Peter Lehmann 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon,Barossa , My Word is My Bond

I have chosen this wonderful wine from South Australia as one of my favourite BBQ wines.

It is really full bodied, with lovely jammy fruit and a dry edge that works great with any red meats and rich flavoured foods. 


Margaret,Doug and Peter Lehmann

I was lucky enough to have meet Peter and his lovely wife Margaret on my visit to Australia. He is known as the Baron of the Barossa, but to me he was more like the Godfather of the Barossa!. He has the same kinda presence as Marlon Brando, very tall strong charismatic gentleman, his eldest son Doug is now running the show but Peter is still entertaining visitors when they call. I know even when he visited Ireland he was the last to leave the Trocadero after meeting up with all are famous stars and he entertained them for the night!. There hospitality and cellar door is almost world famous!

My Word is My Bond  is how he started in business in the late 1980's. He promised to protect  quality independent growers wherever possible, there were no contracts drawn up just a hand shake and his word. When there was a surplus of grapes and the company he was working for refused to buy the grapes off the long established grape suppliers,  
                                                                                 Peter on the right with the lads at the Weigh Bridge Station  striking the deal.

Peter would not break his word, begged and borrowed and agreeing to pay his suppliers as soon as he sold on the wine. That’s the gamble he took and it worked for him. He founded his own company and never looked back...

Peter was awarded a lifetime achievement award for his wonderful contribution to the wine industry over the past 62 years in 2009 from the International wine challenge.

Colour. Rich dense red with a purple hue

Nose. Dark berries, black-currents, hint of violets, dark chocolate, vanilla essence

Palate. Silky rounded soft fruit, touch of spice with soft tannins.

Cheers,

Julie



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PAZO BARRANTES ALBARIŇO 2008

 

Ok so this was meant to wait but it has been sitting in our wine rack for the last week waiting for a visitor to impress but "66" has been mighty quiet of late so I cracked last night. I first tasted this a couple of months back at a trade tasting and again when Frans Kerstens(export manager) visited us in Cellars earlier this month and had been pretty excited about getting it into the shop as I have 5 customers who are big  albariño fans and knew it would go down a treat with them.
 This vineyard is owned by Marqués de Murrieta, the famous Rioja producers which I have blogged about previously. The Count of Creixell acquired this property in 1991 and restored it's 16th century Galician palace to it's former glory.The palace is surrounded by vineyards all of which are albariño and used in this single estate wine. By growing the grapes themselves they are able to keep a close eye on how they are grown and picked therefore ensuring only the top grapes are used.
Weather in Rias Baixas is windy and rainy so grapes need to be trained high to allow them to dry out and catch the sun when it's out, as seen here with the Pazo in the background. The grapes are handpicked, harvest starting the end of September and finishing on the 4th of October for this vintage. They are sorted by hand and fermented on their lees for approxiamtely 5 months giving depth and intensity to the wine. Released on to the market after 2 months in bottle.
 I was actually hoping there was a bit of a story behind this label as I do like a good tale but apparently they are the traditional local shoes of the Galician area - disappointing! The wine certainly isn't though. It is a lovely golden colour with peaches, apricots and oranges on the nose. There is a lovely weight to this wine and a creaminess that I don't think is normally evident in albariño as it is quite an acidic grape. A dry white with a lovely long finish. Again this is pricey at €21.99 and like most albariños is just made for seafood although Lou was on cooking duty last night and it wasn't half bad with our stable summer diet of chicken, mushrooms and tomato salsa.

Till Next Time
Clare

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Al Fresco Dining

So, this week in view of the good weather, we’ve decided to go with wines that are ideal for Al Fresco dining.

Barbecues are great but due to the spontaneity of the Irish sunshine, we’re not always prepared. The meat counter in the supermarket is generally barren by lunchtime on a sunny day or halfway through barbecuing your meat the golf umbrella and rain gear is being dug-out from under the stairs.

This summer in number 66 –  a.k.a Casa Deveney. We have decided to start taking advantage of our 10x10ft back garden and even if we’re not cooking outside, just eating outside is our summer resolution.

So, in this sequence of posts we are concentrating on some wines to go with deck or balcony summer salads, smoked salmon or prawns, bacon sandwiches or if you’re fast enough to acquire – barbecued meats.

We are hoping to start a trend, like we see on the continent, where eating outside isn’t just for smokers.

I’ve heard of quite a few people that are building pizza ovens in their gardens – clay ovens which you can cook really good Darina Allen camping-esque food.

Most people seem to be taking a financial break from holidays this year. In view of this we need to enjoy what we have here at home and if needs be, watch Eastenders from the patio with a nice glass of summer orientated wine…

Think Moscato, elegant Pinot grigio, Frizzante Prosecco, Loire Sauvignon Blanc or some easy making- easy drinking wine cocktails.

O&O

Ruth

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Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc 2008

So two firsts with this white – it’s from South African and also Chenin Blanc, neither of which have been done yet on the blog. Chenin can range hugely in style from dry to sweet but can also make gorgeous sparkling cremants and in good vintages beautiful desert wines from noble rot. This Chenin is from Stellenbosch(about 28 miles east of Capetown) Chenin is the widest planted variety in South Africa and often referred to as Steen. A pretty new vineyard, established in about 1989 but already laden down with awards. They mosly specialise in white, with the winemaker, Mike Dobrovic (pictured below) been nicknamed Mr. Sauvignon Blanc! Although these are the guys that make one of my favourite reds –"The Faithful Hound" called after the memory of an abandoned dog who waited for his master outside an empty cottage on the Mulderbosch farm for 3 years.

                                                                                          

   Mike Dobrovic is a pretty alternative guy and after doing some of the wine route in South Africa a few years back we ended up on his doorstep and instead of the usual tour of the winery and formal tasting we were used to, he simply told us to sit in a circle and handed us all a piece of paper with a philosophical blurb on it. We all had to read ours out to the group while sitting for all intensive purposes in a big comfy sitting room. I’m a demon in those sort of situations especially after a couple of glasses of vino ; it was like being in mass when you were small and being told not to laugh and that’s all you can think of. Plenty of snorting went on ! Unfortunately can't remeber the few lines I had to read out but definitely a winery that stood out from the rest on that trip for not only their wines but also their colourful winemaker. When asked the usual questions about the wines he simply said “the wines speak for themselves”  which in all fairness to him is true...

    I love the way he packages his whites as they really stand out on a shelf; they have a distinctive narrow label which runs the length of the bottle with a red faux-wax seal. It is 100% Chenin Blanc which is aged in wood for 6 months (a mixture of American, Hungarian and second -fill French). The wine is then slightly sweetened by adding some Chenin Blanc noble late harvest juice to the aged wine. The result is a full-bodied off-dry white which was just made to go with the famous South African Bry. It is pale straw in colour with an amazing fruit-filled nose of pineapples with some zestiness, the oak brings some nutty nuances. On the palate it is lovely and clean but powerful. Off-dry finish. The lovely flamed flavours of barbeque chicken or sardines with a drizzle of lemon over it and a good rice salad -Ideal!

                                  Selling for €14.99
                 
 

The Cape of Good Hope - next port of call??!!            

Till next time
Clare



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Trimbach Muscat 2007 Alsace,France

Alsace sits high in the northeast corner of France and boarders Germany and Switzerland.

Sheltered by the Vosges mountains to the west and against the Rhine river to the east.The shape of the bottles gives a clue to the turbulent past of the region.


Wine producers in this northern corner of France have suffered through the Napoleonic War,the Franco-PrussianWar ,World War I and World War II and its last annexation before finally being returned to French ownership when the war ended.

In fact Jean Trimbach`s uncle served voluntarily in the French army and was then conscripted into the German army when Alsace was annexed by Hitler during World War II.

The Germans maintain that the natural boundry for Germany is actually the Voges mountains while the French maintain it is the Rhine river and seeing as the Germans lost the war,the Rhine it is, and Alsace is officially French!
Riquewihr 1942

However when you visit there you cannot deny that in addition to French there are also German and Swiss influences on the region. Alsace is a beautiful area full of small, historic towns with ancient half-timbered houses like something out of the Hanzel and Gretel or Heidi books and has quite dramatic scenery.
But ultimately Alsace to me is like a little country itself .It is just Alsace.. a hybrid of the countries on its borders.

The food certainly also has German/Swiss influence and while visiting there I found it hard to escape a meal that did not feature ham,gammon or pork ribs.However they do a thing called a tarte flambee which is the thinnest pizza that you can image baked in a wood fired oven topped with creme fraiche,white cheese ,white onions and surprise surprise small pieces of rasher(!)Served piping hot directly from the oven... it is sublime, in fact I could live on it.

Indeed, Alsace is home to the two longest-running family businesses in all France:Domaine Trimbach and Domaine Hugel,in operation since the 17th century.The Trimbach winery(pictured left)who makes this Muscat is run by two brothers Pierre who looks after winemaking and Jean in charge of marketing.They are the 12th generation of this family making these wines.

To quote Jean :‘The key to our continuity and success is the family.We are all closely connected with the business and with our wines. This is very important if you want to build for the long term." Here, the long term means centuries!


By the way they have a very strange habit of singing badly in Alsace and Jean is one of the worst offenders! He "very" frequently sings.. to the tune of My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean:

My bottle lies over the ocean,
My bottle lies over the sea,

My bottle lies over the ocean
Oh Trimbach my bottle to me. Trim-bach,Oh Trimbach,

Trimbach my bottle to meeee.
Trim-bach,Oh Trimbach,
Oh Trimbach my bottle to me.

Even in the local bars you see families and friends having a drink and singing away,as happy as Larry... but completely out of tune!.In my head I have decided that it must be something to do with the war because maybe they didnt know who was for the French or for the Germans so when they were socializing the only safe option was to sing

Anyway to the wine itself...unlike many Muscats, it is relatively dry. The highly-scented nose leads into a flavour so fruity that you almost think you are eating ripe grapes.Believe it or not Muscat is one of the few grapes whose taste remains unaltered when vinified into wine.

Made with two different types of Muscat both of which have the distinctive grapey flavour.Muscat Ottonel brings the roundness and the softness and Muscat d'Alsace brings the natural acidity.

Serve it as an aperitif, but it is also excellent with asparagus, melon or smoked fishes.

This is a very approachable number which appeals to most wine drinkers.Obviously great with cheese based pizza and all spicy foods in the classical sense like sausages,salami ,ribs etc so an ideal quaffer for outdoor eating especially any thing with ham!
Remember the traditional Irish salad...the 2 rolls of ham,one fresh tomatoe and one hard boiled egg cut exactly in half ,Irish lettuce, homemade potatoe salad and the Chef Salad Cream as opposed to mayonnaise on the side ..oh yeah and don`t forget the scallion garnish and if you want to be really posh a single pink radish..

Get out the Hawaiian Tropical and you are all set for retro Irish Al Fresco!

Prost!

Evelyn

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Spanish Flavours

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This week we are off to Spain...

Many  people when they think of Spanish holidays think of two  weeks on the beach in somewhere like the Costa del Sol or the Costa Dorada  and  when they think of Spanish wine they only  think  of tasty Rioja or easy drinking  Sangre de Toro. Let me just say that there is much more to Spanish tourism and indeed Spanish wine than this, great and all as they are.

 Spain is one of my favorite countries. In fact I love Spain .

                                                                        

It really is a country of great  historic interest as well as beauty.A place where Europe meets North Africa with the architectural influence of the Moors.A country of wild  rugged mountains and where the unspoilt coastline of the North and South is unsurpassed.

Then we have the famous cities of Madrid and Barcelona and the historic towns such as Seville,Jerez,Pamploma, Cordaba and Grenada to name just a few.

One of the most enjoyable glasses of wine I ever had was a chilled glass of Cava, on the balcony of the Alhambra Palace Hotel in Granada which has spectacular views over the city as well as the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is on the steep hill on the way up to the Alhambra itself (half way up on the right).This is a must do for anybody who likes to look around from time to time and feel that the world really is a miracle.

  Spain has so much to offer and the diversity of food and wine is just superb.
In fact  I personally think I am allergic to Spain  because when I go there on wine trips I seem to eat and drink from the time I arrive until the time I  leave. When I travel elsewhere, even in Ireland I get food fatigue after about three days...but not in Spain!

Even just the non alcoholic drinks alone, The coffee,the fanta limon,the gazeosa lemonade,and that's   before i even  touch a glass of wine.. All taste really fresh and natural.

 Ruth and I were recently over in Jerez visiting Bodega Hidalgo and I think even she caught the allergy. We were served (amongst other fantastic things) Manchego cheese with a savoury gellee made from violets with fresh violet petals set into it. A beautiful clear pale purple colour, it looked too nice to eat.But we managed!

The fish selection not to mention its freshness is fantastic and   Spanish white wines are just made to go with fish. Then there are, the tapas..such variety! ,even simple things like the bread  the tomatoes, the olive oil, not to mention more exotic  things like kid goat, suckling pig, rabbit stews  tiny lamb chops…. No body does roasts like the Spanish  and the way the are matched with their meaty full  bodied red wines is perfection itself.

Years ago I was  sent  over there to learn Spanish and  I will never forget the look of horror on my mothers face when she picked me up at the airport after I had  spent 4 weeks over there  supposedly  learning Spanish but in hindsight eating and drinking all around me…..I  was put on  bread and water for a year!
Now I realize she was annoyed because she knew I had discovered her secret .. this was that she  knew before I did that once I discovered great food there would be no going back!

So have a read of the three reviews below .Wines from lesser known grapes and areas and maybe you will be tempted.

 Hasta Tarde ,

Evelyn 

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Ebano 6

So, when choosing the only red wine for the Spanish tasting this week I had to be careful not to pick something that would scare Lyndsay off and undo the work we've been putting into trying to convert her into a red wine drinker.
I decided to stay away from traditional Spanish areas like Rioja and do a wine region that has given Spanish reds a face-lift and totally modernised the sometimes staid style.
Ebano 6 is from a Northerly wine region called Ribera del Duero and is regarded as the of the top 5 wineries of this area.
In 2006, it picked up the award for ''Old World red wine of the year'' in the NOffLA Gold Star Awards.- A highly coveted Irish Wine Award. Apart from all of these high profiled awards, I give it my own personal favourite flag... Most importantly!!
Clare and I spent a week last July with friends in Barcelona. We used to eat in this Tapas bar just off the beach everyday for lunch.
They would serve us this dish of fillet steak, goats cheese and balsamic vinegar with a side of deep fried battered asparagus and horseradish and a couple of bottles of Ebano 6. More often than not we never made it back to the beach and more often than not it wasn't just a couple of bottles of Ebano 6. Probably closer to the number associated with the wine but there was always a minimum of 4 of us... Just for the record!!!
Every other Tuesday night I have this re-accuring food dream of that lunch where I wake up chewing my pillow and absolutely starving!! I am 100% with Evelyn on the eating my weight in Spanish food during breakfast lunch and dinner and managing to ''grow-out'' of my summer clothes within the 7 day holiday.
So I hope I've picked the right red to showcase what Spanish wines have to offer to a potentially new red wine drinker....
Ebano 6.
The colour is a black cherry almost liquorice dark.
The nose displays aromas of violet, blackcurrant, eucalyptus and ripe cherry.
The palate is really smooth and full bodied with ripe fruit, some black liquorice and a slight smokiness on the finish.
Drink me with almost everything. Chocolate desserts, steak, tapas foods like cured meats and good parmesan or the Spanish alternative manchego...  Love it!!
O&O
Ruth.

Herbis Verdejo,Viura 2008 Rueda, Spain

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Herbis Verdejo,Viura 2008  Rueda, Spain

This morning i have chosen a white wine called Herbis. It is the 2008 vintage from Rueda which is in north central Spain, and made by a French man called Frank Masard. 

The blend he uses is Vedejo and Viura. Verdejo is a local grape variety that grows well in high altitude(Rueda is 700 meters above sea level) with cool nights it makes for a lovely aromatic,zesty citrus white with a lovely tropical finish. 

The grapes are actually picked before sunrise, the pickers are known  to actually wear miners lamps on  their heads to see in the dark! The grapes are transported as quickly as possible to stainless steel tanks to capture the freshness of the grapes.

Frank started his career  as a sommelier working his way around Europe in some of the best restaurants. He then landed himself a job working as a wine maker for Torres (which are the most influential wine making family in Spain).  He then branched out on his own, buying a vineyard in Priorat, and working closley with growers in Rueda to make some wonderful fresh, food friendly wines. This wine has taken on a life of its own in our shop. It is a little different to what most people are used to drinking and well worth seeking out over the Summer months. One defiantly for out in the garden instead of a gin and tonic!!

Colour. Pale straw

Nose. Citrus fruits, gooseberry and pineapples

Palate. Fresh zesty, lovely aromatics coming through. Great with any seafood. Salads, or on its own as a apperitif.

Cheers!
Julie



        




    

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Terra Gauda O Rosal Rías Baixas 2008

 Terras Gauda 2008  is from the Rias Baixas D.O. which is in the southern part of the Galician region of Spain. This region is also known as “Green Spain” for the same reason Ireland is often described as “Green” - it rains a lot here - average rainfall in this Celtic corner of Spain is higher than most parts of the UK so like ourselves there is a lot of trees, plants and beautiful countryside. This can make these wines expensive as due to this damp climate the size of the vintage can alter dramatically from year to year also the bodegas tend to be small and the producers focus more on quality over quantity.
 Their main grape variety is Albariño which is considered to be Spain’s mostelegant white grape variety. Some experts believe it to be the Riesling grape brought over by German monks when they were establishing monasteries on the pilgrim walk Camino de Santiago but others believe it to be an indigenous grape of the region. Either way it produces elegant, delicate wines which can be quite low in alcohol.


This wine we are trying today is from a winery which was only established in 1990 by a group of businessmen. This is their flagship wine and unusually for this region they blend the Albariño(which I think is about 70%) with 2 other grape varieties CainoBranco and Loureiro which intensifies and adds richness to the wine.

Pictured is one of the paintings that the vineyard commissions on a yearly basis to support young artists.  We have a copy of one of these hanging in work. Every year they are different but always colourful and fun.

 Oz Clarke (British Wine- Writer) was quoted as saying that this “was the best example he had ever tasted from this region” and also listed it in his top 250 wines from around the world.

More impressively this was the white wine served at the Royal Spanish wedding in 2004 where Prince Felipe(heir to the throne) married tv anchorwoman Letizia Ortiz in the first royal wedding in Spain in 100 years! She was the first"commoner" in the line for Queen in the history of the spanish royal family although by all accounts this wedding was quite a relief to his Parents as his previous girlfriend had been a Norwegian lingerie model which I'm sure he got plenty of Kudos from the lads for but possibly not Queen material! Anyway if it’s good enough for the Royal Family and all that…Guests such as Nelson Mandella and Prince Charles were quaffing this...

Colour is a greenish- yellow
Nose: apples, lemons, grapefruit with some floral aromas

Palate: really fresh yet rich. Pears, apricots and beautiful acidity.

Retails for €19.99. Made to go with all the beautiful fish and shellfish from the region but also delicious as an aperitif.


Till Next Time
Clare

Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Rioja Gran Reserva 2000

Ever since I spent a year in Madrid when I was in my early 20s I have had a bit of an obsession with all things Spanish; Tapas, Fiestas, Siestas, Cañas... I never really got to grips with the language but funnily enough the wine was never a problem. I LOVE SPANISH WINE. One of my all time favourites is Marqués de Murrieta Rioja which still has all the traditional aspects of a good Rioja but with plenty of appeal to today's Rioja drinkers around the world.

       This winery was established in 1872 by Luciano de Murrieta who was later honoured by Queen Isabel II, herself toMarquesado de Murrieta; hence the name Marques de Murrieta. It is rioja's second oldest bodega. It then changed hands to the Cebrian family and has been in the family for two generations. It is Dalmau Cebrain who runs it now and was keen to bring the winery into the 21st century. As well as investing in the vineyards and winery he also hired a young female winemaker , Maria Vargas Montoya. Her first vintage was 2000 when she was only 29 years old! She made the Castillo Ygay(small castle) which is their Gran reserva. This is normally only made in excellent vintages and even though 2000 wasn't she was determined to make an Ygay in her first year. The results were impressive.

  

 Frans Kerstens(export manager pictured above))  visited us in Cellars last week and took us through their range and we were lucky enough to try it. It is aged for 3 years in oak and is a blend of predominantly tempranillo with a small bit of mazuelo  and a dash of garnacha, all estate grown grapes.

  A rich, powerful wine  with a complex array of aromas from leather to balsamic(in the nicest possible way) and in the mouth it is smooth and round with dried cherries and subtle spices. Absolutely gorgeous but expensive - retailing about €50!  Pockets feeling lighter than normal these days try their entry level red called Marques de Murrieta Reserva - knocks the socks off most Rioja Reservas on the market these days and at €19.99 definitely more affordable. With regards to food matching and the Ygay  - personally I think the best way to drink this is on your own  on it's own...

Till Next Time

Clare

New Zealand Smashers

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As Ireland is famous for hurling, bad weather! And good ole Guinness, New Zealand is famous for the all blacks, amazing scenery in lord of the rings, and Sauvignon Blanc. But this week we have chosen three wines that are  A.B.S...anything but Sauvignon Blanc. The fact that Sauvignon Blanc occupies top slot is related more to the popularity of New Zealand S/B rather then there ability to make other interesting  and outstanding wines.     
                                                                     

New Zealand only started growing grapes on the south island in the early 1970's. Their vineyards are the most southerly in the world. The climate is different to Australia, in fact their weather is not unlike are own here in Ireland although warmer and more humid.

Having chatted to many producers from New Zealand they will all tell you S/B is an  essential calling card for any producer hoping to export. It is a easy sell, and pays the bills. But take some time out and discover what else these guys are good at...
                                                                               North Island Brown Kiwi

Seifried Pinot Gris '07

Wines that don’t resemble Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand was our topic for week 5 on 106.8fm.

Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand is a little like Rioja from Spain. People rely on these wines and are sometimes reluctant to be adventurous with anything else from these countries.

New Zealand produces some of the most affordable, diverse and interesting whites the World over. As they are a relatively new wine producing country, they work hard at producing the best and know that the consumer is taking a risk when purchasing, so they’re keen to impress.

The wine choice for my 2 minute slot was Seifried, Pinot Gris from the Nelson region on the South Island. I am a serious fan of this Kiwi white.

I took it in to sell in the shop about 5 years ago. It was when New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs were massively popular on the Irish market but we saw very little else that they produced. I totally fell in love with this wine and the successful Pipe dream story that went with it.

The man behind the wine is Herman Seifried, an Austrian man who moved to New Zealand in response to an apple winemaking job. He met and fell in love with Agnes- a local school teacher, whose family originated from Donegal, The Mc McCarthy’s.

They married in 1971 with a dream to be the 1^st people to plant on the South Island.

Funding proved to be very difficult as all the Banks thought their idea was crazy, eventually the local church lent them enough money to buy some land and plant vines. Herman and Agnes became the pioneers of the South Island and their wines exude their passion and innovation.

This pours a light apple juice/ pineapple juice colour with a slightly pink hue.

The nose displays ripe tropical fruit. Pineapple, dried mango, peach and pink grapefruit. If the wine remains in the glass for long enough, you can pick up aromas of aniseed and fresh basil.

The palate is quite different to the nose, Flavours of grapefruit, pineapple and some citrus along with candied fruit finishing in this lovely balanced acidity.

This is a wine for the warm weather. Ideal with meaty fish- monkfish or lemon sole, fresh garden salads or even just sausages on the barbeque with tomato relish.

If the weather forgets to improve, crank the heating up, dig out those summer shorts, pull the blinds and get playing Ella Fitzgerald. I’ve applied this technique for the last 3 years and although our ESB bill has been surprisingly high for July it’s managed to keep me relatively sane for the wet summer months. Try it... Not a bad alternative!.

O&O

Ruth

            

WAIPARA SPRINGS PREMO PINOT NOIR 2008

 Yes I know, another Pinot Noir but when we decided to do New Zealand this week I couldn't resist. Pinot Noir is the no. 1 red grape variety in New Zealand but it is also such a difficult grape  to master that one of  Californian's most influential winemakers, André Tchelistcheff was noted to have said " God made Cabernet Sauvignon  whereas the devil made Pinot Noir" so it is pretty impressive that in just 30 years of growing this grape that they are able to produce wines that can rival many burgundian wines.


From a place called Waipara Valley, a tiny region with just 30 vineyards just north of Christchurch on the South Island. This vineyard is tucked into the middle of this valley which has it's own microclimate making it quite similar to Burgundy and we all know about the Pinots from Burgundy.

  It's a partnership between two farming families, the Moores and the Grants, who back in the early 1980s saw the potential of their land and despite their neighbours believing they had lost their minds, they were the first to plant vines in this region.  Waipara springs actually started out life as an asparagus farm and part of the farm still continues with this tradition.  The food at Waipara Springs Cafe(pictured right) is out of this world and people travel for miles to taste new vintages of asparagus.


The winemaker is a guy called Frank Manifold who was chief winemaker at Cloudy Bay vineyards. He gave up this big brand life for in comparison a small boutique winery. However, here he gets to make a wine he adores by putting his heart and soul into it by shaping each vintage to get the best from the year and this is what his Premo Pinot Noir is all about. Handpicked and handsorted grapes coming from different picks in the vineyard to give just the right amount of ripeness, spiciness and flavour .

With Pinot don't expect wines that are inky deep and dense in colour and this one is no exception. They say if you can't see a ring on your finger through the back of the glass that it isn't Pinot. The nose has plenty of brambly red fruit aromas especially cranberries but there is some earthiness to it also. On the palate it is more savoury with firm tannins. Serve this with roast salmon or mushroom risotto is gorgeous with the earthiness of the Pinot. Priced at €23.99, not for the everyday drinker amongst us but maybe Sunday best...



BE ADVISED - the one drawback to these Pinots is just how easy they are to drink and how deceptively light they feel especially for the lighter drinkers amongst us. Nothing attractive about leaving a dinner party on all fours and with this one coming in at 13.5% ABV and sliding down your throat with serious ease as it seems to do so well  it would not take that many glasses... believe me I've see it !!

Till Next Time
Clare

Lawsons Dry Hills,Gewurztraminer2007,Marlborough,New Zealand

http://wowireland.blogspot.com                                                CountryMix_2010-04-14_10-00-00




Lawsons Dry Hills,Gewurztraminer2007,Marlborough,New Zealand

We are really taking a change in tack here with this grape variety which is called Gewurztraminer.

 Pronounced:Gurr-vurts-tram-in-er

Very difficult to pronounce and very pronounced in flavour.!

Gewurztraminer is originally a European grape variety. Gewurz  actually translates as spice or perfume  and Traminer is actually a place in Alto Adige in Northern Italy. From there it was transplanted in 1870 to Alsace and its current more aromatic style is the result of a mutation of that original clone and this is the version now found in Alsace,Germany and  indeed around the world .Interesting enough because it is an aromatic variety it performs best in cool climate thus its sucess in Germany,Alsace and indeed New Zealand. 

I have tasted many examples of Gewurztraminer from the Southern Hemisphere and Lawsons Dry Hills is,in my opinion,the only producer that has managed to capture the true style and fundamental qualities of this grape variety.

Founded in 1992 by Ross and Barbara Lawson when they decided to make their own wine, rather than just  selling  on their Gewurztraminer grapes which they had been growing on  their Alabama Rd vineyard since the early 80s.

The business has grown from that original 15 tonnes which Ross managed from the old tin shed (now the cellar door), on the property to processing close to 800 tonnes.

Their Gewurztraminer has gone on to be recognized as one of the country’s finest and has firmly established Lawson’s Dry Hills on the national and international wine stage.


When you take a sniff of this wine you notice it is very fragrant almost perfumed in style with lovely rose petal,lychee and Turkish Delight(as pink turkish delight is made from rose) and it is also a little spicy …like sausages are spicy.

On the palate it is off dry with the abundant flavours that we find on the nose spilling into your mouth with balancing alcohol and a rich finish.

This is a style of wine that some people adore yet others find too distinctive in flavour, so one has to be careful about serving it to a large group as some people will not be happy to drink this wine style for an entire evening.

This to me is the perfect wine to go with Chinese food. I am personally one of the people who fall into the “I find this too aromatic to enjoy on its own" camp,however its pungent lychee flavours perfectly suit the underlying sweetness of many Chinese dishes. It also goes well with smoked salmon and rich fatty game dishes.

In its original area of Alsace you are dealing with a lot of ham, gammon etc.which is generally cured or smoked, not to mention Munster cheese which is produced locally.

This picture is of Tomi  a lovely Labrador of 12 years of age who is a very valued member of the Lawsons team.Tomi  enjoys her ripe grapes during vintage and being very selective only eats those high in sugar and low in acids so she is a great  indicator  of when the grapes are ready for  harvesting!

She reminds me of our old family labrador Simon who used to love to run along by the car on the drive back from the beach because he would be too wet to be allowed in!

Gotta shoot through so I’ll catch ya later.

Evelyn 

  CONSUME AND ENJOY IN MODERATION

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CELLARS,NAAS ROAD:DEVENEYS DUNDRUM:JUS DE VINE PORTMARNOCK:THE VINTRY RATHGAR

                                          CountryMix_2010-04-13_10-00-00

Perez Cruz Cabernet '08

The wow girls consists of 4 all- weather members but we do have quite a few honorary ladies that engage in light tasting and experimental work from time to time.

Agreed terms of a Pavilion membership – candidate must give 100% commitment to the tasting tasks in operation and be very discreet in disclosing results or aftermath of experiments to non members.

Louise Carpenter is our 5th member. Louise is my oldest school friend and she lives with Clare and I in 66. Working as a successful Project manager by day and moonlighting as a patron of wine after hours. She heads our communications department and often holds council during heated wine debates.

I drafted Louise in to do an exercise on Chilli Doritos and Perez Cruz, Friday night style.

Perez Cruz Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2008 is an estate bottled wine from the Maipo Valley – Chile. Personally, Chilean wines are not a first choice of mine. I find it difficult to sell them and sometimes drink them, despite them being massively popular with the Irish consumer. This is one Chilean that I never have difficulty vending and one that I take home myself quite often. I needed a second opinion.

Got out our Schott glasses and pulled the cork. It pours this blackcurrant almost liquorice colour. The nose is blackcurrant fruit – cassis, mint, vanilla, some earthy notes and some liquorice – all-sorts.

The palate is silky and full bodied. Ripe dark berry fruit but not too sweet in comparison to other well known Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon’s. The liquorice aromas are there amongst the fruit with a little bit of earthiness – slightly unusual for Chilean Cabernet’s.

This Red is really well structured. Good firm tannins that stand up against the ripe fruit and a little acidity on the finish but all really balanced.

The results of the Chilli Dorito combination were all in all very favourable. The 400g bag was finished within the last glass and the spice and salt of the chips worked well with the fruit and slight residual sugars of the wine.

Great value meal consisting in total €13.00 for two.

Perez Cruz 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon €10.00

Chilli Doritos 400g €3.00

A reasonable Friday.

O&O

Ruth

WINE-ING AWAY TO WESTPORT

Hens and Prosecco seems to go hand in hand with my girlfriends but then again so do late lunches and prosecco, nights out and prosecco and even of late, babysitting and prosecco so maybe it's just another excuse for me and the girls to crack open the bubbly! So 2 weeks ago, with a four hour train journey ahead of us, 26 hens and the bride-to-be could think of no better way to wile away the hours to Westport than by cracking open some fizz. Despite the stems falling off all our plastic champagne flutes  leaving us with no other option but to drink up (too) quickly or lose it to the rocky train journey, I did hear on our return leg to Dublin the words " I would kill for a glass of that prosecco now..." been uttered and some murmurs of agreeance in response. The same can definitely not be said about the other beverages consumed over the weekend!!

   Conti Neri Prosecco di Prosecco NV  is a spumante (fully sparkling) made from the Prosecco grape in the Prosecco region. Producers in this region are in the process of legally changing the grape name so that only sparkling from the Prosecco DOC can be called Prosecco(similar to champagne laws).

Everyone loved the freshness and elegance of this wine. Generous  flavours of apples and pears on the palate with loads of persistent bubbles. Some spiciness on the finish and definitely tastes like more... I feel great value for a spumante at €16.99.

I did have a great picture of us all on the train to Westport in all your typical hen paraphenalia but unfortunately as the saying goes "what goes on tour, stays on tour..."

Till next time
Clare