Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

O'Briens wine - offers and recommendations

  • 24-07-2020 2:10pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,889 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    I'm a semi regular O'Briens shopper so thought a thread on recommendations and calling out any particularly good offers might be useful.

    Starting things off, I've just noticed that this is back on offer for €10.

    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/porta-6

    Its regularly on offer but hasnt been for the past few months, so delighted to see it back at that price, will stock up on a few bottles.


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    The Porta 6 is a really nice red. I remember picking up a bottle at the O'Briens stand at Taste of Dublin last year... when we still did that kind of thing :)

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    They are still running the 6 for €50 promotion which includes the Il Padrino range from Sicily:
    https://www.obrienswine.ie/collections/6-for-50-mix-match

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,889 ✭✭✭SozBbz


    odyssey06 wrote: »
    The Porta 6 is a really nice red. I remember picking up a bottle at the O'Briens stand at Taste of Dublin last year... when we still did that kind of thing :)

    Yes, its very solid so I like to stock up on it when its €10, even though at its regular price of €13, its still decent.

    Its nice, inexpensive, Friday night drinking wine :) Planning to pop to O'Briens when I log off this evening :)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    My 'Desert Island' wine is on offer at the moment - the Ascheri Barolo, €30 down from €36.

    A superb Italian red:
    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/ascheri-barolo

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,889 ✭✭✭SozBbz


    odyssey06 wrote: »
    My 'Desert Island' wine is on offer at the moment - the Ascheri Barolo, €30 down from €36.

    A superb Italian red:
    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/ascheri-barolo

    Oooh thanks, I love tips like this when it comes to buying presents. My Dad loves Italian reds, where I tend to lean more towards Spain/Portugal/Argentina/Australia so I'll make a note of it with him in mind.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    SozBbz wrote: »
    Oooh thanks, I love tips like this when it comes to buying presents. My Dad loves Italian reds, where I tend to lean more towards Spain/Portugal/Argentina/Australia so I'll make a note of it with him in mind.

    I think if you like the wines of those countries you would like the Italian reds of Sicily based on Nero d'Avola, which seem more Mediterranean than Italian to me.
    And if you like the cab-shiraz blends of Australia, check out Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wines from Italy.
    To me there is also an overlap in taste between those Cabernet wines of Australia and those Italian reds which use the grapes, sometimes called super Tuscans (they blend local grapes with international varieities).

    On the Italian reds, Ascheri also do some lighter 'juicy' styles like Barbera and Dolcetta which are priced about €15 - €20.

    Barolo has the silkiness of Burgundy with the power of quality Bordeaux - at half the price. At least that was one of the descriptions I read :)
    If you like silky Riojas I think you would appreciate it.

    The below are a bit too rich to me, the other half likes these richer styles, they are half way towards dessert wines \ port. Mentioning them as they are good value at present.
    • Valpolicella Ripasso rrp €20 - currently 2 for €25
    • Luna Argenta rrp €18.45 - currently €12.95

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,889 ✭✭✭SozBbz


    Thanks Odyssey, good stuff in there.

    I've actually tried the LUNA (very nice) but not the Valpolicella (yet). I think the difference between myself and my Dad wine wise is that he likes a good red to go with food, especially a good steak, whereas I drink far less when I'm eating - I tend to reach for my water during food rather than wine. I might take a few sips but typically my drinking slows down once theres food on the table. I enjoy wine on its own as a drink after my meal so I don't need/want the sharpness that you'd want to cut through the fat of a ribeye for example.

    I also have my eye on this, both for myself for something a bit nice and I also might buy a few to hold back as gifts when needed. I think Sancerre is always good for a gift, as its typically a bit about the pricepoint of your average Sav Blanc. On paper, if it genuinely sells for €23, then €15 is a good deal.

    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/chateau-de-fontaine-audon-sancerre

    Has anyone tried it?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    SozBbz wrote: »
    I think the difference between myself and my Dad wine wise is that he likes a good red to go with food, especially a good steak, whereas I drink far less when I'm eating - I tend to reach for my water during food rather than wine. I might take a few sips but typically my drinking slows down once theres food on the table. I enjoy wine on its own as a drink after my meal so I don't need/want the sharpness that you'd want to cut through the fat of a ribeye for example.
    I also have my eye on this, both for myself for something a bit nice and I also might buy a few to hold back as gifts when needed. I think Sancerre is always good for a gift, as its typically a bit about the pricepoint of your average Sav Blanc. On paper, if it genuinely sells for €23, then €15 is a good deal.
    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/chateau-de-fontaine-audon-sancerre

    'Acidity' is often used to describe Italian reds, it's usually a good sign if you are looking to pair the wine with food.
    But if you are just sipping wine in the evening I understand why you would want something different.

    I'm afraid I haven't had the Sancerre, I do love the name though... that in itself makes it almost gift-worthy :)
    I'm about 80/20 between reds versus roses and whites so my knowledge is more limited there.
    If I was picking up a bottle of white in O'Briens I'd go more for something like the below or a Saint Veran.
    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/cave-de-lugny-macon-villages

    This isn't stocked in O'Briens, but it's in some independent off licences.
    Sampled it as a tasting and bought a bottle.
    Babich Black Label Sauvignon Blanc rrp €25
    https://martinsofflicence.ie/products/babich-black-label-sauvignon-blanc

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    Recommendation from Leslie Williams in The Irish Examiner:
    I’ve featured Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the past and it remains excellent value (around €36) - their Lirac (€23.95) from 30 minutes west is almost as good. Big black cherry fruit aromas with spice and generous darker fruits on the palate, ripe and supple, but balanced with intriguing textures and weight, showing length and complexity on the finish.
    https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/food/arid-40019756.html

    I've had both and they are top wines.

    wine-chateau-mont-redon-lirac-14270381326414_x500.png?v=1595621987

    https://www.obrienswine.ie/search?q=redon

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    In O'Briens, I ask the shop assistant if they have a bottle of Fairview 'Goats do Roam' South African red blend.
    Now maybe it's because I'm wearing a mask but shop assistant says "Sorry, Cotes du Rhone?"
    ...
    Anyhow, when we eventually found the bottle it's a lovely red blend.
    Currently €12.95 down from €15.95.

    Previously the blend contained pinotage and the O'Briens website still has that in the product description.
    But the 2018 blend is now mostly your typical GSM blend but with a few curveballs:
    * Shiraz 59%
    * Grenache 16%
    * Mourvedre 14%
    * Petite Sirah 7%
    * Tempranillo 2%
    * Cinsault 2%

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,889 ✭✭✭SozBbz


    odyssey06 wrote: »
    In O'Briens, I ask the shop assistant if they have a bottle of Fairview 'Goats do Roam' South African red blend.
    Now maybe it's because I'm wearing a mask but shop assistant says "Sorry, Cotes du Rhone?"
    ...

    Would you believe I've actually been to that wineary? It was part of a wine tour I did around Cape Town about 15 years ago and its the only place I remember the name of! Its a fantastic place if anyone ever gets the chance, they have a little goat farm on site and gave us lovely bread and goats cheese alongside our wine tasting. We were 19 year old gob****es but it was delightful!

    I have bought it in O'Briens a few times since - I was delighted the first time I spotted it!

    I must get a bottle this week - the SA wine industry needs support right now so I should make an effort to look for more wines from there.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,889 ✭✭✭SozBbz


    This is a bit of an anti recommendation - but it could be that its just not a style I like - however myself and my OH opened this at the weekend and ended up throwing the rest of it down the sink in the end which has never happened to me with an O'Briens purchase before.

    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/langlois-rose-danjou

    Its extremely sweet - at first I thought that maybe I just needed to adjust to it but no, it never got anymore palatable. I'm not a big Rose drinker but I sometimes enjoy the odd glass on a fine day. Perhaps this strongly coloured style is just not for me.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    SozBbz wrote: »
    This is a bit of an anti recommendation - but it could be that its just not a style I like - however myself and my OH opened this at the weekend and ended up throwing the rest of it down the sink in the end which has never happened to me with an O'Briens purchase before.
    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/langlois-rose-danjou
    Its extremely sweet - at first I thought that maybe I just needed to adjust to it but no, it never got anymore palatable. I'm not a big Rose drinker but I sometimes enjoy the odd glass on a fine day. Perhaps this strongly coloured style is just not for me.

    Funnily a couple of weeks back I got a Rose d'Anjou from Supervalu and wasn't keen on it.
    I notice that the description says 'off dry' so that'd normally be a clue that it'll have some sweetness.
    The Provence roses are usually dry so that't be a safer bet in future for roses.

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Subscribers, Registered Users 2 Posts: 47,351 ✭✭✭✭Zaph


    SozBbz wrote: »
    Would you believe I've actually been to that wineary? It was part of a wine tour I did around Cape Town about 15 years ago and its the only place I remember the name of! Its a fantastic place if anyone ever gets the chance, they have a little goat farm on site and gave us lovely bread and goats cheese alongside our wine tasting. We were 19 year old gob****es but it was delightful!

    I've been there too on one of those tours. I always remember the goat tower out the front. Can't really remember the wines though, it was quite a while ago and we drank an awful lot of them. :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    Zaph wrote: »
    I've been there too on one of those tours. I always remember the goat tower out the front. Can't really remember the wines though, it was quite a while ago and we drank an awful lot of them. :D

    It's a very nice wine, worth picking up on offer at €12.95 right now but I think it would be a bit overpriced at €15.95 rrp.
    Has the savoriness of Cotes du Rhone with more chocolate \ tobacco smokiness to it - but not Pinotage level smokiness.

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,432 ✭✭✭SusanC10


    Just spotted this thread!
    Really like the Porta 6 and the Luna Argenta.
    They are also doing a very drinkable French Rosé in the Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price offer.

    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/famille-bougrier-hauts-lieux-rose


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,889 ✭✭✭SozBbz


    Zaph wrote: »
    I've been there too on one of those tours. I always remember the goat tower out the front. Can't really remember the wines though, it was quite a while ago and we drank an awful lot of them. :D

    Well to be fair, I was much younger and less discerning than I am now :) Also it was our first stop on our tour so I probably remember it the best as I was really quite merry towards the end of the day. First any only time I've drank wine before 10am :)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,038 ✭✭✭✭HeidiHeidi


    SozBbz wrote: »
    This is a bit of an anti recommendation - but it could be that its just not a style I like - however myself and my OH opened this at the weekend and ended up throwing the rest of it down the sink in the end which has never happened to me with an O'Briens purchase before.

    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/langlois-rose-danjou

    Its extremely sweet - at first I thought that maybe I just needed to adjust to it but no, it never got anymore palatable. I'm not a big Rose drinker but I sometimes enjoy the odd glass on a fine day. Perhaps this strongly coloured style is just not for me.

    I put most of a bottle of that down the sink as well!

    I'd brought a bottle as a gift to hosts of a bbq I was at before I'd tasted it..... I cringe every time I think of it :o:o
    SusanC10 wrote: »
    Just spotted this thread!
    Really like the Porta 6 and the Luna Argenta.
    They are also doing a very drinkable French Rosé in the Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price offer.

    https://www.obrienswine.ie/products/famille-bougrier-hauts-lieux-rose

    All of those F Bougrier wines are gorgeous, and brilliant value. I always stock up when they're on offer.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,889 ✭✭✭SozBbz


    HeidiHeidi wrote: »
    I put most of a bottle of that down the sink as well!

    I'd brought a bottle as a gift to hosts of a bbq I was at before I'd tasted it..... I cringe every time I think of it :o:o

    Good to know it wasn't only me! I also have another bottle of it left, which I will gift to a friend who loves all pink/sweet drinks - but not as a gift, more as an experiment to see if even they don't like it!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    Leslie Williams in the Examiner picks out some Rhone reds from O'Briens:

    * Chapoutier Belleruche Côtes du Rhóne, France - €13.50 (was €16.99)

    * Ortas Côtes-du-Rhône Reserve, France - €14.74

    * Domaine des Sénéchaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 2016, Rhone, France - €29.95

    https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/food/arid-40071941.html

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    If you are stocking up for Christmas and the long midwinter...
    * 15% off when you buy 12 or more bottles in O'Briens.
    * Includes wine and fizz on promotion.
    * Starts Friday 13th November

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    Taittinger Brut Réserve NV
    * Was €61.00
    * Now €39.95

    And remember an extra 15% off if you buy any 12 bottles of wine \ champagne.

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,629 ✭✭✭✭Marcusm


    odyssey06 wrote: »
    Taittinger Brut Réserve NV
    * Was €61.00
    * Now €39.95

    And remember an extra 15% off if you buy any 12 bottles of wine \ champagne.

    Or £21 up north! Ireland is a really ****ty place to buy champagne!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,406 ✭✭✭✭the beer revolu


    Marcusm wrote: »
    Or £21 up north! Ireland is a really ****ty place to buy champagne!

    Sparkling wine attracts twice the duty that still wine does in Ireland.

    So, a €500 bottle of Chateau Exqusite still wine will have twice as much duty as a €10 bottle of fizzy plonk.

    Obviously, the VAT will be more on the €500 bottle, but still.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 857 ✭✭✭Ronney




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    Ronney wrote: »

    If you've never had the Dreadnought Man o'war worth checking out though not much of a discount!
    Man O'War Dreadnought Syrah (2016/17 New Zealand) WAS €39.30 / NOW €36.95 (SAVE €2.35)

    These would tempt me... some on reputation, some because I have had their entry level wines and they were fantastic.
    • Château Kirwan (2016 Bordeaux, France) WAS €73.78 / NOW €55 (SAVE €18.78)
    • Ascheri Barolo D.O.C.G. Pisapola (2015 Barolo D.O.C.G., Italy) WAS €59.02 / NOW €40 (SAVE €19.02)
    • Teac Mor Pinot Noir (2015 California, USA) WAS €39.20 / NOW €26.95 (SAVE €12.35)
    • Gérard Bertrand Cigalus Red (2018 Languedoc, France) WAS €39.30 / NOW €26.95 (SAVE €12.35)

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,968 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    The O'Briens Spring Wine Sale has started - save up to 40% on over 150 classic wines.

    First up, member club exclusive so bring your loyalty card - Masi Campofiorin reduced from €20 to €13.

    Selected picks from the sale:
    * Ascheri Barolo now €30 (was €36)
    * Rizzardi Pinot Grigio now €11 (was €15)
    * Monte Real Rioja Reserva now €13 (was €22)
    * Taittinger Brut NV Champagne now €40 (was €60)
    * Júlia Florista Tinto now €8 (was €10)

    https://www.obrienswine.ie/collections/wine-offers

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



Advertisement