Blooms Burgundy not logwood

Ulysses, James Joyce's novel is set in Dublin on June 16^th, 1904

 

 

In chapter eight, Leopold Bloom’s lunch, was a Gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of red burgundy at Davy Byrne’s pub in Duke Street

‘Mr Bloom ate his strips of sandwich, fresh clean bread, with relish of disgust, pungent mustard, the feety savour of green cheese. Sips of his wine soothed his palate. Not logwood that. Tastes fuller this weather with the chill off.’

The reference to logwood refers to the colour of the  Burgundy wine and is the equivalent to the modern use of the word plonk.The hard, brownish-red wood of this tropical tree yields a dye  used in dyeing fabrics. In 1904  the alleged use of this dye to colour spurious or adulterated wine was frequent, and so the usage of the term  logwood  to describe dodgy wine came into the vocabulary of that time.

So toast James Joyce tomorrow with something tasty not logwood.
 Evelyn
The Vintry

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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.

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Tapas and a bottle of Rioja... Heaven!



The Port House, Pembroke District, Dundrum Town Centre



 Met Ruthie after work last night to try out a new haunt in Dundrum, The Port House. To be honest had tried out their branch in town when it first opened a couple of years ago and was not that impressed with it but maybe I was just unlucky as it had been a particularly busy night and a gang of us were squashed onto a table that should really only have sat half of us. Last night was a totally different experience though and the atmosphere seems way more chilled out from that of the one in town. Spread over two of the Pembroke cottages, unlike most of the restaurants in Dundrum there is plenty of room between tables and lit by candlelight with exposed brick walls it has a cellar feel to it. Loads to choose from on the menu but we settled for calamares with aioli mayo, bouquerones,  goats cheese salad and chorizo in a red wine sauce with onions. One nicer than the next! They have a pretty extensive wine list with most of the Spanish appelations covered. Good value also as we paid €26 for the Ibericos Rioja Crianza which I sell in Cellars for €12.99. This is Torres' Rioja and relatively new to Ireland. Everything you expect from a crianza from it's deep red appearance to the blackberries and blueberries on the nose with an oaky spiciness. Really velvety and round in the mouth and the spice coming through on the finish. A really great offering for house wine prices. Dessert was pretty amazing also; I went for home made doughnuts with hot chocolate and Ruthie had her all time favourite creme brulee. You won't be able to keep us away from this place now that we have found it and with a smoking area being finished off  in the next week or two it is like it was purpose built for us WOW girls. Have we found our new headquarters?!

Till Next time

Clare

Cellars, the Big Wine Warehouse

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
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Masi Costasera Amarone Classico 2006

Pierre, the export manager for Masi took time out last week to take Clare and I through some of the great wines of Masi.

Masi has been one of the historic interpreters of Amarone since 1772 when the Boscaini family (now the 6th generation) bought land in the heart of Valpolicella classico(near Lake Garda) and gained access to the most prestigious vineyards and best location for the appasimento.

Appasimento(drying of the grapes) is the traditional method used in the Veneto region to give the wines great aromas , concentration and flavour. The grapes, Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara are laid out to rest for a long time on bamboo racks to dry out before vinification.This can take up to 3/4 months When the semi dried grapes are ready, they produce a wonderful rich unique wine we all know as Amarone.

Masi Costasera Amarone Classico 2006
This deep dark ruby red wine wine has aromas of baked fruits, plums, cherries, with a touch of mocha. Soft tannins, good alcohol levels and a long velvety finish. Its a wine to be shared with good friends after dinner with some mature cheese or will stand up to any roasts.
This is one of the classic wines from the Masi range,and once you try it will understand why they are the leading premium Amarone producer accounting for 20% of the total production in the Veneto region. They have also ventured into making wines in Argentina which i will talk you through next week!
We managed to grab a few minutes with Pierre which you can see and he was able to explain the Amarone and Ripasso production method, as Masi was the first to make a Ripasso, no better man to ask! See our VBLOG in Clares post titled Masi Poderi del Bello Ovile 2007

Cheers, Julie
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Trimbach Muscat 2007 Alsace,France

Jean Trimbach was in town this week so I collared him for a chat about his harmonious Muscat and his not so harmonious singing for which he is also quite famous!

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.

His Muscat however is finely tuned and is relatively dry by normal muscat standards. The highly-scented nose of this wine 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.

The food of Alsace certainly has both German and Swiss influences mixed in with the obvious French ones 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.

Prost!

Evelyn

THE VINTRY ,RATHGAR.

Italo Pietrantoni video blog.

Our very first attempt at video blogging. Myself and Evelyn with a bottle of Italo Pietrantoni Montepulciano D'abruzzo. Spitting was obligatory as work prevailed!!

Nice way to start a Wednesday though,

Hope you enjoy,

Ruth and Evelyn.

The collaboration of an Italian feast - Rathgar style!

Laurenz V Gruner Veltliner Tasting

When the call came through on our direct
WOW Line extending an invitation to a dinner hosted by the famous Austrian wine maker, Laurenz Moser V, only three quarters of us were able to accept due to previous arrangements. It had been a while since we had been to a structured wine dinner together and even though Jules was missing it, the idea of having dinner with a member of the legendary Moser family had us all excited. Laurenz is the grandson of Professor Dr. Lorenz Moser III, the man who introduced the high trellessing system, named after him which changed vine-growing across Europe and greatly improving the quality of GrÜner Veltliner. In a nutshell, his granfather is some what of a legend in the wine business....

GrÜner is an indigenous grape of Austria and the most widely planted variety in Austria with most of it's success occurring in the north-east of the country. Laurenz concentrates solely on this grape and is committed to creating a dry white in many different styles of which we saw clearly the other night.

Upon arriving we tried the Laurenz V "Sunny" 2009 so named after one of his twin daughters(both pictured below), Anna. He explained to us that the style reflected her personality hence the name. It was fresh and as he put it himself "fun" and not too serious a wine although the typical varietal flavours were present such as peppers and tropical fruits; perfect as our aperitif.

With the starter of salmon, crab and fennel salad we enjoyed the Singing 2009 which is called after his other daughter, Sophie who is involved in the business. Both the Singing and Sunny are treated identically with the grapes just coming from different areas. I found the Singing to be slightly less zippy than the Sunny with more floral notes to it and a little rounder. We also tried the Friendly 2008 so called after his wife, we presume!Thjis had quite a burgundy nose to it, tropical notes which were soft and elegant on the palate with a certain creaminess and a spiciness to the finish.

I chose the Roast Loin of Pork with apricot and sage stuffing which worked amazingly well with the Silver Bullet 2008 . This was somewhat of a privilege to try as not only is it relatively new to the range but also unfortunately not available to purchase in Ireland.
It comes in a 50cl bottle which as Lenz explained to us is the ideal size for ladies lunching! Average age of vines for this particular wine is 35 years old and 40% of the wine is left in contact with the skins during fermentation as with red wine, something he learnt from his time working with Mondavi. This produces a deeper coloured white which has a certain nutty character to it and a fuller palate which worked well with the pork. There were also 2 vintages of the Charming served with this course, the 2007 & 2008. This wine is selected only from the best vineyards and is left on the lees for 6 months. I prefered the 2007 of the two as I found it to have more body yet still holding on to it's freshness. A buttery nose, could be confused as oak even though stainless steel was used. Minerality and spice on the palate with more citrusy flavours possibly grapefruit.

We had a gorgeous selection of Irish cheeses to finish the meal off and even older vintages of the Charming which blew the theory of GrÜner being a youthful wine right out of the water! The 2005 was still very zippy and had plenty of youthful acidity. Round tropical fruits on the palate but with some lemon in the background somewhere. The 2004 was the star of the night as far as I am concerned. Golden in colour with a fresh nose of pineapples and subtle vanilla. On the palate there is honeyed fruit with that typical gruner spiciness and possibly a good alternative for the Burgundy-drinker. The 2005 came across way more youthful than the '04 which might have something to do with the fact that the latter was under cork whereas the former is stelvin so it is ageing at a slower rate. It was a really interesting and enjoyable night with great food, fantastic wines and superb company.

I had heard it being said that GrÜner is set for world domination, knocking Pinot Grigio off it's perch on the way to the top, Lenz is obviously firmly behind this and after seeing the diversity of this grape and the quality of these wines, Cellars will be too. GrÜner is like an "all in 1" grape; in it's youthful form it sits nicely as an altenative to Sauvignon blanc, with a bit of lees ageing will really do IT for the Burgundy drinker and all along has the drinkability to suit the Pinot Grigio gluggers.

All together now ...GRÜNER, GRÜNER, GRÜNER....!!!

Till Next time

Clare
CELLARS,NAAS ROAD

Vega Real, Ribera del Duero

After a family barbecue on Saturday night, Sunday started a little sore. The weather from my bedroom window seemed overcast, which in view of my heavy head suited me to remain horizontal. I emerged at around 3pm, starving and to discover that my bedroom window may need to be cleaned. Blue skies and really warm. We decided on prawns and a big glass of Spanish red. I usually pick up some nice fat frozen king prawns in Superquinn but we had overlooked the fact that not only was every person in Dublin barbecuing but they had been to the supermarket at least 5 hours before us. After travelling to 3 shops we settled on a bag of uncomfortably small de-shelled frozen prawns.
The prawns were a disaster but the bottle of Vega Real made up for the rubbery- water injected- pretend shell fish.
This wine punches way above it's weight. A dark black cherry colour in the glass. The nose has the Spanish earthiness that always makes my mouth water, some dark red fruit and a slick of liquorice. The palate is smooth and full-bodied. The fruit ripe and big with a nice savoury finish.
Wines from Ribera del Duero are a serious favourite of mine. Try Crianzas and Resevas during the colder months and Jovens are ideal for barbecue season. All work exceptionally well with roasted or slow cooked meats but also mask cremated red meats very well. Forget scraping or binning just serve plenty of this and no barbecue guest will even notice. Best summer catering tip I've ever received and forget about frozen prawns - a definite no!
O&O

Ruth.

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Lusteau East India Sherry

Believe you me this is a Sensational food and wine match.

Chocolate and Sherry, (We sold out of it when we put it on tasting in the shop!)

The name originates from the 16^th century when the casks of sherry were used as ballast on the ships sailing to the Indies.

It was there they discovered how the wines benefited considerably in quality from the long sea journey and also the impact of the heat on the wine as they travelled across the equator. It is a blend of 2 quality mature wines, Oloroso and Pedro Xiemenaz.

Best drunk as a digestive with sweet pudding , creme brulee or chocolate dessert.

Colour. Amber, caramel,

Nose. Melted toffee, walnuts

Palate. Nuts, lovely weight on the palate not cloying, lovely balance with a fantastic finish that seems to linger on

The 375ml bottle retails  €14.99 and one to have in the fridge as a little treat, it is 20% alc. So will last up to a month once opened. Delicious!

Cheers,

Julie
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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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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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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

THE VINTRY ,RATHGAR.

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Spanish Flavours

CountryMix_2010-04-21_10-20-00 1:00:00

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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