Family-owned Marlborough winery Astrolabe make some excellent Sauvignon Blancs including their Province Sauvignon Blanc and Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc. The full range made at the winery is significantly more extensive than is available to us here in Ireland, but one relatively new release here is their Chenin Blanc Sec from Marlborough’s Southern Valleys:
Astrolabe Southern Valleys Sec Chenin Blanc 2020
Chenin Blanc is up there with Riesling as one of the most versatile grape varieties around – it makes great sparkling wine, and still wines that can range from bone dry to intensely sweet. Outside of South Africa it hasn’t had the same press as Riesling, however – how many winemakers outside Europe dream of making a great Chenin compared to dreams of Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir?
Marlborough’s long, cool growing season is perfect for aromatic varieties, and while Sauvignon Blanc is the runaway favourite there it has also been a successful home to Riesling, Grüner Veltiner and others. So why not Chenin?
In the glass this Southern Valleys Chenin Blanc pours a bright straw yellow, something that sets it apart from Marlborough Sauvignon. The nose is fruit driven with notes of apple blossom, orange peel, pink grapefruit and some pip fruit. The palate is all Tarte Normande1, minerals, honey and fresh citrus.
So yes, this wine definitely has some sweetness. It’s labelled as a “Sec” i.e. a dry wine, but dry doesn’t always mean dry. In Champagne, for example, a Sec has between 17 and 32 g/L of residual sugar, with demi-sec above that at 32 to 50. Tellingly, the Astrolabe product page for this wine did have demi-sec in its description before being corrected.
In the end it’s not the amount of residual sugar on its own that determines how sweet a wine tastes, the flavours and acidity profile have a significant effect. I would classify this wine as off-dry, but more importantly as delicious!
Liberator Wines is the brainchild of Englishman Richard Kelley under his alter ego Rick. After I was kindly sent a couple of bottles to try by Irish distributor Boutique Wines I was interested in finding out more about the operation.
Much of the detail below is sourced from an interview he did with my friend Lee Isaacs aka WineMan147 – you can watch the whole thing on his website Freestyle Wines.
Richard Kelley MW
Rick the Chenin Evangelist (source: Liberator Wines Twitter)
If you were to choose a hypothetical background for a Master of Wine, you probably wouldn’t dream that he or she came from a family of teetotallers. However, for Richard Kelley MW that was precisely the case – his parents didn’t drink at all. Leaving school at 16 might not be expected either, but the following nine years he spent as a chef makes perfect sense; food is often a gateway to wine.
Fast forward to the end of Kelley’s MW studies and his thesis was on the importance of temperature control in red wine making in the Old World versus the New World, with South Africa used as the New World example. Two weeks after finishing his MW course he moved to South Africa to live and work, initially for a six month contract which ended up lasting seven years. He even met his expat Welsh wife in the Republic. He built up a fantastic network of contacts down there and of course receives respect from his MW qualification.
Liberator Wines
The premise of Liberator Wines is that some talented winemakers have a special wine in their cellar but don’t know what to do with it. The wine could be in barrel, tank, or bottle, labelled or not labelled. Kelley terms them “vinous orphans looking for a home”, and rather than being blended away or sold as bulk wine they are allowed to shine. The producer gets a better price and the consumer gets a good wine at a good price.
Each wine – or “episode” – gets a different label which reflects the story behind it. After all, as Kelley notes, consumers respond to storytelling, not pH levels. In this regard I think there are strong parallels with Pieter H Walser’s BlankBottle wines (though of course they are all vinified and matured in house).
The wines are sourced from some of the best winemakers in the country – Eden Sadie and André van Rensburg are given as examples – though their identity is sometimes kept off the label. Quantities also differ for each episode, ranging from a single barrel (30 cases) up to 1,600 cases. The sources, styles, varieties and price points can all vary, but the wines will always be under the Liberator label and be from South Africa.
It took five years to get to Episode No. 5, but the pace has since picked up considerably. Kelley now has winemakers contacting him (“we have something you might be interested in”) rather than him having to hunt for everything.
Below are my notes on two Episodes I tried earlier this year:
Liberator Wines Episode 29 Chenin No. 5 2019
As the fifth Chenin Blanc release, the name Chenin No. 5 came easily, of course riffing on the name of Coco Chanel’s iconic perfume. The source of this wine is a closely guarded secret (“a very good address”), and given how good it is that’s no surprise. This is classic South African Chenin, true to its variety and location. The nose shows a combination of fresh and baked apples with a hint of honey. The orchard theme continues onto the palate where stone fruits such as peaches also shine. There’s great texture here – this would make a superb and versatile food wine – with fresh acidity that cuts through the fruit and honey sweetness. The finish is dry but not austere.
Interestingly this is one of the Liberator wines chosen for release as “Rick in a Tin” – great for picnics and a midweek sip.
Liberator Wines Episode 24: Four and Twenty Blackbirds
If you tilt your head sideways you will notice the French term “Le Merle Noir” – meaning blackbird – after which the black skinned Merlot grape is supposedly named. This being the 24th Episode, the third line of the nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence” sprang to mind:
Sing a song of sixpence, A pocket full of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds, Baked in a pie.
This is a 100% Merlot which, to my great surprise, was harvested over 12 years ago; the vintage is written on the back label but not the front. Opening the wine reveals a Nederburg stamp on the cork, so the origins of this wine are very much not a secret.
The wine pours almost an opaque black, with only faint hints as to its age at the rim; if you know the age you might spot the reddy-brown rim it but it doesn’t pop out to the unknowing eye. The nose has intense aromas of plum, blackberry, blackcurrant and vanilla – really enticing. The palate showcases all these notes on the tongue, with a touch of leather and perhaps a slight hint of volatile acidity. The tannins are present yet supple and there’s enough acidity to keep the fruit from running away with itself.
In style I would liked this wine to a top-notch Saint-Emilion satellite village wine – perhaps a touch more extraction than is common from the vast majority of wines from Saint-Emilion proper but arguably better balanced than some of those wines are nowadays. This was an excellent, tasty drop.
Too often these days there is often a choice between well-marketed but lower quality wines on one hand versus well-made but obscure wines on the other. Liberator Wines does both things well; the story of the company is interesting, the labels and wine names are original and the wines themselves are excellent. The two wines tasted are both great value, tasty wines…of the two it’s the Blackbird which really excels.
In these unusual times, we all need a lift from time to time. As a change to my usual wine reviews I’ve decided to start a fun and irreverent series on matching wine and music. The basic idea is that I give participants:
A piece of music –> they suggest a wine to go with it, with an explanation
A wine –> they suggest a piece of music to go with it
It’s all for fun, so please don’t slag off anybody’s taste music (or wine!) Thanks to Michelle Williams for the inspiration – she has been matching songs to wine for years on her Rockin Red Blog.
The latest installment of The Frankly Wines & Friends Wine & Music Series is hosted by new California resident Sharon L. Though she calls herself a diva on her social media handles she is knowledgeable on wine and fun to talk to.
On discussing this guest post she mentioned that she likes lots of different kinds of music, including hip hop. Though I am far from an expert on the genre – despite avidly devouring all the episodes of Hip hop evolution on Netflix – there are some tracks which feature heavily on my playlists. One such track is 93 ‘Til Infinity by Souls of Mischief. I originally discovered this as part of the excellent Another Late Night compilation by Zero 7. As suits the idea of late night listening, it’s a very laid back “head-nodding” track, not too far removed from the trip hop of Massive Attack and Tricky in style.
When it came to wine, there was an amazing wine that Sharon had tweeted about in the last few months: Penfolds RWT. RWT stands for Red Winemaking Trial which was an experiment that went right. Whereas their flagship Grange is made from parcels all over South Australia and matured in American Oak, RWT is just from one region – the Barossa Valley – and is matured in French oak. It is made to be drunk a little younger than Grange and is released earlier, but it is still a monumental wine.
I was very excited when Frankie approached me for a wine and music guest post. Wine is so evocative for me, and so is music. Pairing the two felt only natural. I love nothing better than to come home after a long day and pop a favorite old school vinyl into my record player, while sipping on a glass of vino.
Souls Of Mischief’ – 93 ‘Til Infinity
To be honest, the first time I heard Souls Of Mischief’s 93 ‘Til Infinity was when Frankie sent it to me for this article (I was still living in China when it came out and a bit too young), but I was immediately hooked – the smooth beats, the “chill-ness” of the song – just made me want to sit back, relax, and not think too much about anything at all. This is why I think it pairs perfectly with a natty wine like Broc Cellars Chenin Blanc.
Broc Cellars makes exclusively “natural” – think spontaneous fermentation, unfiltered, unfined wines – from organic grapes. They are an urban winery operating out of a warehouse building in Berkley. Chris Brockway, the winemaker, produces some of the most interesting and unique wines in California today, with grapes both familiar (Zinfandel) and obscure (Counoise).
Broc’s chenin is flavorfully complex but well balanced, with floral and fresh summer fruit notes and refreshing acidity on the finish. It’s the absolute summer porch sipper, or pounder, if you will. I don’t think it would be difficult imagining the wine as an embodiment of Souls Of Mischief: the producer of chill beats and smooth complicated rhyme flows. Moreover, they both all from Northern California! But again, I have been known to make eccentric analogies. Both wine and music are subjective, after all.
Penfolds RWT Shiraz 2008
The wine Frankie picked is none other than the Penfolds RWT Shiraz 2008. I happened to have bought 2 of them of 5 years ago. I opened a bottle in 2015, and the other this year. It’s amazing to see this wine develop over time. The flavors of dark chocolate, moss, cigar, and earth were all present 5 years ago, but in such a tightly wound and sequestered state. However, this year the wine was ready for its full debut. Darker notes of peat, leather, tobacco leaves, and cigar box opened up after 1-2 hours of decanting into a supple, juicy number bursting with cherries, blueberries, plums, and chocolate, enrobing your tongue like plush velvet, ending with lasting, chewy tannins. It’s a plush, rich wine that would be most delicious with any bloody carnivorous meal.
The way Penfolds RWT crescendoed with time reminds me of the building up of psychological intensity in the song Blinding Lights by The Weeknd. You have to see the music video to understand fully (and please do watch it – it’s a masterpiece directed by Anton Tammi).
The Joker-esque short film begins with the singer speeding through empty streets in a city with his psyche progressively spinning out of control, until he ends up with gruesome slathering of blood dripping down his face. If you want to inject some intensity into your life, drink the Penfolds to the reel of Blinding Lights.
Sharon L
Sharon discovered the incredible world of wine while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts after college. Its boutique wine shops opened her eyes far beyond the realm of boring supermarket selections. Though far from being an expert, she enjoys learning about wines by traveling and drinking her around the globe. These days Sharon works as an Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon in Northern California. Outside of work, she is an intrepid adventurer; always on the hunt for interesting wines to drink, challenging activities to conquer, and new locales to explore. Depending on her mood, she can be a painter as well. You can find her on Twitter (DivaVinophile) and Instagram(Divavinophile) to share in her experiences.
In these unusual times, we all need a lift from time to time. As a change to my usual wine reviews I’ve decided to start a fun and irreverent series on matching wine and music. The basic idea is that I give participants:
A piece of music –> they suggest a wine to go with it, with an explanation
A wine –> they suggest a piece of music to go with it
It’s all for fun, so please don’t slag off anybody’s taste music (or wine!) Thanks to Michelle Williams for the inspiration – she has been matching songs to wine for years on her Rockin Red Blog.
For the eleventh edition of this series we are in the capable hands of Mags McKee, a great friend and fellow DNSer (even though she lives south of the Liffey) . Mags has a long held passion for wine and has taken it to the next level with The Wine Pair, a wine bar and shop she opened with her husband Canice. When I quizzed Mags on her taste in music, among many things she mentioned both U2 and the Blues, so there was an immediately obvious choice: a fantastic track from U2’s Rattle & Hum album featuring guitar and vocals from Riley B. King, aka the King of the Blues BB King. This was in fact the track that really turned me on to the blues and it has since been one of my favourite genres.
There were so many wines I’ve tasted with Mags at consumer and DNS tastings over the years that I was spoiled for choice. Running through the wine list of The Wine Pair to narrow it down, I spotted one of my favourite Austrian reds: Pittnauer Zweigelt “Heideboden”. I was lucky enough to meet Gerhard Pittnauer and taste through his wines a few years ago.
When Love Comes to Town – U2 with BB King
I was delighted when Frankie gave me my music choice When Love Comes to Town – U2 with BB King as I am a big fan of U2, with Rattle and Hum being one of my favourite U2 albums. I am also an avid Blues fan and love the edge that the King of the Blues brings to this version. I know it may seem weird to some but listening to Blues makes me happy.
Love coming to town automatically made me think of a sparkling wine and as this is a rock song with the addition of the wonderful BB King what better than a naturally sparkling Pétillant Naturel, or Pet Nat for short. Pet Nat is made in the ‘methode ancestrale’, i.e. bottled before primary fermentation has finished (i.e. with yeast still alive and sugar remaining) which then continues to ferment in the bottle, finishing relatively dry with pleasantly frothy bubbles.
A great natural Pet Nat I have been enjoying recently and a firm favourite with The Wine Pair customers is the deliciously ripe and Dangerously drinkable, Tour de Gendres. Its frothy bubbles release delicious tart orchard fruit and citrus notes. The bright acidity balances the slight sweetness as it dances on the tongue reminding me of how we have boogied to this great song.
This interesting and fun to drink Pet Nat is made from predominantly Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc (30%) by Luc di Conti in Bergerac, Southwest France, close to Bordeaux. Luc farms biodynamically on his 54 hectare vineyard, located on the bank of the Dordogne River, and uses seaweed, and other natural resources, to nourish the soil. The de Conti family has run the farm here since the early 1900s, but only in 1986 did Luc de Conti and his brother, Jean, decide to plant the vineyard and embark on a new adventure of viticulture and winemaking. In 1994, they became the first in the region to move away from pesticides and chemicals and turn to 100 percent organic farming.
The grapes from low yielding vines are allowed to fully ripen and are manually crushed. Partial fermentation, with indigenous yeasts, is in stainless steel vats with final fermentation in the bottle. It is bottled without fining, filtering or the addition of sulphur making it vegan friendly and a little cloudy.
This is wonderfully drinkable, and would be a great alternative for Prosecco drinkers looking for something a little more interesting while still being easy and fun to drink and its only 11% ABV.
We usually have it as an aperitif but I think it would go great with Sushi or Smoked fish. My cheese pairing for this would be a goat’s cheese maybe a St Tola or Cooleeney, Gortnamona to bring even more love to town.
This bright vibrant wine certainly brings Love to Town for me and its fantastic label from is pretty cool too. If you haven’t tried it yet “catch that flame” and “jump on that train”.
Pittnauer Zweigelt Heideboden
My wine choice from Frankie, Pittnauer Zweigelt Heideboden, was again one my favourites so gave me a great excuse to drink more and think about my choice of music for this wine.
I am a big fan of the high quality wines coming from Austria and my first visit to Vienna was booked for the end of March this year. I was really looking forward to trying some great Austrian wines whilst there but it didn’t happen due to Covid-19. The disappointment of my cancelled trip is reflected in my music choice – Vienna Calling by Falco. The lively and glamorous song from 1985 was the follow on hit to his other big hit song Rock me Amadeus.
A Mozart piece may have been an obvious choice for this wine but my eclectic music choices are hugely influenced by the 80’s and I love electronic music. Falco and his music sits in the genre of West German Rock, Neue Deutsche Welle “New German Wave”) which is originally derived from post punk and new wave with electronic influences, so I’m sure the music scene in Austria in the mid 80s was greatly influenced by one of my favourite groups Kraftwerk. Anyway, there is a nod to a Viennese waltz at the start of the song.
In the mid 80s, while Falco was rocking Amadeus, the Austrian wine industry was rocking in the midst of scandal and chaos , Gerhard Pittnaur, then only 18, started the Weingut Pittnauer business in Burgenland in the eastern corner of Austria. He had to train himself to make wine and chose to farm the indigenous grapes of the region. He thinks to ‘grow’ wine rather than to ‘make’ it in the cellar. Gerhard and his wife Brigitte decided to create what they call living wines. All work is done manually from composting to pruning. There is no calendar that drives them. Nothing is rushed: they believe in quality over speed. They taste for perfect ripeness, select the cleanest grapes, and begin the wine in the cellar.
Pittnauer Zweigelt Heideboden is 100% Zweigelt. Zweigelt is the most popular red wine variety in Austria and originates from the crossing of St. Laurent with Blaufrankisch. It is characterised by its cherry fruit and a juicy, soft style. This wine is bursting with red cherries, blueberries, blackberries and plums with hints of violet and black pepper. It’s an elegant wine with a long complex finish. As Falco says ‘Oh o Ho’.
This is one of my go to wines for a cheese and meat platter as it pairs well with most cheeses and cured meats and its acidity stands up to any pickled accompaniments giving no taste clashes.
So Hello, Vienna is still calling me and I will get there but until I do I can still enjoy great Austrian wines.
Mags McKee
Mags is one half of The Wine Pair, the other being Canice (who, in an amazing coincidence, also has the surname McKee!) They opened The Wine Pair late last year with the aim of providing an informal neighbourhood wine bar where people could relax with a favourite glass (or carafe, or bottle) and choose small cheese or charcuterie plates to pairwith it. They also offered the option of take-home sales and in these Covid-19 affected times they have been busy offering collection and local delivery.
As well as their website you can find The Wine Pair on Instagram or Twitter. They also have their own Twitter accounts: Mags & Canice.
After a little reflection, one of the most important characteristics of a great winemaker (in my humble opinion) is sympathy for the vineyards they pick from and the grapes that they harvest. Underlying this are intelligence, knowledge, and more than a little humility.
Many winemakers develop this sympathetic nature over the course of decades with a small number of plots of land and as few as two or even just one grape variety, as is the case in Burgundy. Indeed, sometimes it’s an ancestral connection with knowledge that has been passed down in the family for generations.
In stark contrast to the timescale of the Burgundians, I give you Pieter Hauptfleisch Walser of BLANKbottle. Pieter has 58 different varieties growing all over the Western Cape, though you won’t see them mentioned on the bottle. A few months ago, thanks to WineMason I had the opportunity to try eight of this wines which were new to the Irish market (and only available in very small quantities). Each has an intriguing backstory and a interesting label to go with it.
with apologies for the quality of my snaps…
Rabbitsfoot 2018 (14.5%, RRP ~ €30)
We start with a Sauvignon Blanc, but not that you would probably recognise at first – it’s not like a Loire or Kiwi Sauvignon, and to be honest it’s not even like other South African Savvies, although perhaps some could be though of as baby versions of this. It has more body, texture and alcohol than most Sauvignons, still grassy but with spicy notes. Tasted blind my first guess would have been Grüner Veltliner!
Boberg means “on top of the mountain” and the mountain is pictured on the label – but not on its own. It is depicted as being overlooked by seven generations of Pieter’s family who lived on the farm next to it. These Chenin Blanc vines are old and low yielding, and have recently been certified organic. For 2018 they were picked early and fermented in old French oak barrels with natural yeast. The wine is fresh but with real depth; a whole basket of Granny Smith apples with a few Golden Delicious and lemons.
Pieter found these vines while on his travels and took a backroad shortcut to get to his next appointment – the name means “shortcut to Cape Town”. The grape variety used is even more obscure (especially in South Africa): Fernão Pires! If you’re a fan of Portuguese wine then it might not be so obscure as it is grown throughout Portugal, sometimes under the moniker Maria Gomes. It’s a highly aromatic grape, somewhere in the realm of Gewurztraminer and Viognier, though fairly gentle (Alsace aficianados: think of Klevener de Heiligenstein). I liked this wine though it didn’t shine quite as brightly for me as the two whites above.
It’s fairly well known among wine geeks that South Africa’s signature variety Pinotage was created as a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut (the Rhône’s Cinsault, then known as Hermitage in South Africa). This wine is something of a family reunion as it features all three grapes, though Pinotage is dominant with small amounts of Cinsaut and Pinot Noir. On the nose I would never have guessed this to be a Pinotage blend – my best guess would perhaps have been a Languedoc red. The palate is lighter, with medium body, lithe red fruit and good acidity. This is the perfect example of BLANKbottle’s labelling philosophy – those who would be put off by the varieties might well love this wine if tasted without knowing. I certainly loved it!
This is single vineyard Cinsaut (without the “l” as usually spelt in South Africa) – a variety known for high yields and large berries which is often used to make rosé or inexpensive bulk red wine. It’s not a grape I taste as a single varietal very often, but if it’s as good as this then I definitely should. The nose is all cherries, following through onto the palate where they are joined by exotic spices. The finish is pleasantly dry.
This wine is principally Cabernet Franc but also has a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, all from different vineyards, so it’s technically a Bordeaux blend. It tastes nothing like a Bordeaux, with thick mouthfeel and ripe blackcurrant fruit. There’s a savoury edge as well plus fine grained tannins. An excellent wine.
Oppie Koppie 2017 (14.5%, RRP ~ €39)
This lovely Syrah reminded me of St Joseph or Hawke’s Bay on steroids – but not as ripe and juicy as most Aussie Syrah/Shiraz. Perhaps we (I) just just stop with the comparisons and say it’s a great example of South African Syrah. Whole bunch fermentation is used in varying degrees depending on the vintage (and in particular how ripe the stems are) – for this 2017 80% was whole bunch. 2017 was the first vintage that a little Syrah from Swartland and Cinsaut from Breedekloof were added to the main Syrah from Voor-Paardeberg, all for additional complexity. The result is a fantastic red wine that is rich yet fresh, full of black and red fruit and spice, but no jamminess.
This is a single varietal blend; if that sounds strange it’s because it’s made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown in eight different vineyards across South Africa. Well, normally eight, from sea level up to mountain tops, except for the 2017 vintage which saw the fruit from two of the vineyards lost to smoke taint from fires – depicted on the label. This is definitely a Cabernet Sauvignon but it’s not too far in character from the Cabernet Franc above, just a little richer and with more pronounced blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. As you’d expect there are fine grained tannins to keep everything in check. A truly delicious wine.
One of the recent themes we explored at DNS WineClub was North American wines. Barefoot and Blossom Hill represent the very commercial face of North American wine, manufactured in huge facilities in accordance with simple, fruity, easy-drinking recipes. At the top end, Cult Cabernets can be spectacular. However, there is fairly thin coverage in Europe of the wines in between these two extremes – and they’re the ones which offer most interest to winelovers.
California is the powerhouse of the USA and therefore the whole of North America; even though wines are made in the other 49 states, together they make up just 10% of the USA total. In these parts the most available outside of the Golden State are probably the wines of Oregon and Washington State – we see very little from elsewhere, not even the hip wines of New York State’s Finger Lakes region.
Here are the five wines which shone the most at our tasting:
Pine Ridge Napa Valley Chenin Viognier 2014 (12.5%, RRP €24.95 at Baggot Street Wines and other good independents)
If you ask a fairly knowledgeable wine drinker what grapes they associate with the Napa Valley, Cabernet would undoubtedly come first, followed by Merlot and Zinfandel, with possibly Chardonnay thrown in as a token white. So here we have something quite unexpected in Napa – a blend of the Loire’s Chenin Blanc and the Rhône’s Viognier. The blend is consistent from year to year at 80% Chenin and 20% Viognier, and a little residual sugar is left in to round off the acidity. Most importantly, it really works as a wine – fresh green apple with a little rich apricot as a counterpoint.
Ovum are named after the concrete egg fermenters they use, reflected in the shape of the label of this Alsace-style blend from Oregon. The grapes used are Riesling, Muscat & Gewurztraminer; the relative proportions are not stated, but the fact that spicy Gewurzdoesn’t dominate the nose makes me think that it is probably 10% or less of the blend, with fresh Riesling taking the lead at around 55% and the aromatic Muscat being the balance of around 35% (all my own guesswork, happy to be proved wrong!)
Again referring to my beloved Alsace, a blend of this quality would be from a Grand Cru vineyard, with the fascinating interplay of three fantastic varieties. The name of the wine also rings true, with lovely saline elements. This is an unusual wine which is in fairly short supply in Ireland, but it is worth seeking out.
Au Bon Climat “Wild Boy” Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2017 (13.5%, RRP €39.95 at Baggot Street Wines and other good independents)
Jim Clendenen is the star winemaker and owner of Au Bon Climat, one of the best producers in Santa Barbara County. ABC is famous for its Pinot Noirs And Chardonnays – Jim is a Burgundy devotee – which come from a variety of different vineyards in the area. The “Wild Boy” is less subtle than the regular wines, with lots of funk and noticeable oak, spicy pears and citrus. Whatever magic he uses, this is a highly impressive wine!
The Four Graces Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2014 (13.1%, RRP €40.00 at Sweeney’s and other good independents)
Perhaps because I’d only tried a couple of lesser quality examples, my preconception of Oregon Pinot Noir was that it could be a bit thin and weedy, rarely living up to its price tag. While this is no Central Otago clone, it nevertheless has plenty of body and an amazing velvety smoothness to it. Dundee Hills are one of the best subregions of the Willamette Valley – on this evidence I will be looking out for it again.
Inniskillin Niagara Estate Sparkling Ice Wine 2015 (9.5%, RRP €56 (375 ml) at Sweeney’s of Glasnevin and other good independents)
And now for something completely different – something I didn’t even know existed before I put together the wines for this tasting. Yes, Niagara is famous for its Icewine, often made with the hybrid grape Vidal (which has a very complicated heritage that I’m going to skip over), but a sparkling version? I didn’t know there was such a thing! Once pressed, with the ice removed from the juice, specific yeast is added to the juice in a charmat tank so that the CO2 produced from fermentation is dissolved into the wine. This is such a treat of a wine, with amazing tropical mango, guava and peach notes. For many tasters, this was the wine of the night. I really liked it but would probably prefer the still version for myself.
SPIT is actually an acronym for Specialist Professional Independent Tasting, but to be honest that’s too much of a mouthful so I will stick to the shorter version. SPIT brings together four of the best independent wine importers working in Ireland with trade tastings in Cork and Dublin plus an evening consumer event in Dublin. This series of posts will cover some of my favourite wines tasted at the most recent SPIT fest in Dublin.
WineMason is an importer and agent of original and distinctive wines from Germany, Portugal, Austria, Spain, France, Italy and South Africa. We work with 50 wineries over 8 countries and have listed just under 300 wines. We distribute these wines to Ireland’s best restaurants, winebars and independent retailers. We help shape and build tailored wine lists for the on and off trade that are exciting, well priced and trending. From emerging wine regions to discovering the potential of local grape varieties, we are constantly evolving with the ever-changing wine world and we work to reflect this in the wines we sell.
Niepoort is one of the few famous Port houses which doesn’t have an English family name. In fact their origins are Dutch, and fifth generation Dirk van der Niepoort has been head of the business since his father retired in 2005. Niepoort are more than just a Port house, though; they make fantastic dry reds in the Douro, including some fairly eccentric wines such as Clos de Crappe.
And this is something else again, a Douro white made from a wonderous blend of local grapes: Rabigato, Códega do Larinho, Viosinho, Donzelinho and Gouveio. It has a lovely, round texture but isn’t heavy – it dances around the tongue with sweet stone and pip fruit.
The Keermont range so fantastic across the board that it was difficult to narrow my selection down at all. The delightful white blend “Terrasse” begged for inclusion, really punching above its weight. The blend is 56% Chenin Blanc then roughly equal parts Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Helpfully, the Keermont website features this table of which blocks and which varieties are used in the 2015 vintage. Each component is barrel fermented and matured separately, then blended before bottling. Each variety adds something to the wine (which is the point of blends, I suppose) – there’s spiciness, fruit, acidity and richness all humming along together in harmony.
The block figures on the right are for the 2013 vintage so there might be some small differences for the 2012 tasted, but the Estate Reserve is pretty much a red Bordeaux blend with a splash of Syrah. The 2012 is nicely settled in now, still showing lots of pristine black fruit and a very Graves-like graphite edge.The main difference between this wine and an actual red from Bordeaux is not the splash of Syrah – it’s that to get this amount of fruit and complexity from Bordeaux you’d have to pay double or more!
The previous two wines are from the “Keermont” range, sitting in the middle of the hierarchy above the “Companion” wines and below the “Single Vineyard” series. Now we have one of the latter, which also features a Chenin Blanc, a Cabernet Franc and another (“Steepside”) Syrah. The Topside Vineyard is well named, being high up on the west-facing slopes of the Stellenbosch Mountain Range. The soil is mainly rock with some patches of sand, and with the altitude of 350 – 400m the wines grown here have a real freshness to them. Compared to the Steepside, the Topside sees less oak (used 500 litre barrels only), has a full percent less alcohol and has more acidity. There’s a place for both, but for me the Topside shows some of the best aspects of warm climate and cool climate Syrah in the same wine. Bravo!
Emrich-Schönleber Halenberg Großes Gewächs (12.5%, RRP €65.00 at 64 Wine (also poured at Dromoland Castle))
Separate from the potential sweetness-based Prädikatsystem (which goes from Kabinettto Trockenbeerenauslese(TBA for short)), members of the VDP* may also be able to use the relatively new terms Erstes Gewächs or Großes Gewächs (GG) for their best dry wines. I have to confess that I didn’t really understand the first few GG wines I tried – they were sort of nice but not exactly delicious drinking – and given their premium prices that put me off somewhat.
This wine, with more syllables than you shake a stick at, shows me what I was missing out on. With a few years behind it this Halenberg Riesling starts to reveal what a great GG can do. There’s amazing sweet fruit on the attack and mid-palate, extraordinary length and a mineral, dry finish.
*VDP stands for Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter, so let’s just keep using VDP!
One of the other great strengths of Liberty Wines’ portfolio is its antipodean selection – so much so that they seem to have the largest number of wines open for tasting at both the NZ and Australian trade tastings in Ireland. However, I’ve covered many of them before on Frankly Wines, so this article will review a few that I tried for the first time plus some fantastic European whites.
Jurançon wines are among the most under-rated in France, both the sweet (“Jurançon”) and dry (“Jurançon Sec”) styles. Don’t base your opinions on the bottles available in French supermarkets, though – they tend to lack concentration and be pleasantly innocuous at best. This is one of the best examples I’ve come across in Ireland, especially at a fairly moderate price. Split 50/50 between local varieties Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng, It shows plenty of ripe stone fruit, almost fleshy, but a crisp dry finish.
Mosel Riesling is one of the great wines of the world, but it’s rarely “cheap”. This one is very reasonably priced and serves as a great introduction to the area. The grapes are partly from the producer’s own estate and partly from contract growers in the Mosel region. It shows white flowers, stone and citrus fruit plus minerality – a great example of Mosel Riesling, and/ great value for money!
Château Moncontour Vouvray Sec 2017 (13.0%, RRP €21.99)
Many of my comments above about Jurançon also hold true for the Chenin-derived wines of the Loire. This Château Moncontour helpfully says “Sec” on the label, and it is dry – but not bone dry or austere. There’s a touch of residual sugar (apparently 6.7 g/L for those who are interested in such things) but lots more fruit sweetness, balanced by fresh acidity. Such a more-ish wine!
Matt Thomson is a legend in the world of wine – but he’s also a top bloke. After doing both northern and southern hemisphere vintages for 20 years, he finally decided to make his own wine, partnered by his wife Sophie. The Blank Canvas Chardonnay featured in my 2017 Top 10 whites so I was keen to try the Grüner. The long, cool growing season in Marlborough is perfect for GV, as it is for other aromatics such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Gris. This is a cracker – smooth yet textured, nicely balanced between fruit sweetness and refreshing acidity.
Framingham are unusual in Marlborough – actually in the whole of New Zealand – in that Riesling is their biggest focus. And boy, does it show! The Classic is their “entry level” Riesling, but it gives a flavour of what the rest of the range holds. This is particularly true of the 2015 as 10% of the grapes were botrytised, with nobly rotten grapes normally going into a special cuvée. This is a lovely wine to drink but just AMAZING on the nose. It has that hard-to-define “otherness” which only Riesling has (“Rieslingness”?)
Kaiken Ultra Mendoza Chardonnay 2016 (14.0%, RRP €24.99)
Rather than go west – which would have taken them into the Pacific, Montes headed east from Chile to Argentina and created Kaiken. The fruit is sourced from the Uco Valley in Mendoza, mostly in cooler parts which give freshness and minerality – despite the 14.0% alcohol and partial (35%) maturation in new oak, this is far from the butter-bomb new world Chardonnays of the 1990s. It has lots of tangy, tropical flavours, but mainly from the grapes rather than the oak.
Santiago Ruiz “O Rosal” Rías Biaxas 2017 (13.0%, RRP €24.99)
From the O Rosal subregion of Galicia’s Rías Biaxas, this is an Albariño blend with several other local varieties playing supporting roles: it consists of 76% Albariño, 11% Loureiro, 5% Treixadura, 4% Godello and 4% other. I like Albariño as a grape, but – for all its popularity – it’s wines are more often simple than complex. Simple doesn’t necessarily mean bad or boring, but there is definitely a place for interesting. The O Rosal is quite long and serious; it’s a cerebral rather than obvious wine which definitely deserves a try.
Domaine des Ballandors Quincy 2017 (13.5%, RRP €24.99)
After Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Quincy was the second Appellation Controllée created in France. Since then it hasn’t really been at the forefront of drinkers’ minds – Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé stole the limelight and the column inches. The upside is that quality wines from Quincy can offer great value for money. The nose is very grassy, the palate herby with quince (no relation) and gooseberry notes. This Sauvignon Blanc for adults.
L.A.S. Vino Margaret River Chardonnay 2016 (13.5%, RRP €59.99)
Margaret River is well known for its Bordeaux blends – Cabernet-Merlot reds and Semillon-Sauvignon whites – but also for some fantastic Chardies. L.A.S. is actually an acronym, standing for “Luck of the weather, the Art of creating and the Science that underpins this creativity.” This is world class, amazing stuff. You need to try this wine. Sell an organ. Sell your car. Even sell your house, but don’t sell your soul as this Chardonnay will capture it.
SuperValu’s French wine sale runs until 20th September, both online and in their stores. Here are a few of their wines which I’ve tried and can heartily recommend:
Domaine de Haut Bourg Muscadet Côtes De Grandlieu Sur Lie 2015 (12.0%, €12.99 down to €10.00 at SuperValu)
From the western reaches of the Loire, Muscadet is best known for somewhat neutral flavours and searing acidity – it’s the perfect match for oysters and other shellfish. However, the better vignerons in the area can produce something that offers much more. Based around the Lac de Grandlieu, the subregion of Muscadet-Côtes de Grandlieu was only established in 1994, almost 60 years after the generic appellation, and represents a fraction of total production.
This has initial notes of tropical fruit (though not over the top), with a touch of creaminess from the time on lees, followed by a long mineral finish. There’s plenty of acidity but it’s not at all austere. Try this instead of a Picpoul!
Domaine de Terres Blanches Coteaux Du Giennois Alchimie 2015 (13.0%, €14.99 down to €12.00 at SuperValu)
Coteaux du Giennois is a Sauvignon Blanc-only appellation close to the more famous Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire’s central vineyards. Alchimie has been a favourite of mine over the past few vintages, and the 2015 is great. It’s all about the Gs: gooseberry, grapefruit and grass, appealingly fruity in the mouth. It’s definitely French Sauvignon (well this is the French wine sale after all!) but it’s accessible enough to appeal to fans of the grape grown in other countries.
La Vigne Des Sablons Vouvray 2015 (12.0%, €14.99 down to €12.00 at SuperValu)
Third Loire wine, third grape! Vouvray is Chenin Blanc country, and is one of the best places for the grape. Always with Chenin’s intrinsic acidity, it can be still or sparkling and range from austerely dry to very sweet. This version is just off dry – there’s a little residual sugar on the finish if you really look for it, but it’s more about apple fruitinessand balancing the fresh acidity than adding sweetness. At 12.0% the alcohol is fairly modest, which is probably no bad thing when it’s so damned drinkable!
Hommage Du Rhône Vinosobres 2015 (15.0%, €15.99 down to €12.00 at SuperValu)
Vinsobres is a little known name which is not surprising as it has only existed as an appellation in its own right since 2006. Before that it was part of the second tier of the Rhône wine pyramid as Côtes du Rhône Villages-Vinsobres which gives more of a clue as to its contents – mainly Grenache with support from Syrah and other local grapes.
Black fruit are to the fore: black cherry, blackberry and blackcurrant. While the southern Rhône is much more consistent from year to year than, say, Bordeaux or Burgundy, this is from the excellent 2015 vintage and it packs a punch at 15.0%! This is something to buy in the sale and drink on dark winter nights with a hearty stew.
A medley of whites from the WineMason tasting earlier this year:
Bodegas Altos de Torona Rías Baixas Albariño Torre de Ermelo 2016 (12.4%, RRP €19 – Stockist TBC)
Bodegas Altos de Torona is one of three producers in Rías Baixas who form part of the HGA Bodegas group. HGA have holdings across many of northern Spain’s best wine areas including Rioja, Ribero del Duero and Ribeira Sacra. This wine is from the O Rosal sub-zone, just 3.5km from the Miño River (which forms the border with Portugal) and 10km from the Atlantic Ocean.
Torre de Ermelo is made in a fresh – almost spritzy – style, with floral, citrusand mineral notes framed by a streak of acidity. Great value for money!
Vale da Capucha VR Lisboa Fossil Branco 2014 (14.0%, RRP €18 at Green Man Wines)
If your palate is just used to white wines from supermarkets then this might seem a little alien at first. It bears no resemblance to the usual Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay – but then why should it? This is a blend of three indigenous Portuguese grapes, Arinto, Gouveioand Fernão Pires grown close to the Atlantic coast just north of Lisbon.
The name of the wine is a clue to the vineyard soil type – lots of limestone! There are indeed mineralnotes on this wine but lots more besides – soft fruit, herbsand flowers. Overall it’s a dry wine with lots of texture, a fine partner for lots of dishes.
BLANKbottle Moment of Silence 2016 (13.5%, RRP €24 at Green Man Wines, Baggot St Wines, The Corkscrew, Mitchell & Son & Red Island)
This is a very intriguing wine from a very interesting producer. Pieter H. Walser is the man behind BLANKBottle and aims to make wines which highlight excellent South African terroir rather than the variety/ies that they are made from. He buys in all his grapes rather than farming himself. This all gives him flexibility so he can change the components of a blend from year to year or produce entirely new wines as a one-off; it also helps his wines to be judged on their contents rather than preconceptions about varieties.
Moment of Silence is a blend (for the 2016 vintage at least!) of Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc and Viognier. From 2015 onwards the grapes were sourced from seven different sites within Wellington. This wine is quite round in the mouth with appleand stone fruit flavours. The Viognier influence shines through as a touch of richness, but it isn’t oily. A wine that deserves to be tried.
Rijckaert Arbois Chardonnay 2015 (13.0%, RRP €23 at The Corkscrew, Mitchell & Son & Redmonds)
Belgian winemaker Jean Rijckaert founded his own estate in 1998 based on vineyards in the Maconnais and Jura, further east. Of course the key variety shared by these regions is Chardonnay, which can reflect both where it is grown and how it is vinified. Yields are low and intervention is kept to a minimum – once fermentation is complete the wines are left to mature without racking, stirring or anything else.
Jura Chardonnay comes in two distinct styles, oxidative and none-oxidative, depending on whether air is allowed into the maturing barrels; this is definitely the latter, (ouillé) style of Jura Chardonnay for which I have a marked preference. It’s recognisably oaked Chardonnay but very tangy and food friendly. A great way into Jura wines!
De Morgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2014 (14.0%, RRP €34 at 64 Wine & The Corkscrew)
De Morgenzon translates as The Morning Sun which is a wonderfully poetic name, attached to a wonderful South African winery. Although South Africa is usually labelled as “new world” when it comes to wine, vines have been planted in this part of Stellenbosch since the early 1700s. Wendy and Hylton Appelbaum bought DeMorgenzon in 2003 and have transformed the estate and its wines.
The entry level DMZ Chenin is a very nice wine, clean and fresh, but this Reserve is a step above. The vines were planted in 1972 (an auspicious year!) and interestingly were originally bush vines but recently lifted onto trellises. People often wonder what makes one wine cost more than another similar wine, and in this case the picking in four different passes through the vineyard (to ensure optimum ripeness and balance) shows you why. Fermentation takes place in French oak barrels (with wild yeast) followed by 11 months of maturation on the lees. These really add to the flavour profile – there’s a little bit of funk from the wild yeast, lots of creaminessfrom the lees and soft oak notes from the barrels (only 25% were new). This is a real treat!
blend “Terrasse” begged for inclusion, really punching above its weight. The blend is 56% Chenin Blanc then roughly equal parts Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Helpfully, the Keermont website features this table of which blocks and which varieties are used in the 2015 vintage. Each component is barrel fermented and matured separately, then blended before bottling. 
