Wilson on Wines

Romanian Wines

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Discovering the wines of Romania
A tour of vineyards revealed some interesting wines
First published in the Irish Times
Sat, Sep 19, 2015, 00:00

The last thing Englishman Philip Cox wanted on leaving college was a boring desk job, so he headed to Romania, where he ended up, at the tender age of 23, as managing director of the local branch of the massive German wine company, Reh Kendermann.You may not know the name, but this is the company behind German wines Black Tower and Bend in the River, as well as a large number of own-label brands.His job was sourcing wine for various Reh Kendermann brands. Cox persuaded the company to make the wine themselves. The next step was buying their own vineyards, but the Germans baulked at this. Cox departed, and with several partners, including his wife, set up Carmela Recas. The original aim was to buy 50 hectares in Banat (in western Romania), but the government insisted they buy the entire 500 hectare estate and the winery too. Fortunately, they were given five years to pay, effectively bankrolling the fledgling business.The company has been hugely successful and now has 200 employees, and will sell 12 million bottles of wine next year. It farms 1,000 hectares of vines, and owns a franchise chain of 150 wine shops around Romania.

The vineyards and winery are run on very modern New World lines, with harvesting at night where possible (daytime temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius on a regular basis), and a large state-of-art winery.The company’s Australian winemaker Hartley Smithers spends part of the year working at Cassella – otherwise known as Yellow Tail. The aim is to produce juicy, fruit-filled wines that are sold and drunk within a year.“Our strategy is to offer a huge range to our customers,” says Cox. “We have over 250 labels and 65 different wines. We listen to our clients and innovate all the time. For 20 years they all wanted international varieties. People don’t buy our wines because they are Romanian. They buy them because they are nice wines with good labels that offer good value.” In the past two to three years, interest has grown in native Romanian varieties. The international grape varieties include Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir, the latter two proving to have real potential.

In Romania, homemade wine accounts for 50 per cent of consumption. Virtually every household has a row or two of vines out the back, and makes their own wine. “Nearly all of it,” says Cox, “tastes like s**t.”I did visit four other wineries in Romania (I travelled with other Irish and UK journalists, all paid for by Cox), but none are available in Ireland. Halewood is another company founded by an Englishman, and Serve was founded by a Corsican winemaker. Of greater interest were two small wine estates that have been restored to their original owners after the fall of Ceaucesceau. Princess Illeana Kripp-Continescu and her husband Baron Jakob built a replica of the original winery in Dragasani, in the foothills of the Transylvanian Alps, where her family have owned vineyards for 300 years. She remembers being smuggled out of Romania in an airplane in the early 1960s. The Prince Stirbey wines, made primarily with indigenous grape varieties, are very good, and available to Irish members of The Wine Society.Avincus was set up by lawyer Dr Cristiana Stoica, her husband (a professor of law and Minister for Justice for several years) and her family. As with Stirbey, this was a restitution – they rebuilt the ruins of the original home.Romania appears to have all it takes; a mix of large commercial producers and small estates, as well as its own local interesting grape varieties; aromatic whites such as Feteasca Regala, Feteasca Alba, Tmaîios and Româneasca. Of the red grapes Feteasca Neagra struck me as having real potential. Hopefully we will see more of them in this country in the near future.

Frunza Pinot Noir 2014, Romania
12%
€9.99

Delicate sweet red cherry fruits with no tannins – serve lightly chilled.

Stockists: Independents nationwide including The Vintry; Gibneys; Fresh; Higgins; Brady’s Shankill; O’Donovan’s; Next Door.

DSCF6079 Umbrele Merlot 2014, Romania
12.5%
€9.99

Smooth ripe juicy dark plum fruits with a rounded finish.

Stockists: Independents nationwide including The Vintry; Gibneys; Fresh; Higgins; Brady’s Shankill; O’Donovan’s; Next Door.

DSCF6072 Paparuda Syrah 2013, Romania
13%
€11.99

Light smooth sweet cassis and dark cherry fruits with some notes of vanilla.

Stockists: Independents nationwide including Listons; Deveneys, Rathmines; Ardkeen; Egans Portlaoise; McEntee, Kells; Carry Out; Londis Malahide.

Tags: Paparuda Syrah, Pinot Noir, Romania, Umbrele Merlot

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Sherry Cocktails

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Dust off the sherry bottle – it’s trendy now
The Spanish wine is becoming a fashionable cocktail addition

First published in The Irish Times
Sat, Sep 12, 2015, 02:15

I am always reluctant to add anything to my wine. I have too much respect for both winemaker and grape. If he or she had wanted their wine to taste fizzy and have bits of fruit floating around in it, they would have added fizzy water and bits of fruit; except then it isn’t wine. Besides, good wine tastes far too nice by itself to consider meddling around with it. Even Kir, the Burgundian aperitif of Aligoté and Crème de Cassis, seems merely a way of using up a rather acidic wine.Obviously there is a point to adding things to average wine – it helps mask any deficiencies. In the cold of winter, mulled wine can be warming, and in summer, a spritzer can be refreshing. But this summer a new wine-based cocktail has become very fashionable, and it is made using a very fine wine.

I have great sympathy for the Jerezanos. They produce sherry, one of the greatest drinks known to man, one that requires lengthy ageing and expert blending. The world, sadly, ignores them much of the time. Despite sherry being hip in the wine bars of London and elsewhere, sales of the real stuff are steady rather than brilliant. However, rescue may be at hand. Sherry cocktails are taking off. You may have come across white port and tonic, muddled or garnished with fresh mint. A rebujito is the Spanish equivalent, a fino sherry with tonic and ice. Apparently they have been knocking it back for years at fiestas all around the south of Spain. It does have advantages; the lovely taste of fino sherry but less of the alcohol, so you don’t slide under the table after a few drinks. If you find fino and tonic a little too dry, you can always add lemonade instead. There are even a few pre-mixed versions available. But this is only the start of sherry and cocktails. The internet is coming down with recipes. Sherry company Lustau has its own site, with suggestions for every style of sherry. Talia Baiocchi has published a book, Sherry: A Modern Guide to the Wine World’s Best-kept Secret, with Cocktails and Recipes.

I thought this was something new, but a little research showed that sherry cocktails go back to the 19th century, which saw the creation of two classics, the Bamboo and the Adonis. And of course there is the sherry cobbler.The Bamboo, invented in the 1890s in the Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan, calls for equal parts of fino sherry and dry vermouth with two dashes of Angostura bitters and two of orange bitters. The Adonis, apparently named after a Broadway musical, is made up of two parts fino sherry to one part sweet vermouth with two dashes of orange bitters. The cobbler is of even earlier origin. Recipes vary greatly but all contain sherry (fino or amontillado), sugar and lots of ice. Most contain citrus, usually a slice or two of orange, as well.Moving up in strength, sherry brandy is also now back in fashion, as an ingredient in cocktails. This goes through a unique solera system, producing distinctive, sometimes exquisite brandies. I visited the Lepanto distillery in Gonzalez Byass earlier this year and tasted some amazing brandies. Sadly, they are not available in Ireland. However, if you are travelling back from Spain, look for them in travel retail shops – Lepanto is very cheap given the quality.At a more rarified level, Fernando Castilla and Bodegas Tradicion both make superb sherry brandies. They are not cheap, however. Celtic Whiskey has the Bodegas Tradicion brandy for €75.99 and the amazing Tradicion Platinum brandy for €289.99.I am glad that the sherry houses have found a new audience for their wonderful wines, and I hope it wins new converts to this unique drink. However, I cannot help shuddering slightly at the idea of adding the finest old amontillado to a cocktail.

Tio Pepe Palamino Fino
15%
€15.99

One of the best wine brands of all; delicious, light, elegant and refreshing with subtle flavours of almond and green olives.

Stockists: Very widely available including O’Briens, Tesco, Dunnes, SuperValu.

DSCF6033 La Iña Fino sherry
15%
€15.99

A great name in sherry, now revived. Lovely tangy fresh dry wine with nuts, green apples and a bracing salinity.

Stockists: Mitchell & Son, chq, Sandycove & Avoca, Kilmacanogue; McCabes, Foxrock & Blackrock.

Lustau Solera Gran Reserva Finest Selection, Brandy de Jerez
40%
€57.95

Remarkable brandy and remarkable value too. Coffee, caramel, chocolate, burnished old mahogany furniture and nuts.

Stockists: Mitchell & Son, chq. The Wine Centre, Kilkenny; McCabe’s;
Deveney’s, Dundrum.

Tags: Cocktails, La Ina, Lustau, Sherry, Sherry Brandy, Sherry Cocktails, Tio Pepe

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Champagne Bubble: the rise of the small producer

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Champagne bubble: the rise of the small producer
What started with a few ambitious growers is now the next big thing in wine trends

From the Irish Times, Sat, Sep 5, 2015, 05:00

Champagne remains the most glamorous drink of all. It may have been taboo to order a bottle in a restaurant during the downturn, but sales, apparently, are on the increase once again. Prosecco has its place, but so too does good Champagne. We know all of the big brands – Bollinger, Veuve Cliquot, Roederer and Moët & Chandon – as well as their luxury cuvées – Cristal, Krug and Dom Perignon. For a long time these big names had it all their own way. Many still cling to the idea that they are superior, and sometimes they are, but they don’t always make the best wines.

The big houses have a wealth of experience (and a wealth of wealth) and are experts in the process of blending. As suggested a couple of weeks back, Champagne is probably the greatest blended wine of all. A typical nonvintage Champagne will be a mix of vintages, grape varieties, subregions, and various wine-making methods. A master blender is more like a parfumier, with several hundred options open to him.

At a recent tasting, chef de cave Michel Parisot of Champagne Devaux pointed out a change of 2-3 per cent in a blend will have a dramatic effect on the outcome. With nonvintage Champagne (or multivintage, as the Champenois now prefer to call it) the idea is to offer the consumer exactly the same wine every time.

The supermarkets make a decent job of their own-label Champagnes, although I would avoid any unknown brand sold at “half-price”. The big trend in the past few years has been towards what are known as grower Champagnes. In the past, the big houses bought grapes from vignerons all over the Champagne region and made the wine themselves (or bought wine and labelled it as their own). The emphasis was on the complicated winemaking and blending process and, of course, the expensive marketing.

Then and now, if you were lucky enough to own a patch of vines in the region, or better still a vineyard with Premier Cru or Grand Cru status, you could make a lot of money simply selling on your grapes every autumn. None of that messy, time-consuming winemaking to worry about, and no expensive machinery to buy. Then a few more ambitious growers started making their own Champagne. Instead of regional blends, their wines are usually from a single commune, or even a single plot of vines.

Does that make them better? It can certainly make them more interesting, although it depends on how good the vineyard is and how good the winemaker is. Either way, these wines are now hip and in huge demand in Paris, New York and London.

As these are small producers, they tend to be of interest to independent wine merchants who can import boutique Champagnes without pressure to achieve huge sales. Terroirs in Donnybrook imports the excellent biodynamic Champagnes of Larmandier Bernier. Wines Direct has the lovely, reasonably priced Charpentier range. This year, I have also tasted the excellent and reasonably priced Bénard-Pitois (€34.95 Whelehans Wines); the gluggable fruity AR Lenoble (€45 Greenacres, Wexford) and Bérèche & Fils (restaurants only but brilliant Champagne). You will find others, but beware of large co-operatives masquerading as small producers.

We tend to drink Champagne before a meal or (disastrously) with dessert or wedding cake. Yet it is one of the most accommodating food wines, great with shellfish (especially oysters and lobster), of course, but also all sorts of fish, rich canapés, Chinese and Thai food, sushi and sashimi. My favourite food with Champagne is gougères, those delicious warm cheesy choux pastries served in Champagne and Burgundy, although I have several friends who swear by fish and chips with their Champagne! It works, so long as you don’t add vinegar into the mix.

DSCF5883 Champagne Gaston Chiquet Sélection Brut N.V.
12%
€45.95

A fine grower Champagne, with expressive ripe raspberry and redcurrant fruits and citrus with a fine dry finish.

Stockists: Green Man Wines, Terenure; Fallon & Byrne, Exchequer Street.

Vilmart Grand Cellier Brut Premier Cru N.V.
12.5%
€62

One of the finest grower Champagnes; a beautifully textured elegant Champagne with subtle brioche and rounded fruits, with a refined acidity throughout.

Stockists: Quintessential Wines, Drogheda www.quintessentialwines.ie, Hole in Wall, D7.

DSCF5658 Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Vintage Rosé 2004
12%
€80

Superb mature refined raspberry fruits, balancing the fine acidity, with a long elegant finish. From one of the large Champagne houses.

Celtic Whiskey Store, Redmond’s, O’Briens and Jus de Vine.

Tags: Champagne, Chiquet, Grower Champagne, Veuve Cliquot, Veuve Cliquot Rose, Vilmart

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LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE

Posted by admin on October 17, 2015

Last of the summer wine
Before the nights close in, try some light, fresh and fruity reds
The Irish Times, Sat, Aug 29, 2015, 01:00

It is not quite yet time to stow away the garden furniture for another year, but summer is drawing inexorably to a close. Whether you are heading down to Electric Picnic (see you there at the chocolate and wine matching session in the Theatre of Food?) or (hopefully) just taking in the last few rays, this might be the final opportunity to enjoy summer wines before the dark nights close in. Or is it? If truth be told, I enjoy fresh and fruity wines the whole year round. I love red wine with tuna and salmon, and also with cold meats, charcuterie, chicken and pork. The best red wines for this kind of food are lower in alcohol and lighter in style.

Beaujolais is the first wine that comes to mind, but a glass of cool Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley, chilled if the weather is really hot, is thirst-quenching and satisfying. A few months ago, a wine importer called me up in a state of excitement, boasting that he had sourced a Loire Cabernet with 14.5 per cent alcohol and really ripe fruit. I wondered why he had bothered; the whole raison d’être of these wines are those distinctive just-ripe crunchy redcurrant fruits and that tangy fresh acidity.

A decade ago, many were a little too herbaceous with stalky green flavours, and lacked any fruit on the centre-palate. But the overall quality has improved greatly, while prices have remained amazingly cheap. The very best wines can have austere drying tannins and will evolve wonderfully for a decade or more. But most are primed for drinking the summer following harvest. Fresh and fruity, they would be my ideal bistro wines, thirst-quenching and moreish. Either way, they will be naturally low in alcohol.

Cabernet Franc does not have the sweet succulence of a Pinot Noir; it is more austere and reserved, with higher acidity. Chinon is the best-known region for Cabernet Franc, but Bourgeuil, Saint Nicolas de Bourgeuil, Saumur and Saumur-Champigny, as well as the catch-all region of Touraine all produce very good versions. Saumur-Champigny tends to be the lightest and freshest, Chinon the smoothest and silkiest, while Bourgeuil tends to be earthier and more structured.

Moving across Europe, an alternative source for light red wines is Blaufrankisch. Light in alcohol and tannin, with crunchy blue fruits, they make for brilliant summery drinking. Austria is the best-known producer, but Blaufrankisch is grown all across eastern and central Europe under various names, usually with the word ‘french’ incorporated; Franconia in Italy, Frankovka in Slovakia, Modra Frankinja in Slovenia and Limberger in Germany.

One enterprising Irish couple, Sinéad and Liam Cabot play tag-team winemaking, flitting between Slovenia and Westport. Their 2013 Roka is delicious, and their Reserve (€ 20.99) even more so. I have also tasted some very good Austrian Blaufrankisch from Claus Preisinger (€ 16.50, 64wine) and J Heinrich (€ 18.99, Wines on the Green). I also tried two very good light fruity wines made from Zweigelt, a step-child of Blaurfankisch, from Waltner (€ 16, On the Grapevine) and Preisinger again.

Lidl’s annual French wine sale starts on Monday September 7th. The emphasis is on Bordeaux. My picks would include the following: the light, balanced Ch Vieux Ligat 2010 (€ 9.99), the impressive Ch Maugresin de Clotte 2010 (€ 11.99), and the delightfully spicy Ch Grand Abord 2010 (€ 12.99). Moving up in price, I enjoyed the Ch La Cardonne 2010 (€ 19.99) a classic firm Médoc, the lush spicy Fugue de Nenin 2006 (€ 30) the mature, soft leafy Ch Phélan Ségur 2007 (€ 24.99), and the sweet ripe Virginie de Valandraud 2012 (€ 30). At the top end, the delicious elegant Reserve de la Comtesse 2010 (€ 35) and the nicely mature Ch Poujeaux 2005 (€ 40) were all very tempting as was the luscious marmalade-scented Sauternes, Ch Muras at € 14.99 per bottle.

DSCF5696 Chinon Les Graviers, Domaine des Clos Godeaux 2014
13%
€16

A subtle herbiness that goes perfectly with the juicy light red cherry fruits and a tannin-free finish.

Stockists: Searsons, Monkstown.

DSCF5740 Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges 2014
12.5%
€19

From one of the best producers in Chinon, a delicious light wine with crunchy redcurrant fruits and a piquant edge.

Stockists: On the Grapevine, Dalkey (onthegrapevine.ie); Red Island Wines, Skerries; Cabot and Co, Westport (cabotandco.com); No.1 Pery Square, Limerick; McCambridges, Galway.

DSCF5790 Roka Blaufränkisch 2013, Slovenia
12.5%
€15.99

Light and fragrant with free-flowing refreshing dark cherry fruits.

Stockists: On the Grapevine, Dalkey (onthegrapevine.ie); Cabot and Co, Westport (cabotandco.com); No.1 Pery Square, Limerick; McCambridges, Galway.

Tags: Blaufrankisch, Cabernet Franc, Chinon, Summer

Posted in: Irish Times

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Take it home: a craft beer hit and a wine designed for women

Posted by admin on September 5, 2015

From the Irish Times Online Edition Friday 4th September, 2015

Brehon Brewhouse Stony Grey India Pale Ale

6% €3.50 for 500ml bottle

Those with literary pretensions will know immediately where this beer comes from. Seamus McMahon set up the Brehon Brewhouse in 2014, out the back of a working dairy farm – an opportunity for milk stout perhaps? He is in the parish of Killanny, close to Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, home of poet Patrick Kavanagh.

“We started off at the Carrickmacross Festival in June 2014 with a festival ale,” says McMahon. “We made three thousand bottles and sold out within three days. Monaghan people really took to us and our beer. We got five taps in town within a week. Now we are in fifty pubs locally, across Louth, Cavan, Monaghan and Armagh. Monaghan Enterprise Board have been a great help too.” He is “absolutely loving it” but has his work cut out, looking after 120 cows at the same time. The brewer is Phil Bizzell, originally from Dublin, where he worked in L Mulligan Grocer, before joining Brehon. The core brands are their blonde and red beers, but they also now make the IPA above and a strong stout. “It is part and parcel of what we do as craft brewers,” says Bizzell. “Coming from Dublin, I have been very pleasantly surprised by the local reception. For most people it is their first time to drink craft beer. But most of the pubs who tried it out are keeping it.”

The Stony Grey has forward citrus hoppy aromas, plenty of refreshing lemon peel on the palate, balanced nicely with some malty notes, and a lightly bitter finish. Might it even bring back “the long hours of pleasure,” that Kavanagh lost in the stony grey soil of Monaghan?

Ch de Nety 2014 Beaujolais Villages

12.5% €8.99 from Aldi

Do women and men like different wines?

Beyond the clichés about Pinot Grigio, Prosecco and Girl’s Nights, do women prefer lighter, less alcoholic wines? I am generally cynical about award stickers on bottles of wine but I was intrigued by the gold medal on this one. It was given by the Concours Mondiale des Féminalise 2015. A little search on the internet revealed that the tasting panel in this competition is made up of all female wine professionals. I am not sure about the other award-winning wines, but the woman in my house certainly enjoyed this. Then again so did I. Do I have girly tastes? Looking at the website it does say that a medal “guarantees you a wine appreciated by women,” but then also adds “it is a wine that has all the requirements that appeal to men.” Phew!

Ch de Nety is very light, low in alcohol with delicate cherry fruits. It is refreshing; the French would call it gouleyant or lively. They would probably also call it a vin de soif or thirst-quenching wine. In other words, a pleasant wine to be enjoyed without too much fuss or any great palaver. Maybe that is what women like. It is also very cheap, so we can all enjoy it without damaging the credit card.

Posted in: Beer, Irish Times

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Aldi The Exquisite Collection Crozes-Hermitage 2013

Posted by admin on September 4, 2015

12.5%
€12.99

This is pretty good,and almost excellent if you like the Northern Rhône. It has very good elegant lifted peppery syrah aromas, light on the palate, and a drying finish. If it had a touch more fruit I would say brilliant; as it is not bad at all.

One to try with cold meats, charcuterie and cheese.

Crozes-Hermitage is the largest appellation of the Northern Rhône, and is dominated by one co-operative. I suspect this wine comes from the Cave de Tain, responsible for almost half of all Crozes. As with all of the Aldi Exquisite Collection, it is signed by the winemaker, but I have never been able to decipher one. If you like (as I do) light slightly austere peppery wines then this is one for you. If you prefer big Aussie Shiraz, steer well clear!

Tags: Aldi, Rhone, Syrah

Posted in: Daily Drop

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Aldi Ch. de Champtelou Anjou Rouge 2014

Posted by admin on September 4, 2015

€7.99
12%
In the Aldi French Wine Sale from 3rd September

Pale in colour with light cherry fruits and a slightly sweetish finish. Good everyday drinking at a budget price.

I had mine by itself before dinner and with an omelette.

This is the kind of inexpensive red wine that I normally like; a Loire Cabernet Franc that is light in alcohol and body with good refreshing acidity. I don’t even object to a herbaceous touch, something you used to find in Loire Cabernet Franc a lot. I know many people hate it. As it happened I was a little disappointed. I don’t know if they ran it through one of the pieces of modern machinery used to improve the balance of a wine, but I found the finish a little sweet. Still, at €7.99, it was a whole lot better than many of the confected cheapie wines you find in supermarkets.

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Solo Fiano 2014, Michele Biancardi, Puglia

Posted by admin on September 3, 2015

13%
€16.75/£10.95
Available from JNwine.com

Quite delicious plump peachy fruits with a touch of honey and spice.

I had mine with some grilled sea bass, but most plain fish dishes would do nicely.

Fiano di Avellino is probably the best-known example of this variety, and they can be excellent. Ampelographers speculate that it may be one of the oldest grape varieties, going back to Ancient Rome or even Greek times. Fiano is also proving successful in Sicily and Puglia too. I find some of the Sicilian versions a little too light, possibly because the grapes have been picked very early and/or high yields – Fiano does not crop heavily. The Michele Biancardi is one of the best I have tasted for a while from anywhere, a lovely, pure fruity wine at a very fair price.

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Ottomarzo 2012, Tenute Dettori, IGP Romangia Rosso, Sardinia

Posted by admin on September 3, 2015

Ottomarzo 2012, Tenute Dettori, IGP Romangia Rosso
14.5%
€29.50
Available from 64wine, Glasthule

Stunning wine. Mellow ripe soft dark fruits with hints of liquorice, warm earth and herbs; full and rounded, voluptuous and warming with real complexity.

I would suspect this would go nicely with most red meat dishes. I had mine with roast autumn vegetables (sweet potatoes, butternut squash, shallots, peppers etc.) with a cashew nut dressing; it all worked very well.

Tenute Dettori are pretty hardcore natural winemakers. The back label to this wine boasts ‘No synthetic chemicals, yeasts, emzymes, or any other winemaking aids. No wooden barrels, no fining and no filtration. Every bottle can be different. Leave to oxygenate in the glass. Their website explains that in 2008 they preferred to lose almost their entire crop to mildew rather than spray. ‘It is better to lose a season’s grapes than pollute the earth’. All of their vineyards and wines are monovarietal. The Ottomarzo is made from the Pascale grape. It doesn’t appear my new edition of Oz Clarke and Margaret Rand’s book, Grapes & Wines; in the Oxford Companion the entry merely states ‘Sicilian speciality dark grape’. According to Wikipedia, Pascale di Cagliari is grown only in Sicily and usually blended with other grape varieties. I really enjoyed the Tenute Dettori Cannonau, but was less sure about the Vermentino.

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A Tale of Three Burgundies

Posted by admin on September 3, 2015

This week has been full of Pinot Noir, always a good thing in my book. First up I drank a bottle of Burgundy from what I grandiosely call my cellar (otherwise known as the wine rack in the bathroom) alongside two supermarket Burgundies. The next day, I tried a Pinot from the Languedoc with a very hip presentation and an Australian back-label. Then the fascinating Nigel Greening of Felton Road arrived in Ireland for a tasting and talk. His Pinots are amongst the very best in New Zealand, and he is genuinely interesting to listen to. More about Felton Road in the future; today the three French Pinots.

Côtes de Beaune Villages 2013 Louis Soufflot
12.5%
€14.99
Aldi

Light, slightly scrawny redcurrant and cherry fruits with good acidity and a clean finish. I drank mine with salmon, and the following night, roast chicken, rather than the suggested partner of roast lamb. I think I got it right. I won’t pretend that this Côtes de Beaune tastes as good as one of the better domaine wines under the same name, but there is very little drinkable red Burgundy available for less than €15, and this was pretty tasty.

Mercurey 2013 André Goichot
12.5%
€18 down from €22
SuperValu

Tasted a little forced with a sweet spiciness and rough riper fruit. Not bad, but I preferred the fresh acidity and light fruit of the Côtes de Beaune. Also at €18 you can get some pretty good Bourgogne Rouge, such as the Domaine Cacheux (see The Irish Times) and the J.Regnaudot from Le Caveau. However, most of the bottle disappeared.

Bourgogne 2011 Domaine Guillot-Broux
12.5%
€23
Cabot & Co., Westport; On the Grapevine, Dalkey

From his organic domaine in the Mâcon region (Mâcon-Lugny in fact), Emmanuel Guillot Broux produces a series of excellent light refreshing red and white wines. The top Chardonnay (Mâcon-Cruzille Les Genèvrières) is stunning. I also love the Bourgogne Rouge, always brimming with crunchy wild fruits, and dark cherries. I suspect the above retailers have moved on to the 2013 vintage by now – I would certainly give it a try.

Bertaine & Fils Pinot Noir 2014, IGP Vallée de l’Aude
12.5%
€16
Ennis Gourmet Store, Co. Clare; Green Man Wines, Terenure.

Delicious go-go juice with very light cherry fruits, an earthy touch and a clean finish. Perfect drunk solo or with all sorts of lighter foods. This is a selection made by an Australian company that ships various French wines over to Oz. It is imported here by food distributor La Rousse, who have built up an impressive list of wines. This is nice wine, nicely packaged.

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