In vino veritas - what wine are you drinking?

dudara

Im hoping we can get a new thread going in here, sharing the good bottles of wine we’ve been drinking.

I recently enjoyed this Kanu barrel-fermented Chardonnay from the Stellenbosch, purchased from Curious Wines, on sale for €14.99. Fairly full-bodied with tropical fruits.

odyssey06

Just had a lovely bottle of Cono Sur Single Vineyard Riesling white wine... think it was €15.99 in Martins Off Licence.
Paired very well with Seafood.

And over Christmas, the old reliable red, the Guigal Cotes du Rhone, also €15.99.
One of the finest widely-available wines in the world, according to a recent review I read.
http://www.martinsofflicence.ie/wine/france/c-tes-du-rh-ne-red/

Update... here's the review:
https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/guigal-2014-cotes-du-rhone

Mister Gooey

odyssey06 wrote:

And over Christmas, the old reliable red, the Guigal Cotes du Rhone, also €15.99. One of the finest widely-available wines in the world, according to a recent review I read.

The Guigal is a wonderful wine. I tried the Lidl Amarone (don't have the actual name to hand) last night. Excellent stuff for €18.99.

Slaphead07

I was in the wine for many years and still have tastes beyond my pocket and my journey to find good wines at sensible prices ( less than €15 say) is paved with indifferent wines and frankly dull ones. One exception is from Donnybrook Fair, a Minervois for €12.99 which I would happily drink every day.
https://www.donnybrookfair.ie/chateau-blomac-minervois-2010

dudara

Last night’s bottle was an unusual blend of Moscatel & Chardonnay from Goru, a Spanish wine producer in Jumilla. I love their red wines, which are consistent crowd pleasers. This white had floral notes coming from the Moscatel with body from the Chardonnay. Would be a great summer wine.

Purchased from Curious Wines for €13.99

dudara

Slaphead07 wrote: »

I was in the wine for many years and still have tastes beyond my pocket and my journey to find good wines at sensible prices ( less than €15 say) is paved with indifferent wines and frankly dull ones. One exception is from Donnybrook Fair, a Minervois for €12.99 which I would happily drink every day.
https://www.donnybrookfair.ie/chateau-blomac-minervois-2010

Agree with you, it’s challenging these days to find good interesting wines in the sub €15 range. I like the look of that Minervois and will pick up a bottle next time I’m in DF. We spent a long weekend in the Languedoc this summer and there are some really innovative wines coming out now.

Slaphead07

dudara wrote: »

Agree with you, it’s challenging these days to find good interesting wines in the sub €15 range. I like the look of that Minervois and will pick up a bottle next time I’m in DF. We spent a long weekend in the Languedoc this summer and there are some really innovative wines coming out now.

If you like that style, and I do, that area provides some great wines. A good Corbières - not the rough local stuff! - can be a serious bargain. But you know that already!

limnam

Can't believe we didn't have one of these threads already and can't believe I never thought of starting one

From Eslisabetta Foradori mostly known for top notch Teroldego

Massive fruit bang probably too much for some peoples taste but I love it.

FONTANASANTA MANZONI BIANCO

Slaphead07

limnam wrote: »

Can't believe we didn't have one of these threads already and can't believe I never thought of starting one

From Eslisabetta Foradori mostly known for top notch Teroldego

Massive fruit bang probably too much for some peoples taste but I love it.

FONTANASANTA MANZONI BIANCO

She is an amazing wine maker and an amazing woman. I loved this one. About €24 but worth it for the right occasion.
http://www.elisabettaforadori.com/catalogo/?menu_item=20

limnam

Slaphead07 wrote: »

She is an amazing wine maker and an amazing woman. I loved this one. About €24 but worth it for the right occasion.
http://www.elisabettaforadori.com/catalogo/?menu_item=20

Which one were trying to link to?

This link brings to me to the main menu

Slaphead07

limnam wrote: »

Which one were trying to link to?

This link brings to me to the main menu

Apologies. Not the easiest website to get around. I'll try this link.

limnam

One of my favorite Montepulciano's. This used to be available in curious wines but I believe for one reason or another they've stopped working with the vineyard/Disty.

You can still get it from https://www.kwmwine.com up north at about 15-16e delivered

dudara

Tonight was a Malbec from Cedre Heritage in Cahors, France. I can't remember where I purchased it (possibly either the Corkscrew or Donnybrook Fair). Lovely dark purple colour, lots of black fruit and a nice touch of spice and oak. Very pleasant.

odyssey06

Over the weekend in O'Briens I picked up the Gerard Bertrand Solensis, a Syrah-Grenache blend, certified Organic from the Languedoc-Rousillon region of south west France. RRP is €17.95 but it's currently on offer in the "buy two bottles get cheapest half price winter warmer red deal."

Silky smooth is how I would describe this wine, velvet in a glass... I wouldn't put this wine into the winter warmer category though, for that and for a wine with more depth I would stick to the Guigal Cotes du Rhone which is comparable in price but not in the O'Briens deal.

More detailed review here...
http://thetaste.ie/wp/wine-of-the-week-from-obriens-gerard-bertrand-solensis-2015/

Slaphead07

dudara wrote: »

Tonight was a Malbec from Cedre Heritage in Cahors, France. I can't remember where I purchased it (possibly either the Corkscrew or Donnybrook Fair).

I do love a good Cahors Malbec but they're hard to get. How much was this one?

limnam

Slaphead07 wrote: »

I do love a good Cahors Malbec but they're hard to get. How much was this one?

Looks like it's 17e in cork screw

https://www.thecorkscrew.ie/red-wine/chateau-de-cedre-heritage-malbec.html

limnam

Saturday night's bottle. Bit of an ad-hoc purchase from the boot Italian shop in Cork It's more of an Italian food shop but they stock a few bottles of Italian wine.

I love a good ripasso(a) but I haven't found many nice ones at a decent price and this was no different. There was some nice baked dark fruits but it was a bit too acidic for my taste maybe another half an hour in the decanter might have took the edge of it. At 19e a bottle I'd give it a wide birth.

If anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear them

dudara

Slaphead07 wrote: »

I do love a good Cahors Malbec but they're hard to get. How much was this one?

I genuinely can’t remember. I had it racked on the “everyday rack” so probably < €20. Wish I could remember where I bought it

anthony4335

It can be very hard to find a nice Ripasso, nicest I have found in Ireland is a Villa erbice in the winebuff, but it is a little pricey at 28 euro. I really would suggest the valpolicello from the wine buff and decant it for a couple of hours better value and it is one of my go to wines.
http://www.thewinebuff.com/italian-red-wine-erbice-valpolicello

Slaphead07

anthony4335 wrote: »

It can be very hard to find a nice Ripasso, nicest I have found in Ireland is a Villa erbice in the winebuff, but it is a little pricey at 28 euro. I really would suggest the valpolicello from the wine buff and decant it for a couple of hours better value and it is one of my go to wines.
http://www.thewinebuff.com/italian-red-wine-erbice-valpolicello

I was going to suggest that but as that was my old business I didn't... but the cork is out now! Actually the Mobile Ripasso there @ about €21 is a cracker

Drdenise75

Just enjoyed a lovely Ripasso that we got at Curious Wines. Corte Giona valpolicella ripasso 2013. €19.99 so not cheap but a good well balanced wine.

limnam

Drdenise75 wrote: »

Just enjoyed a lovely Ripasso that we got at Curious Wines. Corte Giona valpolicella ripasso 2013. €19.99 so not cheap but a good well balanced wine.

While it's _very_ rare I'm not happy with a purchase from curious I got this during the 20% off Italian so picked it up a bit cheaper and didn't really enjoy it

Karwig have this for 18e if you haven't tried it. Beautiful wine.

https://www.karwigwines.ie/red-wine/Luigi-Righetti-Valpolicella-Campolieti

Do all wine buff's sell the same wines?

Slaphead07

limnam wrote: »

Do all wine buff's sell the same wines?

More or less, there's a huge choice in the warehouse so shop owners/managers will stock what their customers like and of course what they themselves like. The website will have the full range, your local shop can bring a wine if you think you might like it.

odyssey06

As a present I was given a bottle of Irish wine. I didn't realise we had vineyards here! This was a rather expensive present from the Celtic Whiskey shop I gather. It was an ideal gift, something I would love to try but would not buy for myself.



The wine is called Lusca, and it is a red wine in a Bordeaux style.

It's nice, but I would say a bit inconsistent in flavour, would be eclipsed by a good Grand Vin de Bordeaux ... I have left a glass for tomorrow to see if there is any difference in flavour.

More information on Irish wines here:
http://www.thejournal.ie/irish-wine-2351581-Sep2015/

beertons

I'm a white wine man myself. And I really like Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc.

dudara

Last night we drank Taoz Reserva Coupage 2013 from Somontano, Spain. Again this was from Curious Wines, usually €15 per bottle. This is a blend of Cabarnet Sauvignon, Melia and Syrah aged in French oak for 14 months. It’s smoothly rich, with notes of chocolate and black fruits.

I like this one a lot, I’ll always pick up a few bottles whenever I’m in Curious Wines. It’s one I always know I’ll enjoy.

dudara

Enjoyed a firm house favourite last night - Von Winning Win Win Riesling from The Corkscrew €21.95. I usually buy several bottles of this at a go, as I really like to know that I have a reliable, enjoyable wine on the racks.

This is a truly glorious Riesling - it's crisp and lemony, ever so slightly effervescent but also has a touch of honey mellowness.

dudara

Aldi had bottles of Recioto di Soave and Recioto della Valpolicella in over Christmas. For those of you not familiar with it, Recioto is an Italian sweet wine where grapes are allowed to partially dry before wine making. Recioto comes from around the Verona / Lake Garda region.

I hadn’t been overly impressed with the Soave, but I opened the bottle of Valpolicella last night to go with some cheese, and I really liked it. It’s not lusciously sweet but pretty nice. I think Aldi still have it on sale in some shops, but reduced now to €8 (IIRC).

CountingCrows

Would love some organic red recommendations please.

dudara

Do you have any preferred red styles / grapes?

SuperValu are selling a wooden box of 6 Spanish reds at the moment for €50. Three Rioja and three Tempranillo. But all are “ecological”, not quite sure what translates as. I find the Tempranillo to be a bit grippy and green yet although it’s still very drinkable, but the Rioja is pretty good. And you can do the maths at €50 for 6 bottles.

Lots of organic reds coming from Spain right now actually, particularly southern areas like Jumilla. The warm, dry climate makes organic easier to achieve.

Slaphead07

dudara wrote: »

Do you have any preferred red styles / grapes?

SuperValu are selling a wooden box of 6 Spanish reds at the moment for €50. Three Rioja and three Tempranillo. But all are “ecological”, not quite sure what translates as. I find the Tempranillo to be a bit grippy and green yet although it’s still very drinkable, but the Rioja is pretty good. And you can do the maths at €50 for 6 bottles.

Lots of organic reds coming from Spain right now actually, particularly southern areas like Jumilla. The warm, dry climate makes organic easier to achieve.

For me organic means less chemicals and therefore less risk of a hangover! This is a good thing. I might chance a box of that....

limnam

dudara wrote: »

Aldi had bottles of Recioto di Soave and Recioto della Valpolicella in over Christmas. For those of you not familiar with it, Recioto is an Italian sweet wine where grapes are allowed to partially dry before wine making. Recioto comes from around the Verona / Lake Garda region.

I hadn’t been overly impressed with the Soave, but I opened the bottle of Valpolicella last night to go with some cheese, and I really liked it. It’s not lusciously sweet but pretty nice. I think Aldi still have it on sale in some shops, but reduced now to €8 (IIRC).

Purchased before xmas for after dinner but it never got opened in the end.

You've given me the nudge to get it open

CountingCrows

I used to drink mainly Rioja but lately I’m leaning towards Montepulciano and Bordeaux’s. Thanks for that great suggestion, nothing to lose at that price for box of 6.

dudara wrote: »

Do you have any preferred red styles / grapes?

SuperValu are selling a wooden box of 6 Spanish reds at the moment for €50. Three Rioja and three Tempranillo. But all are “ecological”, not quite sure what translates as. I find the Tempranillo to be a bit grippy and green yet although it’s still very drinkable, but the Rioja is pretty good. And you can do the maths at €50 for 6 bottles.

Lots of organic reds coming from Spain right now actually, particularly southern areas like Jumilla. The warm, dry climate makes organic easier to achieve.

dudara

Lots of vineyards are moving towards organic & biodynamic in execution. But it costs a lot to get full certification, so they may not go the full hog. For instance, we were in Château de la Dauphine in Fronsac, Bordeaux about two years ago and they were nearly fully biodynamic. It might not say it on their label but they’re effectively there.

limnam

CountingCrows wrote: »

I used to drink mainly Rioja but lately I’m leaning towards Montepulciano and Bordeaux’s. Thanks for that great suggestion, nothing to lose at that price for box of 6.

The MontepulcianoI posted earlier in the thread is organic if you're happy to order on-line

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=105825415&postcount=12

dudara

We were out for dinner last night in Locks, Portobello. They have a great selection of Portuguese wines (several Portuguese members of staff) and I ordered Quinta do Cidrô Chardonnay, from the Duoro. According to the website “it is fermented and aged in french oak barriques under the process of batonage with lees. It reveals a beautiful golden colour and a complexity of tropical fruit aromas with smokey oak nuances of toast”

My verdict: very reminiscent of a quality Burgundy, at easily half the price. Lovely finish of toasted hazelnuts and good texture.

limnam

anthony4335 wrote: »

It can be very hard to find a nice Ripasso, nicest I have found in Ireland is a Villa erbice in the winebuff, but it is a little pricey at 28 euro. I really would suggest the valpolicello from the wine buff and decant it for a couple of hours better value and it is one of my go to wines.
http://www.thewinebuff.com/italian-red-wine-erbice-valpolicello

Picked it up today and it's in the decanter

Will report back

odyssey06

Picked up a bottle of an ALDI special, quite an unusual one to see here - "Oddlot", a blend of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot from the Monterey region of California. It was very nice, savoury, went well with confit duck. Two drawbacks is the price at €13.99 and it's 14.5% so you might feel it the next day, although it doesn't taste overpowering so well-balanced.

One to try if you're looking for something different, but given the quality of the ALDI €7 - €10 regular range, now that I've ticked the box, probably not worth paying the extra few euros for another bottle.

More info here:
https://www.beoddwines.com/

limnam

anthony4335 wrote: »

It can be very hard to find a nice Ripasso, nicest I have found in Ireland is a Villa erbice in the winebuff, but it is a little pricey at 28 euro. I really would suggest the valpolicello from the wine buff and decant it for a couple of hours better value and it is one of my go to wines.
http://www.thewinebuff.com/italian-red-wine-erbice-valpolicello

Thanks for the tip on this I really enjoyed it. Decanted for aprox 2 hours and had with a nice bit of beef from the English market. Probably won't be having it often at 28e though. I'd love to find one drinkable at around 10e the hunt goes on

dudara

Ripasso involves making wine with partially dried grapes. Given that there is a bit of extra Labour required in its manufacture, it will be hard to get a good one around €10. Good wine around €10 is hard enough.

Because it’s going to be cold tonight, I’ve just picked up a bottle of Ravenswood Old Vine Lodi Zinfandel at Donnybrook Fair (c€23, which I think is pricey as I’ve bought this before for €18). Love this wine, lots of dark fruit, chocolate & spice.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

dudara

Absolutely correct, Ripasso is essentially a secondary product from the production of Amarone, which is the more high value product. However, while Ripasso will be cheaper, I still think €10 for a decent bottle is a bit unrealistic, probably more like €20.

odyssey06

Marechal Gevrey Chambertin, Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir)... got it as a present, think it was in the LIDl Chirstmas specials.
A lovely wine, perfectly described below by Matthew Nugent in The Sun.
That said, I think there are even nicer pinot noirs out there more readily available at similar prices or cheaper e.g. Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir, some of the Californians in O'Briens. To continue the pinot review, I was disappointed with the Underwood from Oregon available in M&S.

In hindsight, it would have been the ideal wine for mid afternoon Christmas dinner of turkey and ham!

"Intense liquorice and cherry nose with a strawberry and raspberry palate and nice minerality. Light, yet complex with good length."

dudara

SuperValu have a new wine offer on Bordeaux wines

http://twitter.com/ocallaghan74/status/967384447673950208

odyssey06

dudara wrote: »

SuperValu have a new wine offer on Bordeaux wines...

They have run that before but my local SV in D3 had none ... we look fwd to the reviews!

limnam

odyssey06 wrote: »

They have run that before but my local SV in D3 had none ... we look fwd to the reviews!

French wine for the most part never really grabbed me. Saying thatI've not tasted much of it and know little about it. I'm also not exactly sure why.

I think it's partly down to been not able to find relativity cheapish good French wine. The odds always seem far greater when choosing a French wine. Where it's relatively easy to find great Italian/Spanish/Portuguese reasonably priced wines. This could all be in my head but it's there none the less.

Also looking forward to the reviews of this and more French wine here as I always feel I'm missing out on so much and need to venture out and try more.

Also any recommendations on good places to start/bottles to try would be welcomed

odyssey06

limnam wrote: »

I think it's partly down to been not able to find relativity cheapish good French wine. The odds always seem far greater when choosing a French wine. Where it's relatively easy to find great Italian/Spanish/Portuguese reasonably priced wines. This could all be in my head but it's there none the less.

If you're looking at under 10 euros, then yes usally better value futher south.
At around 15 euros you can start to pick up some lovely French reds.

Usually in France there's better value in the regions of the South (Rhone) and South West (Languedoc, Roussillon) than the more famous regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

I am a big fan of the Guigal Cotes du Rhone, think it's about €16 in Supervalu and off licences. LIDL have a 'rustic' Cotes du Rhone for just over €6 that is a bit rough around the edges but certainly packs a punch.
Both would be ideal 'winter warmers'

Keep an eye out for Supervalu's "Rare Vineyards" and "La Petite Perriere" labels which are often on offer for just under €10.

ps I'm talking reds here btw, French whites are a whole other story

This is the LIDL one:

limnam

odyssey06 wrote: »

I am a big fan of the Guigal Cotes du Rhone, think it's about €16 in Supervalu and off licences. LIDL have a 'rustic' Cotes du Rhone for just over €6 that is a bit rough around the edges but certainly packs a punch.
Both would be ideal 'winter warmers'

I think I've seen you mention the Guigal before as i have it marked down to buy and try. Was it yourself that had it for xmas dinner?

odyssey06 wrote: »

ps I'm talking reds here btw, French whites are a whole other story

I'd say 90% of my wine drinking is red.

Thanks for the recommendations.

dudara

I tend to love the reds from the Rhone valley, north and south. We were at the match today, and afterwards, we stopped at The French Paradox for a glass of wine. We ended up ordering a bottle of this Domaine Saint Pierre Vacqueyras 2014 for ~€42.

Vacqueyras is from the southern Rhone and is probably one of my favourite AOCs from that region.

Lovely, easy drinking red, perhaps a bit on the lighter side. Definite cherries, and berry fruit. Silky, lovely texture. This one is 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah.

dudara

limnam wrote: »

French wine for the most part never really grabbed me. Saying thatI've not tasted much of it and know little about it. I'm also not exactly sure why.

I think it's partly down to been not able to find relativity cheapish good French wine. The odds always seem far greater when choosing a French wine. Where it's relatively easy to find great Italian/Spanish/Portuguese reasonably priced wines. This could all be in my head but it's there none the less.

Also looking forward to the reviews of this and more French wine here as I always feel I'm missing out on so much and need to venture out and try more.

Also any recommendations on good places to start/bottles to try would be welcomed

French wine never really caught my interest when I was "younger". Other regions appealed to me because they simply tasted better. However, over time, and especially as I studied for my WSET Level 2 and Level 3, I learned (and tasted) more and more about French wine. I think everyone has a "lightbulb" wine moment, when you taste one that makes you think "this is what all the fuss is about". For me, that lightbulb wine was a white Burgundy from Puligny-Montrachet. I just went....mmmm.

France is one of the homes of winemaking and understanding French wines (to any degree) will greatly help you appreciate wines and winemaking in any other country.

L1011

As a wine luddite who only drinks white due to 'drinkability' - yet drinks whisk(e)y which is similarly difficult to get in to - is there a recommended set of mid-range reds to try for variety? Feel like I've excluded an obviously huge area of drinking for too long


Actually, I probably need to do that for white too, divide them to 'sweet' and 'sharp' and very little else and generally buy by price and country alone rather than varietal or anything else.