Delicious medium-bodied red with savoury dark fruits, well-integrated acidity and a smooth dry finish with a touch of spice. Great value too.
A very adaptable red, perfect with all manner of pork dishes, but big enough to accompany lamb or beef.
€13.95, down from €16.95 from O’Briens, obrienswine.ie
I have a grá for Dâo, both the red and white versions. The whites, usually with a high proportion of Encruzado, can be exceptional. The best reds have a lovely piquant edge, good acidity and an elegance that I really enjoy.
Made from 100% Arinto, this Vinho Verde has stimulating racy green apple fruits, and a light sparkle; slakes the thirst and gets the mouth watering. 12.5% alcohol.
As an aperitif with nibbles, raw seafood, sushi or oily fish such as mackerel.
Vinho Verde has come on in leaps and bounds; these days fewer semi-sweet green herbaceous wines and more light succulent and concentrated versions that are perfect with shellfish.
€11.95 down from €14.95 from O’Briens, obrienswine.ie
Seductive, perfectly ripe soft sweet/sour dark cherry fruits; light, svelte and soothing. This is a lovely bottle of wine. I defy anyone to dislike it.
Try this with pork dishes – pork chops with mushrooms?
I have featured many wines from Ribeira Sacra over the last few years; here the Mencía grape, sometimes blended with other local varieties, produces wines with a thrilling purity of fruit and delicate balance. In fact there are probably less than half a dozen really good producers, but we can expect this to expand in the next few years. This one was new to me, but I will investigate further.
€23.95 from Searsons, Monkstown, searsons.com; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, jusdevine.ie; Deveney’s, Dundrum; Eleven Deli, Greystones; Drinkstore, D7, drinkstore.ie.
White flower aromas, subtle fresh lemon and peach fruits, interwoven with light oak; this is a brilliant subtle Chardonnay with great complexity and character. I loved it.
Treat yourself and drink it alongside grilled black sole with maître d’ butter.
This formed part of a brilliant trade tasting put on by importers Wine Lab and Findlaters; more to follow. Following trips to San Francisco, I was always frustrated that the excellent wines I tasted there were not available back home in Ireland. It was partly down to cost, but more a lack of volume; California is a large state and can mop up most of their own boutique wines. Now we have a string of fine small producers including Sandhi, one of the most sought-after producers of all, and a source of some of the finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir you will find – anywhere. Expensive but a match for fine white Burgundy.
€50 from www.stationtostation.ie – see their website for a great offer of wines from California and Oregon.
I opened up these for dinner last night; two Loire Cab Francs twenty one years apart. The Amirault St.-Nicolas de Bourgueil Les Malganges 2017 (Coravined from a tasting a few weeks back) has an amazing concentration of pure blackcurrant fruits, with the structure to last and evolve for years to come. Very drinkable now though. It is imported by Grape Circus, and available in Sheridans Cheesemongers and SIYPS.com – €42 a bottle. I know it is being served by the glass in Ely at present.
I am a big fan of the Baudry wines; some of the best Chinon around. This bottle was, I think, a thank-you present from Gabriel Cooney of Grapevine in Dalkey for a tasting I did many years ago. It was holding together very well, with very good acidity and developing delicate red cherry and redcurrant fruits. Nice grip and plenty of fruit. Possibly a little too austere for my tastes but still very good over dinner. A mere 12% alcohol.
Grapevine in Dalkey and Cabot & Co in Westport import the Baudry wines together. They can also be found out in Red Island wines in Skerries. I don’t see this wine listed, but the 2017 Les Grezeaux is €25.
This is an, engaging and utterly charming, lightly aromatic wine, with elegant redcurrant fruits and light tannins on the finish. It has good acidity, giving it a lovely freshness and an attractive subtle earthiness. There is a wonderful purity of fruit that draws you back to the glass time after time. Well, it did me anyway.
We drank it with our weekly roast organic chicken, often the perfect match for any wine, red or white. Serve it very cool; I chilled ours in the fridge for an hour. It then warmed up as we drank it.
The vineyards are farmed biodynamically. Eric Nicolas uses natural yeasts and minimal intervention in his winemaking, fermenting in large barrels in his tufa caves. That probably makes this a natural wine, although it bears little resemblance to many that I have tasted. Over the last decade, Nicolas has built a reputation as one of the finest white winemakers in the Loire valley, crafting some sublime dry, medium and sweet wines from the lesser-known appellations of Jasnières and Coteaux du Loir. Try his sublime Vieilles Vignes Eparses (€48) if you get the chance. All of the white wines are made from Chenin Blanc. Pineau d’Aunis is, as the labels tells us, an unusual local red grape variety, a close relative of the Chenin Blanc.
Delightful fresh medium-bodied white with textured ripe nectarines, and a crisp saline dry finish. Dangerously moreish.
Grilled mackerel or sardines.
Made from a blend of three Portuguese varieties, Gouveio, Fernão Pires and Arinto, this is one of many excellent white wines now coming out of Portugal. Vale de Capucha, run by the youthful Pedro Marques, is one of my favourite producers in Portugal for both red and white wines.
€20 from Lilac Wines, Dublin 3, lilacwines.ie; The Wine House, Trim; First Draft Coffee & Wine, Dublin 8, Firstdraftcoffeandwine.com;
First publised in The Irish Times, Saturday 13th July, 2019.
This week we celebrate the French National holiday with four of the best-known names in French wine. At their best, all offer excellent everyday drinking.
There are few things so quintessentially French as a glass of fresh, fruity Beaujolais accompanied by a crusty baguette, a hunk of cheese, a few slices of ham, rosette salami and a nice green salad. In many ways Beaujolais has it all. The region is picturesque, with rolling verdant hills and quaint old villages. The wine scores at most levels too; good basic Beaujolais is a delight. Beaujoalis Villages is even better; light in alcohol and filled with crunchy fresh fruits. It is summer in a glass. In the late 20th and early 21st century, the region lost its way a bit. Spurred on by one or two critics, a few large producers began ramping up the alcohol (largely by adding sugar) and created big, over-extracted monsters that bore little resemblance to the real thing. It is perhaps not surprising that the natural wine movement – small producers farming biodynamically, and making low-interventionist wines, started in Beaujolais. Today, quality at every level has never been higher.
Further south, the Southern Rhône valley produces massive quantities of decent glugging wine. Every supermarket offers one or more, usually at less than €10 and most are very drinkable. Spend a few euro more and you will find some great wines. Like Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône goes well with many foods, although more substantial recipes work better. I brought a bottle of the Côtes du Rhône on this page to an Indian BYOB restaurant (the lovely 3 Leaves in Blackrock) and it went perfectly with a wide variety of lightly spicy meat and vegetarian dishes. If you plan on firing up the barbecue this weekend, it will cover all of the meat options.
I cannot think about Muscadet without shellfish. I salivate at the thought of a large plate of oysters, a bowl of moules, or a pile of prawns to be picked through, with a glass of lightly chilled Muscadet on hand at all times. As with Beaujolais, the quality of Muscadet has shot up in recent years, and prices have not always kept pace. Dunnes Stores (€10.50), O’Briens (€14.95/€11.95) and SuperValu (€10) are all worth trying out too.
Our image of Bordeaux is of the beautiful large châteaux of the famous Médoc region. At the top end, Bordeaux produces some of the finest and most expensive wines in the world. But that represents a tiny part of total production. The rest is made up of small farmers producing lightly fruity wines, with good acidity and a dryness on the finish. They go perfectly with your Sunday roast, chicken, lamb or beef, as well as pork and lamb chops.
Château Roc de Villepreux 2016, Bordeaux Supérieur (Organic)
Château Roc de Villepreux 2016, Bordeaux Supérieur (Organic) 12.5%, €10.50
Light, smooth, easy red fruits with a nice herbaceous edge. This would be great with grilled lamb chops and roasted peppers.
Beaujolais ‘69’ 2015, Christophe Coquard 12%, €16
Arm yourself with a crusty baguette, some quality charcuterie and a hunk of cheese; sit out in the garden and enjoy with a cool glass of this lip-smacking light Beaujolais, with its bouncy summer fruits.
Côtes du Rhône Saint-Esprit 2017, Delas 14%, €16.95
A rich, rounded, svelte Côtes du Rhône with smooth dark fruits; as well as the Indian food above, I enjoyed a bottle with rare fillet steak, freshly dug spuds and salad, followed by some Comté cheese.
From 1601 Off-licence, Kinsale, Co Cork; Shiel’s Londis, Malahide, Co Dublin; Donnybrook Fair, Dublin 4, donnybrookfair.ie; Grapevine, Dalkey, Co Dublin, onthegrapevine.ie; O’Neills, D8; Ballyvaughan Village Stores, Co Clare; the Corkscrew, Dublin 2, thecorkscrew.ie; Coolers, Swords, Co Dublin; the Grape Vine, Dublin 9; Higgins, Dublin 14; higginsofflicence.ie; Kellys, Dublin 3, kellysofflicence.ie; the Malt House, Trim, Co Meath; Ennis Gourmet Store, Co Clare, ennisgourmet.com; Rineys Off Licence, Sneem, Co Kerry; Molloy’s Liquor Stores, molloys.ie.
Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine sur Lie, La Louvetrie 2018, Organic
Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine sur Lie, La Louvetrie 2018, Organic 12.5%, €17.15
What could be better than a plate of oysters or a handful of prawns with homemade garlic mayonnaise, accompanied by this delicious fresh, vibrant, fruit-filled Muscadet?
From Wines Direct, Mullingar and Arnotts, Dublin 1, winesdirect.ie
This is a delicious summer red, light and juicy with crunchy red fruits. Gouleyant as the French would say, or very gluggable in English I couldn’t find a vintage on the label; possibly it was on the cork, long since recycled. Great summer drinking and good value too.
€14.15 from Wines Direct, Mullingar, and Arnott’s, Dublin 1, winesdirect.ie
We drank ours with pan-fried hake, new potatoes and the very last of the season’s asparagus.
Loire Pinot has been improving steadily in recent years, possibly partly due to climate change, but also better viticulture and winemaking. It also helps that our tastes have shifted a little towards lighter wines.
Perfect on a warm summer’s eve; light, a mere 12%, and refreshing with vibrant citrus and peach fruits. Despite the lightness, it has good concentration and length. Great value for money too.
We drank this with some queen scallops simply seared with butter and lemon juice.
Vinho Verde has come on in leaps and bounds; these days fewer semi-sweet green herbaceous wines and more light succulent and concentrated versions that are perfect with shellfish. Anselmo Mendes seems to have a hand in just about everything that is going on in this part of Portugal. Not only does he have his own winery (available through Wines on the Green) but he advises a number of other producers too. Including this one.
Delicious medium-bodied red with savoury dark fruits, well-integrated acidity and a smooth dry finish with a touch of spice. Great value too.
Made from 100% Arinto, this Vinho Verde has stimulating racy green apple fruits, and a light sparkle; slakes the thirst and gets the mouth watering. 12.5% alcohol.
White flower aromas, subtle fresh lemon and peach fruits, interwoven with light oak; this is a brilliant subtle Chardonnay with great complexity and character. I loved it.
This is an, engaging and utterly charming, lightly aromatic wine, with elegant redcurrant fruits and light tannins on the finish. It has good acidity, giving it a lovely freshness and an attractive subtle earthiness. There is a wonderful purity of fruit that draws you back to the glass time after time. Well, it did me anyway.
Delightful fresh medium-bodied white with textured ripe nectarines, and a crisp saline dry finish. Dangerously moreish.
This is a delicious summer red, light and juicy with crunchy red fruits. Gouleyant as the French would say, or very gluggable in English I couldn’t find a vintage on the label; possibly it was on the cork, long since recycled. Great summer drinking and good value too.
Perfect on a warm summer’s eve; light, a mere 12%, and refreshing with vibrant citrus and peach fruits. Despite the lightness, it has good concentration and length. Great value for money too.