13.5%
€13.95
Lovely ripe juicy strawberry fruits with a tannin-free finish. Light enough to drink on its own, but big enough to take on red meats. This would be perfect if you are having a gang around.
Available from Searsons Wine Merchants, Monkstown; 64 Wine, Glasthule; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; The Drink Store, D7; The Wine Shop at One Pery Square, Limerick.
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12.5%
€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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14.5%
€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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Two wines with a very similar name and label, but quite different in style. In a slightly nerdy mood, I emailed the importers (Findlater WS) to find out how the winemaking changes. The 76 is sourced from only three regions, the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra, whereas the other includes, depending on the vintage, grapes from these as well as Langhorne Creek, Padthaway, Clare Valley and Bordertown. Both are aged for twelve months in oak, but the 76 has a proportion of new oak. Both were very drinkable, but the 76 was clearly the better wine.
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2011, South Australia
13.5%
Good medium-bodied ripe dark fruits – plums and cassis, smooth with a lightly spicy touch. Nice wine. Widely available for €16.99
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Seventy Six Shiraz Cabernet 2012, South Australia
14.5%
A tribute to the first Koonunga Hill, released in 1976. It was inexpensive, but very good and had the ability to age really well for a decade or more. This version is big and rich and classically Australian in style, with ripe dark fruits and a good tannic structure. I suspect this will keep equally well, although it is very good now. Widely available for €20.99
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It was a long weekend if you include St. Patrick’s Day; that is my excuse for drinking so much wine. Some nice bottles.
Wiston Estate Rosé South Downs
12%
Made by Irishman Dermot Sugrue, so we drank it on St. Patrick’s Day. Wonderful rosé with precise ripe raspberry fruits and developing notes of brioche. The label gives plenty of information; a dosage 8 g/l sugar; 57% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Meunier. Disgorged 12/2013
Triennes Viognier Sainte Fleur 2013 IGP Mediteranée
13%
This is what business class customers drink on Aer Lingus. Light peaches and custard with a touch of vanilla. Nice well-balanced wine that went nicely with my gnudi. Retails for €23 in Kellys, Clontarf; Corkscrew; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; Sheils, Malahide.
I am Didimi from Dimi and this is my Krakhuna 2013
Imereti, Georgia
12%
Surely the longest title for a wine. Krakhuna is the local grape (but then you knew that) and Dimi is the sub-region, part of Imereti. Georgia, the cradle of winemaking, is making quite a name for itself. Look out for Alice Feiring’s new book ‘For the Love of Wine’ on Georgian non-interventionist wine. This wine is made in glass demi-johns with no skin contact. Fresh with clean mineral fruits and a nice funkiness too; lovely wine. I Coravin the wine and celebrate the start of the weekend with a glass every Friday evening. Available through Le Caveau in Kilkenny, and Green Man Wines and probably a few others for €33.
Wolf Blass President’s Selection Chardonnay 2010, South Australia
13%
This missed the photo shoot above as it was hiding in the fridge. Good medium-bodied Chardonnay, with subtle tropical fruits on the palate, with a good lightly creamy texture and the merest touch of oak. Currently being phased out, but sells for €19.99.
Domaine Rolet Côtes du Jura Savagnin 2009
14%
4.5 years in old oak without topping up or racking. This has sherry-like qualities with intense oxidised nutty flavour and a bone dry mineral finish. Magnificent complex wine that I drank over three evenings. The back label suggested drinking it with creamy sauces, (chicken with morels being a classic match) as well as local cheeses. I tried mine with hake in parsley sauce, which was surprisingly good, and with Comté cheese, also very good. Sadly not available in Ireland yet, although I hear rumours it may appear in 64wine over the next few months; they have other wines from Domaine Rolet.
El Pájaro Rojo, Mencía 2014, Bierzo
14%
Part of a big Mencía tasting, this was a richer style of Bierzo, from the lower clay soils. It went through malo in new oak. Textured rounded dark fruits with hints of spice, this may not have the freshness of some Mencía, but it more than makes up for this with a lovely rounded texture. Very well priced too. €16.95 from Searsons, Monkstown.
S.C. Pannell Tempranillo Touriga 2014, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley
14%
Sleek smooth and concentrated dark fruits with a savoury touch and some perfectly integrated tannins. A gently purring, very cleverly made wine. Steve Pannell is one of the most highly regarded winemakers down under at the moment, having won the Jimmy Watson trophy in 2013, and was awarded Winemaker of the Year in 2015. €26.99 a bottle, imported by Liberty Wines.
Castello di Fonterutoli 2004, Mazzei Chianti Classico
14%
I bought six bottles of this about eight years ago, as it was being highly touted in the press at the time. I have drunk two bottles, both fine, but had I paid the full €50 retail price (I got it at a discount) I might have been a little disappointed. It is rich and rounded with very good dark fruits, a touch of wood, and some acidity too. Maturing nicely with some development. As I say, nice wine, but lacking a little Sangiovese character.
Hans Herzog Spirit of Marlborough Merlot Cabernet 2005, New Zealand
14%
I used this in a master class on New Zealand wines a few months back and coravined it. Mature, soft and leafy/herby in a good way, with ripe cassis fruit. Nothing like a Bordeaux but lovely interesting drinking. Sadly I don’t think this is available in Ireland. Hans Herzog is a Swiss winemaker/restaurateur who fell in love with Marlborough and moved there.
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First published in the Irish Times, 19th March, 2016
I have always had a soft spot for the wines of California and Zinfandel in particular. Fresh out of college, I spent six glorious months in San Francisco. I spent a lot of time travelling up and down the nearby Napa and Sonoma Valleys, and even more time drinking the lovely ripe- fruited wines that sold at ridiculously cheap prices. Many of these would have included Zinfandel in their make-up without mentioning it, but for a few dollars more you could buy a varietal Zin. These were rich, soft and powerful with an accessibility that made European wines seem sharp and unappetising. My tastes have changed over the years, but I still enjoy a good Zinfandel.
Zinfandel comes in three colours. You will find the odd genuinely white wine, stripped of both colour and flavour, but the majority of white Zinfandels are sweet rosé wines. Some mock them, but they provide many with an introduction to the pleasures of wine. Red Zinfandel is more serious, varying from rich and powerful to a more elegant style. All tend to have very ripe tannins, making them disarmingly easy to drink young, yet the best have the ability to age.
The variety first appeared in the mid-19th century. Many theories were advanced as to its origins but in the 1990s DNA proved that the Primitivo grape of Apulia (or Puglia) of Italy, was identical to that of Zinfandel. Many argued that the grape must have been brought over by Italian immigrants, although it predated them by several decades.It did not take Italian producers long to claim Primitivo as the original of the species, and to begin labelling their wines (particularly those going to the US) as Zinfandel. However, the trail continued to Croatia, where eventually a team of American and Croatian academics proved that an almost extinct variety called Crljenak Kastelanski was identical to both Primitivo and Zinfandel, and the parent of both.
There are plenty of very good small boutique Zinfandels produced in California, typically made from gnarled century-old vines that somehow survived prohibition.Most of these are snapped up by American enthusiasts before they can make their way over here. My favourite producer is Ridge, available through Jnwine.com. If you come across it in a restaurant, Frog’s Leap, imported by Berry Brothers & Rudd, is very good too. Beware mighty Zin though. This variety can reach heady port-like levels of alcohol – 16 per cent or more is not unusual.
The soft tannins and supple fruit make Zinfandel a good match for many foods, including most red and white meats. The richer style partners very well with grills, barbecues, spicy food (Mexican in particular) and rich robust stews.
De Loach Heritage Reserve Zinfandel 2014, 13.5%, €18.99
Generous and harmonious with mellow cassis and gentle spice.
Stockists: Blackrock Cellar; Clontarf Wines; Florries; Lotts & Co; On the Grapevine; McHughs; Red Island; Sweeney’s; World Wide Wine.
Gnarly Head Zinfandel 2013, Lodi, California, 14.5%, €18.99
Powerful and rounded with ripe dark fruits and a touch of vanilla.
Stockists: Donnybrook Fair; O’Briens; O’Donovan’s; Kelly’s; Jus de Vin; Baggot St Wines.
Paul Dolan Organic Zinfandel 2011, Mendocino,14.5%, €29.99
From organic and biodynamic vineyards, a rich wine coming down with ripe blackcurrants and plum jam.
Stockists: Redmonds; Fallon & Byrne.
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16 Stops Chardonnay 2014, Adelaide, Australia
12.5%
€13.99
Unoaked, with clean fresh apple and peach fruits. Good everyday drinking. Perfect on its own or with fish and white meats.
It has been a while since I wrote about an Aussie wine under €15. Over the last few years, the strong Australian dollar had pushed prices up. At the same time, it seemed as if the quality of entry level wines was not quite as good as in earlier years. This seems to be rectifying itself; certainly I was happy to come across this wine and the 16 Stops Shiraz at a very keen price.
Available from Blackrock Cellar; Miller & Cook, Mullingar;
Fresh Outlets; On The Grapevine, Dalkey; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; La Touche Wines, Greystones; Le Caveau, Kilkenny; Martins, Dublin 3; The Malt House, Trim; Power & Co, Lucan; Redmond’s, Ranelagh; 64Wine, Glasthule; Searsons, Monkstown; World Wide Wines, Waterford.
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16 Stops Shiraz 2013, McLaren Vale
14%
€13.99
Rounded dark fruits with a touch of spice and a smooth finish. As with the white, a crowd-pleasing, all-purpose wine to serve on its own or with a wide variety of foods.
Available from Blackrock Cellar; Fresh Outlets; On The Grapevine, Dalkey; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; Kelly’s, Dublin 3; La Touche, Greystones; Le Caveau, Kilkenny; Power & Co, Lucan; Redmonds, Ranelagh; 64Wine, Glasthule; Sweeney’s, Dublin 11; Searsons, Monkstown; World Wide Wines, Waterford.
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Schlumberger 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
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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