Nectar Wines Blog

Cheese and Wine Tasting

2011-09-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who attended our Cheese & Wine Tasting last Friday.
We'd a great turnout and there was hardly any cheese or wine left over
for myself and Harry to snaffle!(I took that as a good sign that the various
combinations had gone down well!)

Our line-up was as follows:

“Honoré de Berticot” Cotes de Duras Sauvignon Blanc 2010
and Sainte Maure Goats Cheese (French)

Nespolino Trebbiano/Chardonnay 2010 and Manchego Sheeps Cheese.(Spanish)

Parrell Montsant 2006 and Comté cheese (French)

Delicato Old Vine Zinfandel 2008 and Cashel Blue Cheese. (Irish)

A “mystery cheese” turned up aswell. It arrived fresh off the plane from Galicia.
Many Thanks to Paula and Viv for bringing this little beauty along!
We found out that its called “San Simon” It looked amazing and tasted wonderful!

Here are some more details..

San Simon is a popular smoked Spanish cheese. It is made from cow's milk in the region of Galicia in the northwest of the country. The curd is transferred into pear-shaped molds, after a day, the forms are immersed in hot whey. After two weeks, the cheeses are smoked. The gourmet San Simon cheese has a delicious, creamy buttery texture. The cheese has a thin chestnut-orange rind, a soft inside and is mild but full of flavor. This versatile cheese is great on its own, and sublime when paired with fresh fruit or served as a dessert cheese.

Italy..by the Liffey!

2011-08-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some more details about the exciting "Italy Unwrapped" wine tasting event,which will take place at the rather lovely venue No. 10 Ormond Quay on Thursday 8th September.

You can check out the venue on their website here:
http://www.no10dublin.com/

“Italy Unwrapped” Event”
Thursday 8th September (7.30 – 10pm)
Venue : No. 10 Ormond Quay, Dublin 1
Ticket Price 20euro / Tickets now available to buy in the shop.
(Limited number of places available so please register your interest as early as possible)

We hope you can join us and one of our favourite Italian Wine Importers for a celebration of Italian Wines, their diverse regions and the fabulous breath of grape varieties and wines styles that are such a feature of the country.
The Showcase will include 7 different wineries covering 8 regions from the Veneto in the North to Sicily in the South. The wines and wineries on show have won a host of awards from the likes of from Decanter World Wine Awards, Mondus Vini, Vinitaly and include many 2 and 3 glasses Gambero Rosso wines. Some of the wineries include Masciarelli, Valori, Montalto and Poderi dal Nespoli. There will also be nibbles and antipasti to sample along with the wines!

An opportunity to taste thirty fantastic Italian wines and meet some of the “faces behind the label” this is a once-off wine event not to be missed!

If you're interested in attending just give me a call at 01 2944067 or send me an email: john@nectarwines.com

Muscat + Valrhona “Tanariva” 33% Milk Chocolate

2011-07-19T11:47:00.001-07:00

“Domaine de Fontavin” Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2005 (Sweet White)
Valrhona “Tanariva” 33% Milk Chocolate

I found this “milk chocolate” to be quite fascinating in that there’s a distinct caramel flavour going on. This is apparently down to the character of the cocoa bean varieties and plantations in Madagascar that Valrhona select in making this chocolate. Just as with coffee beans, different cocoa beans produce various flavours and aromas in the final chocolate. The sweet and “grapey” Muscat worked well in creating a luscious, honeyed and creamy sensation together with the chocolate.

Overall..a “choctastic” wine tasting!

Ribera del Duero + Valrhona “Guanaja” 70% Dark Chocolate

2011-07-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

“Hoya de Los Lobos” Ribera del Duero Crianza 2005(Oak-Aged Red)
Valrhona “Guanaja” 70% Dark Chocolate

We paired up the dark, oaky Ribera red with the darkest of the dark chocolate options, the 70% Guanaja (named after the Caribbean island where Christopher Columbus landed in 1502)
The chocolate and wine both possess a smoky, spicy allure and this match worked very well also. I was picking up a coffee/mocha impression from this pairing, which was very nice indeed!
I’m told “Los Lobos” means “the wolves” in Spanish..I thought they were an 80’s band famous for the worldwide smash La Bamba..Oh well you live and learn.

Cotes du Rhone + Valrhona “Manjari” 64% Dark Chocolate

2011-07-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

“Chateau Marjolet” Cotes du Rhone 2009 (Fruity Red)
Valrhona “Manjari” 64% Dark Chocolate

Cotes du Rhone is generally considered to be in the “fruity” spectrum of wine styles so we paired up the Chateau Marjolet 2009 (a great vintage by the way!) with the Manjari 64%. Something about the fruity, fresh and tangy character of the Manjari worked really well with this wine. My favourite combo, this was definitely one of our more successful matches!

Bastille Day

2011-07-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

…Bastille Day…the 14th of July..

I for one (and one for all..) did my best to get into the spirit of Liberté, Egalité et Fraternité, and to toast the idea of general revolution I enjoyed a lovely bottle of French white wine.

“Les Fumées Blanches” Sauvignon Blanc 2009 RRP 11.95

“Les Fumées Blanches” takes its name from the light morning mists, which drift like white smoke over the foothill vineyards. In these relatively cool microclimates, Sauvignon Blanc develops the smoky, slightly pungent aromas, which are part of the unique personality of this grape.

Or if you fancy practicing your French..

“Les Fumées Blanches” tire son nom des brumes matinales qui s’étendent sur les vignobles en coteaux. Le Sauvignon Blanc développe dans ces microclimats relativement frais le fumé légerement vif, qui fait la personalité unique de ce cépage.

The wine is simply labelled “Vin de France” a new designation which has come along to help the French Wine Industry compete with New World Wines. The general idea is to loosen up the Appellation Controlée laws in the south of France, to allow more freedoms to winemakers in making fruit-forward, easy-going, commercial wines. For example they can put the grape name on the label of these wines to help the consumer identify the wine style. This particular wine won a gold medal in the "Concours Mondial du Sauvignon 2010"

Strangely enough when I put my nose in this wine my first thought was “New Zealand” as the nose is really quite pungent and “Marlborough” in style. On the palate we’re straight back in France with a smoky, mineral, crisp and subtle flavour profile.Its a very tasty wine, which would be lovely with Goats Cheese and a good foil for slightly spicy Thai or Chinese chicken dishes. Excellent as an “Aperitif” wine also!

Santé!!

Dry Tokaji + 66% Valrhona Dark Chocolate

2011-06-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

“Chateau Dereszla” Tokaji 2009 (Dry White)
Valrhona “Caraibe” 66% Dark Chocolate

White wine can be a tricky match for chocolate so for fun we went for this Hungarian wine, a Dry version of the world-renowned “Tokaji” Its quite aromatic, luscious and mellow in style and has bags of flavour from the three component grape varieties in the blend.

Valrhona “Caraibe” 66% chocolate is described as “balanced and velvety” or “équilibré et voluptueux” en Français. I reckon if you gorged on enough of this combo you might very well achieve a state of voluptuous equilibrium!

Seriously though, this Tokaji wine is gorgeous and the 66% Valrhona chocolate slides down very easily in its company.

A great start to our tasting!

“Wine & Chocolate Part 2” …

2011-06-22T10:47:00.001-07:00

“Wine & Chocolate Part 2” …

For our June WineClub Tasting, we were back exploring one of our favourite combinations “Wine & Chocolate”

Our special guest was Miss Aurelie Baylac (Brand Ambassador for Valrhona Grand Cru Chocolate)

Valrhona chocolate is made with tender love and care in the Northern Rhone Valley, in the town of Tain L’Hermitage. This is beside where the famous hill of Hermitage is found, where they produce some absolutely sensational wines (Hermitage / Cote Rotie)

Its an outstanding quality chocolate favoured by top pastry chefs (and chocoholics..) the world over. Valrhona has a famous cookery school where you can learn the art and alchemy of making great chocolate and chocolate desserts!
I thought “Wine School” was great..well what about “Chocolate School”, sounds very tempting!

Our quest was to see how various types of chocolate (From 33% Milk up to 70% Dark) matched with different types of wine.

This was our tasty line-up..

“Chateau Dereszla” Tokaji 2009 (Dry White)
Valrhona “Caraibe” 66% Dark Chocolate

“Chateau Marjolet” Cotes du Rhone 2009 (Fruity Red)
Valrhona “Manjari” 64% Dark Chocolate

“Hoya de Los Lobos” Ribera del Duero Crianza 2005(Oak-Aged Red )
Valrhona “Guanaja” 70% Dark Chocolate

“Domaine de Fontavin” Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2005 (Sweet White)
Valrhona “Tanariva” 33% Milk Chocolate

More details to follow..

Red Wine of the Year

2011-05-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

Red Wine of the Year

Schutz Barossa “Red Nectar” Shiraz 2006
Way out in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, Tammy Schutz has been working her family vineyards and quietly producing a tiny quantity of sensational red wine. Full bodied, with velvet, rich and smooth black fruit, chocolate and spice, this is a wonderful wine to partner steak or beef dishes.

A wine that wears its name well..Red Nectar indeed!

On promotion for a limited time only.

White Wine of the Year

2011-05-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

The White Wine of the Year (as voted by our customers..)

Masi “Masianco” 2010
A fantastic blend of Pinot Grigio and Verduzzo grapes,
from sunny vineyards close to Venice.
The Verduzzo grapes are given a short appassimento (drying period) to concentrate flavours before pressing and the resulting wine is absolutely luscious and chock-full of fantastic flavours and aromas.

On promotion price for a limited time only!

Catherine Fulvio Visit

2011-03-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

Catherine Fulvio Book Signing & Wine Tasting

Thanks to everyone who attended our tasting night with Celebrity Chef Catherine Fulvio. It was one of the best nights we’ve had for a while.

We were absolutely delighted to welcome Catherine as our guest and she was in fabulous form, giving out plenty of cooking tips and tricks and insights into her excellent book “Catherine’s Italian Kitchen”

The Italian-style nibbles went down very well (Thanks a million to Hajni and Mary for all the hard work and preparation!)

On the wine front I selected a dusky range of Italians and the wines we tasted were:

Whites
San Giorgio Prosecco RRP 11.95
Pasqua Pinot Grigio 2010 RRP 10.95

Reds
Borgo Cipressi Chianti 2009 RRP 12.95
Nespolino Sangiovese / Merlot 2009 RRP 11.95
Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2008 RRP 15.95

The San Giorgio Prosecco went down very well, it’s a lovely easy drop and a good wine to kick off any party or celebration. This one is quite fruity, not too dry at all and there’s a decent bit of fizz going on. It’s screwcapped too, which is handy if you you need to crack open a few bottles in a hurry! It will be great “warm-weather drinking” in the months to come!

The Pasqua Pinot Grigio was very typical in style, light, crisp and fresh with lots of pear fruit character and a “dangerous gluggability”

The Borgo Cipressi Chianti 2009 (Cypress Village..named after the beautiful cypress trees so typical of Tuscany) was the first red in our line-up and is a good example of benchmark DOCG Chianti. Tasty cherry fruit and spice with a nice bite of acidity, this is a wine designed in wine heaven for Italian cuisine. Works great with pasta dishes in tomato sauce.

The next red Nespolino 2009 is from the Emilia Romagna region (near Bologna) and is a super example of modern Italian winemaking.
It’s a blend of Sangiovese (the Chianti grape) and Merlot, a bit of a turbo-Chianti and delivers great colour, a lovely plummy nose and bags and bags of flavour. A great new wine which we’re delighted to recommend.

As one or two tasters pointed out we’d saved the best until the end with the Masciarelli 2008.This is a damn fine Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ,from one of the best local producers and the wine punches well above its weight pricewise. A wine to try with meaty food.

You can check out all the details about Catherine at www.catherinefulvio.com and find out about her cookery school in Wicklow at www.ballyknocken.com

Wines of the Year

2011-01-19T09:05:00.000-08:00

Wines of the Year

Its that time of the year again where we ask you to vote for your favourite wines of the last twelve months.

We will then count up your votes and put the winning wines on promotion in the shop, to “spread the good wine news” to all our customers.

We’re looking for your FAVOURITE RED and FAVOURITE WHITE.

Here are some popular wines which may help jog the wine memory..

Reds
Twiggy / Lavignone Barbera d’Asti / Zenato Ripassa / Mas Laval / Mukuzani Georgian / Belleruche Cotes du Rhone / Red Nectar / Kalleske Pirathon / Chocolate Block / Casa Patronales Carmenere / Marmesa Syrah / Sokol Blosser Meditrina / Dry River Shiraz / Il Bucco Montepulciano / Vina Plata Malbec / Antares Merlot / Devils Corner Pinot Noir / Millbrook Shiraz / Chateau La Tonnelle Haut Medoc / Chateau Gravier Figeac St. Emilion / Mudhouse Pinot Noir / Chateau Musar / Resalso Ribera del Duero

Whites
Berticot Sauvignon Blanc / Tsinandali Georgian / Mirror Lake Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc / Huia Sauvignon Blanc / Zenato Lugana / Fontavin Chateauneuf du Pape / Masi Masianco / Backsberg Chenin Blanc / San Giorgio Pinot Grigio / Antares Sauvignon Blanc / Martenot Macon Lugny / Mudhouse Sauvignon Blanc / Barking Owl Semillon-Sauvignon / Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc / Tamellini Soave / Pieropan Soave / Teresa Rizzi Prosecco / Martin Codax Albarinho / Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc / Prova Regia Arinto

To cast your vote just email: john@nectarwines.com

Thanks for voting!

Wines over Christmas..

2011-01-19T08:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from Nectar Wines!

I hope you all enjoyed lots of tasty wines over the Christmas season.
It felt like a bit of a relief to finally get to Christmas this year, after all the economic woes of 2010 and tough wintery weather.
Thanks to everyone who braved the arctic conditions and fought their way down to Sandyford Village for some wine.
It’s certainly the first time we’ve had customers in the shop decked out in ski-wear!

Christmas Day wines in the McGrath household were..
Jeio Prosecco
San Giorgio Pinot Grigio 2009
Les Laquets Cahors 2001

The whites were beautifully chilled..out the back garden in the snow!
Wines were all very enjoyable I have to say.. although discussions concluded
that the Cahors (Malbec) was maybe a bit full-on and heavy for the Turkey and Ham.

There wasn’t a drop left all the same.Definitely a great wine for steak or beef..

Still not sure what’s the perfect wine for Brussels Sprouts..any suggestions?

Other wines I enjoyed over the holidays were:
Barista Pinotage 2009
a fab new South African wine which has that lovely “coffee and chocolate” thing going on..

Parrell Montsant 2006
a lovely full oaky red from the mountains near Barcelona D.O.Montsant, a lively blend of Garnacha, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet!Needs a breathe to open up but there’s lots going on in the glass..

Mas Laval 2006
One of my absolute favourite French wines (I selected it for my wedding last summer) a beautiful rich and smooth blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. You just don’t find wines like this from New World wine regions. Spellbinding!

Our tastings will kick off again in a few weeks..details of our first theme and special guest to follow..

Keep an eye our for our Australian Wine Sale..coming soon!!

China Sichuan

2010-12-02T11:03:00.000-08:00

I had another wonderful evening recently at my favourite Chinese Restaurant - China Sichuan. This is quite simply one of the best places around Dublin for great Chinese food and if you haven’t been I heartily recommend it. Great food, quality wines and friendly and efficient service.

I’ve been going to China Sichuan for a few years now and happily followed the guys and their smashing food, from their original base in Stillorgan to their new, modern and stylish restaurant down in Sandyford.

Most times when I go, I end up ordering my favourite spicy dumplings dish for starters - "Hon Yu Guozi"-Poached dumplings, in a hot & spicy red oil broth. They’re really good and so tasty I find it almost impossible to resist ordering them!

One of my favourite mains is "Haozan" Rib Eye Beef-tender pieces of mature rib eye, pan fried in Sichuan pepper sauce, with garlic shoots. Other dishes I’ve enjoyed include their sea bass and tea-smoked duck which are both excellent.

A recent wine discovery in the restaurant was that good Pinot Noir matches very well with Chinese beef dishes. They had a lovely Burgundy (available by the glass!) which went very well with my rib-eye beef dish.

On the dessert front, I thought you couldn’t beat their Banana fritters until I tried the caramelised Apple fritters which the waiter serves up to you hot,fresh and syrupy at your table. I’m not sure if its always on the menu but snap it up if you see it. Great stuff altogether!

For more details check out www.china-sichuan.ie or phone 01- 2935100

Five Years Trading in Sandyford!

2010-11-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

We're celebrating five years trading in Sandyford Village!

We’ve sniffed, slurped and tasted a fair number of wines over the past five years
in search of true wine “nectar”(I did a rough calculation and I frightened myself
with a "wines tasted" figure of approx 2000 wines..)

A selection of random highlights..

- Being interviewed by Eddie Hobbs about “wines for investment” on the TV

- Getting our fourth Bridgestone Guide plaque in a row in 2010

- Having a “Sideways” inspired California tasting where we had a “Merlot ban”
and a “shrine to Pinot Noir”

- Getting up early on Wednesdays for a year (Ouch!) to present the weekly WineSpot on Country Mix 106.8fm

- Our Millbrook Wine Dinner in Ballyknocken House and Cookery School (with Celebrity chef Catherine Fulvio)

- Hearing some amazing customer feedback on the Sokol Blosser Oregon Pinot Noir!

- Welcoming various winemakers from Barossa Valley, Minervois, South Africa etc..to the shop, in particular cult winemaker Troy Kalleske of Kalleske wines

- Landing wine from Georgia in the shop! I imagine it’s a long old
spin from Georgia to Sandyford Village!

- Wine trips to Portugal, The Rhone Valley, The Languedoc, Hungary,
Priorat and Tuscany in search of vinous treasure

- Our Icon Wine Tasting where we tasted Barolo, Meursault, Cloudy Bay,
Chateau Musar and some other wine “big names”

All of this would have been impossible without the support of our customers,
so I’d very much like to say a massive “Thank You!” to everybody for helping us along the way…

Here’s looking forward to the next five!

Hopefully we have plenty of fun “winetimes” ahead…

Yours in Wine,

John McGrath

Nectar Wines
Sandyford Village
ph 01 2944067

Wine Club Tasting “New World Wines” Fri 24th Sept 2010

2010-10-23T12:44:00.001-07:00

We were joined by Canadian Wine Guru, Colin Egan for our latest wine club tasting and Colin led us on a merry little trip around some tasty wines of the New World.

We covered Chile, New Zealand and Australian wines and the line-up was as follows:

Whites
Casa Patronales Chardonnay 2009 RRP 8.95
Dry River Pinot Grigio 2009 RRP 9.95
Mirror Lake (Marlborough) Sauvignon Blanc 2009 RRP 12.95
Casa Patronales Chardonnay Reserva Privada 2007 RRP 15.95

Reds
Casa Patronales Carmenere Reserva 2008 RRP 11.95
Dry River Shiraz 2009 RRP 9.95
Casa Patronales Carmenere Reserva Privada 2007 RRP 15.95

Colin and myself bravely fought the “battle for Chardonnay” but we were forced to admit defeat when faced with the undeniable success of the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Interesting to taste an Aussie Pinot Grigio!
On the reds the Carmenere Reserva was the clear winner and indeed it gives great “ bang for your buck”,it’s a lovely complex red for the price!

Thanks to Colin for guiding us, looking forward to the next tasting around Halloween.

To join in the tasting fun please send an email to: john@nectarwines.com

Hungarian Wine

2010-09-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

This new white wine arrived last week and it’s a real beauty.

Chateau Dereszla Tokaji (Dry) 2009 RRP 13.95
From the Tokaji region in Hungary, where they make the world-famous sweet and luscious dessert wines Tokaji Aszu, this wine is a Tokaji alright, but in a dry and crisp style. This is my kind of white wine, absolutely loaded with tasty flavour and aromas and a fair bit of kick (it clocks in at 14% alcohol, which is higher than usual for white wine.) It has a lovely quirky mineral twist which you generally find in more serious wines (like Chablis for example) and at 13.95 a bottle I reckon it’s a bit of a steal.

We also stock the Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Aszu 5 puttonyos 2003 RRP 29.95 which is a really special sweet wine.

Tokaji is called Wine of Kings, King of Wines and you’ll often see the Latin term “Vinum Regum Rex Vinorum” on bottles of Tokaji Aszu, the sweet wine. Apparently Louis XV of France gave the wine this title (serving it up to impress Madame de Pompadour..good man Louis!!) and that will give you some idea of the historical context of the wine.

Hungary has a strong and proud winemaking tradition going back centuries and their winemakers are starting to make an international impact again with their super wines (after years of struggle and slumber under the Communist regime) Decanter magazine, the famous UK wine publication has a dedicated Hungarian edition! Watch this space..

1001 wines you must try..

2010-08-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

I got this book at Christmas “1001 wines you must try before you die” and it’s a really great book for any wine nut. It sets you dreaming and hallucinating about all of the wondrous wines and special vintages out there in the wineworld.
It gave me the idea to set up a little wine club for our customers called “The 1001 club”
Every so often I would source and select a “special wine” for the members to try. Rare wines, limited edition wines, old vintages, off the radar beauties, downright funky wines etc.. no set rules really, just a search for vinous treasure.

These were the first three wines we tried in our pursuit of wine happiness

Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2006 (Oregon)
A sensational Pinot for the “Sideways” fans..

Mas de Libian “La Calade” 2006
An “old-vine” Mourvedre from an excellent, organic Cotes du Rhone producer, big bold and beautiful.

Jean Claude Bessin Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 2005 “La piece au Comte”
A tight, mineral beast of a white from a tiny plot of vines in the famous Fourchaume vineyards.

Its been great fun selecting the wines (and trying them!)

An interesting twist on Pinot Grigio

2010-07-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

An interesting twist on Pinot Grigio

Masi are recognised leaders in Amarone production.
I should say..I was in some lovely wine shops and restaurants in Venice last week and the Masi wines were very much in evidence, all over the place.

A few years ago the winery got the idea to use the Amarone “appassimento” method (drying grapes) on white grapes to make a white wine! The result is a fascinating little wine called Masianco.

Masianco 2009 is a blend of about 75 percent pinot grigio and 25 percent of a local grape called verduzzo. The pinot grigio is crushed and fermented as usual (when it's harvested) to retain freshness, but the verduzzo is picked later in the season, when it's fully ripe, and then put on racks to dry for about three weeks. The verduzzo is then fermented and the two wines are blended.

Pinot Grigio for all its popularity, is in the main hard to get excited about. Most of the cheap stuff is thin, watery, lacking flavour, body and alcohol but sells by the shedload! One of life’s little mysteries I guess.

The best Pinot Grigios I’ve tried come from Friuli or Oltrepo Pavese (in Lombardy), generally from the hilly terrain where it’s a bit cooler and where the exposure to sun is more favourable.

Anyway back to the Masianco. Simply put its fresh, rich and damn tasty.
I have to say I got a great kick out of this wine.
It tastes like a fresh juicy lemon, with tropical fruit twists and the slightest hint of coconut and vanilla. I had it with some spicy Indian dishes and it stood up really well.

Highly recommended!

WineClub Tasting New Spanish & Italian Wines

2010-05-04T10:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who attended our WineClub tasting last Friday.Our guest wine importer Colm Carter wowed us considerably with six new wines from Spain and Italy.

Dominio de la Vega Cava RRP 18.95
Montalto Cataratto 2009 (Sicily) RRP 12.95
Montalto Nero d’Avola 2009 (Sicily) RRP 12.95
Masciarelli Montepulciano 2007 (Abruzzo) RRP 14.95
Aga Roble 2008 (Navarra) RRP 12.95
Castillo de Jumilla Monastrell 2008 (Jumilla) RRP 12.95

The Cava went down very well indeed..reminded me that a good Cava really is much more like a decent Champagne than a Prosecco in style.
On the reds I loved the Masciarelli, I think this is a really fine dinner wine.
The Monastrell had plenty of fans too..a big bruiser of a red oozing flavour and packing a punch at 14%..

Another fun and interesting tasting..we’ll have another one next month..
To join our WineClub and the tasting fun just send me an email john@nectarwines.com

Wines of the Year Tasting

2010-04-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

Wines of the Year Tasting

We asked our customers to pick out their favourite reds and whites of the last 12 months. We counted up the votes and set up a tasting based on a shortlist of six wines, their top three reds and whites.
We also put the wines on promotion to encourage other customers to try them, to “spread the good wine news” as it were.

Top 3 Reds

Schutz Barossa “Red Nectar” Shiraz 2006 (Barossa Valley) RRP 25.95
A beautiful full-throttle Barossa Shiraz made by top winemaker Troy Kalleske at his cousin Tammy Schutz’ winery Red Nectar. A cracking wine that is very well-named..red nectar indeed! That’s Troy in the picture..check out www.rednectar.com.au for more details.

Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2008 (Italy) RRP 15.95
Our best-selling Italian red by a country mile, called Twiggy for short (because of the vine “twig” on the bottle..) A great all-rounder.

Domaine Aimé Minervois 2006 (Languedoc) RRP 13.95
A wine made by Remi Bonnet at his family vineyards in the Minervois (not far from Carcassonne in the Languedoc) A blend of mostly Grenache and Syrah, the wine is named after Remi’s winemaking hero his Grandfather Aimé. A smooth, supple easygoing drop.

Top 3 Whites

Huia Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (Marlborough) RRP 15.95
The hype surrounding Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc continues and this is a lovely one in a more subtle style than most. Not as “in your face” with the gooseberry attack that many show, this wine opens up beautifully as you work your way into the bottle. Very refreshing.

Domaine Les Bruyeres Crozes Hermitage 2006 (Rhone Valley) RRP 22.95
A big golden-coloured white that almost appears a bit sweet when you first taste it. Made from typical Rhone white grapes that see plenty of sunshine for ripeness, this complex wine is superb with roast chicken and pasta in cream sauce.

Domaine Raimbault Sancerre 2006 RRP 18.95 (Loire Valley)
Benchmark Loire Valley Sauvignon from a good family producer.More subtle and food-friendly than the New Zealand version. Sancerre is the spiritual home of this popular grape variety and this is an excellent example.

One of our best attended tastings and a really excellent line-up of tasty and interesting wines. Roll on the next one!

To join in the fun with our regular wine events and tastings, just email john@nectarwines.com

Country Mix 106.8fm Winespot Italian Wines 3rd February 2010

2010-02-04T10:12:00.000-08:00

With Ireland v Italy in the rugby coming up this weekend, I thought we’d take a look at a couple of Italian wines. To try and create a little bit of “La Dolce Vita” in the Country Mix studio, I also brought some crunchy amaretti biscuits to try with the wines.

Zenato Lugana 2008 RRP 14.95
A wine from the shores of Lake Garda that I’m very fond of. It’s a lovely, dry mellow white, with hints of peach and apricot and a nice mineral twist. To me it has more to offer in terms of flavour and character than most Pinot Grigios. The Zenato family also make an excellent range of reds. Keep an eye out for their Valpolicella, Ripassa and Amarone. We’ve been following the wines for a number of vintages now and they are always good to excellent. We tried the Lugana with the crunchy amaretti and the combination wasn’t bad at all. Lynsey Dolan, the presenter of Dublin’s Talking, was heard to “OOH” and “AAH” and that’s generally a good sign! Amaretti can also be served with good coffee or broken up over quality ice-cream.They’re my current addiction!

Cantina Zaccagnini “Twiggy” Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2007 RRP 15.95
A wine affectionately called “Twiggy” by our customers (because of the vine “twig” hanging off the label) this spicy beauty comes from the Abruzzo region, east of Rome.
Quite dry (a typical Italian red quality..) this is certainly a food wine and calls for good pasta, cheese or cured meats (or ideally all three together..) Its one of our bestselling Italian reds and its appeal is clear to see. It delivers lovely Italian quaffability and slips down nice n’easy! According to the winery website the wine sees four months ageing in oak, but any oak influence is soft and smooth and the fruit and spice shines through nicely.

An interesting little tasting..now Come on Ireland!!

You can listen to my weekly winespot on “Dublins Talking” every Wednesday morning at 10.30am on Country Mix Radio 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm Winespot Wines from Alsace 18th November 2009

2010-01-28T07:40:00.000-08:00

We were on a French theme this week and we tasted some whites from Alsace.
This is mainly white wine territory, because of its northerly location, near the border with Germany. There is a Germanic influence here for sure with the tall Alsace flute style bottle and the classic old-style labels. It’s a region with a really interesting history where the territory changed from French to German control and vice-versa several times over. As such the wines are an interesting hybrid of French and German influence and have lots of style and interesting character to offer. I’m a big fan and generally think the wines are fab, but I have to admit I don’t drink them often enough. I’m too much of a red wine slave I guess.

Dietrich Gewurztraminer 2006 RRP 14.95
I love this style of wine and interestingly it’s a white wine made from red grapes!
Its from a wine co-operative, the Caves Dietrich, which produces good quality wines at fair prices. It has a lovely, intense golden colour and a really particular spicy aromatic nose which is pretty unmistakable (once you’ve tasted a few Gewurztraminer.)
A lot of people run the other way when faced with “Gewurz” as it’s so different to the zippy dry wine styles that are so popular at present. To me that’s completely missing the point and Gewurztraminer wines are truly “Alsace” in style. Great to drink on their own, wonderful in partnership with cheese and dishes from the local region and super with spicy Thai or Chinese dishes. I urge you to open your mind and give “Gewurz” a go!

Meyer Fonné Pinot Gris 2007 RRP 18.95
This is the same grape as the ever-popular Pinot Grigio but the Alsace style is quite a bit richer and more flavoursome. Meyer Fonné is a small family-run winery with a really excellent range of wines (we stock five in our shop) You’ll see the wines pop up in restaurants quite a bit, as sommeliers have long since recognised them as serious producers. Yellow gold in colour with a fresh slightly sweet nose of honey, apricots and smoke, this wine works a dream with chicken, pork and creamy pasta dishes.

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning at 10.30am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm Winespot Wines of Beaujolais 11th November 2009

2010-01-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

In preparation for the launch of the Beaujolais Nouveau 2009 (on the third Thursday of November) I thought we’d take a look at some wines from this pretty wine region in France.

Three generations of the Lardy family (thats Monsieur Lardy in the photo) have been making these wines from the Gamay grape (which all Beaujolais red is made from)

Domaine Lardy Beaujolais Villages 2007 RRP 13.95
A tasty, light, fruity wine packed with all the typical Beaujolais summer fruit aromas and flavours. Very easy to drink, this is a good wine to introduce to people who are new to red wine. Its nice and soft, there are no hard oaky, tannic flavours and you can drink the wine on its own or with food, its quite versatile. It has a bit more about it than Beaujolais Nouveau in terms of body and character. The Nouveau wine is a fruit-packed quaffer for immediate drinking and pleasure.Its a wine that’s all about fun, fun, fun..

Domaine Lardy Fleurie 2006 RRP 16.95
This wine is extremely popular in Ireland. Firstly, because of its easy name, which reminds people of flowers and then because of its easy-to-enjoy soft and fruity character.
It also appears on pretty much every restaurant winelist in the land (along with Chablis, Sancerre and other French classics) Fleurie is a village in the Beaujolais region and a very quaint, quiet place it is too. I had a tasty lunch in the village square some years ago on a wine trip. On that same trip I got to taste a wonderful ten year old “Old Vine” Fleurie (yes you can keep a good vintage for quite some time.) It reminded me very much of a fine Burgundy in style which was surprising. Anyway this Lardy Fleurie is a very good benchmark drop and is one for drinking young. Do keep an eye out for the Lardy “Old Vine” Fleurie version, it’s a much more complex wine, one of the best on the Irish market.

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning at 10.30am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Funky Whites 4th November 2009

2009-11-13T05:21:00.000-08:00

Today we looked at something different and a little bit funky in White wines.

The white wine options can at times appear to be a rolling sea of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay. There are plenty of other interesting and tasty white wines available and so to alleviate the Marlborough Sauvignon seasickness, we tasted a groovy Gruner Veltliner from Austria and a funktastic Viognier from the Rhone.

Mas de Libian Viognier 2007 RRP 15.95
Viognier is a rather interesting grape mainly associated with the Rhone Valley.
(That’s a bunch of Viognier grapes from the Mas de Libian vineyards in the photo!)
Its often described as a “white wine for red wine fans” in that it has lots of aromatic character, plenty of flavour and is not too dry. The good ones have peach or apricot fruit character, a mellow honeyed texture and a nice mineral/spicy twist. This one is really good and is made by winemaker Helene Thibon. We’ve been importing Helene’s wines since the 1998 vintage and the quality and consistency is really excellent. Her white is very good but her red Cotes du Rhones are even better! The wines are organic too which is very nice to know.

Domaine Wachau Gruner Veltliner 2007 RRP 16.95
A bit of mouthful this wine both in name and character! I’ve heard this wine described as Gru. V. for short and I have to admit I do find it fairly groovy as white wines go. I spent a weekend in Vienna last February exposing my palate to the joys of Gru. V and was well impressed! The Austrian home market snaffles up most of the production of this wine so we don’t see too many offerings on wine shelves here. The ones I’ve tried so far remind me of peaches, citrus fruit and minerals and there’s always a fair whack of spice or pepper there aswell. Excellent dinner wines they really come into their own with food.
I tried this wine in a Korean restaurant in Vienna, with Beef Bulgogi and all I can say is Wow..what a combo! Bulgogi is a stir-fry beef and veg dish that you cook up yourself (they have a little oven hob in the middle of the table!) and it’s a great bit of craic cooking up a storm in the middle of a busy restaurant!

The grapes for this wine are grown on steep terraces and its another one of those wines I get excited about in terms of that “licking a stone” idea. You can certainly sense the soil or terroir in the mineral flavours and aromas of a wine like this..Groovy Baby..

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Wicked Halloween Wines 28th October 2009

2009-10-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

Thinking of Halloween I thought we’d have a look at some truly Wicked Wines.

Devils Corner Sauvignon Blanc 2008 RRP 13.95
A wine all the way from Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) this wicked drop is named after a treacherous bend in the Tamar river, where many a sailor lost life and limb over the centuries.
Tasmania is a cool-climate region (like New Zealand) and Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes do really well here. Its zingy stuff for sure so if you like Marlborough whites you would enjoy this one very much.

Whispering Woods Red 2004 RRP 12.95 (2 for 20euro on promotion)
A lovely smooth blend of Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet that sees four months ageing in oak. Its from Western Australia, a very good region for quality Aussie wine.This one definitely falls into the Winter Warmer category and its currently on promotion at 2 for 20euro! If you drank enough of this at 14.5% you wouldn’t exactly be whispering in the woods! ...more likely a bit of singing and dancing..

All the talk of sailors, misty climate and trees that do a bit of whispering, got Linsey Dolan and myself talking about scary movies like The Fog and The Shining. I watched The Shining again a few weeks ago and scared the bejaysus out of myself!

Enjoy the Halloween!!..grab a bottle of wine for backup and give yourself a good scare!

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Knockout! Wines 21st October 2009

2009-10-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

On this weeks show we looked at some tasty wines for everyday drinking.

Antares Sauvignon Blanc RRP 7.95
A great little Tuesday Night Wine that recently won a prize in The Irish Wine Show, as the “Best New World White Wine of the Year under 8euro”
Pretty much a benchmark good-value Sauvignon Blanc, this is a great (screwcapped) party wine which goes down very easily indeed.

Vaughan Johnson Good Everyday Red RRP 9.95
This is my Ronseal Wine (it does exactly what it says on the label..)
The wine is selected each year by Mr. Vaughan Johnson, who runs an excellent wine shop in Cape Town South Africa. The blend varies slightly from year to year, its always local grape verieties, but the aim remains the same, to present an easy-drinking wine for everyday drinking. Its modelled on the rustic wines of the South of France, in general style, in that it has a bit more bite than your average New World Red. A nice little drop especially at the price (also screwcapped!)

Celebrity Chef Andrew Rudd prepared a lovely stir-fry Beef and Broccoli dish in studio and we tried the food and wine together. Linsey Dolan raved about the dish, I loved the beef but I have to say broccoli and me have a chequered history at best.. The South African red went nicely with this particular dish (because of the soya sauce and beef combo..)

Karen Lawless, Dublin’s Talkings producer described the wines as “Knockout” and she must have been seeing the future! On my drive back from the studio, the car hit a bump in the road, the two wines hopped up from the back seat, spilled all over the car and very nearly knocked me out!

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot World Cup Qualifier Wines 14th October 2009

2009-10-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

With talk of “possible” World Cup Qualification for the boys in green (here’s hoping anyway!) I thought we’d have a look at some South African wines.
People often consider South Africa as a “New World” wine producer but there’s quite a history here as they’ve been making wine since 1659.
In more recent times, Cape wines really started to cause a stir in international markets after the end of the Apartheid regime and the lifting of the trade embargos.

Anyway today we looked at two wines from the family-run Backsberg winery (or “winefarm” as they like to say in South Africa) This winery, based in the Paarl wine region near Cape Town, is on the go since 1916, so lets just say the Back family have a seriously solid tradition and background in wine production.

Backsberg Chenin Blanc 2007 RRP 11.95
Chenin Blanc is the most widely planted grape in South Africa and this one is a really tasty, well-priced introduction to the variety. The wine has a lovely subtle sweetness to the fruit, balanced by a nice little bite of citrus acidity. To me, its like a halfway house between Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and its certainly very easy to drink. Chenin Blanc makes a refreshing change in white wine because your palate can easily suffer from over-exposure to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc (the big two in White Wine Varietals) We had this wine just after tasting Andrew Rudd’s Meringue Roulade and I reckon it worked very well with this dessert.Dublin's Talking presenter Linsey Dolan gave us the thumbs up on the wine and dessert combo which was great! If you like Chenin Blanc try some Vouvray, the classic French wine made from the grape!

Backsberg Pinotage 2004 RRP 12.95
Pinotage is South Africa’s unique signature grape (its a crossing of two French grapes, Pinot Noir and Cinsault) and is one of those wines that people seem to love or hate.
I’ve tried some really good ones (Kanonkop and Diemersfontein) but there are equally some fairly dodgy ones on the market (especially at the cheaper end of things..) I think that the Backsberg is a really well-made wine and a good introduction to the grape at a fair price. Its got a big juicy strawberry, spice and herb character..there may also be the slightest hint of banana, although I may well have imagined that, it packs a fair punch on the alcohol front 14% . It doesn’t taste that heavy but you can certainly feel the kick after a few glasses!

The Backsberg winery is “Certified Carbon Neutral” by the way..they’ve made many innovations to cut back on their Carbon Footprint including using lighter glass and packaging on their range of wines.

Two tasty Cape wines in any case and another interesting tasting!

We’ll be celebrating our Fourth Anniversary in Sandyford Village this Saturday 17th October. Feel free to join us for a glass of prosecco and some cake between 6 and 8pm!

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot P.S. I Love White Wine 7th October 2009

2009-10-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Having covered only red wines on last weeks programme I thought we’d balance up the scales and take a look at some fashionable whites this week. The show’s producer Karen Lawless tipped me off and asked me to cater for the ladies in particular (as Cecilia Aherne was in studio talking about her new book of romantic fiction)
So, we tasted two wines, a cheeky Pinot Grigio and a “lovely bubbly” Prosecco.
Both these wines are uber-fashionable at the moment (especially since Pinot Grigio got a mention in “Sex and the City”) and we’ve noticed a big increase in sales of both wines in recent times.
Pinot Grigio has several things going for it as a wine style, its dry, crisp, very fruity and quite light in alcohol, hence its easygoing drinkability! Its also pretty good value for money! There are quite a few well-priced PG’s on the market here now and if you’d like to splash out and try a really good one, trade up a few euro and pick a wine from the Collio or Friuli wine regions (the hilly areas where the good producers make the best wines, Collavini or Pighin are good winery names to look out for..)
Andrew Rudd, celebrity chef, was in studio cooking up his usual storm and a beautiful Chicken Pilau dish was on the menu to try with today’s wines!

San Giorgio Pinot Grigio 2008 RRP 10.95
A lovely refreshing drop (make sure its well chilled..) this is benchmark Pinot Grigio with plenty of fresh, pear fruit character and a nice citrus bite. A wine you can easily drink without food, it also worked beautifully with Andrew Rudd’s spicy Chicken Pilau. PG is a good wine for spicy dishes. You need something refreshing to offset the heat of the chilli or other spices and you really don’t want a wine that’s too posh (chances are the wine will be blown away by the strong spices in the dish.)

Teresa Rizzi Prosecco Frizzante RRP 11.95
A tasty little prosecco for sure, its no wonder this bubbly sells like crazy…it is just so easy to drink! Prosecco is the name of the grape by the way, it comes from the Veneto wine region near Venice, this is definitely the “Sparkling Wine du Jour” Fruitier, lighter and not as dry as Brut Champagne (it definitely does not have the class or cachet of a good champagne but hey it slips down very easily and sells at a quarter of the price!)
The “frizzante” style proseccos don’t have the full fizz bubbles of a champagne either. If you want more fizz for your euro, try a Spumante and look for ones from Valdobbiadene region (that’s where all the best prosecco is made)

We have both these wines on promotion (2 for 20euro!) at the moment as part of our Fourth Anniversary Wine Sale.

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Gold Star Awards 30th September 2009

2009-09-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

The NOFFLA Irish Wine Show 2009 took place yesterday in Leopardstown and a goodly portion of the Irish Wine Trade were all dressed up and in attendance. Its an annual event and a fairly big shindig in the Wine Trade calendar for the year. At the event the “Gold Star Wine Awards 2009” were announced and I took this idea as inspiration for this weeks Country Mix Radio WineSpot.
We looked at two of the winners: the “Best New World Red under 14 euro” a wine from Chile called Secreto Carmenere 2008 and the “Best Old World Red under 20 euro” a Spanish wine called Museum Real Reserva 2003.
Andrew Rudd, celebrity chef, joined us in studio and his spicy Kedgeree (a fish curry with rice and boiled eggs) and chocolate amaretti cake were on the menu today! I’ll post links to Andrew’s recipes when I get a chance. His seriously tasty chocolate amaretti cake had myself and the Country Mix staff in general ecstasy after the show, as we polished off the leftovers!

Secreto Carmenere 2008 RRP 13.95
This wine is really nicely presented in a tall bottle with a colourful arty label (designed by Chilean artist Catalina Abbott) and the wine inside is wonderful juicy stuff! It’s from the Colchagua Valley in Chile and made at the Viu Manent winery, which has an excellent reputation for quality wine. It’s made from the Carmenere grape, originally a French grape, now no longer really found in France and fast becoming a bit of a Chilean speciality. In the same way as Pinotage in South Africa or Zinfandel in California, it gives the Chilean wineries something a little bit different to offer the Wine Market.
The wine gets eight months ageing in oak to add a bit of complexity, spice and roundness to the intense fruity character. A lovely drinkable fruit-forward style of wine!

Museum Real Reserva 2003 RRP 19.95
This fantastic wine comes from D.O. Cigales in Northern Spain and once again is presented in an original bottle, with an eye-catching front label made of shiny metal!
The wine is made from old vine Tempranillo (seventy years of age!) and it’s aged in oak barrels for two years and then in bottle for anther three years before release. This is one thing I really like about top Spanish reds. Most of them do quite a bit of ageing before they hit the market for sale (an important thing when you are talking about “oaky wine”.. these wines need a few years to soften up and gain that velvet-smooth complexity that we all seek.) Anyway the Museum Real is absolutely packed with black fruits, spice and has a lovely complex mouthfeel. The finish is very long as the flavours linger long after you’ve swallowed the wine. If you’re a fan of Rioja or Ribera del Duero I reckon you’d really enjoy this wine, it’s a bit of a “Turbo” Rioja if you ask me..

Two cracking red wines, keep an eye out for other wines with the Gold Star Award as they appear in shops over the coming weeks and months.

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Wines with an Irish Connection 23rd September 2009

2009-09-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Today we were in studio with Linsey Dolan and Celebrity Chef Andrew Rudd,
who brought some sensational Chicken Quesadillas to taste with the wines.

In this week of celebration of the impact of 250 years of Arthur Guinness on the Beer World we thought we’d have a look at the impact of some Irish people on the Wine World. In typically Irish fashion we have connections all over the place!
Take Bordeaux in France, you can find Chateau Lynch Bages (and its more affordable Michel Lynch range), Chateau MacCarthy, Frank Phelan, Chateau Kirwan, Chateau Clarke, Chateau Dillon and that’s just for starters! Most of the connections with these wines date right back to the 17th and 18th Century and the Wild Geese, the rebel Irish families who fled to France after various failed attempts at ousting the British.
Let’s not forget about Hennessy? One of the brand-leaders in the serious Cognac market.

There are many New World wineries with vague Irish connections or who take Irish inspiration in naming their wines, for example, Waterford in South Africa and Jim Barry (The Armagh Shiraz) in Clare Valley, Australia. This tasting focused on a boutique Aussie winery Setanta, based in Adelaide Hills South Australia, which has interesting Irish credentials.
The winery is run by the Sullivan family, Sheilagh and Bernard, and they took inspiration from their Irish roots and heritage, when it came to naming their winery and presenting their wines. They chose Setanta (and the myths and legends of Cuchulain) and commissioned the wonderfully-named Anelia Pavlova (a local artist) to design the labels for their classy range of wines. The labels look fantastic but more importantly the wine in the bottle is great too!

Setanta “ Emer” Chardonnay RRP 22.95
Emer (the wife of Cuchulain) was the most intelligent and beautiful woman in all Ireland, she had beauty, sweet voice, wisdom and chastity..and the ability to "hold talk" (that most Irish of qualities!) This wine, named after the rather wonderful Emer, is a cracking lightly-oaked Chardonnay just bursting with toasty tropical flavours and aromas.
It went very well with Andrew Rudd’s spicy Quesadillas and would also be very tasty with Chicken or Creamy pasta dishes.

Setanta “ Black Sanglain” Cabernet Sauvignon RRP 22.95
This beast of a wine is certainly well-named (after Cuchulain’s horse, who led his chariot through all the mighty and heroic deeds) It’s a deeply coloured bruiser, packed with blackcurrant, plum, chocolate and spice. It sees 12 months ageing in French and American oak barrels and it’s a wine you could happily keep for 5 to 10 years to watch it develop. Having said that when it tastes this good sure what would you be keeping it for..it’s a real Black Beauty!

Next week we plan to look at some of the award-winning wines from the Irish Wine Show 2009!

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Portuguese Wines 16th September 2009

2009-09-17T05:48:00.000-07:00

With talk of the Lisbon Treaty on everybody’s lips we thought we’d get ourselves in the frame and try some Portuguese wines. Sales of Portuguese wines still lag behind France, Spain and Italy in terms of the Irish Market but there is definite growth and interest in Portuguese wines as we get more familiar with the different wine styles and funky grape names. We find customers are coming back from golf trips or holidays in Portugal with a new-found interest in tasty wines they tried when they were away.
One of the really interesting things about wines from Portugal is that most of them are made from traditional, indigenous grape varities. This really gives them a point of difference and you can have great fun exposing your palate to some of these charming wines.You won't find much in the way of Shiraz or Merlot, you’re more likely to come across grapes like Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz, Arinto or Castelao..there’s even a grape called Bastardo (mainly used in port making)..I wouldn't mind trying it for the craic..with a name like that its got to be worth a blast!
The grape is also known as Bastardinho..now that sounds more like a "dirty" Brazilian footballer..

Prova Regia “ Arinto” White 2007 RRP 11.95
From a winery established in 1703 (it says so on the label..) this is a cracking dry, crisp wine made from the Arinto grape in the Bucelas wine region of Portugal. Its got pineapple, passion fruit and lime fruit character and a nice mineral twist that I’m very fond of.
It would remind you vaguely of a Sancerre (which is no bad thing especially at a decent price like this..) Its been one of the house wines in L’Ecrivain for quite some time too which is always nice to know! If you’re into fish this would be a great wine to go for but having said that its pretty damn tasty all on its own!

Pegos Claros 2004 RRP 13.95
This fantastic wine deserves more of a following..its really good stuff and very well-priced. Its made from the Castelao grape in the Palmela region of Portugal.
The soils here are sandy, the vines are 40 years old and the grapes are pressed under foot in the time-honoured way! The wine is aged for 12 months in a mix of French and Portuguese oak and to my palate tastes a bit like Bordeaux with a nice bit of maturity, in other words..great..it’s like a lovely mix of spice, coffee and jam.
Definitely a wine to open in advance of drinking, it really opens up nicely and is very complex for the money.

Two super little wines by way of introduction to the wines of Portugal.

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Wine and Chocolate 9th September 2009

2009-09-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

What a way to start your working day...a Wine and Chocolate tasting..now we’re talking!

Wine and chocs are two of my favourite things, but just how well do different types and styles work together? We tried some combos and here’s how we got on.
In general terms I’d read that Dark Chocolate worked best with stronger full-bodied reds and Milk or White Chocolate worked well with lighter fruity reds or sweet whites.
On that basis we teamed up Cline Zinfandel Red 2006 RRP 15.95 from Sonoma Valley in California (apparently Zin is a good wine for chocolate lovers..) and Oremus Tokaji Late Harvest Sweet Dessert Wine 2006 RRP 19.95 from Hungary, and three types of handmade chocolate made by talented and Kenmare based, French chocolatier, Benoit Lorge.

Lynsey Dolan absolutely loved the combo of Dark Chocolate and Sweet Hungarian wine which went completely against what we were told to expect, but sure that’s the fun of wine tasting, by experimenting we find new favourites!
I thought the golden nectar Tokaji went great with the White Chocolate..what a combo.. really luscious! It was pretty damn tasty with the Milk Chocolate & Pistachio also..so far so good..By the way Tokaji is known as “the King of Wines and the Wine of Kings” and its one of the most exciting and historical dessert wines you will ever get your hands on.
I highly recommend you try some..if you can find it, go for a Tokaji Aszu 5 puttonyos (the higher the puttonyos rating the sweeter, more luscious and intense the wine!)
The dark bittersweet 70% chocolate with cocoa nibs was super with the red Zinfandel, something about the red fruit and spicy character that really set off the bitter tang of the chocolate and cocoa..yummy..

What a fun tasting, one of the best themes we've covered!

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Organic Wines 2nd September 2009

2009-09-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

We covered organic wines in our latest tasting.
Organic wines are essentially wines made in the traditional / natural way without the use of chemicals, weedkillers, pesticides etc.. in the vineyard. We’re seeing more and more Certified Organic wines on the market and just as there is interest in organic meat and fruit and vegetables so too with wine. It’s slightly confusing with wine however, since some producers work organically, but don’t have the Organic Certification on their labels.
If you want to try a “guaranteed” organic wine look for one with the Organic Cert on the label (just to confuse things even more, there are different Certification Bodies in different countries eg. AB, Ecocert, Demeter ) Feel free to ask your friendly neighbourhood wine merchant to advise on other wines where the winemakers “work organically”.

The two wines we tried today are from a Certified Organic Winery run by the Kalleske family in Barossa Valley, Australia.
The more I read about Barossa the more I like what I find out..its one of the oldest vineyards in Australia and they have some seriously old vines from the 1800’s, still producing grapes to make great wine! There’s a Prussian heritage in Barossa, hence the slightly Germanic sounding family names like Kalleske, Schutz or Henshke. There’s a great tradition in Barossa of family-run wineries which go back many generations.
Barossa wines we stock at Nectar Wines include Kalleske, Schutz Red Nectar and Langmeil. If you’re a fan of Shiraz, Grenache or Cabernet it’s a really happy hunting ground. The wines are not particularly cheap but boy are they good.

Kalleske “Clarrys” White 2007 RRP 19.95
A tasty blend of Chenin Blanc and Semillon named in honour of Clarence (Clarry..) Kalleske, the grandfather of winemaker Troy Kalleske, who is still working away in the vineyards at 89 years of age! A lovely, fruity and smooth drop..it reminds me of limes mostly..its very easy to drink and really refreshing.

Kalleske “Clarrys” Red 2007 RRP 19.95
This is a Grenache/Shiraz blend based on classic Cotes du Rhone (one of my absolute favourites as it happens..I was weaned onto wine in France by drinking good Cotes du Rhone!) Fairly full-on this wine has bags and bags of flavour and aroma. A friend of mine described it as “liquid velvet” and I think that just about sums it up. Really smooth, with a finish that lingers on and on, you could literally drink this all night.

This was voted Red Wine of the Year by our WineClub members, so it has its fans.

If you’d like to join our WineClub and get involved in our tastings just send me an email to john@nectarwines.com

You can find all the details on Kalleske wines on their website http://www.kalleske.com/

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Pink Fizz 26th August 2009

2009-08-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

We got ourselves in a bubbly frame of mind for this latest tasting
as our theme was “Pink Fizz”

Our first bottle was “Pink” by Yellowglen RRP 16.95, an Aussie sparkler from Victoria in South Australia. Yellowglen winery only produces Sparkling Wine and are recognised as quality winemakers and brand leaders in Australia. This bubbly is definitely one for the girls and everything about it screams PINK, from the bottle and label to the juice itself.
Lynsey Dolan absolutely loved this one, as she is a big fan of fizz in general, and sweeter types of Rosé. It has a great fizzy mousse with lots of strawberry fruit character.
A bit sweet for my palate, but I can see that it would be just perfect to kick off a Girls Night Out or a Girls Night In! I’d say it would be nice with dessert if you were having a dinner party and would be just great with pancakes or ice cream. The other nice thing about this wine is that the winery has their sponsorship link with the Pink Ribbon foundation

(Breast Cancer Awareness) proudly displayed on the label.

We travelled to the western cape of South Africa for our next bottle of bubbly tasting Graham Beck Vintage Brut Rosé 2006 RRP 24.95. A good step up in quality (admittedly more expensive..) this is a cracking bottle of fizz at the price. Its made from the Champagne method

(now called Cap Classique in South Africa, after the row with the Champenois who insisted,

quite rightly, that if you’re going to call it Champagne, it should come from the Champagne region!) The grapes used are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, typical Champagne grapes.
You get a lovely ripe strawberry character from the Pinot and a nice creamy feel

from the Chardonnay, all told a really super package with a nice bite of “Brut” acidity to keep things fresh and lively. These wines are meant to be Fun, fun, fun.. and thats just what we had tasting them!

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Spanish Wines 19th August 2009

2009-08-19T05:16:00.000-07:00

We headed into sunny Spain for our latest tasting, sampling a white wine from Galicia and a classic "oaky" red from Rioja.

Tobelos Rioja Crianza 2004 RRP 16.95 (Bodega La Encina)

If you're travelling into Rioja from the north, 'La Encina' (named after the estate's century old oak tree), with its striking, minimalist cellar, is the first bodega you'll encounter. It's closely followed by elite outfits Rioja Alta, Muga and Cune. Encina's debut 2002 vintage instantly placed them among the elite, a relief after vast expenditure on the winery and 1,200 American barrels.

This wine was oak-aged for 12 months, and the velvety blend of Tempranillo/Garnacha has rich aromas of blackberries, vanilla and spice. Beautifully smooth five years after vintage...thats one of the great things about Rioja..the wines are aged quite a bit before they release them for sale.

This definitely helps their drinkability..oaky wines can take a few years to soften up and hit their best...an absolute cracker..great with lamb or Sunday Roast.

Our White wine was Valminor Albarinho 2007 RRP 18.95

This beautiful wine comes from Galicia in the North-West of Spain, a cool climate, maritime region which (surprisingly for Spain) is very green. not unlike Ireland!

The wine has lovely bracing acidity, its very fresh and grapefruity with hints of melon and apricot..really tasty as an aperitif before your dinner and it also works beautifully with fish or seafood.

Albarinho wines can seem a bit pricey at first, but they are considered to be the greatest white wines from Spain.This one is a consistently good performer, we've tasted several vintages now, so its a good place to start with Albarinho.

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Italian Wines August 12th 2009

2009-08-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

Italian Wines – wines from the Veneto region
We tasted the Montezovo Valpolicella Ripasso 2005 RRP 18.95, a real Monica Belluci of a wine, full-bodied and voluptuous! A beautiful wine, bags of flavour and so smooth and drinkable even after 3 years in oak barrels.

Our White was the Zenato Lugana 2008 RRP 14.95 from Lake Garda, another perennial favourite of mine. Wines produced from the Lugana grape are well worth checking out.
I reckon they have a lot more to offer in terms of aromas and flavour than most Pinot Grigios.

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Lower Alcohol Wines August 5th 2009

2009-08-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

Ligher Wines / Wines with lower alcohol
We visited Germany and Portugal for this tasting of two white wines.
We had the Max Ferd. Richter Zeppelin Riesling 2008 RRP 13.95 from the Mosel Valley, a really tasty, off-dry wine with lovely aromas and flavours at 9.5% alcohol.
We also tasted another classic summer wine, the Vinho Verde from Portugal (Vinhas Altas 2008 RRP 10.95) slightly spritzy with a nice hint of lemon and green apple fruit. 10% alcohol and very refreshing. Both these wines are perfect for lunchtime drinking.

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Rosé Wines July 29th 2009

2009-08-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

Rosé Wines – Sunshine in a glass!
We tasted Finca Flichman Malbec/Shiraz 2007 RRP 10.95 from Argentina, a tasty and unusual blend made from two serious red grapes and Estampa Cabernet/Syrah 2008 RRP 10.95, another funky blend all the way from Colchagua Valley in Chile. We even got a sunny day for this tasting which reminded me just how good a nice chilled rosé can be when that eye in the sky is shining!

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot French Wine & Cheese July 15th 2009

2009-08-13T07:44:00.000-07:00

Bastille Day – French wines and French cheese
I paired up a Loire Sauvignon, Haut Poitou 2008 RRP 10.95 with a St. Maure Goats Cheese..a very tasty combo indeed..and a Cotes du Ventoux Red (Terrasses d’Eole 2005 RRP 13.95) wine from the Rhone with a beautiful Jura cheese I love called Comté..yummy..the Country Mix staff got stuck into the leftovers..its never too early for good wine and cheese!

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

County Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Wines with "unusual" names July 8th 2009

2009-08-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

Wines with “unusual / funny” names –
We tasted Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2007 RRP 15.95 from Marlborough (named after the Spy Satellite Station in the valley around the vineyards!) and Porcupine Ridge Syrah 2007 RRP 14.95 from Franschoek (South Africa) named in honour of the porcupines who roam the vineyards!

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot Summer BBQ Wines July 1st 2009

2009-08-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

Summer / BBQ Wines – ideal wines for our “scorcher” of a summer
We tasted Jeio Prosecco RRP 19.95 and Barking Owl Shiraz / Viognier 2004 RRP 16.95

You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11am on Country Mix 106.8fm.

Country Mix 106.8fm WineSpot

2009-08-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

I started doing the WineSpot on Country Mix recently.
It airs every Wednesday morning between 10 and 11
on Linsey Dolan’s Show “Dublins Talking”

Its been great fun selecting a theme for each show.
Tune in if you’re available!

Icon Wine Tasting

2009-06-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

We had our latest WineClub Tasting the other day

in the shop and the tasty theme was “Icon Wines”

The “Wow factor” wasn’t bad as the line-up was as follows:

(Whites)
Domaine Chene Saint Veran 2006 RRP 16.95
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2008 RRP 29.95
Jean Claude Bessin Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 2005 RRP 29.95
(La Piece au Comte)
Bitouzet-Prieur Meursault Les Corbins 2005 RRP 35.00

(Reds)
Mas Laval Les Pampres 2007 RRP 17.95
Domaine Zede Margaux 2004 RRP 29.95
Vieux Chateau des Templiers Pomerol 2006 RRP 29.95
Chateau Musar 2001 RRP 27.95

The Saint Veran was very well received

and showed extremely well against the more expensive

Chablis and Meursault (all Chardonnays French-style..)

The Meursault being an oak-fermented and aged Chardonnay took some tasters by surprise. The poor old Chardonnay grape, behind some of the greatest white wines in the world (Chablis / All White Burgundies / Macon) and yet pretty much universally scorned and derided (and impossible to sell if labelled as Chardonnay! ) Rosemount, Wolf Blass and those other “oaky” Aussie numbers have a lot to answer for..they’ve put a lot of wine drinkers off Chardonnay for life!

The Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc was a real winner with tasters, clean and fresh with plenty of zip, citrus bite and interest. It’s a true Icon Wine in that it put New Zealand and Marlborough region on the world wine map for top-quality Sauvignon Blanc. Its certainly arguable now that there are other Marlborough producers giving Cloudy Bay a challenge at half the price, but Cloudy Bay has built up its name and reputation over the years and people still get a kick out of tasting the wine or even getting their hands on a bottle..
Its not quite the Holy Grail of wine that it used to be but its definitely one to try for any budding wine buff.

I put in the Mas Laval Les Pampres ( a wine from Aniane in the Languedoc) to see how it fared against the more expensive, stellar Bordeaux names of Margaux and Pomerol and it fared pretty damn well..its very well priced for the quality you’re getting..I often recommend this one to customers in the shop (who like French wine..) as I think its one of our best. We only get 25 cases per annum since it’s a small “in-demand” winery.

The Domaine Zede Margaux 2004 was showing very nicely with a beautiful open nose of black fruit, oak and a smooth, supple tannic structure. By contrast the 2006 Pomerol was very tight, it needs another few years to show its best. You could put this wine in a decanter for a few hours as it seemed to open up a bit, over the few hours of the tasting.

The star of the reds was the Chateau Musar from Lebanon.. as a friend of mine put it so very well by text recently when I recommended he try it..MUSAR IS KING! What a wine..great complexity of smooth fruit and spice..it changes in the glass as you drink it..its really funky stuff. Watch out for the sediment in the end of the bottle. There is usually quite a bit as Musar is only released for sale after seven years. If you’re a red wine fan you have to try it.

Overall an interesting little tasting...thanks to all who attended!

Real Wine vs. Varietal Wine

2009-05-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

Pascal Bouchard Chablis 2008

I really enjoyed this bottle of Chablis the other night..its an early release from the 2008 vintage (which apparently turned out to be pretty exceptional in Burgundy.)
After fairly horrific summer conditions last year there was a kind of long, late Indian Summer, which helped the grapes achieve quality and ripeness.
Anyway this wine is pure “Classic Chablis” all flint,citrus and minerals..I remember someone describing Chablis as “licking a stone” and this wine fits the bill exactly!
(I should know.. I’ve licked a few stones as a wayward youth.. and the occasional pebble..I digress..)
I had the wine with a seafood bake, oven roast potatoes and pan-fried asparagus.
The wine worked really well with the food and got me thinking about what I like to call “real” wine. To me “real” wines are wines with a sense of place and Chablis is a perfect example. It’s a wine with something beyond the primary fruit character which can develop in the glass and hold your interest. The wine reflects the local soil or “terroir” with its flavours and aromas.,that’s where the “licking a stone” idea comes from. Chablis is made from the much-maligned Chardonnay grape and good Chablis is a million miles away from most New World Chardonnay offerings. Varietal wines labelled as Chardonnay are just hard to get excited about. Sure there are some good ones from Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere but I’ve never tried one to really rival a good Chablis or White Burgundy for sheer character, class and interest.
I guess Varietal wines fit the bill when you’re looking for something cheap and cheerful for a party or barbecue where you’re not going to have time to worry too much about the wine. Chilean Merlot is another good example..pretty boring after a while..grand when you’re new to wine and you’re looking for a fruit-bomb in a glass. If you want “Real” wine, Europe is the best hunting-ground, head for France, Spain and Italy and get stuck into wines with a sense of place and tradition,,Chianti, Barolo, Rioja, Chateauneuf, Sancerre, St.Emilion, Volnay etc....all the proven Classics..the list goes on and on...

A word of advice, don’t just buy the cheapest one you find. Because they are Classics these wines have almost become their own brands at this stage and there is some absolute tack out there masquerading as classic wine. I picked up a Chateauneuf Red at 9.99 from SuperValu a while ago for educational purposes..big mistake..the wine although labelled as Chateauneuf tasted pretty average, verging on slightly nasty..I certainly wouldn’t buy it again. The problem with these commodity wines is that they devalue the regions reputation for quality and the hard work of the reliable quality-driven producers who make the good wines that we all know and love.

Magic and wine..

2009-04-17T12:51:00.001-07:00

Le Chemin des Reves Abracadabra 2007 RRP 15.95

One of my favorite French wines of recent times is this red wine from the Languedoc.
Its made by Benoit Viot at Le Chemin des Reves (“The path of dreams”)

Its certainly a modern-style French wine with a funky colourful label and an English description of the wine on the back label. Benoit travelled to the UK and Chile and he picked up some nice ideas from the New World wines that he came across there.
There’s also a nice quote on the bottle “Reve ta vie en couleur, c’est le secret du bonheur” (dream your life in colour, this is the secret of happiness!)

Ahh, the French and their philosophy..you’d be surprised how many small winemakers

do a nice sideline in philosophy..I’ve certainly come across a few.
(In fairness I think we all like to philosophise after a decent drop of vino! )
I guess there are plenty of times when winemakers have to react philosophically..can you imagine the stress they must be under when a hail-storm threatens their vines and their livelihood! The amount of graft, skill and patience winemakers have to call upon in looking after vines and making good wine constantly amazes me..it’s a real vocation if you ask me..

Anyway,this wine is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. It weighs in at a healthy 14% alcohol and is absolutely packed with fruit and spice and all things nice. It could easily pass for a Rhone wine and geographically speaking, the vineyards are very close to the Rhone wine region (just to the north of Montpellier) in an area called Pic Saint Loup, which is gaining a real reputation as a top area for red wine.

Keep your eyes open for wines of this region..any of the ones I’ve tried so far have been really good.

Chateau Musar 2001

2009-04-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

Chateau Musar 2001 RRP 27.95

This is a must-try wine for any self-respecting red wine fan.
Like Cloudy Bay is to New Zealand its Lebanon’s icon wine and has been for many years now.

I’ve tried this wine in several vintages and I’ve never been disappointed.
I had a memorable bottle of the 1998 at the Slieve Russell Hotel in Cavan with a tasty fillet steak...God Help me..I’ve a hard life..

The people at Musar only release the wine after seven years so its already got some bottle age and is showing a nice bit of complexity by the time you can actually buy it. I really think that’s a great idea..so many wines hit the market way too young where they’re not near ready to drink and enjoy.

I had a really enjoyable tasting of Musar wines at the London Wine Fair some years ago and Serge Hochar himself talked us through the wines, red and white. Yes there is a Musar White..although its hard enough to find in Ireland. We tasted several brilliant vintages of the reds and then (on Serge’s advice) moved onto the whites!! An unusual approach to tasting..usually its whites before reds..but then again Musar is far from a “usual” wine.

In fact I think Musar is pretty "unique" in the world of fine wine.

It’s a wine made following Bordeaux winemaking principles (Serge Hochar learned quite a bit from some famous names in Bordeaux) its not really Bordeaux-like though, it has a more exotic "feel" and spicy character from the hot climate and unusual grape mix.

I certainly think it’s a “fine wine” by any measure. Its got quite a funky mix of flavours which I absolutely love and it develops and changes in the glass as you work your way through the bottle.

Its quite liable to throw a sediment as you reach the end of the bottle (the wines are made as naturally as possible and it is eight years old afterall..)
I always get quite excited when I see sediment at the end of a red wine.
(Over the years drinking wine most of the wines I’ve found sediment in have been absolutely sensational.)

There’s obviously a political backdrop to where the wine comes from, the vineyards are in the Bekaa Valley, where there have been many bomb attacks and battles over the years..that they continue to make such great wines through such difficult times gives the wines an added dimension.

Chateau Musar..one of the World’s most interesting fine wines!

Domaine Aimé Minervois La Liviniere 2002

2009-03-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

Domaine Aimé Minervois La Liviniere 2002 RRP 15.95

This is a great little wine from the south of France, made by Remi Bonnet at his family domaine in the Minervois region.Speaking of families.. thats Remi and his family in the picture..

Remi and Flo (his wife) are true "vignerons" in the best traditions of the word.

Their wines are truly hand-made, with passion and know-how passed on from generation to generation.. Remi named his wine after his Grandfather Aimé..thus Domaine Aimé..

Remi has quite a few different grape varieties available, which he blends according to the vintage conditions and the style of wine he's making..Syrah, Grenache, Merlot and Old Vine Carignan are the main ones..

We love selling wines made by people like Remi and Flo..they're friends of ours at this stage and we always look forward to meeting up with them for dinner and some wine, when we visit the Languedoc..They're small quality-focused producers and they produce "true" wines, a million miles away from the big brands you'll find in the supermarché!

I highly recommend that you give this wine a try..its in a tall bottle with an orange label!!

Mas Laval / St. Patricks Day

2009-03-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd give myself a wine treat for Paddys Day so

I cracked open a bottle of the Mas Laval 2005..

All I can say is Wow..what a wine..its absolutely gorgeous stuff..

(Its not cheap at 25.95 but I strongly feel that its worth every cent)

The wine is a Syrah / Grenache, Mourvedre blend

(a blend I'm really fond of by the way..)

Sometimes they add a small component of Cabernet Franc

aswell depending on the vintage conditions..

The wine is aged for 18 months in one year old burgundy

barrels from Domaine de la Romanee Conti, no less!!

The Mas Laval vineyards are near the village of Aniane,

a famous terroir in the Languedoc, where some really famous

and more expensive wines (Mas de Daumas Gassac / Grange des Peres)

are made.

I visited the winery and vineyards on my last trip to the Languedoc

and tasted wines directly from the vats and barrels with Joel Laval,

one of three brothers involved in running the winery.

A fascinating visit and having tasted the wines now over several vintages a wine I can heartily recommend..

Sideways Wine Tasting

2009-03-03T11:11:00.000-08:00

I finally managed to have a “Sideways” inspired tasting in our shop in Sandyford..
We haven’t stocked too many Californian wines in our shop so far as, in general, we found them falling into two camps : cheap, bland, big brands (Blossom Hill / Sutter Home etc.. ) or really good but expensive (Ridge / Saintsbury etc..)
Anyway recently we came across a new importer with a great little range of Californian wines, from interesting wineries, that won’t break the bank!

Our guest for the tasting was Jonathan Spielberg (California Wine Imports)

We tasted eight wines.

Silverado Sauvignon Blanc 2007 17.95
Bogle Viognier 2007 17.95

Estrada Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 12.95
Estrada Creek Syrah 2005 12.95

Bogle Pinot Noir 2006 19.95
Bogle Petite Sirah 2006 17.95
Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel 2006 17.95

Merryvale Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 25.95

I thought the Estrada Creek Syrah was a real winner on the night and, at 12.95, I reckon it’s very decent value too..the Bogle Pinot Noir showed very well, a cracking bottle of red..Its been a while since I had any Napa Cabernet and the Merryvale didn’t disappoint..it’s a beauty..

In terms of what sold well on the night..the Bogle Petite Sirah and Viognier were the bestsellers..

There was a “Merlot Ban” for this tasting which was quite funny in the end, as we had our very own Sideways moment..
Near the front door of the shop, I had Sideways playing on the laptop and closeby I set up a “Shrine to Pinot Noir” in tribute to Miles the “wine nut” character in the film..
Later in the evening I overheard Jonathan offer a customer a taste of one of his range, running through all the various and many options he had on tasting..at the end of a lengthy description of the various whites and reds that were open.. the customer just said “Do you have any Merlot?” Oh well..

Many thanks to California Wine Imports and Mr.Spielberg for a truly cinematic tasting!

Le Caveau Wine Tasting

2009-02-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Popped into Fallon & Byrne for the Le Caveau Portfolio tasting..

A great line-up of wines covering lots of regions and grape varieties.

Tasted a line-up of whites from Meyer Fonné, a really good Alsace producer.
It constantly amazes me that Alsace Whites do not sell better..they are fabulous white wines with great character and flavour..I guess it must be the German looking bottles and labels...Pinot Blanc / Riesling / Gewurztraminer & Pinot Gris that knocks spots off any Pinot Grigio you’d care to mention..the wines of Meyer Fonné are truly excellent..
Tired of Sauv. Blanc / Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay I urge you to try some Alsace whites..great with spicy food especially Thai.

Meyer Fonné Gentil d’Alsace 2007 (nice funky mix of grapes..)
Meyer Fonné Pinot Blanc 2007
Meyer Fonné Riesling 2007
Meyer Fonné Gewurztraminer 2006
Meyer Fonné Pinot Gris 2007
Meyer Fonné Riesling Grand Cru Wineck Schlossberg 2006 (sensational wine..)

Tasted four “affordable” Red Burgundies and one New Zealand Pinot..The New Zealand wine, Framingham Pinot Noir 2007, won hands down..The Burgundies were admittedly all fairly young but they were too much of the “iron fist” and not enough of the “velvet glove” Anyway good Red Burgundy at any kind of affordable price is very scarce in Ireland..

Tasted some Bordeaux and Bergerac reds..A basic Bordeaux from 2005 beat the bejaysus out of a few 2004’s… even wines moving up a level or two..a good vintage in Bordeaux really makes all the difference. Bergerac is definitely good hunting ground for Bordeaux-style wines..I guess the producers there just have to try that little bit harder and can’t just sit back and rely on selling the wine on its “supposed” good name..Tour des Gendres is a really good producer to try from this region..

I’ve been on a bit of an Italian white discovery trail recently after a lovely bottle of Falanghina..so I took the chance to run through a line-up of Italian Whites..San Marziano Pinot Grigio 2007 (light and watery, the usual story with PG..Why Oh Why does it sell so well..) Colle Stefano Verdicchio di Matelica 2007 (great stuff..) and Tamellini Soave Superiore 2006 (even greater stuff!! one of my wines of the tasting..reminded me of the Pieropan Soave.

There are plenty of tasty white options beyond Pinot Grigio that’s for sure..Lugana, Vernaccia, Greco di Tufo etc..

Next, a couple of cracking Italian reds..Frentano Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2007 and Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2006..now these are really lovely wines, spicy and fruity with just the right balance of weight/alcohol and acidity..

Tried some Madiran (Alain Brumont Torus 2006) and Ribera del Duero (Atalayas de Golban 2005)..My God you have to be in the humour for these heavyweights..loads of tannin / loads of oak / loads of alcohol..when I first got into wine these bruisers used to really impress me with their full-on flavour and weight..now I’m not so sure..
Both definitely way too young for my palate..I’d love to try these wines with a bit of bottle-age when the wines settle down..

Almost forgot to enthuse about a lovely little Languedoc white I tried near the start of my tasting, Montredon Picpoul de Pinet 2007..Rick Stein raves about this wine whenever he gets the chance..its great on its own and perfect with oysters! Summer in a glass..roll on a bit of decent weather!

Overall a very interesting tasting..Well done et Merci Le Caveau!

Bogle Petite Sirah 2006

2009-02-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

Tried one of our new arrivals last night.. Bogle Petite Sirah 2006 (RRP 17.95 ) all the way from Clarksburg California...don't get me started on my obsession with Sideways..It comes in a fairly funky bottle..quite an unusual shape..it almost looks more like a bottle of beer..

Anyway this was a really delicious wine, great deep dark colour, powerful intense blackberry fruit with some spicy notes and lovely toastiness from the oak...As soon as I poured this wine I knew I was on to a winner..funny that..certain wines just seem to have a look or feel about them when you pour..you just know its gonna be good..its like a certain magical viscosity or something..

Now I know thats hardly scientific but its happened me too often to ignore..if you feel or see that magic in the wine you are in for a treat! Reminds me of a book I read years ago where it spoke about wine being a "living thing" just waiting and waiting in the bottle for that magical moment where the cork pops.. and the wine breathes and interacts with the air and the world again..I really like that idea..savour those moments..the circumstances are unlikely to ever be exactly the same again..

I havent come across this grape variety much..pretty much exclusive to California I believe..

this one didn't last long..went down very easy..great stuff indeed!

3 Great Rhone Wines

2009-01-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

I've been on a bit of a Rhone Valley wine trail the last week or so...and I've been having great fun working my way through 3 fantastic wines from (probably..) my favourite wine region..

Mas de Libian Bout d'Zan AC Cotes du Rhone 2006 RRP 14.95

A blend of Grenache (mainly) and Syrah this is a cracking bottle of wine..Ideally it needs to be opened an hour or two in advance to fully enjoy all the aromas and flavours..Having said that, quite often with this wine I just "pop and go"

Fairly full-on the wine is absolutely packed with all sorts of fruit and spice..a really enjoyable drop and one I'm sentimentally attached to (since it was the first winery we shipped directly from.. way back in the 1998 vintage!)

La Pialade 2005 AC Cotes du Rhone RRP 25.00

A wine from the Chateau Rayas (Chateauneuf du Pape) people and a real stunner.

Mostly Grenache, 80% I believe..this wine is a must for Grenache lovers..fairly light in colour, beautiful silky spicy flavours, smooth tannins..I 've tried several wines from this producer (Fonsalette and Pignan) and the quality level is outstanding. This wine also comes from the excellent 2005 vintage, pretty good across the board in France and really good in the Rhone Valley...I'm saving up and on the lookout for Chateau Rayas..its usually close enough to 100euro a bottle and hard enough to find..

Yann Chave Crozes-Hermitage 2003 RRP 19.95

A superb wine from the Northern Rhone and a really good example of what good Northern Rhone Syrah should be..elegant, spicy, savoury (its amazing how you can pick up a smoky bacon or barbecue note on the nose mixed in there so nicely with lashings of fruit and spice) A real beauty. I think the fact that it was 5 years old was a help..I tried the 2005 about a year ago and found it decent but a bit closed..I was expecting fireworks from the 2005..I got them this time with the 2003!!

Le Chemin des Reves Exubérant 2006

2009-01-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

Tried this wine again the other night..tasty stuff indeed..

Its from a winery in the Languedoc called Le Chemin des Reves and a relatively new winemaker called Benoit Viot, who's getting some great reviews for his eclectic and downright funky range of wines. (thats Benoit on his bike!)

I met Benoit on my trip to France last spring, fell for his wines and agreed to ship a selection late last summer.There are 6 different reds in his range to try!Thats nearly one for every day of the week... even the Wine Gods have to rest up one day a week!

Exuberant 2006 (Gres de Montpellier) RRP 15.95
Its a blend of Grenache(mainly), Syrah and Carignan..weighs in at 13.5%..
Lighter and more restrained in style than his Abracadabra Pic St. Loup (one of my favourite wines of 2008!), this one has lovely fresh aromas of wild red berries with just a hint of chocolate and spice..Went down very nicely with Roast Chicken and Gratin Potatoes! Oh yeah and the Tarte Tatin for dessert wasn't half-bad either..

Why I love wine (Part 2)

2009-01-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

From the film SIDEWAYS

MILES
I don't know. Why are you into wine?

MAYA
… I do like to think about the
life of wine, how it's a living thing.
I like to think about what was going
on the year the grapes were growing,
how the sun was shining that summer
or if it rained... what the weather
was like. I think about all those
people who tended and picked the
grapes, and if it's an old wine, how
many of them must be dead by now. I
love how wine continues to evolve,
how every time I open a bottle it's
going to taste different than if I
had opened it on any other day.
Because a bottle of wine is actually
alive -- it's constantly evolving
and gaining complexity. That is,
until it peaks -- like your '61 --
and begins its steady, inevitable
decline…And it tastes so f##king good!

New year.. new vintages

2009-01-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

Onwards and winewards into 2009..

We were excited to receive the new vintages from our Barossa wineries Kalleske, Pirathon and Red Nectar and delighted that no bottles were broken on delivery!..the pallets got stuck across the road from our shop in the new tarmacadam the builders left there before Christmas..

Cue panic in general..

Anyway everyone got stuck in..customers, neighbours (Thanks Damian!)and helped stop the traffic and handball the wines into the shop safely (before the rain came down!)

My vision of a 4 car collision in Sandyford village with smashed glass everywhere and an all pervading bouquet of fabulous Barossa Grenache and Shiraz did not (thankfully!) come to pass..

Tried the brand new Kalleske Moppa Shiraz 2007 (29.95RRP) last night.
This is Troy's new baby and he was raving about the wine during his visit in October.
I was well looking forward to trying it..we only have 36 bottles to sell..

it didn't disappoint..its an absolute beauty..

The wine is made from Shiraz fruit sourced from Kalleske's Moppa vineyard and Troy added a dash of Viognier and Petit Verdot to the mix..gorgeously pure fruit character (all the wines are certified organic),quite typically Shiraz in style, its a bit fresher and lighter than some of Troys other monster reds, which can have a warmer spicier feel to them.It has that signature Kalleske smoothness and super long lingering flavour which I absolutely love.It weighs in at 14.5% all the same so its a fairly big wine by any standards.The bottle disappeared rather quickly..Bravo Troy!

Wines over Christmas/New Year

2009-01-10T05:54:00.000-08:00

One of my standout wines this Christmas was most definitely the Zenato Amarone 2003 which we enjoyed with chocolate dessert at the end of Christmas Day dinner..a stunner of a wine, really luscious with layer upon layer of flavour. It really worked so well with the chocolate too..would remind you just how good a wine and food combination can be..note to self.. think more about food and wine pairings in 2009

I also picked up a bottle of Remelluri Rioja Reserva 2004 (25euro) in County Clare which I couldn't resist trying..its one of those much-hyped Rioja wines you read stellar reviews for.. and I was curious to see what the hype was about..anyway it took a while for the wine to open up..definitely one to open in advance of drinking..very savoury in style, I guess classic old-style Rioja with soft red fruit and plenty of spicy notes.. no modern-style fruit bomb here..would work wonders with lamb I'd say..those dry savoury spicy notes had me dreaming of a barbecue in Sunny Spain..a lovely wine made in a fairly traditional style..not sure if its really worth 25bucks though..I can think of a few other wines around 15 or 16 euro which would give it a good run for its money..still I have to say I enjoyed the wine..very true to its origins..

That reminds me of my recent trip to Barcelona where on the first night of arrival I nearly fell off my seat when handed the bill for several sensational rounds of tapas and wine..the wine bill was 4.50euro for 3 glasses of Rioja! 1.50 a glass..I think it was cheaper than a bottle of Coke..note to self..retire to a wine producing country!!

Why I love wine..

2008-10-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

From the film “ SIDEWAYS “

MAYA
Why are you so into Pinot? It's like a thing with you…..

MILES
I don't know. It's a hard grape to grow. As you know. It's thin-skinned,temperamental, ripens early. It's not a survivor like Cabernet that can grow anywhere and thrive even when neglected. Pinot needs constant care and attention and in fact can only grow in specific little tucked-away corners of the world. And only the most patient and nurturing growers can do it really, can tap into Pinot's most fragile, delicate qualities.Only when someone has taken the time to truly understand its potential can Pinot be coaxed into its fullest expression.
And when that happens,its flavors are the most haunting and brilliant, subtle and thrilling ..and ancient on the planet.

Kalleske Barossa Tasting

2008-10-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we had a wonderful tasting with customers and WineClub members to celebrate our 3rd Anniversary in our Sandyford shop.

Troy Kalleske, winemaker at Kalleske and Red Nectar in the Barossa Valley was over for a visit and we took the opportunity to taste our way through some great wines from his range.

Amusingly Troy was asked to "autograph" some rare bottles for customers..it was the nearest thing to "Wine Groupies" I've ever seen..

Wines we tasted:
Kalleske Clarrys Grenache/Shiraz 2006
Kalleske Clarrys Semillon / Chenin Blanc 2006
Red Nectar Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Red Nectar Shiraz 2005
Pirathon Shiraz 2005
Kalleske Old Vine Grenache 2005
Kalleske Johann Georg Shiraz 2005
Kalleske Lorraine Semillon 2006
Kalleske JMK Fortified Shiraz 2006

A wonderful range of wines..everyone had their faves as usual..I thought the Clarrys Red and Red Nectar Shiraz showed particularly well on the night..It was also very nice to try some special and rare wines from Kalleske, like the Old Vine Grenache and Johann Georg..

I've no doubt it was the first time many customers would have got to try a Fortified Shiraz..I reckon that would be just great on Christmas Day with some pudding or a few mince pies..

Languedoc wine trip

2008-10-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

John’s Wine Report (Spring / Summer 2008) France

I recently spent five days in the South of France going around wineries tasting, meeting winemakers and “talking wine.”

As many of you already know, Carl and myself are big fans of the wines from this region and we already have established links with quite a few small, family-run, boutique wineries in this area.

This wine trip was a great forum to meet up with our winemakers, to taste and try the new vintages and also a time to find new contacts, and meet some up-and-coming winemakers from new unexplored regions.

Watch this space as very soon we’ll have some absolutely cracking new wines in stock..

- a brilliant-value Vin de Pays d’Oc and Costieres de Nimes range from Domaine de Poulvarel…including the best Merlot I’ve tasted in ages..

- an exciting range of Reds from the up-and-coming Pic St. Loup wine region and a maverick new producer called Benoit Viot at Le Chemin des Reves. The first wine in their range is called Bois-Moi (Drink Me!) and is certainly very well-named! Their top wine Utopie 2 (Paradise Part 2!) has a really funky red label and was one of the stand-out wines of this trip.

Mas Laval Aniane / Languedoc

A visit to the winery and vineyards, in the company of Joel Laval reminded me just how great these wines really are. The new vintages are superb. The only thing with Mas Laval is that we only get 30 cases per year. These wines are among the best of the Languedoc and the estate is seriously sought-after in France. These wines are set to go up in price in the next few years and at the moment Les Pampres offers sensational value! The winery is in Aniane village with some other big-name, famous and much more expensive producers, like Mas de Daumas Gassac, Grange des Peres and Montcalmes.
If you’re a fan of French wine I heartily recommend you get your hands on a bottle or two before the stocks are gone again.

Mas Laval “Le Grand” Red 2004 25.95
Mas Laval “Les Pampres” Red 2006 15.95

Domaine Aimé Minervois / Languedoc

I was delighted to meet up again with Remi and Florence Bonnet of Domaine Aimé, a really charming couple of true vignerons. (Some of you may remember they came over to see us last year for a WineClub Tasting in the shop…)

The new vintages are showing really nicely and they have revamped their labelling..who says the French are not willing to change and learn from the wines of the New World! New wines will be in stock in a couple of months..in the meantime we still have some (not much..) of their cracking 2002 Minervois La Liviniere ( the one with the orange label!..as some of our customers know it..)

Domaine Aimé Minervois Red 2006 13.95
Domaine Aimé Minervois La Liviniere Red 2002 15.95

Mas de Libian Cotes du Rhone / Rhone Valley

I’d forgotten just how beautiful and charming the winemaker Helene Thibon of Mas de Libian is..and her new wines are just sensational..
Good Cotes du Rhone is really hard to beat in terms of giving pure, instant wine pleasure and this Domaine is very close to our hearts, given that it was our first exclusive import to Ireland..the first vintage we sold was 1998, we’re now selling 2006 and the wines have gone from strength to strength.
Organic producers who don’t make a song and dance about it, their wines, particularly the reds, are really worth a try if you haven’t had the pleasure..They also make a superb 100% Viognier (we only get 10 cases..) which is something different in a White..especially if you’re a bit tired of all that Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc..
Their top wine La Calade is made from gnarly old Mourvedre vines ( which give a really low yield of top-quality grapes) and this wine is really something special..only 48 bottles available..and at 15% is total jungle juice!

Mas de Libian Bout d’Zan Red 2006 13.95
Mas de Libian Khayyam Red 2006 15.95
Mas de Libian Viognier White 2006 15.95
Mas de Libian La Calade Red 2006 29.95

Domaine Les Terrasses d’Eole Cotes du Ventoux / Rhone Valley

Stephane Saurel is our friend and winemaker here in the heart of the Cotes du Ventoux area. The wines are like Cotes du Rhone in general style, but offer really good value for money.

Stephane’s Red and White are pretty much our house wines here in the shop and for short we just call them CDV Red and CDV White..they’re like old friends at this stage..the new vintages keep up the Domaine’s impeccable standards..every time I meet Stephane his English becomes more impeccable too..I hope to welcome him soon in the shop for a tasting to meet up with our WineClub..

Stephane’s other big news this year is really eco-friendly in that he’s just ordered a Windmill which will provide most of the electric power for his winery (thanks to the powerful Mistral wind which blows down every year through the Rhone Valley)
A fantastic endeavour and winery which we’re glad to support.

Les Terrasses d’Eole Cotes du Ventoux Red 2005 12.95
Les Terrasses d’Eole Cotes du Ventoux White 2006 12.95
Les Terrasses d’Eole Lou Mistrau Red 2004 14.95

Domaine les Bruyeres Crozes-Hermitage / Rhone Valley

David Reynaud is fast becoming one of the most talked-about winemakers in the Crozes Hermitage Appelation and if you’ve tried his Cuvée Georges Reynaud Red you’ll quickly understand why..
A young, gentle giant of a man, he only took over the winemaking at his family Domaine five years ago and already has gained a stellar reputation for making top-notch wine.

A Biodynamic winemaker (certified organic by Ecocert) the purity of the fruit in his wines really shines through. I can’t recommend his 100% Syrah Georges Reynaud highly enough. Tomas Clancy the Wine-Writer made it one of his wines of 2007!

Domaine Les Bruyeres Georges Reynaud Red 2006 22.95
Domaine Les Bruyeres Les Betises White 2006 22.95

Domaine de Fontavin Chateauneuf du Pape / Rhone Valley

I met up again with Helene Chouvet, the owner, and Agathe, the winemaker, at Domaine de Fontavin to try their new vintages.
These classic wines just get better and better and boy are they easy to drink and enjoy. If you twisted my arm and asked me to pick my favourite wines I’d certainly include Chateauneuf. It’s a world-famous wine for a very good reason..its very very good.
The Rhone is very consistent for wine quality and they don’t get average vintages as often as say, Bordeaux or Burgundy.
Fontavin Reds are certainly popular with our customers because of their sheer drinkability but keep an eye out for their White Chateauneuf.. a real WOW! White wine with a great bit of character.

Domaine de Fontavin Chateauneuf du Pape Red 2005 25.95
Domaine de Fontavin Chateauneuf du Pape White 2007 27.95
Domaine de Fontavin Gigondas Red 2003 19.95
Domaine de Fontavin Vacqueyras Red 2004 17.95

Domaine de Laulan Cotes du Duras / South-West France

I was very happy to catch up with winemaker Regis Geoffroy , who’s known as the “King of Sauvignon” in the Duras area in South-West France. You couldn’t meet a nicer guy. Very low-key, Regis lets his wine do the talking. His Sauvignon Blanc is a huge hit with our customers and offers real quality at a decent price. They recently won the Coup de Coeur award from The Guide Hachette (The French Wine Bible..) which they’re delighted about. If you thought his 2006 white was good wait until you try the 2007..blinding stuff!

Domaine de Laulan Cotes de Duras Sauvignon Blanc 2007 11.95
Domaine de Laulan Cotes de Duras Red 2005 11.95