Showing posts with label Bradleys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bradleys. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Two Excellent Wines from Chile's Aconcagua Coast DO, where "the vines grow happy and the grapes ripen slowly".

Two Excellent Wines from Chile's Aconcagua Coast DO where "the vines grow happy and the grapes ripen slowly"  

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Montes Alpha Pinot Noir Aconcagua Costa (DO) 2019, 14.5% 

RRP €23.99. The 1601; Martins Off Licence; Sweeney's D3; Higgins Off Licence; Blackrock Cellar; Wineonline.ie



“It is totally coastal influenced. In morning there’s mist and fog and then a shy sunshine from mid day. The vines grow happy. The grapes ripen slowly.” This was Aurelio Montes speaking of the Aconcagua Coast during a 2020 Zoomed masterclass as he sipped a Pinot Noir (Quite possibly this one).


Montes are serious players. According to the Wines of South America, Montes (founded in 1988) is credited for its pioneering work in the Colchagua’s Apalta district, the first to realise its potential as one of the best locations for red wines in Chile and “is among the most important wineries in Chile today”. As a further endorsement, their Alpha “M” (very limited production) is listed as one of the top 20 South American wines to drink before you die.


Bright ruby red is the colour of this 2019 Pinot Noir. It is quite aromatic, full of cherry, blueberry and raspberry, hints of vanilla too, sweet spice in there also. It is juicy and that bit spicy on the palette, hints of its time in oak (integrated), well rounded tannins, and a vibrant acidity helping the balance, keeping it smooth and elegant, as well as interesting, right through to the abiding and perfumed finish.  Very engaging,  totally likeable and Very Highly Recommended.


Montes Alpha wines are elegant and easy to drink, faithfully expressing the variety and terroir. “This has spent twelve months in French oak barrels, 20% new, for structure and complexity.” 


Their website tells us: Just 7 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean and located in the northern part of the Aconcagua Costa winemaking region, Viña Montes is the only winery with vines planted in this new D.O., characterized by cool, cloudy summer mornings, with sun at midday, and afternoons that see clouds reappearing with low temperatures. These conditions favor a slow ripening of the grapes that allow them to develop complexity and powerful aromas.


Importers Liberty Wines add: The proximity of the vineyards to the Pacific coast endows the wine with tremendous freshness, minerality, and cool climate typicity. The granitic soils of the Coastal Mountains have varying percentages of clay, which contributes elegance, creaminess and a unique sense of place.


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Best Value Wines 2022 Under €18.00. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 


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Montes Classic Series Sauvignon Blanc Aconcagua Costa (DO)  2021, 13.5% ABV, €14.95 Bradleys Cork


Chilean Sauvignon blanc is usually pretty good and good value too, especially at entry level, as is the case here with this engaging Montes from the coastal vineyards of Aconcagua.


Colour is pale straw with green tones. Aromas are quite intense: herbaceous, pineapple, lime, and more. It is much the same on the palate, where a lively acidity comes into play, but you may also notice orange blossom and a light spice. 


No oak used by the way. An everyday wine they say. But a good one and Highly Recommended. Serve at 12 to 13 degrees and you’ll find it goes well with sushi, Caesar Salad, ceviche, garlic shrimp, grilled Mahi-Mahi, pasta primavera, seafood chowder and lemon chicken. 


Don’t think the Mahi-Mahi suggestion will be of much use to you. It is a fish of the Americas, also known as Red Snapper, and not usually available here, though I had it once at an early gastro pub in Passage  (I was told it had been flown in that morning!). You could try bream instead.


I was a regular visitor to that pub and the food was good. One of the best dishes I remember was a Scallop Pie. They must have been relatively inexpensive then for the dish was packed with them. They had a French chef I recall; my mobile phone (an early version) rang out loudly one night and the chef started singing along to the  “incoming call” music, which was the Marseillaise. 


The Montes Classic Series of wines represent the outstanding value Chile can offer for everyday drinking. “Grapes are hand-picked and transported to the winery with the utmost care, to keep bunch damage to an absolute minimum.” You don’t have to stop at this Sauvignon as the Series also include wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, and Chardonnay.

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Top Wines 2022. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 


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Monday, December 19, 2022

Just in time for the Christmas weekend. Very Highly Recommended Reds From Portugal's Alentejo and France's Pays d'Oc

Very Highly Recommended Reds From 

Portugal's Alentejo and France's Pays d'Oc

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NEW ZEALAND WINE FAIR DUBLIN Jan 30th. How about a ticket for the wine lover in your life? Details below.

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Esporão 2019 Alentejano (IG), 14% ABV, €17.95 Bradleys Cork

Alentejo is an area in the south east of Portugal and it is where this organic red wine comes from. Like most Portuguese wines, it is a blend and the grapes used are Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional, Aragonez, Cabernet Sauvignon, Touriga Franca. 

The country has scores of native grape varieties in regular use, the two Tourigas above for instance. The Alicante Bouschet is  an important variety in Alentejo. It is one of those grapes where both the skin and the flesh are red, that is to say a teinturier grape. It first saw the light of the vineyard in France in the late 1800s where it was bred as a cross. It does very well in Alentejo where, as reported by Grapes and Wines, one of its best producers is our Esporão.

Anyhow, though Portugal is never boring,  enough of the technical stuff.    Deep ruby is the colour. Ripe fruits, mostly red, waft out in the aromas, a little spice too along with herbaceous note. It is quite fresh with a silky texture, that ripe fruit prominent with a touch of spice but superbly balanced right through the persistent finish. Very Highly Recommended.

The producers: The Wine is produced solely from grapes grown at Herdade do Esporão, applying organic farming methods. It expresses the typical features of the vintage year, diversity of the soil where the vines are planted, as well as the character and identity of the selected varieties.

Winemakers David Baverstock and Sandra Alves oversaw co-fermentation of the grapes begin in the wine presses, with foot treading at controlled temperatures (22 to 25ºC), finishing in concrete tanks. Following malolactic fermentation, aging took place in the same concrete tanks for 6 months. The unique micro-oxygenation conditions provided by this type of tank aim to preserve the wine’s character.

A character well worth preserving!


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Best Value Wines 2022 Under €18.00. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 


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Brau Pinot Noir Pays Doc (IGP) 2019, 13.5%, 

RRP: €20-€21 Taste Castletownbere / Urru, Bandon / Toon's Bridge Macroom and Dublin / Mortons of Galway / Little Green Grocer Kilkenny / Scally's Supervalu Clonakilty / Mary Pawle Wines


Pinot Noir is perhaps my favourite red wine grape. And I am not alone. Wine Folly declares it “the world’s most popular light-bodied red wine”. 


I’ve enjoyed excellent examples from Burgundy of course  (where you’ll find the most prestigious Pinot Noir vineyards in the world) and also from the Alsace, from Germany, the US, New Zealand, Chile, and Romania. And this particular Pays Doc from this producer (the 2015 and the 2018 vintages).


The Languedoc may not be the usual place for Pinot Noir but this is a winner all the way. This 2019 has a lovely light ruby colour. The aromas are quite complex with cherry and red berry coming through plus notes of the local garrigue. Cherry takes a silky hold on the palate, and you have a light presence of spice in a full and generous mouthfeel. Soft tannins also there as this very approachable wine, more supple than some Pinot Noirs, moves to a pleasant and lingering finish. Very Highly Recommended.


It is part of a series that Brau calls “Unique Flavours” that also includes Fer Servadou, an old grape variety of the South-West. Their suggested pairings for the Pinot are cheese, poultry, and braised meat while Wine Folly go for duck, chicken, pork and mushrooms.

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Top Wines 2022. With Reviews & Irish Stockists. 


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Press release:


New Zealand Consumer Tasting Monday 30th January, 2023




One of the most popular consumer wine events of the year is back in January 2023.  The annual New Zealand Wine consumer tasting which takes place on Monday 30th January, 2023.  This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in wine to get to know more about the fantastic wines currently available on the Irish market from New Zealand.

 

This popular tasting will feature an incredible range of wine style from New Zealand.  Taste some of their fantastic reds, their sparkling wines, the aromatic white grape varieties.  The two hour tasting will allow you to explore all the wine styles New Zealand has to offer.

 

Participating wineries for the 2023 New Zealand Winegrowers consumer tasting include

 

Akarua, Babich Wines, Caythorpe Family Estate, Decibel Wines, Dublin St, Graham Norton's Own Wines, Greenhough Vineyard, Hunter's Wines, Invivo X, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jules Taylor Wines, LeftField, Oyster Bay, Pyramid Valley, Rimapere, Smith & Sheth, Vidal, Villa Maria, Waipara Springs, Whitehaven Wine Company, Wither Hills

 

Why not purchase a ticket as a stocking filler for the wine lover in your life? 

 

NEW ZEALAND WINE FAIR DUBLIN CONSUMER TASTING

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm   Monday 30th January, 2023

 

Venue:  Grafton Suite, Westbury Hotel, Balfe St, Dublin 2

 

Tickets available on line priced at €20.00 from:

 

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/new-zealand-wine-fair-dublin-2023-tickets-488155244477


 

Thursday, December 8, 2022

The Big Beer Reveal! 2022 My Favourite Beers This Year. Two tie at the top!

The Big Beer Reveal!


2022 My Favourite Beers This Year


The Top Four

1 -  Wicklow Wolf Locavore Spring Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale

   -  Wide Street Coolship Spontaneously Fermented Ale

3 -  Kinnegar Rustbucket Rye IPA

4 -  Bradleys with Dot Nice One IPA

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Next, in no particular order (all good!) are:

Lineman Schadenfreude Schwarzbier

Wicklow Wolf Mescan Wit or Without You Belgian Wit

Whiplash Dry the Rain Double Decoction Dunkel

Wicklow Wolf Locavore Summer 2022 Foraged Elderflower Saison

Whiplash True Love Waits Dry Hopped Pils

12 Acres Pale Ale

Lough Gill If I was in LA Californian IPA

Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut

Wicklow Wolf  “Apex Cherry” Black Cherry Oatmeal Stout.

Hope Limited Edition 26 Born To Be Free Amber Lager

Whitefield “Eastwood” Pale Ale

Hope Limited Edition No. 27 Munich Helles


Others to note

Session: Third Barrel Day Drinking Part Deux Citra Strata; Kinnegar Brewers at Play #24 Summer Ale; Lough Gill Mo Chara Hazy Seisiún; Boundary Love is Here Hoppy Table Beer Pale Ale; Boundary Trees We Didn’t Plant Pale Ale; Blacks The Session Pink Grapefruit IPA; Porterhouse Sundown Session IPA; Session: Whitefield Brewery “Woodville” Session Pale Ale 4.3%. No shortage of choice here. We are inclined to go for Whiplash Rollover but none of the others here will let you down.

Red Ale: Galway Bay Bay Ale Red Ale; Sullivan’s Maltings Irish Ale; Clonakilty Foxy Red Ale; Cotton Ball Red Velvet.

Gose: Lough Gill Wild Irish Gose; Kinnegar Brewers at Play 23 Mango Gose; Dot Brew When the Going Gets Gose;

Stout: Lynch’s Stout by the Cotton Ball; West Cork Stout X Stout West.

Brown Ale: Lineman Big Calm; Whiplash Smoke Stack Lightnin’ Oaked & Smoked 

Marzen: Kinnegar Leaf Kicker 2022 Marzen

Porter:Brehon Shanco Dubh Porter

Oatmeal IPA: Galway Bay Goodbye Blue Monday

Kolsch: Rye River (collab. with Old Street) Die Hundstage Köter Kölsch

Hopfenweisse: Wicklow Wolf Jeff Bezos

Weizenbock: Whitefield The Viscount Weizenbock 7.5% 

Black IPA: Rascals Rude Girl Black IPA

BA Stout: Bradleys & Dot Brew Shady Dealings

Milk Stout: Trouble Brewing Nocturne Milk Stout

Smoked Porter: Whitefield Old Smoke Smoked Porter; 

Bitter: West Cork Baltimore Bitter

Barleywine: Brehon Brewhouse Red Right Hand Barley Wine Beer


Brewery of the Year: Wicklow Wolf


Cider Corner

Cider: Cockagee Irish Keeved Cider 5% Simply outstanding

Ciders to note: Killahora Bottle Conditioned Dry Bittersweet Cider 2019, 5.9%, 750ml (champagne style) bottle; Longueville House Cider 5.9%; Longways Medium Sweet Elderflower Cider.


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Craft on Draught:

The Maritime, Bantry: 9 White Deer Kölsch

The Lake, Killarney: Ale and Lager by Killarney Brewing Co.

Merry’s, Dungarvan: Wicklow Wolf Ale and more

The Shelbourne, Cork: Beamish and more

The Cotton Ball, Cork: Lynch’s Stout, Indian summer and more

Mellet’s Emporium, Swinford: Reel Deel Jack the Lad, Mescan Seven Virtues Lager.

Keenan’s, Tarmonbarry, Co. Roscommon: White Hag Little Fawn; Kinnegar’s Scraggy Bay.

Finín’s Midleton: Black’s KPA

Franciscan Well: Original 7 Weisse and more

Elbow Lane: Angel Stout and more

The Mad Monk by Quinlan’s, Killarney: Killarney’s Casey Brothers Extra Stout and Golden Spear Blonde

Castlerosse Hotel Bar, Killarney:  Killarney’s Golden Spear Blonde

Celtic Whiskey & Larder, Killarney: Tom Crean St Brigid’s Lager and Rascals Black Horse Stout 4.4% and more

Café Pigalle Cork: White Hag’s Atlantean NEIPA (also White Hag lager)

Blairs Inn Cloghroe, Co. Cork: 9 White Deer Stout and Kolsch

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

CorkBillyBeers #1. Craft journey with Third Barrel, Bradleys, Whiplash, Black Donkey, West Cork Brewing

CorkBillyBeers #1 

Craft journey with a mix: Third Barrel, Whiplash, Black Donkey, West Cork Brewing



Today, we start a new series and will be trying to get beers from all over the country, including from small breweries who may not be able to produce specials every week, so lots of core beers to be included. 

Some weeks, the focus may be on one brewery, another week may concentrate on a style - I have one on stout coming up. Again, it will be mostly Irish beer but I will throw in a "visitor" from time to time!


Just let me know your stockist(s) in Cork where I can buy them. I know some of you have terrific boxes for sale online but I don't need six or twelve of the same beer. As a regular blogger, I need six or twelve different beers!


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Third Barrel Electric Eyes Idaho & El Dorado IPA, 5.6% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys


Volatile thiols are highly impactful aroma compounds that evoke grapefruit, passion fruit, and guava and are found in a variety of tropical fruits, wine grapes, and hops, according to a producer. 


Here, Electric Eyes “has been fermented with a thiol boosting yeast, from our friends in WHC Lab in Wicklow, which produces savage esters of tropical fruits (Pineapple and Mango). On top of this, we loaded it with a stupid amounts of Idaho 7  and El Dorado hops, all wrapped up in a sessionable 5.6% abv.”


Since the hops used also produce exotic results, including pineapple from Idaho and tropical from El Dorada, we have a good idea of what to expect!


This one is hazy and certainly juicy and, as they say themselves, “pops with aromas of pineapple and citrus”. And so it continues on the juicy palate. But, for all the boosting yeast and the particular hops used, there is a certain balance and the fruity side, while certainly prominent (pleasingly so), is not at all over the top. And that’s the way I like it!


Geek Bits

Hops: Idaho 7 and El Dorado (both USA)

Plato – 13.56

Available in 24 x 440ml cans and 30l Key Keg


Very Highly Recommended


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Whiplash Alma Witbier 5.0%, 440 ml can Bradleys




Very engaging, on the light side, full of flavour and totally drinkable. My immediate verdict on a second “reading” (after a six months absence), of the Whiplash Alma Witbier.


Bright fresh lemon peel, tangerine, white wine, limes, white pepper and a hint of clove dominate the initial aroma while the body and flavour is airy, silky, fluffy, gently sweet and reassuringly citrus forward.


A Belgian style beer from Whiplash, a Witbier. Amarillo is the main hop and it is used in the dry hop while the other two,   Nelson Sauvin (gooseberry, Grape, passion fruit) and Motueka (tropical, lime, lemon), both from New Zealand, are small additions to the brew at the whirlpool stage.  Just before finishing they add fresh lemon zest to the tank, “electrifying the whole affair and transforming this Wit into something extremely special.”



Colour is a light orange, hazy for sure. Aromas are zesty as is the first impression on the palate. The lovely and lively lemony zestiness continues strongly on the palate, with peach and pine there also. 


Whiplash say they “always approach our Belgian style beers in a less than traditional way” and the divergence continues throughout, though you may find little hints of clove in the aromas and at the end. Something different, something special as they say themselves. 


Geek Bits

ABV 5.0%

440ml Cans & draught

Artwork by @sophie_devere

Pilsner Malt

Wheat Malt

Amarillo

Lemon Zest

WLP550 (yeast)


Very Highly Recommended

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Black Donkey Western Warrior Irish Lager, 4.2% ABV, 500ml bottle BD Online



Like all their beers, this Western Warrior lager from Black Donkey, is unfiltered, unpasteurised and bottle and keg conditioned and so a little murky in their own tall glass.


It is a close to orange colour with a short-lived head. The aromatics are of modest intensity, with malt leading the way. Malt too leads on the slightly sweet palate but there is a soft bitter counter, courtesthe traditional noble hops. But make no mistake about it, this understated lager is one supple and refreshing drink with a lovely lip-smacking malt-licking finish, flavour all the way to the very satisfying finalé.


They say: Truly a beer for any and every day. Versatile would be an understatement. Lets start with fish; scallops, sushi, steamed mussels, even oysters. Grilled pork chops and schnitzel, traditional sauerkraut and its accompanying smoked meats and sausages (natürlich!). Round it off with a slice of lemon meringue pie and all you need is cheese; just about any cheese you fancy. Personally, I’d be inclined to go fish and chips!


It is available in 500 and 330ml bottles and 30L kegs


Highly Recommended

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West Cork Brewing Spice Island Red Ginger Irish Red Ale, 5.1% ABV, 500ml bottle Ballymaloe Craft Fair



In Ireland traditionally, redheads are nicknamed ginger. So, in a reverse of that, a beer with ginger as an ingredient, is called an Irish Red Ale. And it is really red with a white top that doesn’t really hang around to see what’s going on in Baltimore, home of the West Cork Brewing Company who claim it as Ireland’s most southerly brewery..


And that ginger starts in the aromas. And continues to the palate where you get the spicy lift along with notes of honey and biscuit. Must say I rather like the ginger, particularly towards the warming finalé. Just goes to show West Cork Brewing are following their own compass, exploring new paths and making very interesting beers indeed. 


As always, their beers are brewed using their own spring water, are bottle conditioned, unfiltered and vegan friendly. West Cork Brewing was launched in December 2014 by Dominic Casey, Henry Thornhill and brewer Kevin Waugh.


An interesting beer. Recommended

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Monday, December 5, 2022

Beer of the Year 2022. The Final Selection (16 of the best)

Beer of the Year 2022. The Final Sixteen


2022

Beer of the Year 

The Final Selection (16 of the best)


November: Kinnegar Rustbucket Rye IPA 

October: Wide Street Coolship Spontaneously Fermented Ale 

September: Bradleys with Dot 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 2021: Lough Gill Mac Nutty Macadamia Nut 

Wildcards: 

#1

Amber Lager: Hope Limited Edition 26 Born To Be Free

#2

 Pale Ale: Whitefield “Eastwood” 

#3

 Belgian Pale Ale: Wide Street Spéciale 

#4 

IPA: Lough Gill If I was in LA Californian IPA

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November Short List

Rye IPA: Kinnegar Rustbucket Rye IPA

IPA: Lough Gill If I was in LA Californian IPA

Belgian Pale Ale: Wide Street Spéciale 

Session: Third Barrel Day Drinkin 111 Revenge of the Hops Session IPA

Stout: Sullivan’s Black Marble Stout.   

Black IPA: Wicklow Wolf Sirius Black IPA

IPA: Blacks Stratasbeer Intergalactic IPA. 

Marzen: Kinnegar Leaf Kicker 2022 Marzen

Export Stout: Whiplash The Wake Export Stout, 7.0% 

Red Ale: Galway Bay Bay Ale Red Ale

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