Sally Williams from Wither Hills pops in to say Hello!

Sally & I working hard!

After meeting up at the New Zealand tasting, Sally Williams, Wither Hills winemaker popped into the shop to show me  the new Wither Hills  single estate wines that they are launching onto the market this year. The wines are a true expression of the different terroirs  that they have in the different parts of their property and worth the small premium for their wonderful quality.

Wither Hills Single Vineyard Rarangi Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2009

The wine has lovely vibrant herbaceous notes, passion fruit and tropical fruit with great concentration and richness on the palate balanced with seamless acidity, retailing at a Euro more then their basic Sauvignon it is well worth €14.99 Euro. Try this with some goats cheese and digestive biscuits, Heaven!

Wither Hills Single vineyard Taylor River Pinot Noir Marlborough 2007

This part of the property as the name suggests, is full of silt from an old river bed and has a lovely complex character. Bramble fruits, full  pure flavour , a subtle influence of french oak and  a lingering finish and at €23  it is worth seeking out for any Pinot Fans.

Wither Hills Single vineyard Ben Morven Pinot Noir Marlborough 2007

This Pinot Noir comes from clay soil and is  more elegant then Taylor River Pinot Noir, full of delicate cherry,strawberry bramble fruits with great finesse. This Pinot has more perfumed and floral notes which will appeal to those who prefer a lighter style. With a price of €23 it offers true finesse

It was amazing to see how different  these Pinot Noirs were and how they managed to reflect the different  soil types within this one property

Enjoy,
Julie.

JUS DE VINE, PORTMARNOCK



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Muga Reserva Especial 2005

  Arriving to the New Zealand wine fair with only an hour to go, it was a bit of a dash trying to get around to as many suppliers as possible to try new vintages and offerings for the coming year so a relaxing glass of wine was well deserved come six o clock! Thankfully as a result of many rubberarmed colleagues,  a gang of us ended up in Olesya's wine bar, Exchequer Streeet. It was my first time here but I had heard plenty of great things about this place and judging from the full tables on a Monday night in January the rumours had spread. Looking around the tables, the food looked delicious and the antipasti plate we ordered was probably the best I have had in Dublin.

 The wine was a little harder to make a decision on as the wine list is so extensive and includes a great selection of wine by the glass which is a good one to note for future visits. We eventually settled on a bottle of Muga Seleccion Especial 2005 from Rioja, €49 on their list. It is a Tempranillo based wine but there is a small proportion of Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano in it also. It spends 6 months in oak vats, 30 months in wooden barrell and a further year in bottle before being released resulting in a huge big compex wine. Toasty and nutty with tempranillo aromas of dark cherries and red fruits. In the mouth it was velevty smooth and had great weight to it. The smokiness and spiciness complimented the fresh fruit flavours and went on long after the last drop.  As I was the only female there I managed to pull the chivalry card and grab the last glass which might not be very new -womanish but a girls got to do what a girls gotta do!
Till Next Time
Clare
Cellars, the Big Wine Warehouse

Macon- Villages BUT made by Pierrette and Marc Guillemot-Michel

Marc and Pierrette Guillemot own a Domaine of 7 hectares in the commune of Quintaine, adjacent to the village of Clesse.They took over the domaine from Pierette’s parents in 1985. Both are oenolgists from the school of Beaune and post-graduates from Montpellier and they have applied their studies to combine both scientific and homeopathic principles in their wine making.
On taking over the vineyard Marc and Pierrette left the Cave Co-operative system.Organic methods of production were used for the first three years as they believed this system made finer, more characterful wines. They use no artificial herbicides or pesticides and produce their own compost for the vines from a blend of marc (the cake of skins and pips left after the grapes are pressed) and manure from organically reared animals.
During the harvest, they systematically taste their way through the vineyards, tagging those vines whose fruit they think have markedly interesting characteristics and concentration. In February cuttings from these are taken to graft onto root stock and, gradually, the vineyards will be replanted with these homegrown, especially selected vines.

Limiting the size of the crop is one of the most important factors in the production of exceptional wines in the Maconnais. To restrict quantities, Marc and Pierrette only leave one  main stalk when pruning, rather than two as is traditional. This automatically cuts their potential crop in half.

Since 1991 the Guillemots have been bio-dynamic producers.  Bio-dynamic production is basically governed by the movements of the moon. For example, weeding at certain times in the cycle of the moon results in the weeds reappearing less quickly, an important factor when herbicides are not used. Bio-dynamics also involves putting back into the plant part of its production, hence the production of a compost from the marc of grape skins and pips left after pressing.
By far the major proportion of the Guillemots' production is of Macon Clesse, Quintaine. This lovely dry white wine has concentrated fruit and complexity and a richness and depth rarely found in this region. They have experimented with using oak, but feel that even five year old barrels give too much wood flavour to the wine. They prefer to allow the purity of the Chardonnay fruit to shine through.

The current vintage is 2008 ,however I always try to stash a few bottles of the older vintages away when I notice the vintage is changing and they truly show their  full character when about five years old. Even in relative youth it is a very fine Burgundy at €23.

Delicious, serious, attention grabbing wines.... in a contemplative kind of a way..... a bit like the people who make it I suspect!.

Sante,

Evelyn
 The Vintry


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New Zealand Annual Tasting 2011

Jean Smullen

New Zealand winegrowers returned to Dublin on Monday January 17th for the annual tasting in the Radisson Hotel, Golden Lane which is run every year by the indomitable Jean Smullen.
New Zealand is regarded by many as the most exciting wine brand in the trade today, with exports to Ireland of New Zealand wines up by 12% in 2010, not bad considering the economic climate.
Although there are a vast  array of styles available, Syrah is being noted as the one to watch but their signature grape variety is still Sauvignon Blanc.
All the 2010 whites were on show and the stars of the show for me were...

Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2010

Made by Kevin Judd who is formerly chef winemaker at Cloudy Bay, Greywacke is the name of the silver stones in the soil of the vineyard.This is only his second vintage and it is everything one would expect to find in a classy Sauvignon with lovely citrus fruit,wonderful balance and a lovely lingering finish. The wine retails around €20  and is showing better, to my mind then the iconic Cloudy Bay which sells at around €28 .. Seek it out!

Saint Clair Marlborough Riesling 2008

A wine that won a Gold Star Award in the Irish wine show last year, it shows that lovely distinct  Riesling character of ripe lime and grapefruit with subtle hints of honeysuckle yet  most refreshing and a very easy drinking style. This wine is an ideal match for spicy food, pork with apple sauce and any fish dish and retails around €16.

Yealands Estate Pinot Gris Marlborough 2009

This is a young winery practising sustainable wine production and is one of the few Carbon neutral winery's. The Pinot Gris is a rich style with lovely pear fruit and great minerality coming through on the palate. Well worth seeking out at €16.99

Enjoy,
Julie.

JUS DE VINE, PORTMARNOCK




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Chateau Le Coteau Margaux 2003





 After escaping the flu all Christmas and feeling pretty invincible, I woke up feeling lousy on Tuesday morning and after two days of sleep and bad daytime tv, I could take no more so armed with a packet of Neurofen Cold & Flu I coughed and spluttered my way into work yesterday. By 4.30 I was dreaming of re-runs of "The Good Life" and my hot water bottle - a sure sign that all was not right! Throwing the towel in I headed home but not before one of my suppliers made me a present of a bottle of this Margaux on his list to cheer me up.

A wine we stock in Cellars but unfortunately had not tried in a good while so all was definitely not a loss for the day. It's from the left bank so Cabernet Sauvignon based but wines from this appellation are typically not as full-bodied as it's neighbours. Considering the other two Margauxs we stock are Chateau Palmer and Chateau Brane-Cantenac, this is a great introduction to this area at only €29.99.

Feeling mildly better by dinner time I treated myself to a glass of it with some steak and mushrooms and although my senses were not at their best, it was delicious. A verdict seconded by Ruth when she came home.

In the glass it is not as dark as you might expect from a bordeaux blend but on the nose it has tobacco, green peppers and blackcherries. Plenty of fruit on the palate; again cherries and some blackcurrants and a lovely long vanilla finish. After two glasses of this and an early night I felt brand new today and it tasted way better than any lemsip I've ever had.

Till next Time

Clare

Cellars, the Big Wine Warehouse

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Bernard Defaix Chablis

Chablis is a wine all us Irish love to drink and with all the different  producers and styles of Chablis on the market it can be confusing. If I was to think of one that is a true expression of what a good fruit friendly Chablis is all about, with a nice streak of minerality and at the right  price point, I will go straight to Bernard Defaix Chablis. It is a small family run winery in Burgundy with a dynamic young couple running the show, Helen Defaix popped into the shop a few weeks ago to show us her vast array of fine wines which, I must say, each one was better then the next. The 2009 Chablis has the classic nose of citrus and honey. The palate is medium body with great purity and minerality on the finish. One of the purest Chardonnay I have tried in a long time, and coming in at €14.99 is well worth a try. I had this with some fresh sea bass and it worked wonders for my cooking!

Enjoy,
Julie.

JUS DE VINE, PORTMARNOCK

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Martin Codax Albarino in Berlin!



"Not another Riesling, pleease!"

   After a busy month of all work and no play, a weekend away was badly needed so a last minute brainwave saw us booked onto a flight to Berlin to ring in the New Year.  Determined to try to get to the end of as many bottles of Riesling as possible over the weekend and with my two trusted and willing comrades in tow by the Sunday we were Riesling-ed and Schnitzel-ed out of it! A change of tack was needed so we headed to the nearest tapas bar in Mitte and settled in for the night. Still happy to veer away from Sauvignon Blanc(their tipple of choice) but on the condition that neither the word trocken or halbtrocken be seen anywhere near the bottle... we really had over done the "when in Rome". It was one of those amazing dark taverns lit solely by candlelight with tiles on the walls and napkins all over the floor, ironically typically Spanish! It would have seemed weird to order anything from their extensive list but a Spanish wine. We went for the Martin Codax Albarino which was ridiculously good value on their list at €20 and one we sell in Cellars so knew it would put a smile on the girls' faces! Straw yellow and bright in colour. A nose full of apples which I thought might be a problem as slightly reminiscent of the last Riesling we had drunk but had a lovely vegetal or herbal undertone. On the palate it was so fresh there was a slight zing to it. Full-bodied with some lemon flavours and minerality on the finish. Quite dry but lovely balanced acidity which worked really well with the tonne of seafood we ordered!

Feeling a little tender on our way home we decided our next weekender might be to Spain and an authentic Spanish tapas bar. Definitely more a patatas bravas than a sauerkraut kind of girl...

Great start to 2011, thanks girls xx

Till Next time

Clare

Cellars, the Big Wine Warehouse

Wynns,Coonawarra Riesling 2004 reveals all it was made for.

Have been tippling away on this lovely Riesling recently and with great satisfaction I might add.It is drinking really well, with a lovely combination of that classic Vaseline complexity and limey freshness.I personally am a big  fan of bottle age on whites,that have enough acidity to bear the years.I would not really thank you for a young version of this Riesling or probably any really young Riesling for that matter,Granted I enjoy the fact that, in youth they are always fresh,tangy quaffers but so are many other wines.

I suppose for me it is the knowledge of  what these wines have the potential to become that proves the irritant to drinking them young.Its like seeing a brilliant sports person who goes off  the rails ,giving us glimpses of but never achieving  their full genius.

Enjoy,

Evelyn

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