Top Families. Top Wines. From Torres and Hugel.

Top Families. Top Wines. 

From Torres and Hugel.

Torres, a Spanish family, dedicated to wine for five generations and the Hugel family, that started making wine in the Alsace in 1639, produced our two excellent wines today.

Torres Altos Ibéricos Rioja Crianza (DOC) 2018, 14% ABV

While Torres is synonymous with wine in Spain, it was only in 2005 that they first purchased land in Rioja. This wine, first produced in 2007, is 100% Tempranillo and has spent 12 months in French and American oak. It bears the red crianza sticker (see below).

Not surprisingly, it is regarded as a modern interpretation of Tempranillo. Its amicable aromas, intense and fragrant, draw you in, more so than its 20th century counterparts.

Yours truly with
Miguel Torres.

That “lighter touch” continues on the well-rounded palate, where soft red fruits and sweet spices combine smoothly with the effects of its time in oak. The finish is long with a light spicy aftertaste. Very Highly Recommended.

The Tempranillo grape is Spain’s top variety. Best known for its Rioja expressions but grown in many regions of the country. Older Tempranillo goes well with the likes of steaks and burgers while fresher styles like this are best matched with “baked pasta and other tomato based dishes” according to Wine Folly.

Rioja red wine stickers:

The green label (cosecha) indicates less than one year in oak, less than one in bottle.

The red label (crianza) indicates 1 year in oak, 1 in bottle.

The burgundy (reserva) indicates 1 year in oak, 2 in bottle.

The royal blue (gran reserva) indicates 2 years in oak, three years in bottle.

• This Rioja was a gift. The wine, imported by Findlaters (as is the Gentil), is widely available, including at Bradleys, North Main Street, Cork for €14.95.

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Top Wines 2022. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 

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Hugel Gentil Alsace (AOC) 2020, 13% ABV, €14.95 Bradleys.

Pale yellow with green tints is what you see in the glass. There are attractive aromas (including fruit, citrus and peaches, and floral elements). On the palate, it has a soft and supple feel, is full of flavour, dry and absolutely refreshing, with a great finalé. 

Lots of attractive features yet it is very versatile at the table, doesn’t overpower your food. Natalie MacClean recommends seared scallops, sushi, vegetables, herbed chicken, pork dishes, excellent too as an aperitif says our retailer Michael of Bradley’s. Very Highly Recommended.

Gentil is an Alsace tradition, made from all the white grapes of the estate. And it is done carefully, to a very high and controlled official standard.

It is Hugel’s only blend, dry and the ideal introduction to Alsace wines. It combines the elegance of Riesling, the richness of Pinot Gris, the fruitiness of Gewürztraminer and Muscat with the freshness of Pinot Blanc and Sylvaner. They are all here: “All the Alsace grapes in one glass”.

I’ve been very partial to Gentil in general for quite a few years now (the Hugel one is on sale in Bradley’s). I met Jean Frédéric Hugel in Cork a few years back and he told me it is their best seller. “It is produced from six different grapes. These are blended after the wine-making stage to balance it better. It is super versatile and works well by the glass in restaurants.” I thought that was interesting as I cannot recall seeing it offered around this area. Maybe there’s an opening there - it is delicious and, as Jean Frédéric said, super versatile.

Other Gentils available locally include Meyer-Fonné and Trimbach.

Hugel & Fils, founded in 1639 in picturesque Riquewihr, Alsace, France, is still 100% family owned and managed by the 12th consecutive generation of the family.

Alsace enjoyed a very good year in 2020, so much so that “No late harvest wines were produced due to the ‘too good’ sanitary conditions which forbid the development of botrytis. “A cool and long growing season gives this unique dry wine great finesse and unequalled drinkability.” And that is well confirmed by this bottle, by the way, closed with DIAM “the cork without the risk of cork taint”.

• More here on DIAM closures.

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Best Value Wines 2022. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 

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Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt. A Whiskey Fest in Cork next March. Cocktail Competition from Killowen

Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt. A Whiskey Fest in Cork next March.  Cocktail Competition from Killowen. ********* Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt 46% ABV I stood up quickly. Had just smelled smoke. Where was the source? Looked at the sockets. Though it wasn’t that kind of smoke. Opened the windows. Nothing burning out front. Back door. Nil again. Back in. Saw the empty Liberator bottle. The empty glass. The empty jigger. Smoke source! On my armchair table. So, sometimes, the old nose gets the aromas. The Liberator was the Port 'n Peat. No problem getting the aromas with this Teeling Blackpitts, their first peated whiskey. They are dominated by peat though I’d call it turf (which is a whole lot different to BBQ smoke). You really have to probe well with the proboscis to smell anything else under the blanket of peaty smog. The turf continues impressively on the palate, reinforcing the spice, and there’s a sweetness too, presumably from the Sauternes casks. Yet, the maturation somehow has rounded down the smoke effect and the finish is a good balance between the turf and the casks. That Liberator Storehouse Special Port ’n’  Peat (it's deliberately limited) had the properties to edge me along the old smoky road, but this one makes me pause. Not too sure how far I want to travel beyond that smoke threshold. There may be one particular reason for encouragement and I have seen it mentioned in a few places. It seems the triple distillation process that Teeling employed here (and normally employ) ”reduces some of the medicinal character you would get from a traditional Scottish Peated Single Malt…”. And then I had Take Two where, without the initial smoke-shock of the first tasting, myself and Blackpitts got on much better together! Hope for the future then! The Blackpitts is a non chill filtered, peated, single malt whiskey, aged in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sauternes wine casks. As you probably know, Sauternes is a highly regarded sweet wine from the Bordeaux region though there is a huge array of prices, ranging from under twenty to many hundred euro per bottle. They don’t say if the casks used here had been filled with the more expensive or the less expensive Sauternes! * I got mine via the Hip Flask Service at Bradleys of Cork. The general retail price per bottle seems to be in the mid to high 50s. ********* Subscribe to www.corkwhiskeyfest.com for ticket & event updates ********* Killowen Pangur Poitín Cocktail Competition

Having declared '2022 - The Year of Poitín' Killowen have decided to run a competition to help promote poitín as a premium spirit for quality cocktails. Pangur Poitín, which you will use for the competition, has been developed with the cocktail makers of today in mind. So, are you a budding mixologist or looking to add to your experienced repertoire of cocktails, and want to win £500 in cash? Then this is the competition for you!

Details for the competition can be found on our website on the following link:   Killowen Pangur Poitín Cocktail Competition Be sure to share this with any budding cocktail makers you know and best of luck to those entering. We can't wait to see what you come up with. *********

Beer of the Year 2022. New contender added!

My Favourite Irish Beers of the Year 2022

So far!!

(just two months to go!)

Contenders to end of September

September: Bradleys with Dot Brew Nice One IPA

August:12 Acres Pale Ale

July: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Summer 2022 Foraged Elderflower Saison

June: Wicklow Wolf Mescan Wit or Without You Belgian Wit

May: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Spring 2022 Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale

April: Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils

March: Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier

February: Wicklow Wolf  “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout.

January: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel

December: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut

Best of September Short List

IPA: Bradleys with Dot Nice One.

Helles/Pils/Lager: Hope Limited Edition No. 27 Munich Helles. 

Session: Third Barrel Day Drinking Part Deux Citra Strata; 

Belgian Style Pale Ale: Wide Street Sound by Design 

Pale Ale: Post Card Ha’penny Bridge

Here's a plea  for info (for a forthcoming podcast) from Brian O'Connell of Beoirfest: Any brewers out there who want to tell how the energy prices are affecting them can do so quickly and in their own words at https://event.beoirfest.com/e6d59220  

A Quart of Ale± #126. On the craft journey with Wide Street, Bradleys, White Hag, Post Card

 A Quart of Ale± #126

On the craft journey with Wide Street, Bradleys, White Hag, Post Card

Wide Street Coolship Spontaneously Fermented Ale, 5.5% ABV,  330 ml bottle Bradleys.

Light gold colour with a short-lived shallow head. Aromas are sharp, tangy (grapefruit), almost funky. And then that “tangy” liquid crosses your lips and it’s wake-up time. You think: this is approachable and could be something else other than a sour. And so it proves to be. An amazing concentration of citrus-y fruit and refreshment is at hand, just take it sip by sip all the way to that dry lip-smacking, lip-licking finalé. Different class.

“A single barrel one-year aged beer using traditional turbid mash method and aged hops in the boil followed overnight in the coolship to finally unleash an amazing wild beer with a true sense of terroir. Oak, grape skin and citrus aroma and flavour contribute to this delicate wild ale.”

Spontaneous fermentation? Back before Louis Pasteur, this happened in beer but it was something of a mystery. After Pasteur’s 1857 discovery, brewers knew there was a reason, that indeed there were many of them, yeasts and bacterias arriving in the large pan-shaped vessels (coolships) overnight. The mystery was gone but the risk remains as it can go bad quickly. When it works though, the results are amazing. See much more about the process in The Beer Bible (2nd edition) by Jeff Alworth.

The Bible will also enlighten you more on the Turbid Mash Method which is a labour-intensive process and involves taking the mash through multiple temperature rests through infusions of hot water and the removal of 'turbid' starchy wort that is not fully converted. It is a technique associated with brewing lambic style beers.

Wide Street are naturally happy with this one: “We’re so excited to finally showcase what our terroir has to offer with this wild fermented unblended beer. It's brewed in the cold winter night in an open vessel, a coolship and left to cool down overnight. It has no added yeast and takes on the unique characteristics of the air and microflora of where it was brewed. …Oak, grape skin and citrus aroma and flavour contribute to this delicate wild ale…It has spent the past year in barrels and here is the result, enjoy!”

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Oktoberfest Celebration Festbier Box  <<<<<Click here

Bradleys put together a special selection of German beers to celebrate Oktoberfest ... Prost!

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White Hag Little Fawn Session IPA 4.2% ABV, 4x330ml Can pack

I’ve come across Little Fawn quite a bit the last year or so on draught across the country and I’m always glad to see it, always glad to see any White Hag beer in a pub or restaurant. I was pretty certain I had included it in this long-running Quart of Ale± series but, when I checked, I found that I hadn’t. So I managed to sneak one from a 4-pack that someone in the house had bought and this is it.

“We are a modern independent craft brewery from Sligo, on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. We brew innovative and groundbreaking beers, inspired by ancient and classic styles.”

 

They use ancient tales in selling their many and varied beers including this Little Fawn yarn. He was discovered “as a child on the slopes of Ben Bulben by Bran & Sceolan, this young and sprightly warrior spent his summers foraging and hunting the mountains and woodlands. These local flavours are reflected in the taste experience – an easy-to-drink American-style session IPA.”

Colour is a light gold with a slight haze. No shortage of bubbles rising to a soft white head. Citrus-y in the aromas with a hint of something softer as well. And it is also fruity on the palate, refreshingly so as befits its touting as a session beer, and a decent slightly bitter finish to boot.

White Hag say it is an easy-to-drink American-style session IPA. “Brewed with 100% Irish malt for a pale, very clean base; layered with Mosaic hops, famous for their ever-changing fruity aroma.”

 

White Hag West Coast to West Coast IPA, 6.8% ABV, 330ml Can Bradleys. 

This collaboration with Bagby of California has quite a posse of all-American hops onboard: Mosaic (Tropical, Berry, Stone Fruit), Cascade (Grapefruit, Floral, Pine), Chinook (Grapefruit, Pine, Spice), Columbus (Dank, Pepper, Pungent), Simcoe (Pine, Grapefruit, Berry), Citra Citrus, Mango, Melon), Centennial (blossom, Orange, Resinous). 

Seven hops, seven per cent ABV! Bagby, like White Hag, have quite a varied portfolio, including an Irish-style dry stout called Asphalt Jungle!

It’s a hazy mid-orange colour with a soft white head that soon starts to flop. Aromas, with those all-American hops are, as you might expect, rather intense with a united dank front. And that dankness continues on the palate though you’ll find hints of pine and citrus, some tropical stuff too, seeping through.

The White Hag take: “This West Coast IPA is a truly global one. Created by two giants of craft IPA – Joe Kearns of The White Hag on the West Coast of Ireland, and Jeff Bagby of Bagby Beer, Oceanside, California. Jeff took the long-haul hop, and a massive haul of hops from one West Coast to another.” 

I reckon Jeff wasn’t going to bring any of those hops back again and everything got used. Sometimes less is more. Still, a pretty good drink.

Post Card Irish Summer 1 Pale Ale, 4.8% ABV, 440ml can Bradleys

“..perfect on a hot Irish summer’s day,” they say. That kind of limits its potential a bit. But there is no great need to confine a beer or a wine to limits that are more often suggested by marketeers and critics. Anyhow, the summer has lingered on well this year.

Actually, talking about marketing reminds me that the label of the can has a bit of info about the illustration and then just weather talk, as if we haven’t enough of it, nothing much about the beer. The can art by the way is based on Portmarnock Bay Summer Light by Sarah Magee.

The beer itself is a light gold in colour with just a hint of haze. Citrus notes in a bright palate, with a good streak of bitterness from the undisclosed hops, all well balanced by the malts. Easy drinking and certainly refreshing and one you can produce on a warm Autumn day,  though I think I’d prefer to have the their regular Ha'Penny Bridge Pale Ale as my standby, summer or autumn.

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loughgillbrewery

 Gose Again: Gose IPA
This tropical sour IPA blends together Idaho 7 and El Dorado, Kettle soured with Lactobacillus plantarum.
Expect very tropical notes of pineapple and stone fruits.
Hitting all good retailers this week 

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2022

Beer of the Year 

Confirmed to date

September: ???????

August: 12 Acres Pale Ale

July: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Summer 2022 Foraged Elderflower Saison

June: Wicklow Wolf Mescan Wit or Without You Belgian Wit

May: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Spring 2022 Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale

April: Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils

March: Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier

February: Wicklow Wolf  “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout.

January: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel

December: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut

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Beer of the Year 2022. The September Long List

My Favourite Beers of the Year 2022

Best of September Long List

Helles/Pils/Lager:

Hope Limited Edition No. 27 Munich Helles;  Third Barrel Counter Culture Modern Style Pils; Wicklow Wolf Toto Sorachi Italian Pils.

 

IPA:

Hope Limited Edition No. 28 Double Rye; Rye River Miami J;  Rascals X Yeastie Boys Krush Groove; Bradleys with Dot Nice One; Blacks Mango & Mosaic.

Session: 

Third Barrel Day Drinking Part Deux Citra Strata; Larkin’s Tiny Sesh IPA 4.0%,  Stone Barrel Boom Session IPA 4.5% ABV; Post Card Ha’penny Bridge Pale Ale, 4.2 ABV.

Belgian Style Pale Ale: 

Wide Street Sound by Design 

Pale Ale:

Lough Gill Sligo Bay American; Hope American.

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Contenders to end of August

September?????

August:12 Acres Pale Ale

July: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Summer 2022 Foraged Elderflower Saison

June: Wicklow Wolf Mescan Wit or Without You Belgian Wit

May: Wicklow Wolf Locavore Spring 2022 Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale

April: Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils

March: Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier

February: Wicklow Wolf  “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout.

January: Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel

December: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut