Sparkling and Still on Skype. Wine Geese on the World Wide Web.

Sparkling and Still on Skype.

Wine Geese on the World Wide Web.

Dermot Sugrue, at home in Wiston, talks to the tasters in Cork

A Decanter Gold Medal winner was among the wines featured at a novel international tasting based at L’Atitude 51 (Cork) last Friday as part of the nationwide Culture Night. The work of three of the younger generation of Ireland's Wine Geese was celebrated with the winemakers talking about their vineyards (in Sussex, South Africa and New Zealand), telling us all in L’Atitude about their various wines as we sipped them in Cork and watched the winemakers on Skype (big screen, bien sur).

Beverly Mathews, Colm McCann and Maurice O'Mahony, who organised the 2013 series of Wine Geese visits, were behind this venture, the first public internet wine-tasting in Ireland, and the speakers on the other side of Skype were Dermot Sugrue (Wiston Estates, Sussex), Marion Smith (Elgin Ridge, South Africa) and Fleur McCree (Little Beauty, New Zealand).

Dermot, a Limerick man, had wanted to be a winemaker since he was 16 but it was some thirteen years later before he started a Viticulture and Winemaking Course in England's Plumpton College. His progress was astonishingly rapid thereafter, much like the English sparkling wine industry, and his Wiston wines are regular award winners.

“Wiston Estate vineyards are on pure chalk soil, just like in Champagne… This gives finesse, aging potential and a certain Je ne sais quoi. They are showing so beautiful, though still so young. And are in the top restaurants in the UK."

We tasted two. First up was the Blanc de Blancs NV. This has been voted the best in England. “It has a sense of richness that belies its youth. It is one hundred per cent Chardonnay, mostly 2011 plus reserve from 2010 and has spent 18 months on its lees.”

He described the Rosé 2011 as “a freak of nature”. The year was unbelievably warm, a poor Spring but a great Summer that extended into September eventually yielding very ripe grapes. “An accidental Rosé, our most successful wine, still very young and so exuberant early on.

“That exuberance is now fading and it is maturing into a sour cherry type. From over one hundred English sparkling wines, this Rosé has won one of just Decanter three golds.” It may be a freak of nature but Dermot hopes to replicate it in 2014. This year has been similar in many respects to 2011 and fingers are crossed for the harvest next month.

Marion, in the vineyard

Next stop was Elgin Ridge in South Africa and here we met Marion Smith (right) from Ballyjamesduff - her cousins still run the family farm there. The farming goes on at Elgin Ridge and Marian is the largest breeder of Dexter cattle (the native Irish breed) in the Western Cape. Sheep “mow” the grass between the vines. Elgin Ridge is organic.

The Dexters

But there were no vines there when Marion and her husband Brian arrived about eight years back. The farm had lain idle for some time and that made it easier to go organic. “We are living the dream and have wonderful workers here.” 

As she spoke the vineyard behind rapidly fell into total darkness. “I miss the long bright evenings sitting out in Ireland”, she said and invited anyone visiting in the area to drop in and see them. Be sure and take a look at the website. It is a gorgeous place, so many animals.

We tasted their 282 Sauvignon Blanc. The vineyard is 282 metres above sea level and the vines benefit from the cool afternoon breeze and the proximity of the ocean. It is a different style of Sauvignon Blanc with a beautiful freshness.

Fleur McCree, whose ancestors (the Cox family) hail from Passage West, is a serious winemaker but is always game for a laugh. We were thanking her for getting up early in Marlborough until she pulled the curtain behind her and showed us the Tower Bridge in London. Fleur spends much of her time on the road selling her gorgeous Little Beauty wines.

Marlborough is famous for its Sauvignon Blanc but this time we were tasting Little Beauty’s Pinot Gris. “We have a tiny strip of Pinot Gris. ..The bad weather doesn't get to the East Coast … We have huge sunshine hours and not much rain… Hot by day, cold by night is good for Pinot Gris.”

"It is a prolific grower, too much so, too much fruit is no good! You must discipline the variety, quite hard - cut the bunches by hand! It is also thick-skinned and that stops the sunshine getting through. So open up the canopy to aid ripening. The fruit is hand harvested and it is gentle handling all the way after that".

“The aromas are herbaceous, stone fruits (peaches, nectarines). It is almost creamy, hints of mild spice. Notice that textured element when you lick your lips and inside your mouth. It is an interesting wine from a sensation perspective, oily and concentrated. It is better served not so cold as it then expresses itself better, not so shy. It is a very popular variety, very approachable.” It sure is. One of the best of its kind as far as I am concerned!

“What would you pair it with?”, somebody queried.

“With your cornflakes,” came the rapid reply. “One of your five a day!”.  She did go on to say Asian, particularly Asian with nuts, peanut Satay is her own favourite. She also recommended Pork belly with chilli and garlic etc or maybe pork roast with apricots.

And then she pulled that curtain, bringing this innovative long distance tasting to an end.

Superb Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc. Check this Cuvée Grêle 2013!

Superb Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc

Check this Cuvée Grêle 2013!

Gavin Quinney at
Chateau Bauduc June 2014.

Mention Sauvignon Blanc these days and the next sentence will almost certainly contain the words New Zealand and maybe, just maybe, the Loire. New Zealand is well known for its distinctively aromatic pungent style while the traditional Loire style is often described with words like minerality and acidity.

New Zealand, where it is by far the most widely grown grape, is not the only New World country producing good Sauvignon Blanc. Chile is another, excellent examples coming from the cooler coastal areas of this long and narrow country. And there are quite a few more, both old and new world.

But let’s go back to France again and search that little bit harder. In Bordeaux (which may have seen the birth of this grape). I know many of us are under the impression that all Bordeaux whites (now increasingly rated higher by Mr Parker) are all a blend of SB and Semillon in all kinds of proportions.

But there are quite a few one hundred per cent Sauvignon Blancs in the area, including the pair below. And do note that Bauduc is available in Ireland via Curious Wines!

Chateau Bauduc, Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Bordeaux, 11.5%

Lovely fruit flavours here with excellent balance, crisp and dry with a little tingle and a lovely long finish. This gem, somewhat fuller than the Loire style, has been the house wine at Gordon Ramsey’s and Rick Stein’s for over a decade, showing you don't have to be in the Loire to make excellent French Sauvignon Blanc. Very Highly Recommended.

We are lucky to have this one at all. Vigneron Gavin Quinney notes on the back label: “We call this our Cuvée Grêle (hail) as we lost half our crop on 2 August, just before the September harvest.”

Chateau Rochemorin, Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Pessac-Leognan Bordeaux.

Came across this beauty in an one star Michelin restaurant in Arcachon (Le Patio) and absolutely enjoyed, even if it came in at fifty euro a pop. Enjoyed it even more when I found I could buy it in Podensac for €11.95.

In the Loire in 2013, I bought more red than whites and this year, in Bordeaux, I bought more whites than red. Pessac-Leognan is, according to Oz Clarke, “one of the most exciting areas in France for top-class white wines” while Hugh Johnson says it has Bordeaux’s “finest barrel fermented dry whites’. High praise indeed.

The highly respected Andre Lurton is the man in charge here and impressed even Jancis Robinson with this one who described it as racy and lively and “giving white burgundy a run for its money”.

It spends 10 months in oak barrels (35% new), on full lees with bâtonnage. Believe it or not  it can age 12 to 15 years but is excellent after 2 to 5 years. I’ll have my purchases wiped out by Christmas, at the latest!

Lots of white fruit on the nose, it is rich and fresh and beautifully balanced. Well worth seeking out if you are on hols in France. Not sure if you’ll find it in Ireland though I see that Wine Online are offering the 2007 version.

Other Sauvignon Blanc recommendations

New Zealand: Fiona Turner’s Tinpot Hut and Fleur McCree’s Little Beauty are both excellent Marlborough examples. Also worth a try is Tim and Judy Finn’s fresh herbaceous Neudorf from the Nelson area.

Chile: Aresti’s Trisquel Sauvignon Blanc and Cono Sur’s Single Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Valle de Casablanca.

Sauvignon Blanc Still Sings

Sauvignon Blanc Still Sings

Marlborough New Zealand

Very recently, one of Ireland's top wine writers admitted that he had been avoiding Sauvignon Blanc for a few years despite never really disliking the variety. But now he is back and enjoying one of the most popular of what are termed the “international” varieties.

Many of us, including myself, my motto being variety is the spice of life, regularly try the lesser known grapes. But it would be a mistake to totally ignore the internationals. By coincidence, I've been trying a few Sauvignon Blancs recently. Last summer, enjoyed some terrific ones in the Loire area but the three here are from Chile and New Zealand’s Marlborough (where the variety does particularly well).

First though, there was an example of why our aforementioned writer and indeed anyone with a wee bit of wine knowledge may be turned off and that bottle came as a gift that had been bought via a supermarket offer. It was a Chilean but had so little to offer, no discernible aromas, very little flavour, no finish worth talking about, that it was poured down the sink with some gusto.

Viento Monte, Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Chile, 13%, €10.30 Karwig Wines

That Chile can produce decent Sauvignon Blanc and at a very good price is well known and indeed well illustrated by this bottle. It has a pale yellow colour with green highlights and an intense aroma of citrus, green apples and the typical (maybe a little less than normal) hint of grass. On the palate it is crisp and refreshing, quite a light mouthfeel and a very fresh finish. Recommended. I'm told their Chardonnay is also excellent. Must try that soon!

Greyrock Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough 2012, 12.5%, €13.80 Karwig Wines.

Greywacke is getting much attention recently but, for a tenner or so less, this Greyrock is well worth a try. By the way, they also produce a sparkling Sauvignon Blanc!

This 2012 still example is light gold, again with green tints and the nose has that fresh grassy element. On the palate, it is fresh and fruity with a mouthfeel that is both intense and lively, very refreshing,almost bubbly, and then a good dry finish. Highly Recommended.

Little Beauty Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough 2011, 13%, €18.99 Wine Alliance stockists

Sauvignon Blanc is the flagship grape of New Zealand, accounting for the majority of the harvest in Marlborough where it grows best. And this Little Beauty is one of its best!

Little Beauty’s Fleur McCree was at a tasting in Cork last year and told us that the different blocks around the vineyard ripen at different times yet the intense fruit is preserved and there is “a build-up of layers of flavour to enhance the experience. Mango, Passion fruit at the start followed by Citrusy flavours mid-palate and then basil at the back of the tongue”. Really top notch, distinctive (somewhat more refined than your usual SB from here), and Very Highly Recommended.

* Note that you are now more likely to find the 2012 version of Little Beauty in the shops.

Pamper Your Pinot Gris

Pamper Your Pinot Gris

Little Beauty Pinot Gris 2010 (Marlborough NZ), 14%, €21.99 to 22.99), Wine Alliance stockists

This Pinot Gris comes from less than two hectares of vines. “Pinot Gris loves the stones, the water, and the sun", said Little Beauty's Fleur McCree during one of last year’s Wine Geese events. 

It just takes off in these conditions and that can, in the wrong hands, lead to quantity over quality. So it has to be reined in. Bunches are removed. Must be done by hand as machines can’t decide which bunches to discard. “Concentration in Pinot Gris means quality” and it is “the most pampered variety in the vineyard”.

Worth the effort though.  Here you have lip smacking flavour, oily, yet drier than their Riesling. Don’t over-chill it and use with nuts, pork, crab and so on. Very Highly Recommended.

Chateau de Petit Thouars, Cuvee Amiral 2009 Touraine (France), 12.5%, €15.00 at the chateau.

“Many great men of our family served in the French Navy” and so the top wine at the Chateau, near where the Vienne and the Loire meet, is called Amiral. It is a press wine made from the Cabernet France grape. All the refreshing characteristics of this variety are present here, even if the wine has spent some two years in previously used oak.

As you’d expect, it is a medium dark red with red fruits prominent in the bouquet. On the palate, it is fresh and light and rather smooth, terrific concentration and with a slight spiciness plus a pronounced dry lengthy finish. This is tailored for a long keep but only if you have proper storage available.

Highly Recommended, possibly Very Highly Recommended in a few years!

Pegões Stella Rosso 2009 (Setubal, Portugal), 13.5%, €10.99,  Wine Alliance stockists

This was one of the first red wines that the then newly formed Wine Alliance brought in from Portugal. It was a winner then and is a winner now.

Made from the local Castelão (50%) and the international Syrah (50%) grapes, this rich easy drinking red is good on its own and even better with red meats. It is full, fruity and spicy, with a soft supple texture, carries flavours of black cherries and plums and is very well balanced.

Six months in American oak barrels followed by four in bottle before release. An excellent Highly Recommended wine.

Larry "McPinot" in Dublin next Month

Classy Pinot Noir double from Hawkes Bay

Pinot Noir on the double from Hawkes Bay

Bilancia, Pinot Noir 2006, Hawkes Bay (NZ), 13.5%, €22.45, Karwig Wines 

This medium red coloured wine is nice and bright considering it is 2006. On the nose, it is classic red fruits, cherry and raspberry. In the mouth, it is juicy and beautifully fruity and very well balanced (the balance,  a prime aim of the makers Leheny and Gibson). The flavours have been enhanced by 15 months in new and old French oak and it finishes long and well. Very highly recommended.

More about Bilancia, which translates as balance, here 

Tahuna, Pinot Noir 2010, Hawkes Bay (NZ), 13.5%, €15.40, Karwig Wines 

This is quite a light red, again with the classic nose. On the palate, the feel is light and the wine is fruity for sure with a smooth dry finish. It is made for "early enjoyment". A comparative juvenile that lacks the adult heft and sophistication of the Bilancia. Nonetheless a lovely wine and a very pleasant companion, they suggest, “for hearty pastas, duck and lamb”. Highly recommended.

More about Tahuna here 

Little Beauty Comes Home

Little Beauty Comes Home

Bringing Gold

Maurice O'Mahony of Wine Alliance introduces
Little Beauty's Fleur McCree.

Little Beauty’s Fleur McCree says demand is high for her 600 cases of limited edition Riesling. She even sells it into Germany and has had a recent query from Japan where the grape is "all the rage with the young affluent Japanese woman”. It will be all the rage in other places too with yesterday’s news that her 2010 from Marlborough has won the New Zealand Regional Award (for Riesling selling at under fifteen pounds sterling) in the Decanter World Wine Awards!

The wine, made from less than 2 hectares of vines, is a “refreshing lemon lime” and “deliberately made dry”. It is the drink anytime wine, the “lager of wine” according to Fleur who loves it with roast pork.

The second wine at last week’s tasting in L’Atitude 51, who supplied some really tasty bites for each wine, was the Pinot Gris, again from less than two hectares of vines. “Pinot Gris loves the stones, the water, and the sun.” It just takes off in these conditions and that can, in the wrong hands, lead to quantity over quality.

So it has to be reined in. Bunches are removed. Must be done by hand as machines can’t decide which bunches to discard. “Concentration in Pinot Gris means quality” and it is “the most pampered variety in the vineyard”. Here you have lip smacking flavour, oily, yet drier than the Riesling. Don’t over chill it and use with nuts, pork crab and so on.

Sauvignon Blanc is perhaps the typical Marlborough wine. Little Beauty’s 2010 is, I think, a little bit more restrained than the usual Marlborough and the better for it. The different blocks around the vineyard ripen at different times yet the intense fruit is preserved and there is “a build-up of layers of flavour to enhance the experience. Mango, Passion fruit at the start followed by Citrusy flavours mid-palate and then basil at the back of the tongue”. Really top notch.

The Gold medal news was the first surprise at the well attended tasting. You can’t taste gold medals but we could taste the second surprise: the Black Beauty Edition of Sauvignon Blanc. Only 200 cases were produced from a few selected rows and this was a world first for Ireland. “...quick harvested...and then put into small old barriques (French), barriques that are ten to twenty years old...no stainless steel is used..fermentation is in the barrel...no cultured yeast...just the local wild yeast”.

And that intensive management pays off. “It is a beautiful fruit wine..lots of texture..creamier...richer...use with pork chops and garlic.”

“Hello, you exotic Little Beauty”, was Fleur’s greeting to the next wine, the Gewurztraminer, as she sniffed the Turkish Delight on the nose. This comes from two different one hectare plots, from two different clones of a variety that is “lazy in the vineyard”.

Its sweet fruitiness is balanced by “a clear acidity”. “It is a food wine, very versatile.” She advised us to try it with Cheeses, Foie Gras, Terrines, spicy crab and fragrant curries.

Now it was time for the final wine, Pinot Noir, the only red in the Little Beauty team. The Marlborough sun will not ripen the likes of Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz and so Pinot Noir is the most common red variety in the area.

This, hand harvested from between six and seven hectares, has a short spell in stainless steel before aging for 12 months in oak. It is a terrific example of the variety. “Complex but in a friendly way! Soft silky and a hint of tannins. Enjoy, definitely, with Pan-fried duck breasts.”

Just another Little Beauty in a beautiful wine tasting in L’Atitude’s superbly appointed upstairs room, made for just such an occasion. May there be many more of them. 

Little Beauty wines are imported by Wine Alliance. It is widely available around the country so check out the stockists here.

Wine Geese events

Tuesday May 28th, Cafe Paradiso: Presentation & Tasting with winemaker Emma Cullen of Cullen Wines, Margaret River, Australia in Café Paradiso in association with Liberty Wines.

July 11th, Crawford Art Gallery: “A Bordeaux Evening in Cork” with Pierre Lawton, Bordeaux and Ted Murphy, author of “A Kingdom of Wine – a Celebration of Ireland’s Wine Geese”.

 (Part Two)

Little Beauty Comes Home

 (Part One)

In 1825, thirty year old John Cox welcomed his new son William into the world in Passage West, Co. Cork. William, who married in 1846, was one of the first Europeans to settle in New Zealand and died there in 1899.

William was the great, great great grandfather of Fleur McCree, co-owner of Marlborough winery Little Beauty, who was back in town last Thursday evening, her tutored wine-tasting, in Union Quay’s L’Atitude 51, part of the current Wine Geese Series.

“Marlborough is the home of Little Beauty and a very important place for me,” she said. “There we have 2,500 hours of sunshine annually and clear skies. If you go to New Zealand be sure to have your sunglasses with you when you land in Auckland, it is so bright.”

Marlborough is into farming both on land and on sea and has “a huge reputation for such a little place”. But its grape history is a very short one. The first were planted in 1972 and the hopeful farmer was told he “was bonkers”.

Fleur, who had always had a terrific affinity with nature (sleeping as a child on her trampoline under those bright bright stars),decided in the late 90s to get into wine – for keeps!

The apprenticeship took quite a while. Scouting trips to Alsace, Burgundy, the Douro, Napa Valley and Mendoza (among other places) yielded valuable knowledge before she and her partner decided to settle back home. But then they spent years in London, working to raise capital before eventually starting up in Marlborough where they now farm 41 hectares of vines, which is a tiny area, considering that there are 33,000 hectares under production in New Zealand.

They first planted in 2002/3 and then of course they had to wait for their first harvest. But two years later they were in for a big shock when a severe frost wiped out blocks of their Sauvignon Blanc. And two years later again, a once in a sixty year flood caused major damage again. Tears then but only for a brief period. “Then I realised we were essentially farmers. This was what we had to deal with.” And deal with it they did. It is not an easy life ”but rewarding”.

Labour is scare here and machines are necessary (though not used in all areas, Pinot Gris and Noir are hand harvested for example). The versatile tractor is put to good use. To preserve the freshness and flavours, they have to use the machines to make the harvest “really quick”.

Perhaps one of the most ingenious machines is what looks like a windmill and nine of these are scattered around the vineyard and used to prevent the blanket of frost settling. While New Zealand enjoys long hours of sunshine, the day’s highs (maybe late twenties) can be followed by very cold nights. But the blades on these machines oscillate and rotate and succeed in fighting off the frost.

A state of the art technology network across the site captures real time data variables from Mother Nature and, among other things, helps dictate when the wind machines (and which wind machine) comes into play. The use of stainless steel, copied from the thriving local dairy industry, is widespread, though oak barriques are also used in Little Beauty.

The fledging Little Beauty earned its early keep by selling its Sauvignon grapes to Cloudy Bay. The cash helped them develop the vineyard and then they got a huge boost when Eveline Fraser, then head wine-maker with Cloudy Bay, decided to join the rookies!

You’ve often heard of the passionate vineyard owner. Last Thursday night we saw one in action in L’Atitude. “I’m very fussy over where Little Beauty goes. Come hell or high water, you’ll never find Little Beauty in a supermarket. It goes only to good homes. Integrity is very important nowadays. A wine made with integrity or an accountant’s wine. Which would you prefer?”

I reckon William Cox would have been proud of his great great great grand daughter!

Fleur also had a couple of real surprises for us during the tasting and I’ll have that and more on the Little Beauty wines themselves in Part Two tomorrow.

This Sauvignon Blanc is a Sophisticated Beauty

Fleur McCree (centre) at L'Atitude
with Beverly (left) and Emma.

Sophisticated Beauty

Little Beauty Sauvignon Blanc Limited Edition 2010, Marlborough (New Zealand), 13.5%, €17.99-18.99,  stockists

Aromatic, with a pale yellow colour, this wine is, they say, “a fine example of an intense and mouth-watering single vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc”.

And it is all that, and a little bit more sophisticated than some of its neighbours. Maybe that is why this fine and elegant wine is holding top spot as the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc at London’s Claridge Hotel. It is also a Gold Medal winner at the Mundus Vini International Wine Awards.

So grab a bottle or two while you can as this is only ever going to be available as a limited release. In fact, so limited “my annual production volume represents a tiny 0.0005% of total market share in the UK”. Very Highly Recommended.

Fleur McCree is the face of Little Beauty wine in these parts and she will be here on Thursday May 16th in Latitude 51 (No. 1, Union Quay) as part of the ongoing WineGeese series.

Fleur will retrace her family steps back to Cork in a presentation and tasting of her wines in association with Maurice O’Mahony of Wine Alliance. Varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Gewurztraminer. Check with the venue ((021) 239 0219) for tickets details.

Massive Pinot Noir Event in New Zealand

Sam Neill

Massive Pinot Noir Event
 in New Zealand


Actor and now wine-maker Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Reilly Ace of Spies, The Piano, The Dish, Dead Calm, Hunt for Red October) will be among the speakers when Pinot Noir 2013 NZ gets underway on 28 January 2013. Emmanuel L.T. Bourguignon, Tim Atkin MW and Ned Goodwin MW are listed among the other speakers.

New Zealand wine-maker Larry McKenna, during his recent visit to Cork, told me enthusiastically about the huge wine event on the Wellington Water Front. No surprise to see Larry pushing it. After all he is better known as Larry McPinot and makes some fantastic examples himself as he showed recently in Ballymaloe.

Pinot Noir 2013 NZ  is going to be massive. The website tells me there are over 120 days to go and there will be almost as many New Zealand wineries there showing their examples of this grape. Some competition here for Burgundy!

All the country’s famous wine regions will be represented: Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Nelson, Wairarapa/Martinborough, Marlborough, North Canterbury/Waipara Valley, Waitaki and Central Otago. Many of the wine-makers will be unfamiliar to us but some that I know are Tim and Judy Finn’s Neudorf, Villa Maria, Cloudy Bay and McPinot's own Escarpment.

"Initiated in 2001, and now dubbed as the "fresh thinking" event, Pinot Noir NZ digs deeper into New Zealand's five Pinot producing regions, bringing the latest developments from the grass roots level. Learn of new innovations direct from the winemakers as they make available over 300 wines to be tasted and reviewed. Freestyle forums allow for uncensored opinions to be heard on the fastest growing wine story of the 21st Century.

Guest speakers offer fresh opinions on the latest international thinking about Pinot. At previous events speakers have included Jancis Robinson MW, Oz Clarke, Tim Atkin MW, Allen Meadows, Claude Bourguignon, Andrew Caillard MW and more.

Pinot Noir NZ pushes Pinot to the limit, testing whether Pinot really is one of the most versatile red grape varieties to match with food. Both the wild and the raw are explored as guests are offered the freshest cuisine from the welcome party to the final gala dinner.

The Pinot story in New Zealand is continuing to develop at pace. Pinot Noir NZ is the place to be to keep ahead of the game.”

Delegate registrations are open now and you can find all the contact information here! Bon voyage and Bon Pinot!

Outstanding New Zealand Wines

Outstanding New Zealand Wines at Ballymaloe

Sunday afternoon’s trip to Ballymaloe  proved to be a very rewarding one. Not alone did we taste some terrific wines from New Zealand but we were entertained and educated by two of the beautiful country’s top winemakers, Larry McKenna of Escarpment and John Hancock of Trinity Hill.

Ironically both are Australian and went to High School together. They later combined in an early venture in New Zealand before going their separate ways. They are still great friends and a terrific combination at evenings such as this.

While John recognises the importance of terroir Larry, also known as Larry McPinot, is “unashamedly a terroiriste” and tries, very successfully, to emulate Burgundy.

The pair were introduced to the Grain Store audience by Anthony Tindal of the Tindal Wine Company, their distributors in Ireland. John told us that Trinity Hill has been established for just 15 years as he introduced the first pair of his wines.

The first up was the Hawkes Bay Pinot Gris 2011. Beautiful aromas, “Turkish delight!” John said. Even though the wine is a dry one, it has a magnicient texture and fullness and “makes food look good”. This is perhaps the best Pinot Gris I’ve tasted.

Then we tasted the Gimblett Gravels Viognier 2011, another standout wine and again one of the best Viogniers I’ve tasted. Loved its apricot and floral aromas, the rich and soft texture. John recommended trying it with Asian food.

The first of the Trinity Hill reds followed, a Hawkes Bay Merlot 2010, 87% Merlot to be exact, the balance of the blend shared between Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. This, with an abv of 14%, is “more about the fruit. It was a very successful year. This is good value and a great seller in New Zealand. Try it with lamb and rosemary.”

The next wine, the Gimblett Gravels ‘The Gimblett’ 2008, was built to last longer than the Merlot. Is uses the traditional five varieties of Bordeaux (Cab Sauv 43%, Merlot 41%, Petit Verdot 7%, Malbec 6& and Cab Franc 3%). 

“The fruit is from low yielding vines. It is more intense, more concentrated. It is made to age and needs it. It spends 18 months in oak, has good depth, is well balanced and will age for another five years. A food wine!"

All along the evening, the pair had some good discussions and good answers to questions from the audience. Larry told us that almost all the wine is made on the sheltered east coast as the NZ weather comes from the west, just like Ireland’s.

John explained that tannins come predominantly from the skins, also from the seeds and pips, and give the wine that grippy feeling while Larry said that, without tannins, wine has no backbone.

While Larry grows Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay on the Escarpment, the site is “a great place to grow Pinot Noir”. It is a bit of a Prima Donna – Larry described it as genetically instable – but he does very well with it, as his four examples underlined.

First up was Escarpment The Edge, Martinborough 2011. “No oak, simple..fruit driven..for immediate drinking.” Simple maybe but still full-bodied and with a lingering finish.

The Escarpment Pinot Noir, Martinborough 2010, was a “step up in quality” “it was a good year, very healthy grapes...we picked when we wanted to pick over a number of sites. This is what we call a district blend and a fantastic example of what we should be doing.”

The first two were good but the second two, each from a single vineyard, were even better, described as absolutely beautiful by Anthony Tindal and virtually everybody else I spoke to.

The Escarpment Te Rehua Pinot Noir, Martinborough 2010, showed how well Larry emulated Burgundy, though his site has its own characteristics of course. Made from 25 year old vines the wine showed unique complexity along with the usual black cherry and plum flavours.

Really good and then came another gem: Escarpment Kupe Pinot Noir, Martinborough 2010. “The density of planting in this vineyard, our oldest, is similar to Burgundy” and the wine was ”impressively velvety and supple...huge concentration of flavour...I am very happy with it..and really looking forward to seeing the Kupe in 25 years time!”

Nice stories too behind the labels and you can read all about them here. For more info on John’s wines check Trinity Hill.

Alain from the Vanilla Grape in Kenmare enjoyed his trip to Ballymaloe and he stocks the wines. There is a discount available at present and to see more about the wines in Ireland check Tindal Wines. Remember when using the internet that while a company may have with 100s of wines in stock, they may not all be listed on the site; sometimes you may have to phone.

Good Value NZ Pinot Noir

Tahuna, Hawkes Bay (Australia), Pinot Noir 2010, 13.5% abv, €13.50 at  Karwig Wines

The white Kiwi feather features on the neck of the bottle from this winery which has vineyards in both Hawkes Bay and Marlborough .

Colour is light red, not see-through, while you'll get scents of cherries and raspberries on the nose. The same fruits feature on the elegant palate. It is juicy, slightly spicy, with a smooth lingering dry finish. Flavour rich, easy drinking and good value.

The winery's aim is to "produce rich, soft and approachable wines of exceptional quality"'. Exceptional might be pushing it but it is certainly very good. Recommended.  

You may take this Little Beauty anywhere..

Little Beauty's Fleur McCree with
Maurice O'Mahony of importers Wine Alliance

You may take this Little Beauty anywhere, but she's a star in Asia.

 Little Beauty, Pinot Gris 2010 (Limited Edition), Marlborough (New Zealand), 14% abv, €19-21 various stockists countrywide.

You may take this Little Beauty anywhere but she shines in Asia as I found out more by accident than design.

Colour is just about present in the tasting sample in the glass, just pale hints of gold, grey and green. Nose is tempting; aromatic and musky notes draw you in. On the palate it is fruity and dry with an excellent finish. Orange zest and apricots, some would say, according to her cheeky label. She is a little forward but I wouldn’t disagree.

It is full, almost creamy, a really delightful example of the grape’s potential and, as I found out, excellent with Asian Cuisine. Have you been following Rachel Allen’s Easy Meals on RTE TV? I have and last weekend matched Little Beauty with her Thai style Pan-fried Chicken with Mango Salsa and also with her Grilled Squid starter. Little Beauty handled both without a bother. QED.

For more on the wine and her equally attractive cousins (including Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Noir) check here www.littlebeauty.co.nz

White Weekend

White Weekend

Gareth York of Mont-Marcal

Mont Marcal, Penedes 2010, 12.5%, €8.49, Curious Wines.

This is a lively little gem. The initial feel is almost creamy and then you note the lively fresh citrus fruits, though with sufficient acidity. An excellent wine from the Catalonia area and so well priced. Recommended.

Use it as an aperitif or with fish and salads. Got that off the label! The labels are really well designed. They are not large but give all the necessary information (in a few languages) in a clear and precise way.

The grape varieties in this wine are Xarel-lo, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay and the producer website is www.mont-marcal.com

Santa Digna, Fairtrade Chile, 2010 Gewurztraminer Reserve, 13.5%, €8.99, Bradley’s Off Licence.

Information on the Fairtrade bit, which I haven’t seen before on wine, is here www.fairforlife.net. The producer is the famous Miguel Torres and the web address is www.migueltorreschile.com

Nose here is aromatic, floral. Quite a pleasant flavourful mouthful with an excellent dry finish. Full bodied with those tropical fruits prominent yet it finishes dry. Well balanced and fair trade to boot and a good one to start with if you haven’t tried Gewurz before.

Ideal for shellfish (particularly recommended for oysters) and most fish dishes. Good price. Recommended.

Tinpot Hut, 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough (NZ), 13.5%, €16.99, Bradley’s Off Licence.

This superb wine has a colour of pale straw with an exotic aromatic nose. The palate says great! An immediate thumbs-up. A mouthful of fabulous flavours from the Beautiful Country, exotic to the North Atlantic palate, and blessed also with a terrific finish.

Marlborough is indisputably, I think, the top standard for New World SB and this Tinpot  is one of the best from the region. Well done to Fiona Turner (right) whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Electric a few months back. Congrats too to Liberty Wines for supplying us with such a gem. A bit pricier than the others but Highly Recommended!

Little Beauty Comes To Town

Fleur (centre) with L'Atitude owners Beverley (left) and Emma

Tom (left, Fleur and Cathal

Fleur with Maurice of Wine Alliance

Little Beauty Comes To Town

In 2002, the land in Waihopai Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand, where the grapes for the Little Beauty wines  now grow, was a sheep farm. Fleur McCree and her partner spotted its potential and got to work, planting from scratch and patiently waiting three years for their first crop.

“It was exactly the kind of place we were looking for and we wanted to work it,” she told the appreciative audience as she held a tutored tasting of the wines upstairs in the newly opened L’Atitude Wine Cafe at No 1 Union Quay.


There were many hurdles to overcome, including starting to sell their first wines as the recession hit. But sell she did and sell she does, this Irish call the prelude to trips to Scandanavia and Russia and maybe a call to Pro-Wine.

She sells these wines to luxury hotels in the UK and the prices there really underscore the point that Little Beauty’s Irish Importer Maurice O’Mahony of Wine Alliance  makes frequently: these wines over perform at their price points.

Irish stockists sell the range at anything from €15.00 for the Sauvignon Blanc to 25 for the Pinot Noir. In the likes of Claridges, the Savoy and the Gleneagles you’d be paying anything from 50 pounds sterling to 70.

Prices could well rise here. The emergence of China, Hong Kong and Japan as big markets for NZ wine has pushed Ireland from 5th to 8th in the league of NZ wine importers. If that trend continues, it is possible that less and less wine from that beautiful far country will find its way here.

We started off with the 2009 dry Riesling. This was bursting with flavours, fine, balanced and refreshing. A Bronze Medal Winner at the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Challenge, this wine is currently being presented at 2* Michelin Restaurant, Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, Scotland.

Marlborough is the home of NZ Sauvignon Blanc and when you know that the Little Beauty winemaker Eveline Fraser was “stolen” form Cloudy Bay, you know this is going to be good, and it didn’t disappoint. It is indeed “A fine example of an aromatic, intense and mouth-watering single vineyard Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc”.

The limited edition Pinot Gris was next up and by the way all the wines were accompanied by really tasty nibbles from the kitchen at L’Atitude, quite a reminder to the punters that this a venue worth visiting on a regular basis. The pale Pinot Gris had a fresh and inviting aroma and felt full and creamy on the palate, a step up for sure on some regular Pinot Grigio visitors to these parts.

Fleur and yours truly

Next tasting was the 2009 Gewürztraminer. This was strongly aromatic and pleasingly luscious but stopped well before reaching full sweetness. Goes well with Asian cuisine.

And then came the Pinot Noir, the silky star of an altogether excellent show, and Fleur recommended matching it with lamb. It is a gorgeous wine, full of plum, raspberry and red cherry flavours. It has an attractive background spice and has benefitted from 12 months in new French oak.

A Little Beauty to finish a delightful session in L’Atitude. The Wine Cafe intends holding a series of these events and the next, on the Rhone (presented by Simon Tyrrell of the Wine Store), takes places on Monday March 5th. Check with the venue for tickets.

And that isn't all. L’Atitude also holds classes for both novices and those interested in going further and indeed the next series is due to start shortly. The contact number is 021 2390219 or email: info@latitude51.ie. Also keep an eye on their Facebook page