Tomas Clancy recommends three of our wines in this weeks Business Post.
The Sunday Business Post – Sunday February 19, 2012
Tomas Clancy
3 Wines to try, buy and put by.
To Try: Domaine Olivier Leflaive, AC Saint-Romain 2007 (90)
Millions of years ago, Saint-Romain in Burgundy was a 100ft deep lake with a small island at its centre. Today, the water is gone, the edges of the lake are cliffs-and the island is an odd cylindrical mountain in the middle of a small canyon. Unfortunately, the area`s wines have never matched the brilliance of the landscape - until now. Biodynamic winemaker Olivier Leflaive is admired for his brilliant Puligny-Montrachet and his class-leading Meursault wines. The Leflaive family have been producing wine in Burgundy for 16 generations, across five centuries, and so have an intimate knowledge of the land. They have found a Meursault-lite sweet spot in Saint-Romain, the golden, toasty brioche notes flicker among evident minerality and a touch of nuttiness in this medium-bodied wine. It is startlingly familiar, with a tiny twist. Well worth investigating for a glimpse of Leflaive genius at decent prices.
To Try: Guy Allion, Touraine Sauvignon Blanc, Val de Loire 2010 (89)
This wine is produced under the Terra Vitis ethic that began in the Beaujolais region 20 years ago as part of the general French movement, Lutte Ralsonnee (`reasoned struggle`). Terra Vitis takes a global view of the vineyard, its management of waste waters, wildlife and air quality. It is an, approach based on reason, not faith. Guy and Dorothée Allion`s small estate minimises strategic intervention in the vineyard and studiously avoids chemical additives. The results speak for themselves here - this is a super smart sauvignon blanc that is crisp to the point of steely sharpness, bursting with gooseberry, peanut and nettle notes. A clear and startlingly well-priced competitor to New World sauvignon,
TO PUT BY: Domaine Meyer-Fonne, Riesling Katzenthal 2009 (91)
At 100 years old, Meyer Fonné is an infant in Alsace terms where, after 400 years of ownership you are regarded as still getting to grips with the region. While Burgundian winemakers may be seen as picky about understanding their terroir, Alsace winemakers are close to mania. Thus Alsace winemakers are at the forefront of many natural, biodynamic and lutte raisonée approaches to wine. One of Alsace`s finest estates, Meyer-Fonne is a hand-crafted, meticulously organic, natural yeast ferment hotbed. The results on their own should provide converts. This is a strenuously organic; gloriously dense, complex Riesling.There is incredible minerality, then touches of nut, a hint of lime and licorice, then a floral waft, before diving into the flicker of paraffin. All this in a three-year-old wine, meaning the 2006 is now on fire. Another two or three years and we can hope to see a similarly triumphant evolution.
Read more
Kilkenny shop: will close at 5.30pm today (31/12) for annual holidays and will re-open at 10.30 on Tuesday 10th January 2012
- Website: Online orders and Nationwide delivery service resume on Tuesday 3rd January
- Wholesale: orders and deliveries resume as normal on Tuesday 3rd January as well
We wish all our customers and visitors a very happy and peaceful New Year 2012!
Read more
Three of our wines are featured in the Irish Times `Top 100` this year:
Sparklings of the Year `Star Buy`: Crémant d’Alsace Brut Extra NV, Domaine Meyer-Fonné, 12%: Alsace produces some excellent sparkling wine, made by the traditional Champagne method. This wine, made from a blend of pinot blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir is bone dry with just two grammes of residual sugar. It is a very stylish wine, with a lightly bready nose, wonderful clean crisp citrus acidity, balanced perfectly by some lovely ripe fruit. It is streets ahead of most Champagne at this price. Stockists: Redmonds of Ranelagh; Fallon Byrne, Exchequer Street; Le Caveau, Kilkenny, lecaveau.ie
Red wines of the Year: Familia Cecchin, Malbec Mendoza 2008, 13.5%: A natural wine, made without the addition of sulphur, and also without the lavish use of new oak. Medium-bodied, with delicious pure damson and savoury dark berry fruits, this would make perfect barbecue fare for red meats. Stockists: Le Caveau Kilkenny.
White wines of the Year: Vouvray La Dilettante 2009 Catherine and Pierre Breton, 12%, €17.95 Catherine and Pierre Breton, leading producers in Bourgueil, also produce this fascinating dry(ish) Chenin Blanc, made by biodynamic methods. It has wonderful rich, luscious pineapple and peach fruits, seemingly low acidity, yet retains plenty of life. At a mere 12% alcohol, it is light, yet juicy. Try it with scallops or prawns. Stockist: Le Caveau, Kilkenny
Irish Times, John Wilson`s Wimnes of the Year - Friday, December 2nd 2011
Read more
THE SUNDAY TIMES – Sunday February 19, 2012
Rioja, from Spain, gets my vote as the wine world’s most polished diplomat, writes Ernie Whalley. Feted in the 1960s, it was feted as the answer to the escalating prices of "Left Bank" Bordeaux. Rioja suffered a quality dip as it rose in popularity, but this has since been overcome. The wine`s producers have created some big, powerful reds in the recent past and even though they have throttled back a little of late, the wine still wins hearts. Don`t be bamboozled by the hierarchy, though. The best crianzas, which are aged for at least two years, are better than the worst reservas, aged for three or more. Gran reservas, at least five years old, are a case apart and should be judged against one anotber. Quality varied widely in the 22 reservas we tasted, but these four are very good indeed:
Hacienda Grimon Reserva 2005 - SILVER 17/20
Emie Whalley says: Remarkable wine, no sign of fruit fade. If you like the walnuts, marzipan, truffles and other savoury things ageing confers. this is the one to buy and lay down.
Martin Moran says: A keeper. This has the fruit, spice and structure to last for years; or drink it now with pink lamb.
