We have been taking it pretty easy on the booze since we came back after Christmas, so we decided to compensate for the lack of quantity by adding some quality.
On Friday, we had a bottle of COS Contrade 2002, the top Nero d'Avola from one of our favourite producers - Azienda COS from Sicily. The nose was wild and amazing, a rollercoaster ride of fruit and spice and leather all whooshing around in the glass. The palate was intense, brooding with tannins to match the fruit and a long long finish. It overpowered the delicious chicken casserole we had it with, but amazing anyway.
Out on Saturday, but we had a bottle of Latour a Pomerol 2001 with the roast yesterday and that too was delicious. Maybe not as plump as some Pomerol lovers might have expected, but a damn fine bottle nonetheless.
Both were finished.
Next weekend is shaping up to be even better with Felton Road on Friday and a few other gigs in the pipeline as well. January isn't so bad, after all!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Plans change sometimes....
Due to a disappointing lack of interest in our Felton Road Dinner scheduled for Ely Wine Bar, this dinner is now cancelled. We will just have to take Nicola out for a few pints ourselves - ha!
Anyway, in its place, we will do a Felton Road tasting in the shop next weekend instead, so come along to that and you can get a taste of greatness....
Details of February's dinner will follow later.
Anyway, in its place, we will do a Felton Road tasting in the shop next weekend instead, so come along to that and you can get a taste of greatness....
Details of February's dinner will follow later.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Felton Road - best Pinot outside Burgundy?
I am still here. Just realised, it is over a month since my last post, the longest gap ever. I have missed Christmas, New Year, everything. What's my excuse?
Well? Don't have one.
Anyway, back to business. We have a Felton Road dinner coming up at the end of the month. Nicola Greening (Nigel's daughter) is over for the weekend and she will be on hand to take us through the range of wines and they will be matched with a specially selected menu from the guys in Ely.
The dinner takes place on Friday, Jan 29th in Ely CHQ and will be a great night.
Not a cheap night, but a great night drinking amazing wines from a world-class winery in the company of the owner's daughter and representative in Europe.
Tickets cost €95 and can be booked by calling us on 01 2353054.
And yes, I think they are the best outside Burgundy....
Well? Don't have one.
Anyway, back to business. We have a Felton Road dinner coming up at the end of the month. Nicola Greening (Nigel's daughter) is over for the weekend and she will be on hand to take us through the range of wines and they will be matched with a specially selected menu from the guys in Ely.
The dinner takes place on Friday, Jan 29th in Ely CHQ and will be a great night.
Not a cheap night, but a great night drinking amazing wines from a world-class winery in the company of the owner's daughter and representative in Europe.
Tickets cost €95 and can be booked by calling us on 01 2353054.
And yes, I think they are the best outside Burgundy....
Friday, December 11, 2009
Reduction in excise rates on alcohol
Regular readers, if they exist, will know that I am no great fan of the current administration, so I feel duty-bound to give credit where it is due and welcome the reduction in duty on alcohol last Wednesday. From wine's perspective, it is a reversal of last year's disastrous increase, so it is back to square one. For beer and spirits, the change is more substantial.
Will it make any difference?
The amounts involved are not huge, but it is a step in the right direction and it might make people think twice, or at least look at the prices in the south before the 60 mile, 4 hour drive to Newry. From that point of view, it is a good thing.
We have reduced all our prices in the shop, even though all the stock we have (and it is a lot) was bought pre-budget at the higher excise rates. Nevertheless, it is important to be seen to pass on the change and we feel it is worthwhile to reduce prices now rather than later.
In general, I feel it is going to be a busy Christmas in the shop, despite the collapse in corporate business. 2009 has been pretty tough for everyone and I get the feeling that those left standing might feel like treating themselves a little. There's nothing like blind optimism to get you through the worst recession in living memory!
Will it make any difference?
The amounts involved are not huge, but it is a step in the right direction and it might make people think twice, or at least look at the prices in the south before the 60 mile, 4 hour drive to Newry. From that point of view, it is a good thing.
We have reduced all our prices in the shop, even though all the stock we have (and it is a lot) was bought pre-budget at the higher excise rates. Nevertheless, it is important to be seen to pass on the change and we feel it is worthwhile to reduce prices now rather than later.
In general, I feel it is going to be a busy Christmas in the shop, despite the collapse in corporate business. 2009 has been pretty tough for everyone and I get the feeling that those left standing might feel like treating themselves a little. There's nothing like blind optimism to get you through the worst recession in living memory!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
I wish I was a better note taker
I was at an amazing tasting and dinner last night, and I fear my notes don't really do justice to the wines tasted and eventually drunk. It was a World Class Pinot Noir tasting, 11 wines in all tasted blinded from decanters in the lovely surroundings of Ely CHQ, who looked after us exceptionally well as always.
The notes below are my raw notes from the blind tasting, but with the names of the wines added in.
1. Mayer-Nakel Neuenahrer Sonnenberg 1 2004
Ripe fruit on the nose, sweet, ripe raspberries etc, med body, decent length, alc sticking out slightly
2. Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru 2002
More restrained on nose, definitely burgundy, earthy, spicy, leathery, good fruit amazing length, v complex
3. Rochioli West Block Russian River 1994
Farmyardy, savoury nose, slightly cloudy. Savoury, meaty, complex but fruit a bit muted. Seems mature, just about hanging together. Good finish.
4. Bergstrom Shea Vineyard 2006, Oregon
Very fruity style, savoury on finish, quite spicy, alcohol burn. Grippy tannins, seems young.
5. Ten Minutes by Tractor McCutcheon Vineyard, Mornington Peninsula
Muted nose, slight eucalyptus whiff. Too much oak, grippy as well, not showing well.
6. Felton Road Central Otago 2004
lovely lifted nose of raspberries and dark fruit, rich full bodied style, very fruit driven but complex and delicious. prob NW
7. Ata Rangi Martinborough 2007
Aromatic, delicious nose. Very fruit driven, rich luscious a bit more in-yer-face. V good, but young
8. Cono Sur Osio 2007 Casablanca, Chile
Muted nose, slightly green on palate, grippy tannins. needs time
9. Hamilton Russell, Hermanus 2006
savoury, smoky, meaty nose. Smoky bacon, meaty flavours, green, unpleasant, tannic over-extracted.
10. Chamonix, Franschoek 2007
Fruit and spice, complex nose. Very fruity style, oaky and alcoholic. Def NW - too much oak, needs time to get together.
11. Domaine de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Les Pezerolles 2005
muted nose, a bit tight and tannic, lots of fruit though, v good long life ahead.
After the tasting, we went through them and, while everyone had their favourites, their was a suprising amount of agreement about which ones were showing best.
Thankfully, my 2 declared favourites were wines no. 2 and 6. I can take some comfort from being able to recognise that a grand cru from a top grower in a fantastic vintage (Rousseau's Chambertin 02) is a wine I should like. It was also something of a relief that I liked the Felton Road, given that we are agents for this wine in Ireland and this particular wine was Red Wine of the Year in 2005. I wasn't able to say which one it was, but at least I liked it!
All in all, a fantatstic tasting.
We then had dinner and some more amazing wines followed - I didn't take notes as we were eating and I was getting enough slagging just for jotting down the names.
Wines, not necessarily in this order were as follows:
Pieropan La Rocca 2007 - excellent
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru 2006, Mugnier - pure, v good
Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Malconsorts 2005, de Montille - silky and sexy, surprisingly open
Felton Road Block 3 2004 - blousier version of earlier wine, spoilt by being slightly fizzy!
Chambertin Clos de Beze 1996, Rousseau - amazing -with typical 96 acidity, but fantastic
Volnay 1er Cru "en Caillerets" 2006, Pousse d'Or - attractive, struggled after Clos de Beze
- then some syrah, guess who insisted...
St Joseph Cuvee Papy 2006, Montez - pure, silky, very nice drink
L'Ame Soeur 2006, Ogier - first bottle was off, second better, but still volatile after some time in the glass.
Lastly a shiraz by Duval, can't remember which one.
Taking out an Oz shiraz at the end of the night is like putting Tom Waits on at a party - it's a sign that the night is over. But what a night!
The notes below are my raw notes from the blind tasting, but with the names of the wines added in.
1. Mayer-Nakel Neuenahrer Sonnenberg 1 2004
Ripe fruit on the nose, sweet, ripe raspberries etc, med body, decent length, alc sticking out slightly
2. Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru 2002
More restrained on nose, definitely burgundy, earthy, spicy, leathery, good fruit amazing length, v complex
3. Rochioli West Block Russian River 1994
Farmyardy, savoury nose, slightly cloudy. Savoury, meaty, complex but fruit a bit muted. Seems mature, just about hanging together. Good finish.
4. Bergstrom Shea Vineyard 2006, Oregon
Very fruity style, savoury on finish, quite spicy, alcohol burn. Grippy tannins, seems young.
5. Ten Minutes by Tractor McCutcheon Vineyard, Mornington Peninsula
Muted nose, slight eucalyptus whiff. Too much oak, grippy as well, not showing well.
6. Felton Road Central Otago 2004
lovely lifted nose of raspberries and dark fruit, rich full bodied style, very fruit driven but complex and delicious. prob NW
7. Ata Rangi Martinborough 2007
Aromatic, delicious nose. Very fruit driven, rich luscious a bit more in-yer-face. V good, but young
8. Cono Sur Osio 2007 Casablanca, Chile
Muted nose, slightly green on palate, grippy tannins. needs time
9. Hamilton Russell, Hermanus 2006
savoury, smoky, meaty nose. Smoky bacon, meaty flavours, green, unpleasant, tannic over-extracted.
10. Chamonix, Franschoek 2007
Fruit and spice, complex nose. Very fruity style, oaky and alcoholic. Def NW - too much oak, needs time to get together.
11. Domaine de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Les Pezerolles 2005
muted nose, a bit tight and tannic, lots of fruit though, v good long life ahead.
After the tasting, we went through them and, while everyone had their favourites, their was a suprising amount of agreement about which ones were showing best.
Thankfully, my 2 declared favourites were wines no. 2 and 6. I can take some comfort from being able to recognise that a grand cru from a top grower in a fantastic vintage (Rousseau's Chambertin 02) is a wine I should like. It was also something of a relief that I liked the Felton Road, given that we are agents for this wine in Ireland and this particular wine was Red Wine of the Year in 2005. I wasn't able to say which one it was, but at least I liked it!
All in all, a fantatstic tasting.
We then had dinner and some more amazing wines followed - I didn't take notes as we were eating and I was getting enough slagging just for jotting down the names.
Wines, not necessarily in this order were as follows:
Pieropan La Rocca 2007 - excellent
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru 2006, Mugnier - pure, v good
Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Malconsorts 2005, de Montille - silky and sexy, surprisingly open
Felton Road Block 3 2004 - blousier version of earlier wine, spoilt by being slightly fizzy!
Chambertin Clos de Beze 1996, Rousseau - amazing -with typical 96 acidity, but fantastic
Volnay 1er Cru "en Caillerets" 2006, Pousse d'Or - attractive, struggled after Clos de Beze
- then some syrah, guess who insisted...
St Joseph Cuvee Papy 2006, Montez - pure, silky, very nice drink
L'Ame Soeur 2006, Ogier - first bottle was off, second better, but still volatile after some time in the glass.
Lastly a shiraz by Duval, can't remember which one.
Taking out an Oz shiraz at the end of the night is like putting Tom Waits on at a party - it's a sign that the night is over. But what a night!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
The Papillon liquidation sale in Stillorgan
A restaurateur friend sent me the Papillon liquidation list by e-mail yesterday and, apparently there were big crowds eager to get a bargain at the old (also closed down) Slainte premises in Stillorgan.
It is quite a clever move by the liquidators because these wines have already been offered to the trade, they are the leftovers from 2 rounds of bidding of the extensive Papillon stock. They have priced the wines at (very) full retail prices and then discounted them by 30-40%. So, is this a bargain? No, it is not, and for the following reasons:
1. The wines are not up to much anyway - I know the Papillon list and there was a lot of dross, partly the reason why it didn't sell in the first place. Anything half decent has already been sold by the liquidators into the trade.
2. The wines are too old - especially for the whites, 2004 Chardonnay or 2005 Sauv Blanc from South Africa is likely to be way past its best and quite possibly undrinkable. If many of the whites on the list were offered to me for free, I wouldn't take them. The reds might be hanging in there, but probably past their best as well.
3. The wines are too dear. By marking them up to the full retail prices and discounting them back down again, the wines are being offered at not far off the wholesale prices. So you have people queuing up to pay cash for wines at the same prices that Papillon couldn't sell them to the wine trade at a few years ago.
It's a big swizz, if you ask me, but there are no shortage of people who will pay any price to get what they think is a bargain.
If you get a dodgy looking bottle of 6 year old South African Chenin Blanc over Christmas, make sure you open it for the person who brought it!!
It is quite a clever move by the liquidators because these wines have already been offered to the trade, they are the leftovers from 2 rounds of bidding of the extensive Papillon stock. They have priced the wines at (very) full retail prices and then discounted them by 30-40%. So, is this a bargain? No, it is not, and for the following reasons:
1. The wines are not up to much anyway - I know the Papillon list and there was a lot of dross, partly the reason why it didn't sell in the first place. Anything half decent has already been sold by the liquidators into the trade.
2. The wines are too old - especially for the whites, 2004 Chardonnay or 2005 Sauv Blanc from South Africa is likely to be way past its best and quite possibly undrinkable. If many of the whites on the list were offered to me for free, I wouldn't take them. The reds might be hanging in there, but probably past their best as well.
3. The wines are too dear. By marking them up to the full retail prices and discounting them back down again, the wines are being offered at not far off the wholesale prices. So you have people queuing up to pay cash for wines at the same prices that Papillon couldn't sell them to the wine trade at a few years ago.
It's a big swizz, if you ask me, but there are no shortage of people who will pay any price to get what they think is a bargain.
If you get a dodgy looking bottle of 6 year old South African Chenin Blanc over Christmas, make sure you open it for the person who brought it!!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Rully from Vincent Daux
A couple of new wines in last week, from a producer we first me last year, but visited again earlier in 2009. Rully (pronounced as it is spelt) is an appellation on the southern side of Burgundy, near Mercurey and between the Cote d'Or and the Maconnais. It is an area that offers good value, something we have been sniffing out even more than usual the last couple of years.
The Rully Blanc " Les Maizieres" is a single vineyard 100% Chardonnay, part of which gets a little time in old oak, just to round it out, not to impart oak flavour. Medium bodied, very nice concentration of appley fruit with a citrus streak, think Chablis, but with a bit of meat on its bones.
The Rully Rouge "Brange", again single-vineyard 100% Pinot Noir. Ripe and juicy, light in body but with very nice concentration of strawberry and raspberry fruit. Very quaffable, think of Fleurie, but with proper fruit flavours instead of bubblegum.
Both are €20.
The Rully Blanc " Les Maizieres" is a single vineyard 100% Chardonnay, part of which gets a little time in old oak, just to round it out, not to impart oak flavour. Medium bodied, very nice concentration of appley fruit with a citrus streak, think Chablis, but with a bit of meat on its bones.
The Rully Rouge "Brange", again single-vineyard 100% Pinot Noir. Ripe and juicy, light in body but with very nice concentration of strawberry and raspberry fruit. Very quaffable, think of Fleurie, but with proper fruit flavours instead of bubblegum.
Both are €20.
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