Wilson on Wines

Lidl French Wine Sale Part Two – Red Wine Preview

Posted by admin on July 23, 2016

As mentioned in my earlier post, Lidl will hold their French Wine Sale from 12th September onwards. I tasted my way through all of the wines. Here is a brief preview of my favourite red wines. There may well be more to add when I receive further samples shortly. There were fewer fine wines this year I think, but plenty of nicely priced wines to tempt us all. Their selection of inexpensive Bordeaux is very strong this year.

Fleurie 2015 Mignot Père & Fils €9-11
If you are a fan of Beaujolais (and I am) you will certainly enjoy this wine. 2015 was a great vintage in Beaujolais and it shows. Very nice crunchy ripe cherry fruits and a smooth easy finish. Amazing value, particularly if it sells for less than €10.

Philippe de Bois d’Arnault Ladoix Les Gonia 2014 (€15.99-17.99)
Decent chunky dark cherry fruits with nice refreshing acidity. Good value for money.

Ch. de Rousselet 2011, Côtes de Bourg (€9-11)
Very attractive light leafy mature Bordeaux with soft blackberry fruits. This is very keenly priced, and will certainly go down well with claret lovers.

Ch. Lalande Mausse 2013, Fronsac, Bordeaux (€9-11)
Clean fresh blackcurrant fruits, with good acidity and nice weight and quality of fruit. Nice wine.

Ch. Roylland 2012 St. Émilion Grand Cru (€19-20)
Very ripe, soft lush dark fruits; slightly animal and some new oak. Very easy commercial wine that will please the crowds, but not really my style.

Virginie de Valandraud 2014 St. Émilion Grand Cru (€33-35)
Another lush soft sexy wine with ripe cassis and some spicy new oak. As with the previous wine, it will certainly appeal to those who like rounded oaky wines.

Ch. de la Dauphine 2011, Fronsac (€22-25)
Very good chunky ripe Bordeaux with plums, blackcurrant and cassis, a nice tannic grip, finishing well. Classic right-bank Bordeaux at a good price.

Ch. Lagrange 2012, Saint Julien Grand Cru Classé €40
As posted earlier this is a nice wine with classic St. Julien flavours of blackcurrant, cedar wood and good fine grained tannins. Very good wine, but I would like a little more length and concentration for my €40. Still very enjoyable drinking though.

Tags: Bordeaux, Ch. de Rousselet, Ch. Roylland, Fleurie Mignot Pere & Fils, Lidl, Lidl French Wine Sale, Philippe de Bois d'Arnault, Virginie de Valandraud

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Les Maselles Sauvignon Blanc 2015, Val de Loire

Posted by admin on July 22, 2016

Les Maselles Sauvignon Blanc 2015, Val de Loire
€10 from O’Briens

Very attractive mild aromas of gooseberry and asparagus and plump green fruits with a lovely citrus bite. Perfect summery drinking at a very keen price.

This would make a great aperitif or party wine, or alternatively with a bowl of mussels.

I am not a big fan of inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc; I have tasted far too many sweetish, mawkish, confected wines that taste more like elderflower cordial than wine. However this was a pleasant exception. Made I suspect in Haut-Poitou, a region that produces good quality inexpensive white wines, but has the simple tag ‘Vin de Loire’.

Tags: Les Maselles Sauvignon Blanc, Loire Valley Sauvignon, O'Briens, O'Briens Wines, Sauvignon Blanc

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Canforalles Syrah Tempranillo 2015, La Mancha

Posted by admin on July 22, 2016

Canforalles Syrah Tempranillo 2015, La Mancha
€13 from La Touche, Greystones; World Wide Wines, Waterford; 64wine, Glasthule; Liston’s, Camden Street.

Nice young wine – the Syrah gives it a savoury touch, the Tempranillo an elegance. Together they form a well-made wine, with clean dark fruits and light tannins. Ideal with pizza and tomato-based pasta dishes. Organic.

La Mancha is one of the largest vineyards in the world, and produces massive quantities of wine, largely red. They are usually very reasonably priced. I reckon La Mancha Tempranillo is one of the best-value red wines you can find. This wine mixes in a bit of Syrah too, a nice innovation. Great value for money.

Tags: Canforalles Syrah Tempranillo, La Mancha Red Wine, Spain Red Wine, Tempranillo, Vinostito

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Trimbach Riesling Réserve 2010

Posted by admin on July 21, 2016

Trimbach Riesling Réserve 2010, Alsace
€23 from Donnybrook Fair and Jus de Vine, Portmarnock.

This is a glorious maturing Riesling with complex honeyed toasted fruits and a steely backbone that brings a pleasing austerity. It is completely dry, light in alcohol (13%) and offers great value for money.

This would go perfectly with chicken, pork or shellfish.

I have indulged my love of Alsace Riesling to the full over the last few weeks. First on a trip to Strasbourg with Lidl (they bring us to France every year to taste their new French selection), and then several tastings of the wines available here. I even succeeded in drinking a glass of Clos Sainte Hune, one of France’s greatest white wines while over there. This Riesling Réserve was new to me, and really stood out in my tasting. It is well worth the premium (€4) over the standard Trimbach Riesling. Having said that, Donnybrook Fair have the latter for a very competitive €15.99. Both a great wines.

Tags: Donnybrook Fair, Gilbets, Jus de Vine Portmarnock, TRIMBACH, Trimbach Riesling

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Guardoilvento Etna Rosso DOC 2014, Sicily

Posted by admin on July 21, 2016

Guardoilvento Etna Rosso DOC 2014, Sicily
€26 from Sheridans Cheesemongers and Mitchell & Son, chq, Sandycove and Avoca, Kilmacanogue.

A wonderful wine full of the warm herby earthy aromas of the sunny Mediterranean combined with some elegant fresh dark fruits. Very delicious.

Drink with red meats. I enjoyed mine with some spicy Moroccan barbequed lamb.

I am writing an article on the wines of Etna for the Irish Times, and this formed part of a great tasting – it is only one of a number of brilliant wines. It is made from 100% Nerello Mascalase a local grape that has been all the rage for a few years now.

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The Secret to Baking a Great Loaf of Bread

Posted by admin on July 19, 2016

Over the years I have gone through various bread-baking phases, trying out everything from sourdough to brioche. Much of the time I struggled to bake a loaf as good as that from a proper baker. Then, within a week the same solution was handed to me by two completely different people; Darina Allen and Paul Hollywood. The way to successfully bake a really great loaf, better than anything you will find in most supermarket bakeries is:

A cast iron casserole, a Le Creuset or Dutch Oven, as it is called in the States.

First, having completed a wine-tasting session at Ballymaloe Cookery School, I sneaked into the back of a class on fermentation, given by Darina Allen and Emer FitzGerald. It was a fascinating talk, and I wish I hadn’t been obliged to race off back to Wicklow. For me the most interesting part was the sourdough bread, which did not require any kneading and was baked in a cast iron casserole preheated in a very hot oven. The idea came from Chad Robertson of Tartine in San Francisco.

Three days later, watching Paul Hollywood on the Food Network channel, he introduced a New York baker who produced a fail-safe no-knead bread baked in the same vessel. See http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/video/no-need-to-kneed-this-bread-dough.html for the same video.

In both cases, you fold rather than knead the bread, and in both cases, you preheat the casserole, bake the bread for 20 minutes with the lid on, and then a further 15-25 minutes without the lid, allowing the crust to crisp up. I tried both out. I baked my sourdough at a very high temperature, which shattered my Le Creuset handle, and the loaf stuck a little to the bottom of the casserole. I now unscrew the handle and sprinkle a little wholemeal or rye flour on the casserole before adding the bread. It works a treat. I can now cook really good bread, both sourdough and standard, to a very high standard. I usually mix strong white flour with a proportion of whole meal, rye or granary. It may not look quite as artisanal as real bakery bread, but the crumb and moisture is good, the crust nice and crunchy, and the flavour excellent.

Tags: Baking Bread

Posted in: Blog, Food & Cookery

A few very nice wines – the weekends modest consumption

Posted by admin on July 18, 2016

The weekends modest consumption.

Rocca de Montemassi 2013, Maremma Toscana

Made, I think, from a Bordeauxish blend with some Syrah, this was a medium to full-bodied wine with concentrated blackcurrant fruits, toasty oak, plenty of structure and good dry tannic length. Sort of like Bordeaux on steroids? Very nice wine. €40 from Fresh Outlets.

Dom Freitas Reserva 2013 Castelao, VR Peninsula de Setubal

SuperValu will launch this (in selected stores) in very smart wooden cases of six for €50, or €8.33 a bottle from 21st July. Light with piquant cherry fruits, good acidity and some oaky vanilla. Good with lighter meat dishes and good value too.

Guardoilvento 2014 Etna Rosso

Herbal nose with some dark fruits; slightly baked and wild, with ripe dark fruits and good acidity. Lovely wine. Imported by Grapecircus, I suspect it would retail for around €25-30.

Macon-Uchizy 2014 Mallory & Benjamin Talmard
An old favourite showing very well. Medium-bodied with fresh clean green apple fruits and a touch of style. €18.95 from Searsons and other independents.

Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2006, Margaret River, Western Australia

I stashed this away five years ago, having written a very positive review of the wine. It is still very good and certainly shows no sign of oxidiation (or premature oxidation) but I would have hoped for a little more intensity of flavour. Still had plenty of fresh acidity, light toasty hazelnuts, and peach fruits, Good but not great.

Ch. Lagrange 2012, Grand Cru Classé, Saint Julien

A bottle I smuggled home from the Lidl press tasting, to be featured shortly in their French Wine sale at around €40. Fine, classic Saint Julien with elegant blackcurrant fruits, and a cloak of new French oak. A very nice wine, but just wish it had a touch more concentration at this price.

Croce di Febo Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2011
Fairly full-bodied (14%) with plenty of dark savoury cherry fruits, some new oak showing through and a firm long finish. Well-made wine. Organic. From Grapecircus I think and therefore probably available in Sheridans.

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Šipon & Slovenia

Posted by admin on July 17, 2016

First published in the Irish Times, Saturday 16th July, 2016

The south-east corner of Slovenia is one of the prettiest wine regions I have ever visited; rolling green hills covered in vines, forest, fields of pumpkin and maize, dotted with substantial prosperous well-maintained farmhouses, each with its own immaculate kitchen garden. The hills provide some excellent and varied sites to grow vines. The people are very friendly and open. It was a joy to walk around the narrow roads on a bright sunny June morning and very hard to leave. The default language is German. We are a twenty-minute drive from Austria and Hungary, and two minutes from Croatia; the recently erected barbed wire fence along the border lies unmanned, as the politics of refugee’s changes. In the past, the people of this area would have considered the city of Graz as their capital rather than Ljubljana.

The names are long and a bit confusing. The three main towns are Ljutomer (remember Lutomer Riesling?), Jeruzalem and Ormož. They tried calling their wine Jeruzalem, but people thought it was Israeli. Today most of the wines are labeled Štajerska, Slovenian for Styria, a much larger region. Grape varieties do not respect political borders. Many of those grown here can also be found in the neighboring countries. The majority of wines are white, although Blaufränkisch is growing in popularity and can be very good.

Šipon (pronounced Sheepon or Shipon) is better known by its Hungarian name, Furmint. It deserves far greater recognition as one of the world’s great grape varieties, responsible for Hungary’s glorious sweet Tokaji, as well as some delicious dry white wines in Austria and Slovenia as well as Hungary. Under other names, you will also find it in Croatia, Romania, and Slovakia. Mitchell & Son even have a (very good) sparkling Furmint from Ch. Dereszla in Tokaji. Dry Furmint is lightly aromatic, with wonderful bracing acidity, and attractive fruits whose flavours I find difficult to describe. It can take a bit of oak ageing, and matures very well too. It certainly goes very well with the pork dishes popular in this part of Slovenia.

I tend to run away from Gewürztraminer most of the time; it takes a skilled winemaker to balance the rich exotic honey-laden aromas and fruit with the all-important balancing acidity. The Traminer grape is a forbearer of Gewürz. Less aromatic, with succulent fruits and a lively acidity, the wines are worth looking out for, especially the Miro below. The western part of Slovenia also produces some fascinating, but very different wines, often with a distinctly Italian style. Sadly very few are available here for the moment. Slovenia is not a big producer, and their wines are in demand locally, so prices are rarely cheap. They do however offer very good value.

Verus Furmint (Šipon) 2014, Stajerska, Slovenia
12%
€20.99

Delicious light refreshing wine with plump honey and melon fruits.

Stockists: Cabot and Co, Westport cabotandco.ie; Grapevine, onthegrapevine.ie

Miro Traminec 2013, Stajerska, Slovenia
13.5%
€22.50

Gentle aromas of honeysuckle, dripping with honeyed ripe peach fruits.

Stockists: Cabot and Co, Westport www.cabotandco.ie; Grapevine, Dalkey www.onthegrapevine.ie

Dveri Pax Šipon Ilovic 2011, Stajerska Slovenia
13%
€20.99

Aromatic, lightly smoky with delicious maturing exotic fruits, finishing dry.

Stockists: Wines on the Green, Dawson St.

Bargain Wine
1139 Dveri Pax 2015, Stajerska, Slovenia
12.5%
€14.95

A blend of four grapes come together to produce a vibrant fruit-filled wine. Perfect summer drinking.

Stockists: Marks & Spencer

Tags: Dveri Pax, Furmint, Marks & Spencer, Miro, Sipon, Slovenia, The Irish Times, Verus

Posted in: Irish Times

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Lidl French Wine Sale Part One – White Wines Preview

Posted by admin on July 16, 2016

The Lidl French wine sale starts on the 12th September. As usual, quantities are limited, so some will sell through fairly quickly. There are, I think, fewer wines this year, but the overall quality was pretty good with some impressive wines. As in previous years, Bordeaux features strongly with a nice range of wines at around €10.

Prices are indicative and will be confirmed closer to the event. Today, I review my favourite white wines, to be followed by the reds next week.

Ernest Wein Riesling 2015, Alsace (around €10)

Very recognisably Riesling with plump apple fruits, a little residual sugar, but it works very well. Nice wine.

JP Muller Riesling Grand Cru Altenberg de Berbieten 2013 (€13-15)

Bigger, richer and riper than the Riesling above, with good mature honeyed fruits, nice concentration and a clean finish. Well-made wine and very good value.

Bestheim Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes 2015, Alsace (€8-9)

A pleasantly herbal nose and palate with decent plump fruit. Perfect sipping wine at a very good price.

Sancerre 2015, Vigne de la Taille aux Buis (€14-16)

I am not usually a fan of cheap Sancerre, but this was an exception. Light crisp and mineral with some elegant green fruits.

Touraine Sauvignon La Chardoise 2015 (around €10)

Looking for an inexpensive sipping Sauvignon? This should do the trick. Light elderflower aromas rich rounded green fruits. Fine at the price. By the way, I am not sure this is the correct picture above – there were two on tasting.

Adrien Marechal Reuilly 2015 (€11-13)

If you haven’t tried a Reuilly before, this is your chance. This small appellation in the Loire valley produces some very good Sauvignon Blanc. This was one of my stars of the tasting, a lovely lightly aromatic wine with concentrated stony green fruits and a crisp dry finish. Lovely wine.

Tags: Alsace Riesling, Alsace Sylvaner, Ernest Wein Riesling, JP Muller Riesling Grand Cru, Lidl French Wine Sale, Lidl Ireland, Reuilly Adrien Marechal, Riesling, Sancerre la Taille aux Buis

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Beauregard Mirouze Corbières Blanc ‘Campana’ 2015,

Posted by admin on July 15, 2016

Beauregard Mirouze Corbières Blanc ‘Campana’ 2015,
€14.85 from Le Caveau, Kilkenny & MacGuinness, Dundalk.

Very seductive floral aromas, with mouth-watering plump ripe peaches on the palate. Great value for money.

A good all-rounder to sip on its own or with summery salads.

You are much more likely to come across the red version of Corbières. The appellation is very large, and the reds range from cheap and watery to some serious age worthy wines. This wine is a slightly eclectic mix of 60% Marsanne, 30% Vermentino and 10% Roussanne that works really well.

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