In the absence of reports from those (unable to attend this time) who kindly usually review our meetings online in the blink of an eye after the portcullis at Blackrock has slammed shut, I’m posting a summary of Thursday’s meeting of the Blackrock Castle Wine Club, the second of the year and of the club, which looked at and tasted some wines from the world’s largest wine-producing region, the Languedoc-Roussillon in the south of France.

Generalizations really don’t mean much at all when discussing such a huge and diverse vineyard, but I did my best to supply enough fragments of information for those present to piece together their own interpretation of the night’s theme.

We talked (I shouted) about
history: Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Huns, Visigoths, Saracens, Normans, Cathars &c.
grapes: Aramon, Alicante Bouschet, Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Mourvèdre (whoops forgot Cinsault); Grenache blanc and Grenache gris, Roussanne, Marsanne &c.
rules and regulations: AOC Languedoc, Vin de Pays d’Oc, Vin de Table, defrauding the Americans (the Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir episode), defrauding the Chinese (400,000 bottles of counterfeit Mont Tauch Fitou), sequestration of the Costières de Nîmes AOC into the Rhône Valley catchment, &c.
food: The magnificently just-right early menu offered by our hosts at the Castle Trattoria;  and all the furred, feathered and even bristly things you should kill and eat with these wines,

and in between times there was practical investigation and debate of the following wines from our list:

I forgot to ask for a show of hands about who liked what most, least, and so on. If you were present on the night and disappointed that I denied you the chance to articulate your views, please follow the links through to each wine you felt strongly about and have your say in the LouderVoice review box you’ll find there. Stars out of five and a comment would be lovely.

Mas des Bressades Cuvée Tradition Blanc 2008 €13.00
À Manduel, AOC Costières de Nîmes
50% Roussanne, 5% Marsanne, 35% Grenache Blanc, 10% Viognier
(Click the bottle to find out more & buy or review it)

Mas des Bressades Cuvée Excellence Blanc 2009 €17.50
À Manduel, AOC Costières de Nîmes
70% Roussanne, 10% Grenache Blanc, 20% Viognier
(Click the bottle to find out more & buy or review it)

Château de la Tuilerie Cuvée des Amours 2006 €12.50
À Nîmes, AOC Costières de Nîmes
60% Syrah, 20 % Grenache, 20% Carignan
(Click the bottle to find out more & buy or review it)

Château la Villatade Minervois 2006 €14.50
À Sallèles, AOC Minervois
50% Syrah, 30% Carignan, 20% Grenache
(Click the bottle to find out more & buy or review it)

Château Jouclary Cuvée Guilhaume 2006 €21.00
À Conques-sur-Orbiel, AOC Cabardès
60% Merlot, 20% Syrah, 20% Grenache
(Click the bottle to find out more & buy or review it)

Domaine Rimbert Le Mas au Schiste 2005 €18.50
À Berlou, AOC Saint Chinian
60% Carignan, 20% Syrah, 10% Cinsault, 10% Grenache
(Click the bottle to find out more & buy or review it)

Domaine Rimbert El Carignator II VDT NV €29.00
À Berlou, Saint Chinian
100% Old Carignan
(Click the bottle to find out more & buy or review it)

Mas des Bressades Cabernet Syrah 2006 €17.50
À Manduel, vin de pays du Gard
70% Cabernet, 30% Syrah
(Click the bottle to find out more & buy or review it)

Mas Amiel Vintage Blanc 2006 75cl 16% €30.00
À Maury, AOC Maury
100% Grenache Gris
(Click the bottle to find out more & buy or review it)

Mas Amiel Mini Maury 37cl 16% €15.00
À Maury, AOC Maury
100% Grenache Noir
(Click the bottle to find out more & buy or review it)

The overwhelming impression I got from talking to people on the night of this second meeting is that we are getting the balance pretty much right. It strikes me as presumptuous, though, to think that we can let nature take its course now that we’ve harvested and crushed the grapes. That may be an approach for the more experimental winemakers, but a bit of application in the cellar can be no bad thing when it comes to dealing with the diverse blend of opinions and expectations we’re constellating at Blackrock Castle.

It was very hard work (hooray!) to find anyone who would offer proper constructive criticism, by which I mean suggestions about how we might improve the way the club is run. Finally I managed to get some ideas about what might be done differently for everyone’s good. I’ll put these into a separate post because this one has gone on long enough, and I daresay you have homes to go to.

The overwhelming appeal of a champagne tasting in dingy January seems not to have been a bubble that went on to burst. We have been inundated with bookings for our tasting in dingy February (this Thursday 25th, in fact), too.  I’ll be introducing some wines from the south of France and attempting to exchange some useful information with the audience along the way.

One of the comments made to us after January’s launch of the wine club was that the event was just a little too well-attended for everyone’s comfort, so this time we have done our best to restrict numbers, as courteously as possible, to rather fewer than then.  We’ll keep making adjustments as necessary, in line with what people tell us, until we feel we’ve got it right.

If you‘ve been disappointed, I’m very sorry – the success of the wine club so far has taken us by surprise.  A good complaint, it’s been said, and of course that’s true.
If you would like to make sure of a place at our next tasting (looking at the variety of white wines that come in tall bottles), on Thursday 25th March, then the thing to do is buy your ticket now, by following this link.
If you‘d like to sign up for the remaining eight tastings of the year, then you can do that, too: this is the place.

But until now we’ve never represented any of the grandes marques, the internationally recognized champagne houses that form a First Division (those of you who have continued to follow English association football since the division names succumbed to bling in 2004 will have to concoct your own comparison).

So it is a matter of some moment that we can now offer two champagnes from the grande marque house of Louis Roederer: the non-vintage Brut Premier, which delivers very great refinement at an ordinary price (by the standards of champagne); and the ultra-luxurious Cristal 2002, which we’re selling at a very competitive price (by the standards of Cristal, otherwise it’s obviously eye-wateringly expensive).

There was a certain amount of hoo-ha concerning Cristal in the early two thousands AD, a period when some prominent rappers were especially vocal about their appetite for the stuff and, by implication, their financial capacity to satisfy that appetite.

In an interview with the Economist, the managing director of Louis Roederer made some neutral remarks to the effect that if people wished to buy Cristal, then that was their business, and that other prestige brands might be feeling a little envious.  The writer of the article unfortunately interpreted these urbanities to mean that the champagne house considered the rappers’ enthusiasm “unwelcome attention”, and not surprisingly there were wigs on the green when word reached New York.

But, as news, that is very flat bubbly indeed, and a poor excuse for a cheesy old title for this post.

What is lepping fresh, however,  is our having in stock two new-to-us, delicious champagnes, one at least of which you should try out whenever undemonstrative excellence is required in yer glass.

Laurence Veale, wine blogger and wine journalist too, visited Christopher at the Bubble Brothers stand and liked what he tasted. (From what I gather, other people at the press-and-trade-only tasting were also impressed). Here’s his video analysis:

After that, we thought we should hold a tasting here at the Marina for those of us who weren’t able to go to Dublin, and pleasurable it was. We don’t have too many varietal Cabernets on the list, though customers often ask for them, so we paid special attention to those.

I’ll leave our other discoveries for another time, but the Cycles Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon is going straight on to our list. In fact, we pulled the communication cord on an order we’d already placed, so that we could add a few cases of the Cab and introduce it to our customers as soon as possible.

The thing that struck us was the careful balance of sweet, ripe, fruit with depth and structure. It’s not a difficult wine to like, but there’s much more to it than blackcurrant jam, and the second glass is just as tempting as the first – it doesn’t give that impression of effortful over-extraction that quickly palls. What’s more, or rather less, the alcohol content is an unremarkable 13½% – downright modest by the standards of California.

I’ve just found out that I was mistaken in thinking I attended this fair last year. No, wasn’t the year before, either. Or the year before that. This very blog says it was 2006. Just goes to show time flies when you’re having fun in the wine business.

Speaking of past blasts and so on, here’s young Mr Veale’s report on the Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir, for those who like a bit of scandal:

The little refrain I tend to murmur to our customers is that last year’s uncertainties about money led more and more people to cook and eat at home, with consequences beneficial to anyone thinking of starting a wine club:

• • people tried out a few new recipes, often cooking from scratch;
• • the pleasures and perils of inviting friends to dine were given new exposure;
• • the value of wine recommended by your friendly, local &c. merchant vs glumly shopping by price on a restaurant list was rediscovered and discussed;
• • and a common sense of adventure combined with Tigerish competitive urges in shopping and in cooking.

Suddenly, spending time in other people’s company while getting the low-down on how to pick a winner from the wine shelves, not to mention the satisfaction of a little gentle learning for its own sake, seemed like a fun thing to do. Six generous tastes of different champagnes for €20 (€25 if you paid on the door) is a good deal in itself, I’d have thought.

But, still and all, we were astonished at the reponse to our new venture. As usual, some of those present had their accounts of the evening published almost before we’d finished saying goodnight to everyone. Thank you very much for speedy publication, Brian Clayton, who couldn’t resist remarking upon

…some videos that appear to have been produced in the 70s by the Champagne tourist board.
They were long on style (more realistically 70’s porno chic) and a little short on facts.

You can read the rest of Brian’s post here.

Elke O’Mahony of Cork’s Dine and Wine Club, who also almost instantaneously reviewed each of the wines tasted on her blog, will be choosing her champagne with new confidence from now on:

Billy’s knowledge of the wine makers, procedures and wine industry is amazing and we learned a lot at the night…

I’ve already received one or two pieces of constructive criticism from other people present, so we’re thinking about the best way to make sure that:

• • everyone can hear what’s being said;
• • everyone tastes each wine while it’s being introduced and discussed;
• • if necessary, and with as much notice as possible, we limit numbers fairly.

If you were with us on Thursday, and have some suggestions to make, this is the place to do it. Alternatively, send us an e-mail and I’ll add your ideas to the blend already in the fermentation tank.

In the meantime, we’re looking forward to the next tasting on February 25th, which will introduce some wines from the Languedoc in southern France.

I thought it would be helpful to sell temporary membership – one meeting’s worth – in advance, so you can book your place at the February tasting @ €25 here.

If , however, you’d like to sign up for the remaining nine sessions of our 2010 season, you can do so here @ €180.

…spem sine corpore amat, corpus putat esse, quod umbra est.

(“He loves an unsubstantial hope and thinks that substance which is only shadow”)

Don’t make, or think I’m making, Narcissus’ mistake.

It’s a bit of a week for us, interview-wise.  The distinguished speaker at Thursday’s inaugural meeting of the Blackrock Castle Wine Club and my colleague at Bubble Brothers, Mlle Valérie Ravillon, has been grilled by the Cork Evening Echo, which is fair enough in my view seeing as she’s a local celebrity – or about to be one.

I’m not so sure that the same paper really needs not one, but two, tuppenceworths, from me.  One piece was about wine, so no problem there: it rather goes with the territory; but the other one was the sort of  Desert Island Discs-y thing that would be interesting if it were about someone you’d heard of,  in the public eye, &c.  I’m just embarrassed, and should warn you not to believe everything you read in the papers, in case you didn’t know that already.

And then, by pure chance, good old Robert Francis Wine publishes more of my evasions today.

As Charlie Brown might say, good grief.

If you dare to court controversy, you should give the Gladiator wines a try.  There aren’t many Californian wines in Ireland occupying the lush pastures between the summits of very expensive and very cheap, and we’re naturally pleased to be able to offer such great value from the USA.

If there’s sufficient enthusiasm from the Irish trade, we may consider adding some of their less flying-bicycle-ladyish cousins to our list, too.

Tip for visitors: see how your professional dignity is getting on among all those 14% plus wines, by regularly dropping into conversation the name of the Californian state flower.  It’s the eschscholzia.

Now twitter is to be the venue for a dinner party co-ordinated by unfeasibly energetic, musical, youthful &c. Dublin cook Donal Skehan.  He’s come up with a three course menu, and will post recipes and shopping advice over the next few days.  Between now and Saturday, if you’re joining in, you buy the ingredients, cook the meal and enjoy the results, using twitter to share the ups and downs with everyone else following.

Someone using twitter dropped me in it by suggesting that I might offer recommendations for wines to suit Donal’s menu.   I don’t mind, really – it’s rather flattering.   Here are my thoughts on the matter, though please don’t treat this as something you can Get Wrong (or Right).  You can’t.   It’s not a test.  It’s for fun.

To read more about it and to have a look at the menu, head over to the Good Mood Food blog.  Twitter people, #twinnerparty is where it is at.  wine-searcher.com is a handy search engine for wines, if you’re looking for something in particular.

Goat’s cheese salad
I’ve tasted some Sicilian whites (look out for Cataratto, Grillo, Inzolia grapes – sometimes blended with Chardonnay, or with each other) that would do well here with the earthiness of the beetroot and the pronounced flavour of the cheese – something neutralish, with nutty aromas, good acidity and a little fullness in the mouth. A dry prosecco – very popular, and fun – might fit the bill, too, and is probably easier to find.

Roast chicken
A Chardonnay with a little oak would do nicely, but the honey and parsnips make me think the aromatic qualities and rich body of a Viognier would really be a good match. A quick look around suggests that you’ll find interesting examples in Ireland from all around the world – not just the grape’s home in the Rhône Valley in France.

Red drinkers should try something that will complement, not overpower, the flavours of the food. I’m fond of the Beaujolais cru wines (all made from the Gamay grape) with roast chicken: Fleurie is the most well-known, but there are nine other villages to choose from. Look out for a Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, or Juliénas. If they’re a few years old, so much the better. Pinot Noirs from the New World: New Zealand or California, say, are a reliable, juicy choice too.

Banoffi pie
If you’re still going, we have a brilliant, inexpensive Spanish dessert wine, made from the sherry grape Pedro Ximenez, to go with this: sweet enough to match the pie, but with a spine of acidity that gives it its own identity among all that sweetness.
With all due respect to the mighty banoffi, I wouldn’t break the bank. A half bottle of any fully sweet white dessert wine would be worth investigating here. Might need a glass of water on the side, though.

I hope you all have fun on Saturday – I look forward to reading what happens.

(If this looks like a draft rather than the full gale, so it is.  Progress has put the kibosh on uploading pictures for the moment, and I’m not getting prompter with things generally as the years go by.  My apologies. But I did want to get part (ii) up before part (i) had turned to dust.  Hate to miss a segue.)

Bubble Brothers are sponsoring the first round-the-world bicycle ride by Irishmen.
One of these stout chaps had his iPod stolen from him in Tashkent.
Apple, makers of iPods, are in Cork.
We, the sponsors of Revolutioncycle, are in Cork.
I asked Apple if they would consider doing the knight in shining armour routine.
They did.
Wow.  Yippee.
They dished out an engraved replacement iPod, which was delivered to the circumnavigators with their winter weather bundle a month or two ago.
Simon’s thoughts across the countless miles once again have a soundtrack.
I think that was thoroughly decent of Apple.
I invited the local press to make a fuss, but somehow the story didn’t grab them.

This has helped the likes of Bubble Brothers, who have interesting, varied wines to suit the interesting, varied outcomes of home cooking.

However, wine is all very well for you enlightened, progressive folk who embrace the benefits of international commerce without a second thought; some of us, who feel queasy about every novelty from beech trees to the loom and beyond, can’t help wondering if all the hoo-ha about wine shouldn’t have a local equivalent of some kind. Don’t talk to me about beer. It’s too painful. How can there be so few choices in a country that has the ingredients mostly to hand, and such a quantity of pubs? But that’s a debate for another day, and I’m hardly qualified to comment.

Paying more attention to apples and what you can make from them would be a step in the right direction, though. What inspired me to put this post up was this recent crisp windfall from the extensive orchards of Blake Creedon, who is nobody’s fool:

…of course the whole apples/juice/cider thing fits in perfectly with the local-and-in-season aspiration which has all but supplanted organics as the foodies’ touchstone…

but who nonetheless thinks it odd that we’re not

fluent in, for instance, Irish apples and their terroirs…

I couldn’t agree more. It would help us all feel a little less foolish with making the wine-speak if were used to flexing our epithets discussing the good things that grow here relatively uncomplainingly.

If you’re one of the people I’ve spoken to who is making wine in Ireland, please don’t take offence. Nor if you’re one of the people who is doing great things with apples already.

I know the climate can be more than a little mouldy here, and that the fine, balanced acidity of apples from, say, England can be hard to achieve, but a little bit of effort with varieties that have shown their worth here in the past, or even – gasp – modern strains could work wonders in the redevelopment of an indigenous food culture. Wouldn’t it be great to have a local cider?

If you’d like to have a go yourself, Cork Free Choice Consumer Group will be meeting at the Crawford Gallery in the centre of Cork on Thursday 28th at 7.30pm, when two very experienced fruit growers, Con Traas and John Howard, will be speaking on the topic of growing your own fruit.

If you do go along, you’ll miss the launch of our new wine club, which takes place on the same evening.  Decisions, decisions.