Château Poitevin 2016, Cru Bourgeois, Médoc
13%
€18.95 down from €21.95 until the 27th August from O’Briens.
This is a classic medium-bodied mature Médoc with a nice concentration of just ripe blackcurrant and blackberry fruits, good structure, a touch of spice and evolved smooth tannins on the dry finish. At less than €20, this is pretty good value for money.
Perfect with red meats – the classic roast leg of lamb would be great – or firm cheeses.
After many years of wrangling, the Cru Bourgeois system was relaunched in 2020. There are now 250 Châteaux spread out across the Médoc entitled to call themselves Cru Bourgeois. 45 of those are Cru Bourgeois Supérieur, and a further 14 are Cru Bourgeois Exceptionel. A well-made Cru Bourgeois from the Médoc can offer great value for money; there are also disappointments, something to be expected when you have such a large group, but the new system seems to provide far great consistency. According to the official Bordeaux website, the Crus Bourgeois make up over 40% of the entire Médoc production.
Cru Bourgeois straddles the gap between the much more expensive Grands Crus Classés and mere petits châteaux. For me, they should have classic Médoc structure and fruit; ripe but savoury dark fruits, granular tannins and good acidity. Those from the better-known communes such as Margaux or Saint-Julien should show some typicity too.
Bodega El Cerrón Remordimiento 2020, Jumilla
14%
€19.95
This is a delicious medium-bodied wine with supple pure dark fruits, an attractive freshness, and a herby touch with light tannins. It offers great value for money.
Food: A good all-rounder, light enough to go with most white meats, it would also make a great partner for grilled or roast lamb.
From 64 Wine, Glasthule; Redmond’s, D6; Blackrock Cellar; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; Fine Wine & Food Athlone.
Monastrell grown in the Murcia region of southwest Spain can produce very big, tannic, alcoholic wines. There are exceptions though. Earlier this year, I was delighted to come across the wines of Bodega Cerrón. All four wines I tasted were fresh, elegant and vibrant with a wonderful purity of fruit. I feature the Remordimiento as it has the widest availability, but the Matas Altas (€25 from Drinkstore, D7) is well worth seeking out.
Juan José and Carlos Cerrón are the fourth generation to farm a series of small plots of vines located at 870-980 metres around the village of Fuente-Álamo in the Jumilla D.O. The ungrafted bush vines are farmed biodynamically in limestone soils.
Textbook Chianti Classico with violet and red fruit aromas; medium-bodied with dark cherry fruits. Good but not intrusive acidity and perfectly judged tannins on the finish. Try this with most plainly grilled red meats or mushroom-based dishes.
Tasted and Coravined before Christmas this was a treat on a chilly February evening. Fèlsina is based on the south-eastern border of Chianti Classico. It has been run by the Poggiali family since 1966. While the Riserva, Fontalloro, Rancio and single vineyard Colonia are all very good (as is their olive oil) I have always been very fond of the Chianti Classico.
€31.95 from StationtoStationWine.ie; Wineonline.ie; Eldons, Clonmel; The Allotment.ie.
Rich and textured with harmonious, lush, creamy soft ripe stone fruits – peaches and apricots – with subtle toasted nuts and just enough acidity. Outstanding wine. 17.5/20
The 2020 vintage is available for €53 although you may still be able to find the 2018 and 2019 vintages in some shops. From Deveney’s – Dundrum; Martins; McHugh’s; Redmonds of Ranelagh; The Corkscrew, D2; Nectar Wines; Mitchell and Son; Wineonline.ie.
I received a sample of this a few years back and wondered how it might age, so I Coravined it and tried it again recently. It is the top wine from Belondrade y Lurton, a project started by Didier Belondrade in 1994. The wines are made in a very smart minimalist winery overlooking the vines. Belondrade has 23 plots of vines, all in La Seca, one of the top wine-growing regions of Rueda. Spontaneous fermentation, fermented and aged in French oak of various age and size.
Quite delicious with easy smooth dark fruits, a lick of dusty leather, spice and black pepper. This has a lovely soft subtle ripeness and the tannins are light at this stage.
A present from my sister who lives in California, and knows I am a fan of Anthill. The winery is better known for their Pinot, but the Syrah, from a cool-climate vineyard a few kilometres from the Pacific Ocean, is equally good.
Anthill Farms are imported by Winemason and I see Mitchell & Son has the 2016 vintage for €48.95.
This week a red Burgundy that offers great value for money. It is from Maranges, at the southern end of the Côte d’Or.
Concentrated and ripe with fresh red cherry fruits dusted with spice and a lovely long finish. It will evolve further over the next year or two, but is very seductive already; I bought a few bottles for the coming festive season.
€29.95 from Mitchell & Son, chq, D1 and Sandycove; La Touche Wines, Greystones; Morton’s, Ranelagh; TheNudeWineCo.ie.
Maranges, like Marsannay at the other end of the Côte d’Or, is one of the lesser-known, and therefore more reasonably priced names in Burgundy. Located just south of Santenay, it was part of Côtes de Beaune Villages appellation until 1989. There are seven Premiers Crus vineyards, and 90% of production is of red wine.
Founded in 1894, Domaine Maurice Charleux is situated in Dezize-lès-Maranges, part of Maranges. Today the domaine covers just under 12 hectares, of which 85% is Pinot Noir. They produce three premiers crus. The Vieilles Vignes is made from a few hectares of vines planted in 1933 and 1937.
Wonderfully fragrant with succulent, refreshing black cherries and plums and a touch of spicy oak. There are some very refined tannins on the lengthy drying finish, so it will keep a year or two, but it seems a shame not to drink it now. A bargain at €18.
€18 from Whelehan’s Wines, Loughlinstown, whelehanswines.ie
I wrote the article below about Dão for The Irish Times back in April 2017. At the time I lamented the fact that there were so few of the wines available in Ireland; that has certainly changed now. As well as the wine above, I am a big fan of the Quinta dos Carvailhas (reds and white) as well as the Niepoort Rótulo (a real bargain at less than €20) and the Niepoort Conciso 2019. Whelehan’s also has the very keenly priced easy-drinking Quinta do Correio from Quinta dos Roques for a very reasonable €15 – €13 on promotion.
From The Irish Times, 1st April, 2017
For some Dão is Portugal’s finest wine region, yet few wine drinkers have a clear picture of what the wines are like. It is often mentioned as Portugal’s answer to Burgundy. There are certain similarities; both produce lighter wines with good acidity, low in tannin, and sometimes alcohol too. Both wines seduce gently with perfume, finesse and elegance rather than power. But whereas Pinot Noir often tastes sweet (although it is bone dry) to me Dão is more savoury and often spicy with damson fruits – more like a Syrah from the Northern Rhône if you want a comparison. Either way, Dão certainly deserves much more of our attention. Not only does it offer some great red wines at reasonably prices, it also produces some excellent dry white wines too. Both red and white wines (it is 80% red) are made from Portuguese grape varieties.
Dão is a largish region in central northern Portugal. Circled by mountains, and therefore protected from both the Atlantic rains and the blasting heat of the interior, it has relatively dry warm summers, perfect for the slow ripening of grapes. The granitic soils give good acidity, and the altitude (200-600 metres) keeps things cool too.
For many years, the region, although well-known, was held back by a bizarre law that obliged growers to sell their grapes to the local co-op, who often lacked the necessary winemaking skills. The result was large quantities of very dull tannic wines. But in recent years, there has been a blossoming of local talent, as well as an influx of other Portuguese winemakers. Not only are the wines far better, they are very reasonably priced too.
Two red grapes are worth special mention. This is the home of Touriga Nacional, one of Portugal’s greatest grape varieties. You will also come across Jaen, known as Mencía in Galicia, a variety with huge potential. Then there is Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) and Alfrocheiro, For white wines, there is Encruzado, possibly Portugal’s greatest white variety. It all adds up to an area that offers real excitement. At the less expensive end, the wines can be fabulously perfumed and lightly fruity. If you like less heavy wines, there are some real bargains, but the more expensive wines are great value too.
I featured the excellent Fonterutoli Chianti Classico a few weeks back. This is another finely crafted Chianti Classico, 100% Sangiovese from the impressive 2020 vintage. Fragrant, medium-bodied and rounded, with pure dark and red cherry fruits, with a nice ripeness, balanced by a fine acidity and easy but present tannins. Very drinkable now with red meats, but it willmcertainly keep a year or two.
Riecene are based in Gaiole, one the more elevated, cooler parts of Chianti Classico, an advantage in warmer vintages. The vineyards are farmed organically.This was tasted at the excellent Greenacres tasting in Dublin recently. If you haven’t visited the shop or browsed the website, then do one or both; they have one of the finest wine lists in the country.
Intense ripe dark fruits with a savoury edge, a little toasty oak and a long firm tannic finish. Despite the tannins, this is not a huge wine, but well-balanced and approachable now, although it will certainly keep. I would decant it now and serve with a rare striploin steak, roast lamb or something other equally substantial dish. A very good wine, with a nice quality of fruit, and very keenly priced too. It slots in nicely between the less expensive Rufo and the range of top Quinta wines from Quinta do Vale d. Maria.
€19.95 from Conways, Ratoath; Martin’s, Fairview; Thomas’s, Foxrock; Higgins, Clonskeagh; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; McHughs, Dublin 5; Shiels, Malahide; Firecastle, Kildare; The Wine House, Trim; The Coach House, Ballinteer; Ardkeen, Waterford.
Quinta do Vale d. Maria was founded by Cristiano van Zeller in the 1990’s and was one of the original group of Douro Boys – although the winemaker for a while was a girl – the talented Sandra Tavares da Silva. The estate was sold in 2017 to Vinho Verde producer Aveleda (owned by van Zellar’s cousin). He remains on as winemaker.
This is made from a blend of 20–35-year-old Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz vines. Fermented in stainless steel followed by six months in French oak, and a further thirteen months in stainless steel.
This week a bag-in-box, or rather bag-in-tube wine from the Douro valley in Portugal. Made from a blend of Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Touriga Franca, this is a very attractive easy-drinking wine at a keen price. Forward, with fruit and herb aromas, juicy ripe red cherry and plum fruits and subtle tannins on the finish. This is big enough to partner most white and red meats, but supple enough to make it easy to sip solo.
I know some wine drinkers turn up their noses at bag-in-box, but I find them very useful; if I feel like a single glass of wine, or need to add wine to stews or sauces, I no longer have to open a full bottle. In the past many B-i-Bs were filled with cheap wine that you would be wary about using for cooking let alone drinking. But this is slowly changing. For a decade or more, Bag-in-Box has been very popular in Sweden, largely due to price. The 2.25 litre Altano Rewilding works out at €11.17 a bottle – excellent value for money – but it is also a green alternative to glass bottles.
The Altano Rewilding is made by The Symington Family Estates, who own Graham’s, Dow, Warre’s and Cockburn’s port as well as substantial vineyard holdings in the Douro valley. Some of the proceeds from sales will go towards the Rewilding Portugal conservation project – see www.symington.com/rewilding for details
