Protos Joven, Ribera del Duero '07

Nerja is beautiful, great weather, quaint Spanish streets, very few tacky nightclubs or aprons displaying the female anatomy.
Despite all of the above, the holiday was a bit of a disaster. David had forgotten to pack some good humour, I had forgotten my patience and Declan had forgotten his immune system - maybe a holiday wasn't such a great idea!!!
There's always a silver lining - Coto de Imaz Reserva was €16 a bottle in a restaurant and Protos was a couple of Euro less.
Protos Roble '07, Ribera del Duero is a great value Northern Spanish red that offers almost everything - in my opinion.
A big but classy red. Black dark berry fruit - cherries and blackberry with a mild smokiness and a black liquorice twist. The finish is meaty and smooth with no harsh tannins.
This is an ideal roast meat red but try it with manchego cheese and chorizo sausage.
Available in Deveney's of Dundrum @ €15.00
Ruth.

Santa Rita Pehuén Carmenère

  Myself, Ruth and Ev recently attended the Santa Rita "Local Heroes" dinner in the Merrion hotel where along with other members of the trade, journalists and restaurateurs we sat down to an unbelievable meal cooked by Sebastian Maturara, the Chilean chef,  flown over especially and  all accompanied by some of their finest wines. Nights like these I forget about the long hours, harsh duty rates and anything else that bothers me about the wine business and I figure we have THE BEST jobs in the world!
 Santa Rita launched this campaign last year to honour the heroes who fought for their independence from Spain in the Civil war. One of these heroes, Bernard O'Higgins and his 120 man army sought refuge in the cellars of Santa Rita and after resting up went on to win independence for Chile. It was because of Bernard O'Higgins' Irish connections that Santa Rita launched this campaign here in the hope of finding more brave Irishmen and women of the more local kind. The 120 range is so called after these brave men but it is their more premium wines that really impressed on the night.

  The star of the night for me was the Pehuén  Carmenère. This is a single vineyard Carmenère from the Apalta region. This grape needs a long growing period to ripen fully so the Apalta valley is perfect for this. The wine is called after the native Chilean tree better known to us as the monkey puzzle tree. A deep, dark and luscious colour displaying chocolate, dark cassis, spices, coffee and plenty of fruit on the nose. Big and robust in the mouth with beautiful complexity and a smoky finish that went on long after the last drop. This retails for €54.99 but worth every cent so maybe (dare I say it) a Christmas treat!  It needs full-flavoured foods to work with as Sebastian showed us with delicately cooked lamb served with a traditional Chilean corn based  salsa. The flavours worked beautifully with this wine. 

Beautiful match

  
  A memorable night with great food and beautiful wine but seriously suffered the next morning even though we sensibly dragged ourselves home after the dinner. Recommended Copper Face Jacks to Sebastian... I wonder how that worked out!
Till next Time
Clare
Cellars, the Big Wine Warehouse

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DEAR DOCTOR...let us solve your wine problems

Dear Dr.Hannah.

I am suffering a critical food pairing dilemma. My mother passed away 12 months ago, just after my 37th Birthday. On realising how spacious the family home had become without the chair lift and shower seat etc. I set about rectifying my space issues. I thus met a lovely girl via the World Wide Web on a friendly chat room. A nice pleasant young lady from Chang Mai.
She arrived and her cooking skills were far from bacon and cabbage. I am having difficulties with matching the fish curries or noodle soup that we are substituting for my mother's mash and gravy.
None of these dishes seem to work with Guinness, could you please offer me an alternative.
Desperate for some wine advise in the West.
Anon.

Dear Anon,
I'm delighted to hear of your new companion. Amorous advice is not my forte. On a wine front my advice would be to stick to New World, traditional German grape varieties. If your preference is red I would suggest a fruity un-wooded pinot noir. Ideally a Margaret River or a Hawkes Bay. There are more reasonable alternatives from Chile and Argentina. Ask in your local wine specialist for un-oaked options.
Whites are much easier to acquire. New World Pinot Gris, Gewurtztraminer or Riesling are ideal accompaniments but equally a decent German Riesling such as Dr.Loosen which is relatively widely available. My preference would be a Nelson Pinot Gris and these are becoming quite popular as aperitifs but also great with an Indian or Chinese take-away. Do your research in your local Off-Licence and explore your options.
Hope this helps the food pairing dilemma and hoping that the language barrier is a little easier to live with.
Dr.Hannah.

MADEMOISELLE L ,2005, HAUT MEDOC

Caroline Frey is a lucky lady.She trained in college as a wine maker and lucky for her ,her dad was able to afford to buy Ch La Lagune ,a 3rd classed growth in the Haut- Medoc, just down the road from Margaux. So she took this historically highly regarded Chateau and completely revamped the wine making facilities using state of the art gravity based design,and if you could ever call the actual inside of a winery beautiful(other than the always atmospheric barrel rooms) you could actually consider using that word here.Every little detail is thought of , attractive curved guttering to allow spilt juice and water to run off ,elevated control panels like something out of a lunar module, and stainless steel gravity feeders suspended high above the ceiling over spotless stainless steel tanks.Then you go outside and there is a lovely little chateau with attractive courtyards and outbuildings.It really must be a winemakers heaven.
Mademoiselle L is her more mainstream product retailing at around €18 a blend of Cabernet and Merlot from vineyards sourced adjacent to La Lagune with similar terraine.A wine which is fruit driven by Bordeaux standards but with lovely structure and balance and the current vintage of 2005 reflects the excellence of  this vintage.

Sante

Evelyn
THE VINTRY ,RATHGAR.

http://www.chateau-lalagune.com/chateau-la-lagune-en.html

Cheers

Evelyn

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Coto De Imaz ,Rioja, Reserva 2004

Bren & David..Los Dos Muchachos!

September 9th 2010,  it  was the annual wine trade show from Spain which was on in the Shelbourne Hotel .Twenty of our Irish suppliers were showcasing their wines form all the different regions in Spain. More about that later.
David  Losantos,who is the export manager from El Coto, Rioja kindly took time out with Bren Smith, their Irish wine importer, after the show to visit our shop and take me through  the wonderful range of wines that El Coto make.
The bodega was founded in the early 1970's by a group of friends and as the story goes they have gone from strength to strength and never looked back. I tasted all their wines and I must say I thought they were all showing really well but the one that really stood out for me was the Coto De Imaz, Reserva, Roija 2004. Made from 100% Tempranillo. The grapes come from their own estate mainly in Rioja Alta, which is where some of the best fruit in Rioja is grown. The wine being a Reserva meaning it is aged for a minimum of 12 months in oak and  36 months between barrique and bottle before being released onto the market. On the nose the wine was full of red fruit aromas (cherries and strawberries) with a touch of spice the new American oak coming through,  the wine has lovely velvety character on the palate with good ripe tannins and very well balanced leaving a lovely lingering finish. It will work really well with Tapas. Sausage or peppery dishes, also lamb is one of the classic food and wine pairing for me with this Rioja.

The wine retails under 20 Euro and well worth seeking out. Also I know there is a special on the  basic El Coto, Rioja with all NoffLA members for the month of October at a steal for 10 Euro, which is a great introduction  into classic Rioja.

Le Voyage d'Ulysse 2006

 This gorgeous Cotes du Rhone Villages  would be a lovely accompaniment to Roast Lamb this Sunday. It's a blend of Syrah, Carrignan and Mouvedre. It is a gorgeous ruby red in the glass with aromas cherries and vanilla from the oak ageing. Cherries follow through to the palate with some raspberry flavours also present. The finish is typically Rhone; spicy with fine tannins. 

The name of the wine means “The Journey of Ulisses”. Frederic David, the winemaker, named the wine after his 7 year old son, Ulisses and runs the vineyard with his father who bought it on his retirement in 1991 and moved the whole family down from Paris. I actually met Frederic when he was over in Dublin before Christmas and he spoke so passionately about not only his wines but the land itself that it would be difficult not to get enthused about them. He is very conscious about pesticides and trying to minimise the amounts used in the winemaking process as much for the wine he makes as for the land he is farming. He was telling me the property itself has a beautiful 16^th century chapel on it which he is renovating at the moment in the hope that they can eventually accommodate weddings on the vineyard. Can you imagine getting married amongst the vines and olive trees….?!

His best pal actually owns an Irish bar in nearby Nimes which he goes every Thursday for live trad sessions and to watch the rugby even admitting to donning our green jersey for some matches so there seems to be a bit of Irish in him!

 He is a rather small producer, making only 5 wines..3 reds - one of them actually being a Kosher wine, a sauvignon blanc and a gorgeous rose. This is his top wine and on special in Cellars for the month of September at €11.99

Till next time

Clare

Cellars, the Big Wine Warehouse, Naas Road

DEAR DOCTOR...let us solve your wine problems

Dr Hannah Wine Therapist
and perfect housewife.

Dear Dr Hannah,
I do hope you  can help me.My sister is getting married on Saturday and while she was out with her fiancee last night ,I crept up to her bedroom and tried on her wedding dress.I know! I know ! What was I thinking of? Well actually I wasn't thinking because, I was having a glass of wine and as I have been dieting to fit into my bridesmaid dress ,the alcohol went straight to my head. Anyway there I was,swirling around in front of the mirror admiring myself ,when I managed to knock over the remainder of my glass, which was on the floor beside the mirror. I nearly died in fright, as this is a really expensive wedding dress and you can clearly see the pink stains around the hem. I did not have a clue what to do about the stain so I just crammed the dress back in its carrier and ran.
Please can you help me .Can you tell me how to remove red wine stains.I really do not want to tell my sister what I have done, as she is marrying my ex boyfriend and might think I did it on purpose.Which of course I didn't!

Upset from Ulster

Dear Upset from Ulster.
My my you are in a pickle here.First off can I point out that excessive dieting prior to a special event can be disastrous for the very reason mentioned by you. I have been to several  weddings where the bridesmaids have been quite tipsy because they have not been eating properly prior to the wedding. Secondly to avoid long-term damage to your sisters wedding dress you should  have acted as fast as possible by blotting the stains to remove any excess wine ,using a white cloth as the dye from coloured cloth could leak into the fabric and cause further damage. You should have run cold water over the stain immediately to dilute it. If  the red wine has dried in it will be much harder to get it out now.
Given that you have done none of the above, it is highly unlikely that the stain can be got out of your sisters wedding dress . My best advice to you, is to suggest that you do a runner before the wedding ,preferable with your ex boyfriend/her fiance ...that way she will probably just burn the dress without looking at it and so will not be angry with you about the red wine stain.

I do hope that my advice works out for both you and your sister.
Dr Hannah

HUGEL PINOT BLANC 2007 CUVEE LES AMOURS

What do you get when you cross the flavours of a very good Riesling with the flavours of a very good Pinot Gris.......Hugel  Pinot Blanc 2007.
This is a wine that I seem to drink quite frequently, which is unusual given that I have, an entire shop to choose from every time I want  a bottle of wine and, all day to ponder that choice..
It really is delicious and the fact that it has bottle age even more so.In fact I think Pinot Blanc ages better than Pinot Gris because it has that lovely limey backbone that one often finds in a Riesling.
So take that backbone and surround it with that fleshy yet elusive cool climate ripeness one encounters in Pinot Gris and there you have it.
 A truly interesting wine @€14.95.

Prost!

Evelyn

THE VINTRY ,RATHGAR.

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Doña Paula Malbec 2008

In the words of Mika... Big and beautiful comes to mind when you take a sip of this luscious deep coloured  red. There are plums, blackberries and some coffee aromas. On the palate it is soft and round with sweet tannins. Malbec is a real favourite with a lot of my customers and for all those red meat eaters out there you need to try it with a juicy sirloin steak.... There is a reason why it is known as the "Original Steak Wine"

 From the Mendoza region of Argentina this is 100% Malbec and a true expression of what the grape can produce. Argentina have really taken Malbec as their own even though it has a long history in the Cahors region just south of Bordeaux. Here the grape produces a highly tannic wine with black fruit  and violet aromas. It only reached  Argentina in the late ninteenth century where originally due to high yields it was served as a  mediocre table wine. As winemaking techniques improved and yields controlled, it has gained worldwide recognition and deservedly so.

 The Claro group which are the Chilean company behind Santa Rita and Terra Andina to name but a few acquired vineyards in the late 1990s in Argentina and Doña Paula was founded. As winemakers they believe in protecting the environment and try to do their utmost to ensure that neither the environment or their workers are at any risk by avoiding pesticides and allowing natural processes to control pests.

Give this a try for €13.99 and you won't be disappointed.
Till next Time
Clare
Cellars, the Big Wine Warehouse
CONSUME AND ENJOY IN MODERATION

Chateau Marsau 2003

This excellent small property in the Cotes De Francs, lying beside St Emilion on the right bank is producing some delicious wine. Owned by a Bordeaux wine merchant and producing less then 5,000 cases a year made up mostly from the merlot grape.Chateau Marsau has been heralded as the Petrus of the Cotes De Franc by none other then Robert Parker, who by the way is the most influential wine critic in the world! The property has a little mircoclimate of its own with great sunshine and perfect soil for merlot. This property has been recognised as one of the rising stars of the Cotes De Franc and one to seek out when looking for a good value Bordeaux. I had the Marsau 2003 recently which was a hot vintage in Bordeaux, the wine offers real deep red sumptuous dark berry fruit.It is full bodied, soft round rich opulent and elegant with and touch of mint and eucalyptus on the nose, its well balanced and drinking now.
I produced this wine recently at my friends dinner party and it impressed everyone, worked really well with lamb and at a fraction of  the price of a bottle of Chateau Petrus it sure is a way to impress!
The wine is €23.99 but for the month September we have it at €16.99... that is while stocks last!

Enjoy,

Julie
JUS DE VINE, PORTMARNOCK

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DEAR DOCTOR...let us solve your wine problems

Dr Hannah wine therapist
and perfect housewife

Dear Dr Hannah,

I have to visit my mother once a month and she serves me a half bottle of red wine with my dinner,which I rarely finish in one sitting.She always seems too busy to help me drink it, but  insists on keeping what is left in the bottle for my next visit. Obviously I refuse to drink a month old wine, so now she has resorted to using it in the gravy that she serves me with my rare roast beef,yorkshire pudding ,garden peas, cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes.
Do you think she is trying to kill me by poisoning me with off wine?I have always been a good daughter,aside from that time that I stole her car ,and that other time that I inadvertently forgot to collect her from the convalescent home,but that wasn`t really my fault.

                                     Please  can you help me and my mother?

                                     Petrified from Portlaoise.

Dear Petrified from Portlaoise,

My my you and your mother do seem to have a problem here .First off let me assure you that she is not trying to kill you,because if she was I am sure she could come up with a better plan than this.For example, locking you into her car that you stole and running a hose up from the exhaust.However I can see your dilemma and appreciate your concern.Wine that is kept too long after opening will lose its essential fruitiness and  become tainted after a while.You mention that you visit your mother once a month .My advice to you is perhaps to consider visiting her on a weekly basis.That way the wine she uses in the food that she prepares for you will still be in condition .Another option would be for your mother to freeze the left over wine in ice trays which she can then just pop into the gravy.Advise her from me,to purchase a really large chest freezer which could come in very handy in the near future .

I do hope that my advise has put your mind at ease.

Dr Hannah

Wine therapist and perfect housewife