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Atlântico 2015, VR Alentejano, Portugal

<strong>Atlântico 2015, VR Alentejano, Portugal</strong>

DSCF6747Atlântico 2015, VR Alentejano, Portugal
€9.99 from Fresh Stores.

Fragrant, with plump rounded plum and red cherry fruits and a smooth finish. You cannot ask for more at this price.

Dangerously easy to drink and perfect for large gatherings and parties.

The label is a painting, showing the famous Number 28 yellow tram of Lisbon in the distance. This which may seem familiar to some of you; O’Briens have their Porta 6, a Portuguese red wine, featuring the same vehicle, that flies out when it is promoted at around €10 a bottle – the wine that is, not the tram. This wine is made by a different producer, but has a certain similarity in style. Apparently this is the best selling wine in all five Fresh stores.

Posted in: Daily Drop

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Colinas del Itata Old Vine Field Blend Muscat Corinto 2014, Chile

<strong>Colinas del Itata Old Vine Field Blend Muscat Corinto 2014, Chile</strong>

Image 3Colinas del Itata Old Vine Field Blend Muscat Corinto 2014, Chile
€14.99 from Marks & Spencer

This blend of Muscat and the unknown Corinto grape is exotic and intensely perfumed, with intriguing spicy fruit and a dry finish. Lovely wine.

Drink as an aperitif or with lighter salads. Perfect on a summer’s evening.

New World should mean new, right? Yet this wine is made from a vineyard that is no less than 110 years old, from a region where grapes have been grown since 1551. Some of the first settlers (or invaders really) planted vines in Itata, 500 kilometres south of what is now Santiago. They needed wine for the Sacrament. In recent years, a small group of producers rediscovered the ancient dry-farmed vines in this region, and have started to make some very exciting wines. This is a lovely wine, and a fascinating piece of history for just €15.

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A Speed Tasting of New Zealand Wines

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I dropped into a New Zealand mini-tasting (50ish wines) yesterday. I didn’t try them all as I was in a bit of a hurry, but an interesting selection, including two Grüner Veltliners, a Viognier and an Albariño. However, on this occasion, it was the red wines that impressed me most. The 2014 vintage, talked about in glowing terms on my visit there last year, seems to be fulfilling all the promise.

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Neudorf Chardonnay 2014, Nelso
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One of the greatest producers in New Zealand, now handled by Berry Brothers in Ireland, although Jnwine have the 2011 vintage on their website for a tempting €26.99/£19.99. Wonderful classic Chardonnay, with rich rounded fruits, a restrained use of oak giving it elegant toastiness and lovely refreshing lime zest acidity.

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Framingham Classic Riesling 2014, Marlborough

Another great NZ producer. This off-dry wine had lovely honeysuckle and melon fruits with a crisp minerality. The Le Caveau website has the 2009 vintage at €22.65 which should be drinking beautifully.

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Escarpment Pinot Martinborough 2014
Larry McKenna, known as Dr. Pinot in those parts, crafts some beautifully rich, but balanced Pinot from his winery in Martinborough. This had lovely ripe dark cherry fruits and very good length. Searsons has the 2011 vintage for €28.95.

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Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2014, Martinborough

Ata Rangi make what is probably New Zealand’s finest Pinot Noir. This was completely different in style to that of Escarpment above; a superb, elegant Pinot with youthful precise complex dark cherry fruits. A wine that will develop and improve for years to come, but a joy to drink now. Expect to pay around €65. This or the excellent 2013 vintage is available from The Corkscrew Chatham Street; O’Briens; On the Grapevine, Dalkey; Thewineshop.ie; Green Man Wines, Terenure.

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Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2014
Delicious sweet ripe Syrah with a touch of black pepper. Lovely wine. Taserra Wine Merchants (01 4904047) are listed as distributors. I would suspect it retails for €25-30 a bottle.

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Vidal Reserve Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2013, Hawke’s Bay
I tasted and blogged about this wine earlier this year – it is excellent, a clean fresh Syrah with black peppers and savoury black cherry fruits. Well worth seeking out. Barry & Fitzwilliam are the agents – (0214320900)

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Trinity Hill The Gimblett Cabernets Merlot 2013, Hawke’s Bay

I also wrote/blogged about this wine earlier this year. It is an impeccably balanced delicious mix of the two Cabernets and Merlot with 1% Petit Verdot; lean and clean with perfectly ripe cassis and damson fruits. €29.99 from independents. Liberty are the agents.

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Fattori Sauvignon Vecchie Scuole 2015, Sauvignon delle Venezie IGT, Terrini Vulcanici

Fattori Sauvignon Vecchie Scuole 2015, Sauvignon delle Venezie IGT, Terrini Vulcanici

DSCF6691Fattori Sauvignon Vecchie Scuole 2015, Sauvignon delle Venezie IGT, Terrini Vulcanici
€19.95 from Grapevine, Dalkey.

Delicious vibrant complex dry Sauvignon Blanc, with light aromas, citrus fruit, gooseberries and a strong mineral backbone. More Loire than Marlborough.

A great aperitif, herby seafood dishes or light risottos.

I met Antonio Fattori at the Knockranny Wine Weekend in Westport earlier this year. I was tempted to pass him by, as he was offering Pinot Grigio and Soave, not wines that usually set the pulse racing. However, he proved a fascinating man, and had a number of really interesting ‘extra’ wines that he had brought along. This included two excellent single vineyard Soaves, and this wonderful Sauvignon Blanc. Antonio told me that he visited Marlborough in 1991, and was fascinated by the wines. On his return to Italy, he planted some Sauvignon; it tastes nothing like a Marlborough Sauvignon, but I think I would prefer it to most.

Posted in: Top Drop

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Primitivo Lamie dell Vigne 2012, Masseria Guttarolo, Puglia

<strong>Primitivo Lamie dell Vigne 2012, Masseria Guttarolo, Puglia</strong>

DSCF6603Primitivo Lamie dell Vigne 2012, Masseria Guttarolo, Puglia

€24 from Sheridan’s Cheesemongers, Green Man Wines, Terenure, and Mitchell & Son, chq, Sandycove & Avoca, Kilmacanogue.

A superb wine, powerful and concentrated with morello cherries and plums, a lovely freshness combined with a slight herby funkiness and a long finish with a nice tannic bite.

Try it with substantial dishes; I drank mine with spiced, grilled lamb kebabs.

I have to admit I deliberately ignored this wine for a week or two. I had tasted far too many pumped-up, over alcoholic and over oaked wines from Puglia in my time. When I finally coravined it to try, I quickly uncorked the bottle and drank it. This is an absolutely gorgeous wine, powerful certainly, but complex and balanced with brooding perfectly ripe, but never over-ripe dark fruits, and a solid welcoming earthiness. Apparently Cristiano Guttarolo is a natural winemaker, growing organic grapes, and using little or no sulphur. I also tried his amphora wine called Joha, which I really enjoyed, but for me, this was the real star.

Posted in: Top Drop

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Summer Salmon Recipe

Poached sea trout with summer vegetables and lemon aïoli
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This is a recipe from Tomasina Miers in The Guardian (18th June, 2016). I changed it around a bit using a large piece of salmon, as I was unable to find sea trout. I hadn’t made a mayonnaise at home for years, largely because it tastes so good, I end up eating far, far too much. I also served it warm. The dish was great, really summery with masses of fresh vegetables and herbs. My one criticism is the asparagus turned an unappetising brown colour once I added the white wine. To drink, I opened up a bottle of Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Haut Lieu 1990; sadly it was oxidised. Instead we drank the delicious Dveri Pax Llovci Furmint (Sipon) – €22 from Wines on the Green, and a bottle of Carneros Pinot Noir from Stemmler, a present from my sister.

3 tbsp olive oil
40g butter
½ bunch spring onions, trimmed, outer layer removed, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin
200g podded broad beans
1 handful asparagus spears
100ml white wine
400g peas
1 large handful mint leaves

For the sea trout
1.2kg side of sea trout, pin-boned
1 lemon, sliced
2 big bunches fresh dill
175ml white wine
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 shallot, halved
Fine sea salt

For the lemon aïoli
2 egg yolks
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp cider vinegar
250ml olive oil
250ml vegetable oil

Put all the ingredients for the fish apart from the water in a deep roasting tin that’s big enough to hold the trout flat (or use a fish kettle). Add cold water to cover, measuring the amount, then add a tablespoon of fine sea salt for every 1.3 litres of water. Bring to a boil, then cover tightly in foil and take off the heat. Leave the fish to sit in the water until it has cooled, then lift out on to kitchen paper to drain. Transfer to a serving platter, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate – you can make it to this stage up to a day ahead.
For the aïoli, put the egg yolks, garlic, mustard, lemon and vinegar in a food processor. Briefly blitz, then, with the engine running, slowly pour in the oil drip by drip. When the mayo starts coming together, add the oil in a thin, steady stream, until you have a glossy, emulsified mayo. Season, add a touch more lemon if it needs sharpening, and refrigerate. (If the mayo splits, you can rescue it by adding a teaspoon of warm water or a little lemon juice. If that doesn’t work, keep the split mayo and start over again in a clean processor bowl, adding the split mayo bit by bit once the new batch starts emulsifying.)
Heat a deep sauté pan or casserole on a medium flame and add the oil and butter. Sweat the onions for five minutes, then add the garlic and cook for three to four minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the beans, asparagus and wine, leave to bubble for two minutes, season, then toss in the peas and mint. Cook for a few minutes, until the peas and beans are tender, season and spoon around the fish. Serve with the aïoli, and rye sourdough or steamed jersey royals.

Posted in: Blog, Food & Cookery

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My favourites from the SuperValu Tasting

SuperValu Tasting June 2016
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My standard intro here; as with the other multiples, SuperValu has no shortage of inexpensive wines, most of which are drinkable, usually with a few grams of residual sugar to smooth things out and mask any deficiencies. Fine for everyday drinking. However, excitement may be in short supply.

Here is my selection from the recent SuperValu tasting, showing many of the wines they source directly. SuperValu have made huge efforts to improve their range over the last year or two. There were some good wines. Two of the least expensive turned out to be amongst my favourites too. Naturally you should buy at the promotional price whenever possible.

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La Petite Perrière Sauvignon Blanc 2015 €11.99 / €9.00
Vin de France
Well-made fresh easy-drinking wine; light aromas, followed by good well-rounded yellow fruits, melon and pears with good acidity. Perfect all-purpose summer white at a keen price.

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Armas de Guerra Godello 2015, Bierzo €11.99 / €9

I am very fond of Godello (a Galician grape), but you will rarely find it at this price. This has decent light clean soft pear fruits and enough acidity to keep it refreshing. You won’t mistake it for one of the top whites of Valdeorras (also made from Godello), but at €9, this is quite amazing value.

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Pouilly-Fumé Guy Saget 2014 €18.99 / €14
Nicely aromatic, with medium-bodied green fruits, good acidity and a decent dry finish. Try with salmon steaks or goats cheese salad.

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Flor de Anon 2015, Campo de Borja €14.99 / €12.00
A delicious big fat ripe fruit bomb, this will go down a storm at barbeques, or drunk alongside any kind of grilled and roast red meats. Ripe strawberries, spice and a soft finish.

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Cantina Tombacco Aglianico Benevantano 2013 €12.99 / €10
If you have never tried Aglianico, this would make a great gentle introduction. Aglianico can be a bit brutal, all tannic power and firm savoury leathery flavours. This however, has smooth rich dark fruits and a lightly tannic structure. Drink with roast red meats, rich stews and pasta dishes.

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Carius Cairanne 2015, Côtes du Rhône Villages €14.99 / €12

Soft rich supple ripe red fruits, with a nice herbal twist. A good all-rounder, but maybe best with roast white meats. Good value too.

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The search for a decent pork chop.

<strong>The search for a decent pork chop.</strong>

The search for a decent pork chop.
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For various reasons (including flavour), I only ever buy outdoor reared pork. For many years I was able to buy Marks & Spencer thick pork chops, at one stage even with a delicious kidney attached. These disappeared off the shelves recently, so I came up with a new idea – buy a loin roast and cut pork chops to your own specifications. I tried a shoulder roast, which was a bit tough, but the loin is very good. Better still, if you find pork chops tasteless, use a brine.

I have been brining pork roasts and chops for a few years now; it is very easy and really makes the pork taste amazing. You just need to make a basic brine by dissolving salt and sugar in boiling water, add flavourings and leave for a couple of hours. I do it overnight for a full roast, although you don’t get good crackling this way. Dry off before grilling or roasting and enjoy a really juicy flavoursome pork chop. I enclose a brief recipe below, but I change the ingredients nearly every time.

1 litre water
55 grams salt
30 grams sugar
All or any for the following seasonings: garlic (smashed); chopped onions; ginger; toasted cumin and/or fennel seeds, toasted and smashed; juniper berries, bay leaves, sage leaves; thyme, chili flakes.

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A weekend’s drinking and tasting.

A weekend’s drinking and tasting.

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Napareuli Seperavi 2012, Marani, Georgia
13.5%
Not available in this country, but a very enjoyable interesting wine, with strawberries and red cherries mixed in with tobacco and an earthiness.

Flor de Crasto 2014, Douro
€12.95 from Wines Direct. Decent well-made wine with dark fruits and a good tannic structure. Somehow lacking excitement though. But ok at the price.

Tio Pepe Fino en Rama, Gonzalez Byass
Lovely vivid tangy dry sherry with delicious lightly toasted almonds and sourdough yeast (I’m making a lot of bread at the moment). Sadly all gone now; it lasted ten days, something of a record in this household. €18.99 from Bradleys, Cork, Winesoftheworld.ie and probably a few other specialist retail shops.

Palmento Vino di Anna, Vin Rosso

No vintage (although the XIV in the corner would indicate 2014), no regional indication, but it is made by Vino di Anna, the winery on Mount Etna owned by Anna Martens and Eric Narioo of UK wine importer Caves de Peyrenne.. Light slightly fizzy juicy strawberry fruits, with a nice earthiness. Pleasant interesting wine; just not quite sure I would pay €30 for it. Under Coravin, so I’ll try it again later.

Fattori Sauvignon Vecchie Scuole 2015, Sauvignon delle Venezie IGT, Terrini Vulcanici
Delicious fresh dry Sauvignon – this will certainly make it as a Top Drop white later this week. €19.95 from Grapevine, Dalkey.

Primitvo Lamie dell Vigne 2012, Masseria Guttarolo, Puglia

This too will certainly feature as a wine of the week; delicious complex powerful wine that was an utter joy to drink. €24 from Mitchell & Son, Green Man Wines, Terenure and Sheridan’s Cheesemngers.

Pinot Nero dell’ Oltrepo Pavese Poggio Pelato 2013, Tenuta il Bosco
Good concentration of leafy tangy plum fruits with a dry plumstone finish.
Enjoyable wine, but just didn’t have that sweetness that makes Pinot Noir so delicious. €16.95 from Fresh outlets.

Viognier 2015, Pays d’Oc, Delas
From one of the leading northern Rhône producers, an uncomplicated easy white wine with ripe, almost sweetish peach fruits. Light for a Viognier with 12.5% alcohol. Imported by Febvre, but not sure about retail price.

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Midsummer Wines – the red wines of the Loire Valley

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First published in the Irish Times, Saturday 25th June, 2016

As I write, it is a beautiful bright morning, with sun streaming through the window. This being Ireland, all may have changed by the time you read this, but the last week has been dry and sunny most of the time. These days I tend to drink lighter, lower-alcohol red wines throughout the year. But once the sun comes out, I find it difficult to think about big, beefy red wines.

Once the temperature starts to rise, the red wines of the Loire valley come into their own. Usually low in alcohol, with a mouth-wateringly refreshing bite, they have a lightness and vibrancy that seems to epitomise summer. In fact, virtually all of the Loire wines, white and rosé too, fit the sunny category.

I serve the reds cool, or even lightly chilled, to big up the refreshing acidity. This week, three of four wines hail from the Loire, one from the obscure appellation of Cheverny in Touraine. Here pinot noir is blended with gamay (a Loire version of the rarely seen burgundian “passetoutgrains”) and sometimes cabernet franc too. Gamay and pinot noir from the Loire can be very good, and the region is also home to most of the world’s great cabernet franc, one of my favourite grapes. Even the best wines, from Chinon, Bourgueil and St Nicolas de Bourgueil, are low in alcohol and perfect for summer. Touraine and other areas can also be good, and less expensive too. The key is to buy from a ripe vintage – 2014 was good and 2015 excellent.

Other names to look out for include all forms of Beaujolais, or Mencía-based wines from northwest Spain. From Italy, barbera, dolcetto and valpolicella can fit the bill, but check the alcohol levels before buying. Ideally you want a wine at 12-13 per cent. Cerasuolo di Vittoria is expensive but light and delicious.

Australian pinot noir fits into the same category, as does German spätburgunder. From Austria blaufränkisch and zweigelt are light and tasty. For value options, Chile is now producing some very good pinot noir. Some are a little high in alcohol but should be light in body.

The mere mention of the word lambrusco is enough to bring on a hangover with some wine drinkers. Memories linger. The good guys have always produced delicious wines, none more so than that featured today. Their website suggests you drink this delicious sparkling red at about 14-15 degrees with all manner of charcuterie as well as ravioli and risottos.

The other wines featured today would also be perfect with all forms of cold pork, from ham to salami to patés, chicken dishes, tarts and pies, as well as more full-flavoured fish such as tuna and salmon.

DSCF6528Domaine Bellier 2014, Cheverny
12.5%
£9.99/€14.99

A delicious delicate blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay with seductive light red cherry fruits.

Stockists: jnwine.com

ImageLes Granges 2014, Domaine Baudry, Chinon
12.5%
€19

Delicious lightly peppery crunchy redcurrants and cherries. Yum!

Stockists: Grapevine, Dalkey (onthegrapevine.ie); Red Island, Skerries; Cabot and Co, Westport (cabotandco.com); No.1 Pery Square, Limerick; McCambridges, Galway.

DSCF6624Concerto 2014 Lambrusco Reggiano, Medici Ermete
11.5%
€24.50

Effervescent raspberries and other juicy red fruits. Summer in a glass.

Stockists: Sheridan’s; Mitchell & Son; Green Man Wines.

ImagePinot Noir La Roncière 2014, Val de Loire
12.5%
€14.95

Light, floral and refreshing, with earthy dark cherry fruits. Serve cool.

Stockists: Whelehan’s Wines, Loughlinstown.

Posted in: Irish Times

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