A Wine Blog with a Focus on Fizz, Alsace and Australasia
I’ve already given my recommendations on Christmas wines to buy from Aldi Ireland and SuperValu; now it’s the turn of O’Briens and my selection of five whites and five reds which are not just very good wines, but also on offer! Guerrieri Rizzardi Lugana 2020 Straight to the point: this an excellent example of Lugana,… Continue reading Top 10 O’Briens Xmas Sale Wines
The Christmas Wine Sale is in full flow at Irish supermarket chain SuperValu. I’ve picked out 10 bargains which you should consider popping in your trolley this festive season. For transparency, note that these were either samples received recently or previously this year. 1. Gran Troya Cava Brut NV If you find most affordable Proseccos… Continue reading Top 10 SuperValu Xmas Sale Wines
After a brief pause, we now head back into the Frankly Wines Top 10s, this time to “Value Whites”. There are no hard and fast criteria for inclusion (apart from being a white wine, obviously), but the majority are among the less expensive wines to be found on the shelves in independent off-licences, off-licence chains… Continue reading Frankly Wines Top 10 Value Whites 2019
As Roses aren’t my area of expertise I’ve stolen borrowed some of the classifications from Wikipedia. Of course different species and cultivars are found in different places, depending on local climatic conditions – terroir. 10. Bracteatae – three species, two from China and one from India. 9. Caninae – pink and white flowered species from Asia, Europe and North Africa. 8. Carolinae – white, pink,… Continue reading Frankly Wines Top 10 Roses 2019
My interest in good and great bubbly is well known, so there are some crackers in my Top 10 Fizz this year. It’s dominated by Champagnes, which reflects both my preferences and the wines that I’ve been able to taste in the last year or so – but try as many as you can and… Continue reading Frankly Wines Top 10 Fizz 2019
It’s awards season, with the Golden Globes and Oscars over it’s now time for the Frankly Wines Top Tens. So here we go, kicking off with 10 fantastic white wines that I have really enjoyed in the past 12 months, and you should try to get hold of if you haven’t already: 10. Luigi Baudana “Dragon”… Continue reading Frankly Wines Top 10 Whites 2019
Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo and Syrah make up a good proportion of the reds I really enjoyed last year and will be looking to enjoy again soon: 10. Urlar Gladstone Pinot Noir 2014 (14.5%, RRP €23.95) When it comes to New Zealand Pinot Noir a lot of the bottles available in Ireland are from Marlborough. Although some… Continue reading Frankly Wines Top 10 Reds of 2017
Here are ten fantastic whites which really impressed me in 2017 and I plan on drinking more of in 2018! 10. Les Deux Cols Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Zéphyr 2016 (14.0%, RRP €22.99) “Les Deux Cols” translates literally as “The Two Hills” but also refers to the two founding colleagues Simon Tyrrell and Charles Derain. Now… Continue reading Frankly Wines Top 10 Whites of 2017
Here are ten of the reds which impressed me in 2017 and represent fantastic value for money: 10. Bodegas Salentein Portillo Pinot Noir 2014 (14.2%, RRP €12.99) An unusual grape for Argentina, Pinot Noir is much more often seen on the western side of the Andes, but this is a remarkably drinkable example from Bodegas… Continue reading Frankly Wines Top 10 Value Reds of 2017
2017 was another fantastic year of wine and I’ve been lucky to taste a great many superb wines. For the first time, this year my Top 10s include Value Whites and Value Reds as lower priced wines often lie in the shadow of their more expensive counterparts. Even so, there were many wines I had… Continue reading Frankly Wines Top 10 Value Whites of 2017