Gilbeys of Ireland Christmas Tasting 2008 Red Wines

This Gilbeys tasting took off with this Red Table.

Read my intro to this tasting 'two blogs ago' and then 'tune' forward to the Christmas Table in my next Blog where there were some really extraordinary wines..

Hunter’s Estate Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2006
€19.99, Superquinn, Londis, Centra, O’Briens
Brilliant; Very Good Value. Jane Hunter seldom lets you down. This has all the concentrated charm of the grape laid over an underbelly thick with nuance and style.

Stonier Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula 2005
€21.49, selected independents
Not sure why I always like this wine but I do. It's not obvious fruit like Hunters is above; it's not delicately perfumed; it's light in colour, powerful nose and palate of slight age and earthy fruit; lingers well. There's an honest 'difference' here worth celebrating.

Louis Latour Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir,
Vin de Pays des Coteaux du Verdon 2005
€17.29, Londis, selected independents
Not for me. Just has too little going for it.

Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir, Oregon 2005
€51.99, Tesco, O’Briens, selected independents
Excellent in almost all respects. It dances with a tremendous presence and depth of character. If I could get hold of wines like this at a lower price Oregon could command my world!

Fortius Reserva, Navarra, Bodegas Valcarlos 1999
€14.99, selected independents
Could Do a Lot Better. Being rustic and true to ones origin and terroir are pluses in my book. Being too rustic, like this wine is, is just lazy wine making. There has to be some skill in bringing fruit to the market as wine.

Musella Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore, Veneto 2004
NEW €21.49, selected independents
Ordinary. Too many better examples out there.

Cusumano Benuara, Sicily 2006
NEW €19.49, selected independents
Doesn't do it for me BUT, and I say this with a big BUT, I can see how it might do well commercially with a big bright cherry appeal showing a lot of heat and southern Italian roughness. Leave it age for a year and I might change my mind.

Portia Prima Ribera del Duero 2004
€24.99, selected independents
Not sure why but I seem to be turning into a Portia fan. Liked this a lot at the recent Rising Stars Spanish tasting and I like it again here. Instant impression is of a big size with tons of bouquet and rich fruits set well into a labyrinthine structure. Good bit of skill working with very fine fruit.

Dalmau Reserva Rioja, Marqués de Murrieta 1999
€90, selected independents
Can't say this is worth the money. Look it's an excellent style but so are many others. I would prefer to see more substantive and a more lively fruit. It sits down in a leaden sort of way.

Colonial Estate Single Vineyard Grenache Alexander Laing, Barossa 2005
€63.99, selected independents
This is ageing too quickly for my liking. It gives the impression that it won't last the evening let alone the year! Clearly it will last but I'm not convinced this is what the Malthus team wanted to make in the first place(?)

Petaluma Cabernet-Merlot, Coonawarra 2004
€36.99, Dunnes Stores, selected independents
Lighter than last time I tried this. Its an accurate and clean wine with little else other than a lot of new word technique thrown against the fruit.


Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra 2003
NEW €71.99, selected independents
I'm sorry but I just don't understand this price tag against this level of quality and fruit. The latter are too low and the former too high!

Santa Rita Medalla Real Cabernet-Carmenere, Maipo Valley 2005
NEW €16.49, selected independents
Smokey and interesting. I like this. It seems to be unaware that it comes from Chile!

Santa Rita Pehuen Carmenere, Apalta 2004
NEW €62.99, selected independents
No. Don't like the bouquet and or the palate. Its that thick cloying style of Carmenere which makes this grape so good as a blender rather than as a varietal. I've tried some new and brilliant Carmenere styles recently: this 'aint one of them.

Colonial Estate Single Vineyard GSM John Speke, Barossa 2005
€63.99, selected independents

Outstandingly brilliant. See, I told you to stick around. You could 'nose' this wine all evening and continue to find new stuff tucked inside it to talk about ... it's lively and elegant and shows how wine can have personality and freedom both at the same time.

Gilbeys of Ireland Christmas Tasting 2008 White Wines

Interesting collection. My intro to to all of this in my last blog continues to be valid. Thank goodness for that. I only wrote it last week!

Read on and then follow up with a quick stab at Gilbey's Red Wines in my next blog.

Castello di Gabbiano Pinot Grigio, Tuscany 2006
NEW €12.99, selected independents
It's grand stuff and as expected. Delivers uniform wine: ticks melon and savoury boxes.

Louis Latour Mâcon-Villages Chameroy 2005
€12.99, selected independents
Nothing wonderful to report. Clean and accurate with light enough fruit and pleasant aftertaste

Louis Latour Le Chardonnay de Chardonnay Bourgogne 2006
NEW €19.99, selected independents
Now this does seem to be making an effort. Lots of bracing lemon character. Brilliant aperitif and salad wine - might even give it a whirl with a bit of lamb...

Joseph Drouhin Saint-Romain 2006
NEW €23.49, selected independents
Strangely old fashioned style with stalky and woody elements a bit too dominant. Absolutely love the chewy and dry finish. Food is must here - could probably do with a rich stew and a peat fire in the background.

Suavia Classico, Veneto 2006
NEW €16.49, selected independents
I got this! Almonds and light summer fruits. Great stuff.

Lunarossa Costacielo Fiano-Falanghina, Campania 2006
NEW €18.99, selected independents
Cracker. Lean and straw-like in its delivery; layered, persistent and charming. Unfortunately it's a Fiano and (mores the shame) they just don't sell.

Pazo Barrantes Albarino, Rias Baixas, Marqués de Murrieta 2006
€23.49, selected independents
Spiced finish is very good but middle palate is weak and surprisingly toothless.

Paul Jaboulet Ainé Condrieu Les Cassines 2006
€42.99, selected independents
Clumsy. Oak fruit ratios are all over the place and palate. Maybe it'll settle down in a year or two.

Colonial Vineyard L’Evangeliste Chardonnay Reserve, Barossa 2006
NEW €25.99, selected independents
Technically this is a very good wine. By that I mean that it ticks boxes with out giving the impression of having any passion or 'genuineness' to it. Too much technique. Maybe a bit of Malthus old world style should be added back in here with a backblend of some Semillon or a bit of old oak or something.....

Petaluma Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills 2004
€25.99, selected independents
As good as ever. Seems a bit oakier than last time I tried this. Moving forward they might try to play this down as even the mighty Katterina is showing less and less oak these days. Nevertheless the fruit here sings high enough to drown everything around it out. Classy wine making.

Gilbeys of Ireland Christmas Tasting: Table 1 Value for Money

I suppose if I want to be brutally honest this was introduced as an Autumn tasting but as there was a Christmas Dinner table of suggestions at the event I can mention Christmas...can't I?....before Halloween!

Gilbeys has always been here. In the distant past they used to even own their own small retail outlets. There's a tiny off-licence in Inchicore which used to be an old Gilbeys stand. Times change and companies move on. Gilbeys was part of the Grand Met stable for a good while and this of course is now wholly owned by Diageo.

In the early nineties Gilbeys ruled the roost with regards customer service, loyalty and leadership within the trade. All of that took a nose dive as personalities became remote and agencies became brands rather than wines. That works in markets bigger than Ireland. All it did over here was to open the door for a multitude of small companies to enter the personality driven sales market and for multiple grocers to plough their own buying furrows. It would be unfair to suggest that Gilbeys was the only 'big' company to travel this route but they were, after all, the market leaders.

Trade observers have remarked that Gilbeys is on the way back again with regards to service and trade responsibility. I hope so. Let's have a look at this weeks tasting within that context bearing in mind I found this to be an excellent tasting with some really fantastic wines (AND BEERS!).

I have my doubts as to whether all of these wines should be on the same list. That's obviously a decision for Gilbeys to take but I need to make the point that more and more product is often just a smoke screen for not quite knowing which direction the market is about to take.

There were five tables. I'll split them into separate blogs or you'll all fall fast asleep..

Table 1

VALUE FOR MONEY TABLE
Yellow Tail Pinot Grigio, South East Australia 2007 €9.99
Tesco, selected independents
YT might be be a yawn to the 'experts' but its sells well and every range has its high points. Within YT this Pinot Grigio is a bit pricey but is dry, reasonably accurate, savoury and just slightly off dry.

Le Petit Jaboulet Viognier, Vin de Pays Portes de Méditerrannée 2006
NEW €10.99, selected independents
I don't understand this. Jaboulet with a cheap looking label and a very ordinary wine?

Louis Latour Chardonnay, Ardèche 2006
€10.79, selected independents
This is good value but not for me. Too many like it from everywhere else! Latour should do better.

Cusumano Insolia, Sicily 2007
NEW €11.99, selected independents
Needs a bit of something to liven it up; soda water should do the trick.

Santa Rita Reserva Pinot Noir, Leyda 2006
NEW €13.99, selected independents
Excellent, very clean, rich and true style. Absolutely love the fresh and lively soft fruit. Seems as though it was bottled only yesterday!

Borie de Maurel Nature Red
NEW €11.99, selected independents
Just doesn't do it for me at all.

Castello di Gabbiano Chianti, Tuscany 2006
NEW €12.99 selected independents
Gabbianno we are told is the biggest selling Chianti in the US. I guess (?) its a Diageo property. Dirty nosed wine, fine stewed tea plate and not much of a finish. It's OK but there's stiff competition to this sort out there.

Cusumano Nero d’Avola, Sicily 2006
NEW €11.99, selected independents
Just like the white I don't get this. Why is it in a prestigious portfolio?

Le Petit Jaboulet Syrah, Vin de Pays Portes de Méditerrannée 2006
NEW €10.99, selected independents

Pours very very young, you know it's almost a frothy purple! Whole thing disappoints.

Am I wrong to think that Gilbeys is following the market looking for inexpensive Vin de Pays, Rose styles, Sexy Sicilians and pretend Pinot Grigios? Nothing inherently wrong with that; after all they are answering the needs of their customers. What might be a banana skin is that each of these should at least as good as the Santa Rita Pinot Noir if they aspire to the title of Good Value for Money. Good Value is not simply Cheap. It needs to deliver on the wine also!

Some cracking wines on the next tables. Follow on to the next Blog

Silent Setting for New Classics

Constellation Ireland trades as Allied Drinks. They had a silent tasting for the press yesterday. It was a precursor to their trade tasting of a range they describe as the New Classics or ' A New Collection of Modern Day Classics - Premium wines from leading winemakers around the world.'

Lofty thoughts from the worlds biggest wine company.

New Classics is a well bandied and well travelled term. Music, Literature, Cinema and many other arts have trod this pathway. Useful then that Constellation owns Mondavi and can bring the term home by quoting the Master himself, the late Robert Mondavi, 'Making good wine is a skill, fine wine an art.'

Oz Clarke of course coined the phrase New Classic Wines for the title of a book in the early nineties. It is very difficult to believe today that the concepts worked into that book were so original and so well expressed. I say difficult because the early nineties is not so long ago and yet most the ideas Oz postulated are now main stream thinking. It would be preposterous to think otherwise. His publishers site Mitchell Beazley expresses it brilliantly when they say, 'Oz sets out to define the meaning of a 'new classic' wine and determines that it is a state of mind as much as a matter of geography.'

While New Classics therefore is no any longer a new idea I would defend its relevance to today's market as much as it was relevant to the market Oz faced in the late eighties. If wine making aspires to being an art form, as opposed to being a commodity, then members of that trade must step forward with ideas and styles that redefine quality and its ultimate enjoyment. It is just fantastic that a company like Constellation recognises artists within its vast portfolio and is making a genuine attempt at showing their work to the wider world. It may have a whiff of Renaissance patronage about it; it might indeed be interpreted as being another corporate marketing ploy thought up by some 'clever clogs marketing thing' in a back office somewhere. So what? Let the artists speak for themselves. Let the wines show their potential and style. Let Oz Clarke write another New Classic Wines, because as this tasting and others show again and again there are as many New Classics from the Old World now as there are from the New One

While it would be unfair within the context here to review individual wine makers I have marked beside the following list wines that either surprised me or completely floored me they were so good! Sure a few of these are very expensive but as everyone knows there are a lot of expensive dumb wines out there and if you really want, or need to splash out some day its best to get a 'good one' than one of the others!!

Constellation has a few other wines and wine makers who were absent yesterday. This is because they are not represented on the Irish market by Constellation Ireland - Allied Drinks. I admit I missed seeing Inniskillin, Houghton , Veramonte and Bay of Fires within yesterdays context - especially some of the Inniskillin reds.

Fiona McDonald - Chateau Reynella, McLaren Vale, Australia

Simon Osicka - Leasingham, Clare Valley, Australia

Shiraz Bin 61 2005 - outstanding

Stuart Bourne - Barossa Valley Estates, Barossa Valley Australia

E Minor Chardonnay - incredibly fresh and evocative

Paul Lapsey - Hardy's Flagship Wines, Regional, South Australia

Eileen Hardy Shiraz 1999 - astonishing, well worth the €55.00 tag

Genevieve Janssens - Robert Mondavi, Napa Valley, California

Joel Peterson - Ravenswood, Sonoma Valley, California

Ravenswood's Old Vine Zinfandel and Sonoma County Zin just get better and better

Fransisco Baettig - Errazuriz, Regional, Chile

Max Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - outstanding: Best Value

Sena was my best wine at the show; a true Classic.

Alastair Maling - Villa Maria, Regional, New Zealand

Johan Joubert - Kleine Zalze, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Barrel Matured Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 surprised me. It's clean as a whistle, rich and ponderous.

Bruce Jack - Flagstone, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Dragon Tree Red really did impress with a Bruce Jack softness and, am I allowed to say quality plumpness? (He's the pirate top left!)

Nondumiso, Jacky & Nomvuyo - Ses'fikile, Somerset West, Sth Africa

Veronique Torcalacci - Gabriel Meffre, Rhone Valley, France

Laurus Crozes Hermitage 2005 is a cracker full of earth and edge

Carlo Ferrini - Ruffino, Tuscany, Italy

Vittorio Frescobaldi - Marchesi de' Frescobaldi, Tuscany, Italy

Both Remole 2006 and Chianti Castiglione 2005 really are fine wines. They are big and inviting and keep you waiting before delivering a whole history of wine making onto the palate. Brilliant wines. Brilliant wine making.

I love silent tastings- when they are silent. Hushed tones of the gallery when an occasional gasp signifies brilliance.

50 for 5 if your'e lucky mate!

Correct me if I'm wrong. Do I whine or do I bring issues forward. OK I do both!

This morning I toodled on down to my local Superquinn Store. Now Superquinn is a fabulous retailer of foodstuffs. It's a multiple grocer with a difference. In general that difference is worth noting.

I had in my hand, this morning, a list of all 50 wines in the Superquinn 'fire sale' of Italian wines.

50 WINES AT €5.00

Not only that but I had been promised an opportunity to snap up Bersano Barolo and Tomassi Amarone at the knock down bargain price of only FIVE EURO!

I was greeted at the store by large signs displaying five of the wines in the sale. I was overjoyed to see both my choices on the posters.

Recent changes to Irish law meant that no alcohol could be sold before 10.30am. I was safe. The sale area was closed off. It was only 9.30 and no-one in sight sniffing out my bargains!

I sidled through the barriers and began looking - there's no law against looking - and, looking down at my boots, casually asked the wine manager where I could find the Amarone. I was praying no one had heard me.

Well, she had heard me alright as she placed €5.00 neck tags across the Italian range. "We don't have any and we won't have any." I was devastated. "But the posters...," I , mumbled, "Ah you must have some somewhere," I pleaded. "Perhaps" she intoned," in one of our other stores....?"

I phoned Superquinn's flagship Blackrock store. Thank god for mobile phone technology.

"Ah no," I was told, "that stuff is sold out already."

"But," I pointed out, "the sale only starts at 10.30."

"There's customers all over the shop with bottles in their trolleys," the helpful man told me.

"But, they're only allowed six bottles each. How many customers are there?" I was getting tetchy. Stressed out. Anger began to form.

"Well, we only had a few cases in the first place."

Over the next half an hour I had fielded questions from half a dozen customers looking for their Amarone - bit rich really, after all it was mine in the first place..- I had contacted the Director of Consumer Affairs and spoken to the, very amiable, Wine Buyer for Superquinn

I was told that the wine was out there somewhere but no-one could tell me where. I was told that there was never any intention to have all of the 50 wines in any one single store! It was bit like that would have been more than a bit inconvenient.

Hey, the advertising and the signage never said anything about that!

I went through my list of 50 wines and found only 32 on sale at my local Superquinn. My local is Lucan which is one their premier wine selling stores and directly below the buyers office. He told me that the Amarone had been snapped up by someone earlier in the morning.

Then I should have seen him or them depending on how many bottles there had been on sale. Indeed they should have still been in the store because alcohol was still not scanning before 10.30!

No sign. No sign No sign at all. Ah my poor wine. Where have you gone to?

Super markets in Ireland are not allowed to advertise products as part of a sale that are not available. They are allowed to sell loss leaders. Most of the wine in this sale is being sold off a shade above the Excise duty plus VAT (you still get a 5% discount for buying six bottles!) All of the wine in this sale is fantastic value - well done Superquinn - but it is sharp practice to advertise the sale via wines that are unobtainable.

It is a four day sale and the best were not available before the sale even began. That's not fair and should not be allowed.

Wine Educating Educating Wine

It is a peculiar but a true statistic that Ireland has the most highly wine educated population in the world. At least, more of ‘us’ have done a wine course than more of ‘them’! Credit is due to the Wine Board of Ireland and the legion of wine stores and clubs who believe that this is a worthwhile exercise. A great deal of thanks is also due to the many thousands who have given up an evening a week and some hard earned cash to learn about wine.
The Irish wine trade is an adolescent. A few short years ago it was in its infancy. Most people who signed up for a wine course expressed a desire for confidence. They wanted to be able to go into restaurants and feel at ease with the wine list. They wanted to be able to scan super market shelves and buy a bottle that was genuine value and to their taste. Has it worked? Are we really an educated lot?

Not really. We are a confident bunch. The past few years of prosperity and wine growth in Ireland have proven that we are happy and at ease with our wine choices and our wine purchases. But, do we actually know anything about the subject and does it matter if we don’t?

Wine education usually takes on the role of a geography teacher with tasting glasses. So, we learn how grapes are grown (viticulture); how wine is made (vinification); where it all happens and why those regions are blessed with the ability to produce wine while others are not. Finally we are introduced to styles; still, sparkling; fortified; and the principal brands involved. Along the way our senses are introduced to examples of grape types, bouquets and sensations on the palate. There is an immense detail involved here. Success at learning most of this rests in the hands of a few good teachers. As teaching is a gift that few possess, and as most wine educators are unqualified to teach, most of the detail is forgotten very soon after the session has ended.
But nearly everyone who takes a wine course has a good time and so they recommend their friends to go along the next time and the cycle continues. The point is well made that the Irish are sociable and wine courses with the attendant tastings are social occasions.

One of the enlightening features of the wine trade is the willingness of producers to share their knowledge. This is true education. Drop into a winery unannounced and start asking questions. Any winery will do. There is a direct relation between the number of question asked at a winery and the amount of time and respect the wine maker will give to you. Wine Fairs are the epitome of this form of education/marketing. Wine makers will tour the world on a regular basis showing their wine. They spend most of their time answering questions from people they will never do any business with whatsoever! The moral here is that if you want to learn there are a lot of ‘teachers’ out there willing to give you their time.

Over the years I have met a few truly iconic wine teachers. One of these surprisingly is Jancis Robinson.

(The surprise is that she is a professional journalist.) She carries with her a tremendous depth of wine knowledge. She is capable, however, of cutting to the chase and giving audiences exactly what they need – whether they want to hear it or not!

Another is the Spanish legend Miguel Torres. He still runs a wine school for the wine trade, at Villa Franca in Penedes, where he personally delivers lectures. Here’s a guy who is CEO of one of the biggest wine empires in the world and he still wants to tell you how he got the grapes to grow in the first place!

Finally and not least by any means is Francisco Baettig. Francisco is Chief Winemaker with Errazuriz in Chile. Each year he chooses a topic such as, ‘Soils and their Influence on Wine Styles’ for an annual lecture. This is real ‘sit down and learn’ stuff. He holds nothing back. He might have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars researching something only to give the final info away for free. He must hold to the same maxim as I do – ‘You’re only as good as your next good idea’. He seems to have good ideas every time we meet.

Now that the Irish trade has moved from infancy to adolescence we should see a renewed interest in wine courses and education in general. This time around the interest will be a better mix of sociability and an eagerness to (re)build our knowledge behind the wine tastes we have learned to enjoy. It’s a good time for the trade. Now all we need are a few genuine teachers. They may be sommeliers, sales people, consumers, web sites, such as bookit.ie, or even journalists! This time around we shouldn't limit ourselves to classrooms. We need to realise that we can learn every time we open a bottle of wine. We can learn every time we read a wine list. We can learn every time we speak with a wine waiter or a sommelier. We can learn when we go on holiday. We can learn when we stay at home. Wine is just one of those things where the real lesson to learn is that your taste is as good and as important as anyone else’s in the world. If you want to learn more about it there is an eager team of helpers available to you. If you don’t then rest assured they will leave you alone. After all winemaking doesn’t stop until the bottle has been drunk and, hopefully, enjoyed.

Spains Rising Stars tasting

This was good. It took place last week. Space was cramped though. I felt sorry for the guys in the room 'Looking for Distribution'. Their wines ere well worth looking at, but shoulder to shoulder!

What did I like? I loved the fact that Rioja is finally being put into its place. I have nothing against Rioja but it has dominated the Spanish wine market for too long now. There are equally good regions in other parts of Spain which are beginning to blossom. Grab some old Garnacha today.

What did I not like? I hated some of the extortionate pricing out of Priorat and a few others. Also, while its brilliant to see Approach Trade showing its very fine portfolio off I'm not sure that only 3 wines out of 24 below a €15.00 retail is all that useful. Mind you tasting 16 above €20.00 is always fun.

There was a 'Christmas Room'. This was where the importers were asked to choose two wines which they thought would make a Christmas wish list from the attendees. We were asked to choose the best three whites out of 12 and the best five reds out of 32! It was tough as the wines weren't tasted blind. For what it's worth this, in no particular order, was my selection:

Whites

Mantel Blanco Verdejo Rueda 2007

Albarino de Fefinanes Rias Baixas 2007

Gran Fuedo Chardonnay Navarra 2007

Reds

Cyan Prestigio Toro 2002

Alba de Breton Rioja 2003

Museum Real Reserva Cigales 2003

Mas Irene Penedes 2003

Portia Ribero del Duero 2004

Now there's a fine collection of DO's!!

Errazuriz Brilliance

I was one the lucky few who attended the 8th Errazuriz Seminar in Dublin last Monday. Once a year Fransisco Baettig, chief winemaker at Errazuriz, comes to town and delivers a lecture. He chooses heavyweight topics and lets fly. It's brilliant.

This year his title was From Gravel to Grape. We were led down a path that lasted well on an hour and half. Over that time Fransisco guided us through the history of wine making in Chile; the geography of wine making in Chile and the exact science employed by Errazuriz when they go about developing a new vineyard.

Besides the detail of the lecture and the notes that Fransisco passed out there was a tasting where wines from various terroirs, clones and rootstock's were compared. It was refreshing to see how beneficial a poor soil can be to the finished wine compared to a fertile one!

I asked whether all of this science was being used to guide Errazuriz towards consumer preferences or was it being used to develop quality which Errazuriz could guide the consumer towards? Fransisco is adamant that it is the latter. Errazuriz, he says, clearly needs to understand what the consumer actually likes but in all historical markets there has been an appreciation of what constitutes a quality varietal. Once that has been achieved in the vineyard it's up to the wine maker to make the wine.

On the basis of this lecture Errazuriz has a very clear idea of the science involved and with Fransisco Baettig at the helm they have a wonderful opportunity to continue to make outstanding wines.

Great evening this year. Can't wait till next years.