine des Baumard 13.5%
Glorious, sumptuous wine with expansive waxy fruits – melons and ginger spice, rich but impeccably balanced finish long and dry. Turbot with brown butter and capers.
Stockists: Searsons, Monkstown, searsons.com; Whelehan’s, Loughlinstown; One Pery Square, Limerick, oneperysquare.com;  World Wide Wines, Waterford, worldwidewines.ie

Touraine Chenin Blanc 2016, Domaine a Deux

13%

€16.95

Relatively rich concentrated quince and pears, finishing dry. Lovely fresh fruit-filled wine, for drinking solo or with white fish.

Stockists: Searsons, Monkstown, searsons.com

Montlouis Claire de Lune 216, Les Complices de Loire

12.5%

€21.95

Beguiling, limpid soft elegant yellow fruits with a lovely mineral edge. Delicious delicate wine.

Stockists: Searsons, Monkstown, searsons.com.

Domaine de la Taille aux Loups 2015, Remus, Montlouis

12.5%

€29.90

A glorious wine; a rich creamy texture, balanced by very brisk, well-integrated acidity, and masses of mouth-watering quince and white peach fruits, finishing long and dry.

Stockists: Wines Direct, Mullingar & Arnott’s, Dublin, winesdirect.ie

Coteaux du Loir ‘VV Eparses’ 2015, Domaine de Bellivière

12.5%

€47.95

Delicate with floral aromas, a wonderful palate of honey, beeswax and dried fruits. Clean and precise finishing dry. Exquisite wine.

Stockists: SIYPS. com

Two corkers: Dublin wine shops, new and old

First published in The Irish Times, Saturday 14th April, 2018

Tommy Cullen of Jus de Vine in Portmarnock, Co Dublin: ‘I love the area, we have a great set of customers and I am very happy at it.’ Photograph: Aidan Crawley

The northside of Dublin is very well served with wine shops. This year one of the finest, Jus de Vine in Portmarnock, celebrated its 20th anniversary by winning the Noffla National Off-Licence of the Year title for the third time.

Tommy Cullen will be 77 years old this July, but has no intention of retiring. Cullen sold Kelly’s off-licence on the Malahide Road after 18 years, thinking he would retire. It didn’t last.

“I got bored and wanted something to do,” he says. His daughter Julie, recently returned from America, was looking to get back into the wine business. They approached Paul McKenna, who ran a small shop in Portmarnock, and the three formed a team. Today, they run one of the biggest – and best – independent off-licences, winning a wine specialist of the year award 10 times in 14 years.

All three love their work. “Dad had me working weekends polishing bottles from a very young age,” says Julie. “It is all I know and I love it. We get to know the story and to meet the people that are behind the wine.”

Tommy says: “I get to do what I want to do. I love the area, we have a great set of customers and I am very happy at it.”

McKenna also mentions their customers. “After nearly 30 years, I still enjoy going to work. This is a great community and we get nice people coming in.”

Green Man Wines in Terenure recently celebrated its third anniversary. David Gallagher and his wife Claire O’Boyle both worked in various wine shops before going it alone in 2015, although O’Boyle also works for a wine importer.

“We felt that there was an opportunity to offer a different style of wine in a different shopping environment. We had been to wine fairs in the south of France and tasted some stunning ’natural wines’, made with minimal intervention and different than anything available here. We visited Terroirs in London which serves natural wines alongside well-sourced food and were convinced this could work in Ireland. We wanted to offer something very different to the multiples.”

“The wine bar element was crucial; we have a space where you can enjoy wine at a reasonable price alongside some tasty food.”

They have space for wine-tasting evenings, vital for gaining customer loyalty and trust. “We want a shop that is fun, exciting and constantly evolving.”

The couple looked at the city centre but found that rents and rates were too high; and most suburbs were already well served. It was a customer in Fallon & Byrne, now a neighbour, Kevin Byrne of Mayfield Restaurant who first suggested Terenure. “It has a great community feel and we’ve been very much welcomed and now feel very much part of it. Our customer base is well-travelled, educated and enjoy their food and wine.”

Ciello Bianco 2016, Catarratto, Cantine Rallo, IGT Terre Siciliane
12%, €12.95
Organically grown and neither fined nor filtered. Vibrant and bright with juicy peaches and almonds, balanced nicely by lemon zest acidity, finishing dry. Before dinner, or with a wide variety of lighter seafood dishes or salads.
Stockists: Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie; Baggot St Wines, baggotstwines.ie; Clontarf Wines; 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie; Redmonds, Ranelagh; Blackrock Cellar, blackrockcellar.ie; MacGuinness Wines, Dundalk, dundalkwines.ie; Bradley’s Off-Licence, Cork, bradleysofflicence.ie; Le Caveau, Kilkenny, lecaveau.ie.

De Combel-La-Serre, Le pur fruit du Causse 2016, Cahors
12.5%, €17.95
Made from organically grown grapes with minimal sulphur at bottling. Forward and aromatic with pure, fresh, supple dark fruits and a dry finish.
Stockists: Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie; Donnybrook Fair, donnybrookfair.ie; Bradley’s Off-licence, Cork, bradleysofflicence.ie

Château Bauduc Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Bordeaux
12%, €16
Crisp, dry and refreshing, with subtle yellow fruits and apples. A great all-purpose wine to drink solo, with white fish, soft goat’s cheese or chicken salads.
Stockists: Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, jusdevine.ie; The Vintry, Rathgar, vintry.ie; Curious Wines, Cork, curiouswines.ie; Redmond’s, Ranelagh; The Corkscrew, Chatham Street, corkscrew.ie; Callan’s, Dundalk, callans.ie; Dwan’s, Ballycullen; Blackrock Cellar, blackrockcellar.ie; Martins Off-Licence, Clontarf, martinsofflicence.ie

Les Trois Terroirs 2015, Cairanne 2015, Domaine Boisson
14%, €18.99
Medium to full-bodied with ripe plum and cherry fruits and a savoury edge, balanced nicely by a refreshing streak of acidity. Serve with roast pork or pork chops.
Stockists: Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, jusdevine.ie; Searson’s, Monkstown, searsons.ie; The Parting Glass, Enniskerry, thepartingglass.ie; Morton’s of Galway, mortonsofgalway.ie;  Cinnamon Cottage, Cork, cinnamoncottage.ie

What’s the big deal with sake?

First published in The Irish Times, Saturday 7th April, 2018

Sake opens you up to a different world of tastes and flavours. It is a drink quite like no other, subtle, sometimes fragrant and fruity, at other times rich and almost funky. It has been made in Japan for millennia. Interest outside of Japan has exploded over the last decade, especially in the top restaurants of London, New York and elsewhere. Here in Ireland, we began to show interest during the Celtic Tiger years, but it is only recently that wine importer Colly Murray set up Retrosake (sake.ie), and began to import quality sake. He now has a portfolio of more than 40. He treated me to a fascinating tasting in Dylan McGrath’s Taste, where diners can chose from a huge selection.

The word “sake” means alcohol in Japanese; rice wine is called nihonshu, but is labelled as seishu. Made by brewing a special strain of rice, it is technically closer to beer than wine. The rice is steamed and injected with a special fermentation culture known as koji. It reaches 14-20 per cent alcohol, but is usually diluted with water to about 15 per cent alcohol. It can be dry or sweet; the nihonshu-do on the label gives an indicator of sweetness. Sake does not mature with age (although Koshu sake has been aged in a tank prior to bottling). The classification system is complicated; it makes wine nomenclature look like child’s play. Cheap sake (futsuchu), which makes up 70 per cent of the market, contains additives, including alcohol and sugar. Junmai meaning “pure rice”, is sake made from polished fermented rice. Honjozo has a little brewer’s alcohol added to the fermenting rice.

Rice polished

With premium sake, the rice is first polished to remove the outer bran and proteins, losing 30 per cent or more of its original size. Daiginjo sake has had 50 per cent removed through polishing. The more you polish, the more elegant and refined the sake becomes (and more expensive too!). All premium sake is vegan, free of lactic acid and contains no additives.

Sake can be served warm, cold or at room temperature. It depends on your preference, although heating inferior sake can be a way of masking the flavours. Many aficionados will drink it warm in winter, cold in summer, and their finest at room temperature or very lightly chilled. An opened bottle will keep in the fridge, but should really be drunk within a few weeks.

Restaurants in the West (including Chapter One and The Greenhouse in Dublin) often serve sake during a meal. The Japanese prefer to drink it as an aperitif, with sashimi and lighter canapes or with starters. As many sakes have plenty of umami, they open up opportunities for all kinds of food. If all of the above seems a little confusing, take heart; the best way to learn is to drink it. The following sakes are not cheap, but they are fascinating, complex drinks and well worth trying.

URAKASUMI JUNMAI 300ML

(15%, €22.15)

A sake of great finesse, textured and fruity – lychees and pears. Refreshing and completely charming.

Stockists: Drinkstore, Stoneybatter, drinkstore.ie; Blackrock Cellar, Blackrock, blackrockcellar.com; The Corkscrew, Chatham Street, thecorkscrew.ie; Baggot Street Wines, Baggot Street, baggotstreetwines.com.

ENTER.SAKE BLACK HONJOZO

(15%, €42)

Enter.sake is a collection of sakes from techno musician and DJ Richie Hawtin, something of a sake fanatic. This is very concentrated, with a velvety texture, and full of savoury umami and pineapple fruits.

Stockists: Mitchell & Son, chq, Sandycove and Avoca, Kilmacanogue and Dunboyne, mitchellandson.com; Blackrock Cellar, Blackrock, blackrockcellar.com.

FUKUJU KOBE CLASSIC JUNMAI GINJO

(15%, €49)

Deliciously fruity aromas, full-bodied and richly textured, with grilled nuts,  and a lovely fruity finish.

Stockists: Drinkstore, Stoneybatter, drinkstore.ie; Blackrock Cellar, Blackrock, blackrockcellar.com; The Corkscrew, Chatham Street, thecorkscrew.ie; Baggot Street Wines, Baggot Street, baggotstreetwines.com.

DASSAI 50 JUNMAI DAIGINJO

(15%, €55)

Superb sake. Lifted and fragrant, complex and long with savoury notes accompanied by subtle stone fruits.

Stockists: 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie; Whelehans Wines, Loughlinstown, whelehanswines.ie; Drinkstore, Stoneybatter, drinkstore.ie; Blackrock Cellar, Blackrock, blackrockcellar.com.

The best red wines to go with your Easter lamb

Easter may not be accompanied by quite the same ballyhoo as Christmas, but for most people it is one of the great family celebrations of the year. Certainly the weather is better, with the promise of spring warmth and sunshine. Eating lamb at Easter is a Christian tradition going back centuries. As far as I can see, every wine-producing country in Europe celebrates with the paschal lamb, although Greece and other Orthodox countries celebrate a week or so later.

For wine lovers Easter also offers much more opportunity than Christmas, as a roast of lamb is one of the best partners for almost any red wine. This is the time to bring out your finest. I suspect most of us are guilty of keeping our special bottles for far too long, waiting for that perfect occasion, until they are way past their best, so prevaricate no longer: bring out that bottle you were given as a thank you all those years ago and share it with people you love. If you don’t have a cellar full of mature wine don’t worry: virtually any medium- to full-bodied red wine will do perfectly. In fact it will taste a lot better alongside the lamb.

Francophiles will head straight for Bordeaux and the finest claret they can afford. But a fine Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia, California or Chile will do equally well. In Spain, Rioja would be the traditional choice, especially if you prefer more elegant wines, but a full-bodied Ribera del Duero is one of the great matches for lamb flavoured with rosemary and garlic.

Moving on to Italy, a good Chianti Classico would be my first choice, although the Barbera d’Alba that is one of today’s Bottles of the Week would also be pretty good. If you intend to barbecue your leg or shoulder of lamb, the more robust flavours and structure of a Malbec from Argentina might be called for.

We are likely to have a vegetarian at our table this Easter, so I intend to roast some Mediterranean vegetables and serve them with a black-olive-tapenade-style dressing. This, I suspect, would go nicely with today’s Chianti Classico, as would any pasta bake or dish based on pulses and beans – the Tuscans, after all, are known as Mangiafagioli, or Bean Eaters.

As this is a celebration take a little care. Even the most modest wine will taste far better when served with a bit of style. Pour your wine into your finest decanter and get out your best glasses. If you are bringing out an elderly bottle it may have thrown some sediment, so stand it upright for 24 hours before decanting.

Bottles of the Week

Château Turcaud 2015, Bordeaux 13%, €15.95
Ripe, rounded blackcurrant fruits brought to life by a subtle acidity. Elegant and refined, with light tannins on the dry finish. A perfect partner for your roast lamb.
From Le Caveau, Kilkenny; 64 Wine, Glenageary, Co Dublin; Martins, Clontarf, Dublin 3; Green Man, Terenure, Dublin 6; Clontarf Wines, Dublin 3; World Wide Wines, Waterford; Fallon and Byrne, Dublin 2; Blackrock Cellars, Co Dublin; the Corkscrew, Dublin 2

Barbera d’Alba Fontanelle 2015, Ascheri 14.5%, €16.95 (down from €18.95)
Fragrant and refreshing, this exudes delicious ripe blackcurrant and cherry fruits, offset by a tangy acidity and just enough tannin to cut through the lamb.
From branches of O’Briens

Chianti Classico 2015, Casa Emma 13.5%, €19.95
Gorgeous, svelte ripe cherry and blackcurrant fruits with a savoury touch on the finish. A smooth, medium-bodied wine with good concentration of fruit. Perfect with Carmel Somers’s Ottoman lamb.
From Donnybrook Fair, Dublin 4

Martinez Lacuesta Rioja Crianza 13.5%, €20
A seductive wine, aromatic, harmonious and smooth, with ample red fruits overlaid with spice. Classic Rioja, medium-bodied, with all the components singing in unison. Heavenly with lamb.
From Clontarf Wines, Dublin 3; Baggot Street Wines, Dublin 4; 64 Wine, Glasthule, Co Dublin