The wines

There are over 100 Different wines to sample from all across the wine world, reds, whites, roses, sparkling, fortified & dessert, with discounted prices for purchases made on the day. Nice.

When, where and how much?

Sunday 15th of November from 1pm –6pm, The Westbury Hotel.

To get a ticket (€25), drop into The Corkscrew wine shop on Chatham Street, ring them on 6745731 or email info@thecorkscrew.ie

Second of my visits to the Antipodes in a week. First Australia, now New Zealand.

Curious wines and Joyce Austin (from New Zealand Boutique Wines) presented a great range of New Zealand wines on Friday evening.

Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinotage. Whodathunkit? But we drunk it.

Anyhoo, Curious wines know how to put on a show and Joyce gave a fantastic overview of the wines and the industry in New Zealand.

Blind tasting

There was also a blind tasting of four wines, which made for a lively exercise for all attendees (wines were tasted without knowing grape, label or price). When we drink a wine we can bring many preconceptions into the experience. It’s a Cabernet? Oh, I must be getting blackcurrant, bell pepper. It’s €50, reassuringly expensive. It’s from Sancerre? Oh yes, you can taste the underlying flintiness from the soil. With blind tasting, you’ve got none of that, just your eyes, your schnozz and your gob.

One’s reputation was at stake.

The Wines

I’d had a few of them before, from previous vintages so it was nice to have another look at them.

It was also nice to taste a couple of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs side-by-side. They’re getting a reputation in some circles of “being all the same”. Clearly not the case.

Tussock Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Nelson (€13)

Grassy, gooseberry, passionfruit and all the typical traits of a New Zealand Sauvigon Blanc. Opens in a big way, with a soft finish and medium length. A better quality alternative for lovers of Oyster Bay or Montana, but not for me.

Waipara Springs Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Waipara (€15)

The winemaker behind this, Frank Manifold, previously worked for Cloudy Bay, the benchmark for Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand. It shows too. This was my favourite of the three tasted. Great balance, elegance, restraint and purity. All the great flavours of cut grass, tropical fruits and zippy fresh acidity but with great balance.

Greenhough Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Nelson (€16)

A very decent drop and about half way between the Waipara Springs and Tussock. Would go great with any food with goat’s cheese.

Mystery wine #1: Bilancia Reserve Pinot Grigio, Hawkes Bay (€20)

The first of the wines tasted blind. I went with a Chardonnay, and got it completely wrong. Rich, floral, oily and concentrated. Pear and peachstones. From Hawkes Bay, another of New Zealand’s up and coming areas. Absolutely delicious. Grapes of Sloth, One. Sour Grapes, Nil.

Waipara Springs Chardonnay 2007 (€15)

Chardonnay is back. The ABC brigade should sit up and take note. Not an in-your-face style, but one of style and grace. Finessed tropical fruit, butter on toast from gentle oak treatment. Loved this.

Mystery wine #2: Waipara Springs Riesling 2008

Racing acidity, lemon sherbert, white pepper. Had to be a Riesling. It was. Reputation ressurected. For now.

Mystery wine #3: Muddy Water James Hardwick Riesling 2008

Ultra dry, more lemon and acidity. Pink grapefruit in there too. Gorgeous

Mystery wine #4: Greenhough Gewurtztraminer 2008, Nelson (€17)

My notes were “Lychees, floral, pineapples, oily”. Yes, teacher. I was paying attention in class. Very similar to its Alsatian cousins a great drop too.

Finaly, on to the reds…

Waipara Springs Premo Pinot Noir, 2008, Waipara (€20)

This is just about to reach the shelves. I’d had it before (see the video post here) and was suitably impressed. Pure, clean, raspberry, sour cheery cherry are the notes I tweeted. Fresh, great acidity and my pick of the night.

Greenhough Pinot Noir 2006, Nelson (€17.65)

More herbs, more smokiness and a bit of liquorice in there besides the obvious raspberry and cherry goodness. On special at the moment at €15, a bloody bargain. Deal, steal, sale of the century and top candidate for the Christmas dinner.

Muddy Water Pinotage 2006, Waipara (€20)

Pinotage is a South African grape, a genetic cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault produced first in the 1920’s. It’s often the whipping boy of the wine world but Pinotage does have loyal fans, Peter May of The Pinotage Club being one of its most ardent.

I’ve tasted about 20-30 Pinotage wines. Back when South African wine specialist, Vaughan Johnson’s in Temple Bar was open, they regularly had them open. It was never to my taste with the sole exception of the Diemersfontein mocha-style wine, which seems to have a cult-like following.

Understandably, I had my doubts about this one – the folly of bringing a perceived poor South African grape to New Zealand baffled me, at least in theory.

However, I was really impressed. Very different to the Diemersfontein from South Africa, this is more of a deep bodied rustic wild style – big sweet juicy cherries with a soft and smooth texture.  It was gorgeous.

Wonder what the South African’s think of how well this is made? A ballsy move by Muddy Water, the makers and also by Curious wines to bring it in, but one that will truly reward the adverturous wine drinker.

Not a good wine show, a great wine show

This wasn’t just a wine tasting – it was a wine show. Great wines, great energy and great education from Mike and David Kane, and of course from Joyce Austin. With The Good Wine Show coming up this weekend in Cork, I’d recommend you buy a ticket here.

While Australia and Chile battle it out for the hearts, minds and wallets at the “entry-level” in supermarkets, there’s a little bit of work to do to convince punters to reach for an Aussie for that special occasion, whether as an anniversary gift, father’s day etc. or when out for a nice meal.

So. that’s the challenge facing Australian wine and a challenge which has been met head on. Last week, John McDonnell of Wine Australia hosted a tasting with Dermot Nolan (Master of Wine).

The theme was Landmark Australia and Dermot talked through some of Australia’s finest wines and recounted his experience at the Landmark Australia Tutorial earlier in the year.

What is Landmark Australia?

We’re probably all familiar with Wolf Blass, Jacob’s Creek, Hardy’s, Wyndham Estate and more recently Yellow Tail and many of the other “critter” labels. Traditionally, they’ve been the cheaper wines (below €15 range) available in most supermarkets. Most of them are remarkably consistent, but that can lead to genericism or homogeneity.

But wine at this level is highly commoditised and only through considerable marketing and advertising spend, can a wine break through. But there is another path.

Enter Australian Fine Wine

There’s another side to Australian wine which we haven’t seen enough of over here, apart from some isolated pockets – the premium or fine wine segment. It’s about quality and regionality. It’s also an aspirational philosophy where Australian wines and wine makers can aspire to greatness – the greatness previously reserved for the Romanée Conti or the Mouton Rothschilds of the wine world.

The Landmark Australia Tutorial

The Landmark Australia Tutorial took place in June this year.

The tutorial is all about exposing the great wines of Australia to a panel of experts from around the world. To present Australia as being capable of producing wines of an outstanding quality and equal to anywhere else. Ireland’s very own Dermot Nolan (MW, Master of Wine) was one of only twelve influential wine people invited to attend.

The format of the tutorial is based on what was the “Len Evans tutorial”, where some of Australia’s best winemakers were brought together to taste some of the best wines from around the world. The purpose of this tutorial was to give the Australian winemakers a target or benchmark to aspire to and beyond.

This year, Paul Henry, Wine Australia’s General Manager for Market Development, took this format and opened it up to the outside world for the first time.

“The intention of the Landmark Australia Tutorial is to create a forum for people to discover and debate the voice of our top Australian wines. It should serve as a rallying point for informed wine opinion, and aspires to be the most influential residential wine course in the world. It certainly promises to be the most authoritative and extensive exploration of Australian fine wine yet undertaken.”

He went on to say,

“The world should be much more familiar with the contribution Australia can make as a producer of fine wine, and also as a leading exponent of exceptional cuisine, cutting edge hospitality and inspiring regional tourism.”

Bringing the experience to Dublin

John McDonnell from Wine Australia and Dermot Nolan got together to bring the Landmark Tutorial experience to Dublin and present some of the wines and the stories behind them. It was a cracking tasting.

Brown Brothers “Patricia” Sparkling Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, King Valley, Victoria, 2004.

Made in the Méthode Traditionelle (i.e. like Champagne) You can taste it too with an outstanding butter on toast on the nose (autolytic character).

Mount Horrocks “Watervale” Riesling, Clare Vally, South Australia 2005.

Beautiful full flavoured Riesling with a great balance. Hint of kerosene on the nose, which made for interesting discussion/debate around the table.

Pewsey Vale “The Contours” Riesling, Eden Valley, South Australia 2002.

Vines planted in 1962, Subtle stonefruits and pineapple on the finish, a more muted Riesling than its younger Clare Valley neighbour.

Pewsey Vale Rhine Riesling, Eden Valley, 1980.

This wine didn’t make it to the tasting but there was an interesting story behind the screwcap – one of the first wineries to go screwcap in the late seventies, which nearly killed them commercially. Punters weren’t ready for it. Too ahead of their time. In contrast, it’s estimated that nearly 80% of Hunter Valley Semillon is ruined through various cork faults.  Screwcap seems to be on the up and up. Jamie Goode has a whole book dedicated to wine bottle closures.

Peter Lehmann “Margaret” Barossa Semillon, Barossa Valley 2003

Not a grape I’ve had much of, a bit of a tough sell, to be honest. Deep yellow, nose of beeswax and honey, toast and eucalyptus, tastes of orange peel with great length.

Leeuwin Estate “Art Series” Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia 2003.

Butter, hot milk and honey, nutmeg. The bigger Chardonnays are back but they’ve lost a little weight and looking fantastic.

Penfolds “Yattarna” Chardonnay 2006.

The best of grapes sources from Tasmania, Adelaide Hills and Henty in Victoria – over three states and quite a distance to produce this opulent, big and confident Chardonnay. I loved this. Fantastically made wine.

Yabby Lake Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 2007.

This impressed a lot of the wine folk at the tasting and I was no exception. Rich concentrated cherries, aniseed, oak all perfectly aligned. More of this, please. Gorgeous.

TarraWarra “MDB” Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, Victoria 2006.

Another shining example of what Victoria can do with Pinot. Beautifully soft strawberry yoghurt velvet texture.

Banockburn “Serré” Pinot Noir Geelong, Victoria 1997

A Pinot Noir with a bit of age, gamey, prune, raw steak on the nose, beautifully soft, mellow and secondary fruit in the mouth. Just absolutely amazing and my favourite of the day. Can stand tall alongside the Grand Crus of Burgundy.

Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Western Australia 2004

Blackcurrant, menthol, nutmeg. A thick structured and smooth blackcurrant dominated wine. Very decent drop.

Henschke “Cyril Henschke” Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Eden Valley South Australia 2002.

A more restrained, precise, almost sweeter than the Cape Mentelle. A really good example of what Australia can do with Cabernet/Merlot blends.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate “John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, South Australia 1990

A classic style which belies its 20 years, soft prunes and plums, smooth silky palate with hints of liquorice. Wow.

Mount Langi Ghiran “Langi” Shiraz, Grampians, Victoria 2006

Thick, concentrated, mocha, smooth elegant velvet with grippy tannins at the end. Very different Shiraz style to those from the Barossa and McLaren.

Brokenwood “Graveyard Vineyard” Shiraz, Hunter, New South Wales 1998

Pure elegance in a glass. No age in the glass, either and most like a northern Rhône if we allow ourselves to compare.

All fantastic wines, and as you can see from the video above, they impressed some of the cream of the Irish wine scene, no mean feat.

So, when looking for that Christmas present, Father’s Day or Anniversary Gift will I be going to Australia? No way, I’ll be keeping them for myself.

Wine morketing experts the world over are busy little bees figuring out how to get us to trade up to the next price point towards an aspirational fine wine nirvana.

However, Centra (equivalent to 7 Eleven for my many many US readers) have used the interpretation of the Irish exasperated female expression “I’m fine, okaaaayy” to describe their range in a bid to get more trade from WSET Diploma students.

John McDonnell of Wine Australia is hosting a consumer wine event with John Wilson, wine writer for the Irish Times on Tuesday 24th November in Fallon & Byrne in Dublin.

During the summer John Wilson was given the enviable task of drawing up his selection of favourite Australian wines. The task wasn’t to draw up a list of Australia’s finest wines, but as John says,

“My first criteria for choosing these wines was very simple; would I be happy to share a bottle of any of them with my friends? The answer had to be yes. The list is certainly not a definitive gathering of the greatest wines of Australia, although I have included a fair number of these. It is my personal choice of the best Australian wines I have enjoyed over the last year.”

The task is now complete (with a final count of 70 wines) which covers all styles, regions and prices.

When & Where?

• Tuesday 24th November, 6.30pm – 8.30pm
• The Function Room at Fallon and Byrne, 11-17 Exchequer Street, Dublin 2

Tickets

Tickets cost €20  and are available from ireland@wineaustralia.com or 065 7077264.

Fledgling Wine

The project is called Fledgling Wine and you can read the full story and buy the wine (US only) over on fledglingwine.com

At the moment, there are two wines, a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay, retailing at $20 a pop but they’re not yet bottled – they’re en primeur or “futures”.

The Pinot Noir

The Pinot is described thus,

For this special wine project, Crushpad has sourced grapes from some of the top Pinot vineyards on the West Coast including Amber Ridge, La Encantada, and Doctor’s. The goal is to deliver a wine that exudes tons of “Pinot-osity” and massively over-delivers for the price. Think a $40+ bottle of wine for $20. Plus, $5 per bottle going to Room to Read, promoting literacy around the world. The wine is being crafted by Crushpad’s acclaimed winemaking team which has garnered many mid-90s scores from major critics.

Old vines

The Eternum Viti is made from vines with an average age of over 50 years (the older, the less grapes are produced, the more concentrated the flavours).

Tinta de Toro: It’s Tempranillo, Jim, but not as we know it

The grape variety is “Tinta de Toro”, what they call Tempranillo in these parts. Nothing like a Rioja Tempranillo, though, this one is much, much bigger.

Oak barrels

The wine is aged in a mix of new and used French and American oak for 10 months, giving it vanilla, leather and a hint of spice.

Tasting verdict

Looks like: Dark, thick, almost (but not quite) viscous.

Smells like: blackcurrant, with a good mix of leather and liquorice.

In the gob: full flavoured blackcurrant, rich yet well balanced and velvety with hints of spice towards the end.

Goes well with: on its own or with red meat.

Parker Points: 90 (if you’re into that sort of thing)

For €15, this is a bloody good wine and one I think is well worth the purchase.

Where? Available in Dublin from the Corkscrew on Chatham Street.

I hung out with Darth Maul and the Joker for a while, but they were eerily quiet. Lucky for me Mark Congiusta, head of digital in Ireland International Proximity, was a little more talkative and I got chatting to him about the Santa Rita 120 Local Hero campaign and the Santa Rita-Irish connection.

A major part of the drive is Facebook, so head on over to facebook.com/santarita120 and nominate your local hero.

Bernardo O’Higgins

Irishman Bernardo O’Higgins is synomous with Chile’s war of independence and apparently it was Bernardo who inspired the Santa Rita 120 wine collection name. Hmmm.

As the story goes, during the war of independence, O’Higgins and 120 of his men retreated to lick their wounds in Santa Rita’s wine cellars. After a couple of bottles of wine the heroic Irishman (by now a little drunk) became the first head of the Chilean Independent Republic.

Maybe the Irish rebellious streak explains why we drink so much of the stuff here. It’s Ireland 4th biggest wine brand.