” A new journey to be started.
A new promise to be fulfilled.
A new page to be written.
Go forth unto this waiting world with glass in hand, all you wine lovers,
the open bottle awaits.
Be creative.
Be adventurous.
Be original.
And above all else, be brave.
For knowing wine is your greatest ally, your greatest tool.
Use it wisely.”
Clare and I attended a tutored tasting presented by Herve Tucki of La Chablisienne in the Conrad last Thursday.We tasted three basic Chablis, three single site 1er Cru and a mere five single site Grand Crus from various vintages from 2009 back to1994!
When I arrived, I told Christine Smyth of Mackenway, in a fit of the early morning blues(I am not a morning person) ,that the last thing I needed for The Vintry was more Chablis.
I was wrong as we tasted some really superb ones here!
What did I learn?
Firstly, that all Chablis needs some age to become really interesting .
Secondly, that Chardonnay grown on Kimmeridgian soil brings out the authentic minerality of true Chablis.It is a chalky limestone and clay consisting of an infinite number of oyster shell fossils left over from an ancient sea bed.
Thirdly, that very very few white wines offer up such beautiful concentration of fruit purity on the palate.
And finally ,the combination of the three elements above creates a wine of true tension yet balance and reminded me that Chablis as a fine wine is truly mouthwatering stuff and highly highly underrated!
Meet Herve below..A little bit difficult to understand, at times ,but worth the effort as he is a true ambassador of these wines.
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.
Serego alighieri is a collaboration between Masi and the Alighieri family who have worked together for the last 30 years. Masi brought with them not only their expertise in wine making but also in international distribution. The Alighieri family are direct descendants of the Divine Comedy's,Dante whose son bought the estate in 1353. They recently acquired vineyards south of Montalcino which mark the Alighieri's return to Tuscany after the exile of the poet. Together with Masi they have selected the best blend for this first release, Poderi del Ovile so named after the actual vineyards and in honour of an episode in the divine Comedy where Dante dreams of returning to the land where he was born.
The wine is 80% sangiovese and the balance made up of a blend of Canaiolo, Colorino and Shiraz. The aim was to add a super tuscan to their already prestigious veneto range. It is aged for 12 months in relatively small barrells in Italian terms, 600litres!
It is a beautiful ruby red colour with a nose of dark cherries and spice. Full-bodied , complex and elegant with some licquorice and dark fruits evident. Pretty pricey at €22.99 but a more affordable Super Tuscan than most and absolutely delicious. It was one of the many stunning wines we tried at a Masi trade tasting lunch in Pichet Restaurant last Wednesday. Myself and Jules had the privilege of sampling some of their rare and fine vintages including Amarone "Costasera" '97 and '88 as well as their single vineyard Mazzano Amarone '03(we sell the '01 for €75). We managed to grab a few minutes with Pierre which you can see below 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!
Till Next Time
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!
omaine de la Charbonnière was purchased by Eugène Maret in 1912 as a gift for his wife. She was a native of Châteauneuf du Pape and a winemaker’s daughter from the appellation.
Nice hubby eh!
Fernand Maret, their son, inherited a part of the estate and enlarged it upon the birth of his son, Michel. This son Michel ultimately took over the family estate. As a passionate winemaker, he brings to Domaine de la Charbonniere, its rebirth.
Since 2004, the domaine has taken the name of Michel Maret et Filles(& Daughters) to make the revival of Domaine de la Charbonniere by Caroline and Véronique (his 2 daughters) easier.These two hardworking young ladies dropped by The Vintry with a Scottish man with no camera savvy! and gave me a very interesting tasting of their wines which you can take a look at in this video.
AOC Red Vacqueyras 2008
AOC Red Châteauneuf du Pape 2007
Cuvée Mourre des Perdrix2007
Cuvée Hautes Brusquière 2007
This winery was born from the vision of a young female team to create one of Spain’s most modern and dynamic wineries. As one of the leading wineries of the region they represent hundreds of experienced wine growers who contribute their knowledge, craft and family winemaking traditions.
This wine is grown and created in the Rias Baixas wine region in the northwest of Spain and is one of Spain’s leading ‘Denominations of Origin’ and a region that has experienced a period of revolutionary change and growth in recent years, evolving our ancient traditions into an exciting presen
Paco & Lola comes from 500 sun-kissed acres of vineyards in Meaño, an area considered to be the cradle of Albariño grape growing. In the heart of the Salnés Valley, this special area of northwest Spain is making some of the country’s most interesting white wines.
Let yourself be seduced by the aromas of spring and the fresh structured and enveloping flavours. It has beautiful weight and viscosity and is a pleasure to drink
The video below is of Rosalia de Castro fromBodega Vitivinícola Arousana with myself and half! of AllyMc Alpine during a recent visit to The Vintry. Hasta Luego! Evelyn
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.
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