Wine from the isle of Margaux. And one from mainland Medoc.

Wine from the isle of Margaux.
And one from mainland Medoc.

Domaine de L’Ile Margaux, Bordeaux Superieur 2006, 13%, €24.00, Karwig Wines    

Amazing how your geography improves when you are interested in wine. Just found when checking up on this bottle that there is an island called Ile de Margaux in the Gironde estuary and it is opposite Chateau Margaux and, in addition, grows all the main grapes of the Medoc!

This charming wine is more complex than your normal Bordeaux AOC. Colour is garnet and the aromas are of the darker fruits with a hint of vanilla. Black and red fruits and some spice too on the palate. It has a refreshing acidity, tannins there for sure but not too obvious. It has quite a pleasing mouthfeel and a longish dry finish.

Traditionally made so you will find a deposit but this just emphasises its credentials. Superbly made and well balanced, this is Very Highly Recommended. Might well be hopping over to the island when in the area this summer.

La Paroisse Haut Medoc 2009, 13.5%, €22.35 Karwig Wine

The Cave Saint Seurin de Cadourne is hardly one of the best known producers in the Medoc but this well structured 2009 red, 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, is quite a wine.

You get a hint of what's to come from the welcoming red fruit aromas. It is really well balanced, with supple tannins, and a long finale. Hard to beat Bordeaux! From aroma to finish, this traditional elegant wine doesn't disappoint.

Don't worry if it hasn't a big chateau name attached. Don't worry either if you find a deposit in the bottom of the bottle. This is all natural as the wine hasn’t been treated. Very Highly Recommended.

Bordeaux tops the Euro Red Contest

Bordeaux tops the Euro Red Contest

Beautiful wine from a very good year

I was in a really comfortable zone with the last glass of Caldora Yume Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2008. I reached out for the next bottle and was totally ambushed, in the nicest possible way, by this 2009 from Bordeaux.

Chateau Beaulieu Comtes de Tastes, Bordeaux Superieur 2009, 13.7%, 20.30 Karwig Wines 

This blend of Merlot (60%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) and Cabernet Franc, is a delight from a year of delight in the region. It has everything going for it: silky, fruity for sure but so well balanced and, of course, a long finish.

The producer’s description: A round and exuberant wine, very enjoyable in its youth, yet with a complexity and elegance one expects of prestigious Bordeaux. This wine will be enjoyed from its second year and beyond.

Very Highly Recommended.

Chateau du Donjon, La Pujade, Minervois 2010, 14.5%, €15.25, Karwig Wines

The vineyards of the "Château du Donjon", Panis family property since the 16^th century, stretch out over the rural district of Bagnoles, the western part of the Minervois region. It is divided into two large parts, one for A.O.C. Minervois, and the other for "Vin de Pays". The grapes for this are from a vineyard that is over 100 years old, planted mainly with Grenache Noir vines.

There is a magnificent concentration of aromas in this dark red wine. Beautiful juicy black fruit flavours on the palate and also a little spice. Totally luscious then before this well balanced wine produces an excellent finish.

Needs to be decanted. Highly Recommended.

Messias Grande Escolha, Douro 2011, 13.5%, €15.40, Karwig Wines

Continued the very enjoyable Euro red sequence with this beauty from Portugal’s Douro, another with an intense aroma and then a smooth mouthfeel, a supple fruitiness on the palate followed by a terrific finish.

Grape Varieties used in this blend are all local: Touriga Franca; Touriga Nacional; Tinta Roriz; Tinta Barroca.

A big wine for the price and Highly Recommended. Unfiltered - Decanting advised.

Must say this was one of the best sets of reds that I’ve come across recently but the Italian, the Portuguese and the languedocien will have to take a place behind that superb Bordeaux. Of course, if you are having a group in, start them off with the other three before springing the Bordeaux. A perfect ambush. Of the nicest possible kind.

* Prices quoted all before recent tax ambush!

Bordeaux Evening at Crawford Art Gallery

Bordeaux Evening at Crawford Art Gallery

Left to right: Pierre Lawton, Colm McCan and Ted Murphy

A Bordeaux evening, that saw wine merchant Pierre Lawton in conversation with Ted Murphy (author “A Kingdom of Wine – the Story of Ireland’s Wine Geese"), drew many to the sculpture gallery of the Crawford on Thursday night. It turned out to be one of the highlights of the ongoing WineGeese series.

It was indeed a very good night for the WineGeese “committee” of Beverly Matthews, Colm McCann and Maurice O’Mahony. Maurice opened the evening: “We dreamt this up in January and now it’s true!”

Ted Murphy, widely credited as the originator of the Wine Geese concept, told us of the Lawton family, in particular how one of Pierre’s direct ancestors, Hugh Lawton, had been mayor of Cork city in 1776.

Four from Bordeaux.

Indeed, the Lawtons had a huge presence in Cork city and county and held many high offices, all the while continuing their trade with their relations in Bordeaux who, via Abraham Lawton, entered the wine business (buying and selling) in the 1700s.

And Ted was enthusiastic that the old trade links and cultural connections between the two Atlantic cities could be reinforced and new ones forged. He announced that UCC is to enter a student exchange programme with Bordeaux. And then showed us a very impressive recent tourist leaflet cum map from Bordeaux detailing the many Irish connections.

He then drew our attention to the nearby John Hogan sculpture of The Drunken Faun who, he joked, had wasted some pretty expensive wine. Indeed, some of the wines that Pierre then introduced do not come cheap but there was no danger of them being wasted! Pierre explained: “Thus is a horizontal tasting. Same vintage but different wines.”

Pierre

1 – Chateau Clauzet Saint Estephe 2009

2 – Chateau Branaire Ducru Saint Julien 2009

3 – Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac 2009

4 – Chateau Lynch Bages Pauillac 2009

All kinds of wine related topics were touched on, in a light and humorous way, by Pierre, including the ups and downs of buying en primeur, the risks (and rewards!) of playing backgammon with Philippe de Rothschild (wine #3 above) and the Chinese involvement in the wine market.

When we came to the Lynch-Bages, he let us know that a M. Lynch, then Mayor of Bordeaux, once seriously upset a certain Napoleon! Pierre, in a cheeky aside, shared this tip: the taste of Lynch-Bages is close to that of Mouton, but cheaper!

Horizontal tasting!

Ted

And the famous Bordeaux bottle? Yes, you’ve guessed it. That was invented by an Irishman (Mitchell) so that bottles could be stacked on their sides. 

Pierre also had a very practical tip for these hot days. To cool wine, drop an ice cube into the glass for a few moments, then remove and taste the difference. 

One got the impression that Pierre is not a lover of some wine critics, particularly those that overly use technical terms. “Enjoy the wine,” he advised. “Don’t be prejudiced by what you read.” Sound advice from a man that knows!

Château Lynch-Bages at Ballymaloe

Château Lynch-Bages at Ballymaloe

Jean-Charles Cazes, of  Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac, Bordeaux, is coming to Ballymaloe, Sunday 10th March 2013

Colm McCan of Ballymaloe has been in touch with great news for local wine lovers.

"Château Lynch-Bages, needs no introduction in Ireland – one of the best known, respected, collected and followed, of the ‘Irish Wine Geese’ Château of Bordeaux. We are delighted to be welcoming Jean Charles to Ballymaloe – and as part of The Gathering 2013, there will also be a series of other wine events, which are being planned for Cork City and County, throughout the year, with ‘Irish Wine Geese’ winemakers from all over the wine world, ‘flying home’.

Born in Bordeaux, Jean-Charles Cazes grew up in Pauillac in the heart of the family vineyards at Château Lynch Bages, and since 2006, taking over from his father, Jean-Michel Cazes, he has been in charge of all the family vineyards, in France and abroad.

Join Jean Charles at Ballymaloe, for one, or both, of the following events – a wine tasting & presentation in the Grain Store at Ballymaloe, followed by a wine dinner, with the wines of Château Lynch Bages and The Cazes Family Collection wines"

Wine tasting & presentation, by Jean Charles Cazes, at The Grain Store, Ballymaloe, 6.30pm, Sunday 10th March €18

Followed by a wine dinner, with Jean Charles Cazes, in the Yeats Room dining room, at Ballymaloe House 8.30pm €95

Special rates available for accommodation.

Advance booking advised.

Ballymaloe House,
Shanagarry,
Co. Cork,
Ireland

Tel:             00 353 (0)21 4652531    

Contact colm@ballymaloe.ie

ON ELECTION DAY: 20 CANDIDATES FOR YOUR CELLAR

ON ELECTION DAY

20 CANDIDATES FOR YOUR CELLAR

Dominique Geary of From Vineyards Direct has come up with a good proposal to shift election blues...

"Come and try up to 20 of the 2010 En Primeurs. Whether you have purchased already or are yet to decide then this is a must for all Bordeaux lovers."

The Tasting is taking place on 27th October 2011 from 6.30 to 8.30pm in Sebastian Guinness Gallery, 42 Dawson Street, Dublin 2 .

And just to whet your appetite here are some of the wines that will be presented:

Château Laforge Saint Emilion Grand Cru

Château Teyssier, St-Emilion

Château Potensac, Médoc Cru Bourgeois

La Tour de By, St-Estéphe

Château Caronne-Ste. Gemme, Haut-Médoc

KINSALE'S WINE MUSEUM

KINSALE’S WINE MUSEUM

At Desmond Castle

St Patrick sipping!

In the church of St Patrice in Rouen (France), there is a 16^th century stained glass window* showing the Irish patron saint having a glass of wine at Tara in 433 while the High King looks on anxiously. Maybe it’s the King’s glass?

On the 17^th of October, 1710, Jonathan Swift wrote to Stella from London: “I dined today with your Mr Sterne ...and drank Irish wine”.

In 1780, John Windham recalled visiting Cork city: “There are no hackney coaches but there are plenty of chairs or sedans. ...These vehicles are extremely convenient for the followers of Bacchus who has a great number of votaries in this city.”

These anecdotes show that there has been a long association between wine and the Irish so it is no surprise that the Irish went abroad some of them became involved in the trade. The most recent example I came across is the late Michael Lynch in Argentina’s Mendoza.

Loads of similar info is in the Wine Museum in Kinsale’s Desmond Castle. Maybe not the efforts of Michael Lynch, but virtually every other Irish connection, certainly before 2000 when the museum was set up, is very well covered indeed and great credit here goes to Ted Murphy, the Corkman who put it all together.

Many of you will know of the Cork family Hennessey who ended up in Bordeaux, the very same family whose name still appears on Ireland’s most popular cognac (brandy). But did you know that we were also involved in the sherry trade? Terry, for example.

The French connection is strong (and getting stronger in places like Provence and the Languedoc) but the Irish were also involved in wine in America, Cronins and Foleys in California for example.

And not just North America. Some of you may be familiar with the popular Chilean wine: St Rita 120. In the early 19^th century, freedom fighter General Barnardo Higgins (father from Sligo) and 120 of his men (including General John McKenna, another Irishman) took refuge in the St Rita cellars during the battle of Rancagua. The wine is named in their honour.

Many many connections and loads of interesting facts and also some memorabilia. I could go on and on but, in fairness to Mr Murphy, I think anyone interested in wine should take a trip down to Kinsale and take your time as you wander through the two rooms that make up this museum. Highly recommended and the admission at three euro wouldn’t buy you a glass of wine in any of the town's restaurants.

The three euro will also get you into the castle which was originally built about 1500 as the Kinsale Customs House, one of its tasks being to collect a tax based on the tonnage and quality of the wine. In 1497, the English king granted the local Earl of Desmond the right to take one cask from every shipment for himself!

Occupied by the Spanish during the Siege of Kinsale in 1601, the most famous event in the castle’s history came in 1747 when 54 prisoners died in a fire. Most of them were French seamen and the castle later became known as the French prison.

·          There is a reproduction (photo above) of the window in the museum, donated by the Irish John and Eithne Lagan of the Xanadu Winery (Margaret River, Aus.). By the way, I love their Next of Kin wines (available via Bubble Brothers).

BORDEAUX WINE STUDENTS SEEK IRISH WORK PLACEMENT

BORDEAUX WINE STUDENTS SEEK IRISH WORK PLACEMENT

Florence Hivert from Bordeaux has written to inquire whether your company would receive students from their school http://www.institut-rural-vayres.fr for individual work placements in your company in May or June and July 2011.

  “The Institut Rural de Vayres is a wine school located