Five Years Trading in Sandyford!

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

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

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..

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

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

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

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