Showing posts with label Dunnes Stores. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dunnes Stores. Show all posts

Friday, March 15, 2024

Pinot Gris. Very much at home in Alsace and this Colmar is a good one!

Domaine De La Ville De Colmar Pinot Gris Alsace (AOP) 2021, 12.5% ABV, €14.75* Dunnes Stores

Alsace -  by Ben Kerckx from Pixabay

* €11.80 in 2023 French Wine Sale.


The Alsace, in the northeast of France, seems to be the place to go for Pinot Gris. 


Grapes & Wines indicates that the grape can produce really good wines in many countries “but I still go back to Alsace to see what makes it tick” and points to the climate. In Alsace where “long hang times are possible; you can pick late for dry or off-dry, and even later for sweet ones.”


Dunnes, where I bought this bottle, say the areais famed for zesty, flavourful white wines.  Pinot Gris goes perfectly with Asian cuisine…. This Pinot Gris epitomises the Alsace style…”




Domaine de la Ville de Colmar, with its centuries-old history, holds a privileged position in the heart of the famous French region.


This particular semi-dry Pinot Gris is light gold, a shiny gold, in colour. Aromas are fresh and complex with even a hint of smoke. It boasts a gorgeous fruity palate and a long finish to match.


Very Highly Recommended.



Enjoy with smoked fish, pork or veal is the advice from Dunnes while the winemaker’s recommendations are as aperitif, and with foie gras, duck breast, cheese (fish in foil, scampi, shellfish, white meats in sauce). A generous wine, an ideal partner at the table. 


Check out  our Top Wines 2024 list (with stockists and short reviews) here 

Looking for better value? All under 20 euro. Click here

In general this versatile wine may be paired with terrines, shellfish, oily fish, smoked fish, sushi, white meats, sweetbreads, mushrooms, spicy and aromatic dishes, and Asian cuisine … It really is versatile! 

Friday, February 23, 2024

Bursting with youth and audacity... Francois Martenot's Crémant De Bourgogne

Francois Martenot Crémant De Bourgogne (AOP) Brut,  2021, 12% ABV

€20.50 Dunnes Stores

€16.50 in last Autumn’s French Wine Sale


..bursting with youth and audacity..


Made in the traditional Champagne method, this Crémant is dry with beautiful flavours of lime and pear. The AOP generally encourages a wine bursting with youth and audacity…freshness and vigour. And that is exactly what you get when you pour this beauty, a pale gold colour and a fountain of bubbles rising to form a necklace around the edge of the glass.


And, with this Brut, that vivacity continues through the aromas and onto the palate which is full of flavour and is fresh and elegant with a lively acidity. Better than most entry-level champagnes and without the hefty price tag. The grapes used here are Chardonnay and Gamay,


Crémant as you know is an excellent aperitf. The French also recommend matching with main dishes such as stewed poultry with pears and dried fruits (confit de volaille aux poires et fruits secs). Serving temperatures: 4 to 8°C as a pre-dinner drink, 6 to 9°C with main meal.


Maison François Martenot is located very close to Beaune, the capital of the Burgundy wine region, in the heart of one of the nicest vineyards of France. Between Auxerre and Mâcon, Burgundy proudly offers some of the most prestigious AOPs of the world.



Check out  our Top Wines 2024 list (with stockists and short reviews) here 

Looking for better value? All under 20 euro. Click here






Crémant de Bourgogne was first made, using the Traditional vinification method (same as Champagne), at the beginning of the 19th century. The AOC status granted in 1975 laid down strict conditions for its production based on meticulously applied traditional skills to achieve high-quality vinification. Only whites and rosés qualify for the appellation. They may be blanc de blancs (from white grapes) or blanc de noirs (from white-juiced black grapes). Most are classed as brut or, less often, demi-sec. The production area is the same as that for the appellation Bourgogne.


Oh by the way, these crémant wines are not confined to Burgundy and there are quite a few to choose from including Bordeaux, Limoux, Savoie, Die (Rhone), Jura and Alsace.. even Luxembourg! You may read a little more on the subject here.


Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Laurent Miquel “Kinsale” Faugères (AOP). "The Irish would say it was just lovely. And we'd have to agree."

Laurent Miquel “Kinsale” Faugères (AOP) 2021, 13.5% ABV 

€13.20 at Dunnes Stores.



"The Irish would say it was just lovely. And we'd have to agree."


The Laurent Miquel wines at Dunnes Stores are very good value at their regular prices. But offers, such as those available during last Autumn’s French Wine sale, give you the chance to get even more value for your Euro. I bought this vegan-friendly blend of Syrah and Grenache for €10.56. It wasn’t the only Miquel wine that I bought!


Neasa Corish Miquel tells us all about this wine. “Our Kinsale Faugères celebrates the rugged slate-dominated beauty of Faugères in the South of France, and Kinsale, the wine capital of Ireland. Ireland, my homeland, has been associated with the story of French wines over many centuries- as a French Irish couple, we are writing a new chapter. Slate terroir in Faugères stores the solar heat and imparts warm, luscious baked fruit character to this red. Serve with traditional wild boar stew or lightly grilled black pudding.  It will do well with red meats and with big-tasting fish eg tuna and salmon.


Kinsale, like quite a few South Coast ports, has a long history in wine for sure but did you know that wine is produced here? Since the 1980s, Thomas Walk has been making his unique sustainable wines, now all from the Rondo vine. Most of the wine is sold in Germany. See more, including an online ordering facility, on their bilingual website here.


Back to Miquel’s Kinsale with its aromas of ripe red fruits with herbs and spices

“The Irish would say it was just lovely. And we'd have to agree. It has lots of depth, almost like it could tell you a story or two. Plums, black cherry, black currents, with a kick. Just lovely.”


Very Highly Recommended.


You cannot miss the garrigue in this area. “The word 'garrigue' refers to the heady scent of the mix of herbs and shrubs found everywhere in the arid, wild scrublands of the Languedoc. …In our part of Southern France, the garrigue is mostly made up of wild herbs like lavender, thyme, sage and rosemary and the aromas scent the air, especially during the summer months. So can garrigue impart a taste into the red wines, and, if so, how?”The quote is from the vineyard blog (by Neasa) of Laurent Miquel. More here. 

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Cazal Viel is where it all started. And long before the Miquels arrived. Right back to 1202 in fact. When the monks of Abbaye de Fontcaude made their wine here. The Miquel have been here for a while too. Since 1789. That's eight generations and counting. Cazal Viel is about a 30-minute drive from Bezier and within easy reach of the autoroutes in the Languedoc area.


 

Thursday, November 2, 2023

CorkBillyBeers #52. Craft with Whitefield, Lineman, Blacks, and Lomza

CorkBillyBeers #52

Recommended wines 2024

https://www.corkbilly.com/2023/12/happy-christmas-to-you-and-yours.html

Craft with Whitefield, Lineman, Blacks, and Lomza

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Whitefield Harvest Ale 5.8% ABV, 375 ml bottle Bradleys



Seasonal. Classic tastes to suit the seasons. Brewed in Tipperary.


“To celebrate each year’s harvest we brew a beer with a unique ingredient. This year we are using raspberries from Con Traas’s farm in Cahir in a blend of sour beer and weisss beer. The raspberries were added at the start of cold maceration to preserve their unique flavour.” 


Orange is the colour (opaque) here and the white head vanishes quickly. The longish cork is secured with the normal wire trap and takes some removing. Smell the beer and you get a sour whiff, no hint of the wheat beer as yet! No hint of the raspberries from the Apple Farm though I did detect a hint of crab apples. 


That refreshing sourness rushes through on the palate, a concentrated hit, some clove notes interspersed, that my palate welcomed,. Probably one of the rarest flavours I've ever tasted. But I'm not backing off. I'm ready for more, taking my time though, sipping small the more to enjoy the flavour and the refreshment.


Out on its own in more ways than one! Go for it. Very Highly Recommended.


Best before date is March 2025 (bought 10.10.23). Wonder if I got a few and kept them until ‘25! They could well be even better.


Whitefield is a small family-owned brewery dedicated to brewing authentic, traditional-style beers. “Our focus is on using the best available malt and hops from farmers and people we’ve actually met and visited. Beers are brewed using a traditional style German brewhouse, matured over many months and then we self-distribute all our beers to publicans and off licences we respect and trust. This we believe, allows us to provide you, the customer, with a genuinely authentic beer.” See our feature on the Tipperary brewer from earlier this year here

 

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Kilohertz or kilohops, KHZ is just buzzing, just the job for the Lineman himself.

Lineman KHZ IPA, 7% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys


There’s this promise on the label: “With the bitterness to refresh and the fruitiness to satisfy your hop cravings..”


Lineman’s KHZ is back after a 2-year break, “one of our dankest and funkiest IPAs thanks to the lashings of Ekuanot and Azacca we give it.”


Colour is a light orange but a very hazy one whose white head holds on for a brief moment. Aromas tell of the dankness to come. And it comes in a power-packed rush, bitterness welling across the palate as a shoal of strong citrus flavours swirl about. The dry hopping has worked like a dream but this is no heavy metal performance. It is Booker T cool and smooth, knocking out a rhythm of fruity hop aromas. Jamming it up so you don't want it to end.


Very Highly Recommended. Kilohertz or kilohops, KHZ is just buzzing, just the job for the Lineman himself.


Geek Bits

BB: 15.08.24. Bought 25.09.23 

ABV: 6.9%

Hops: Azzaca, Ekuanot, Centennial, Citra

Suitable for vegans

Format: 440 ml can

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Blacks KPA Kinsale Pale Ale, 5.0% ABV, 500 ml bottle Dunnes Stores


Can’t blame folks for blowing their own trumpet! “Our world-famous KPA is all about perfect balance and amazing drinkability.” I have been drinking this since 2014 and would gladly help with that trumpet.

You know the story. This is an American-style Pale Ale bursting with Cascade and Citra Hops. Tropical and citrus flavours are beautifully balanced with malt sweetness. Loved the way the flavours spread over the palate from the first sip and that dry clean lingering finish. Indeed, linger is the word. Take your time sipping, the better to enjoy every single drop.

The Magic of Malt and Hops

The delicate balance between malt and hops is what makes this pale ale so special. Some brewers go too heavy on the malt, but this recipe allows the hops—a mix of Centennial, Cascade, and Citra—to shine through with their grapefruit, lime, and other citrus flavours. The malt still plays its part, giving the beer a delicious mouthfeel and a crisp clean finish.

This is how Blacks themselves put it: Blacks escape the mundane of the mass market, producing beers with passion, personality and lots of hops. American-style Pale Ale bursting with Cascade and Citra Hops. Tropical and citrus flavours are beautifully balanced with malt sweetness.

Very Highly Recommended

Geek Bits

Style: Top Fermented
IBU: 60
Hops: Centennial, Cascade, Citra
Best before: BB: 12.06.24 (purchased 05.10.23)
Pair: Burgers, Steaks, BBQ Meats
Released: 2013
Available: Draft, Bottle 500ml, Cans


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Lomza Lager 5.7% ABV, 500 ml bottle Dunnes Stores



Spotted this Polish lager on the shelf and thought, thanks to my long-standing European spirit, that I’d give it a twirl.


Their recipe consists of nothing more than three carefully selected ingredients: water, barley malt and hops. It is distinguished by being non-pasteurised.


It certainly looks (with its gold colour and white head and millions of bubbles) like a lager. Smells like one also with its malt qualities prominent. The flavour is excellent and the beer is refreshing, a simple well-made lager.


“At Łomża we believe that simplicity is a great thing. In an increasingly complex world, we offer clarity - just the highest quality ingredients with nothing to hide. The only complicated thing about Łomża is our name.”


The Łomża brewery is one of the last remaining independent big-capacity breweries in Poland. “The decisions we make directly affect us and our business. We don’t compromise on quality. We stay true to ourselves and our aim to produce good quality, honest beer.”


Expiry date is next January. I didn't take too much notice of the non-pasteurised note even though it is flagged very clearly on the label until I photographed the bottle for this post.  The cans and bottles of pasteurised beers are run through a hot water spray that’s around 140 degrees to kill any bacteria and stop any yeast still in the beer from growing. Unpasteurised don’t get that treatment.



Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Well balanced and delicious. A Very Highly Recommended Rioja Reserva.

Well balanced and delicious. A Very Highly Recommended Rioja Reserva.


Ramon Bilbao Rioja Reserva (DOC) 2015, 14% ABV


€19.50 in Dunnes Stores.


“ Rioja with a twist”. That’s how Ramon Bilbao, who have enhanced their “historical range..with modern approach”, describe their wines. Their “style” is well appreciated in Spain where they have 9% of the market.


This Rioja Reserva has a deep ruby colour, somewhat lighter on the rim. It is clear and bright and you’ll notice those tears, indicating a high alcohol count, though 14 % is not that unusual in warm countries. 


Aromas are quite intense, dark and fed fruit. In the mouth, you notice an excellent acidity along with the fresh fruit flavours, and a touch of vanilla from the oak. Fruit and spice are also in the finish. Tannins are fine, all part of the balance of this delicious wine.


The producers say their style is fresh, elegant and fruity. And this is a very good example, light and bright and a long way from some of those heavyweight traditional Riojas. Drinking very well now and there seems broad agreement that it can evolve further in the bottle, even into the 2030s.


Best served between 17º C and 18º C, this wine pairs perfectly with traditional food such as red meats, game and mature cheeses. Very Highly Recommended.


The 2015 harvest “will go down as one of the earliest and quickest harvests in history”, according to Ramon Bilbao, thanks in no small way to July “with the highest temperatures ever recorded”. The results were clean and fruity wines. They use “pre-fermentation maceration for 3 to 4 days, post-fermentation maceration for 5 to 7 days, overpumping and daily plunging. Filtering and clarification did not take place until the end. Ageing: American Oak Barrel for 20 months: Missouri and Ohio, and a further 20 months in bottle”. 



Rioja Classifications Guide

Wondering what a Crianza is? Well, it is one of the classifications that indicates the age of the wine in your bottle and you’ll see a stamp at the rear to confirm it. Reserva is another but you should note that Rioja takes these terms seriously, it is a guarantee, and you can rely on the system. In some countries, reserva is at the producer's whim, with no supervisory system in place!


Generic: This category guarantees the origin and vintage of wine. They are usually wines in their first or second year, which keep their primary freshness and fruit. This category may also include other wines that do not fit into the categories of Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva, if they have been subjected to an ageing process that is not certified by the Control Board.


Crianzas are wines which are at least in their third year, having spent a minimum of one year in oak barrels. For white wines, the minimum barrel ageing period is 6 months.


Reserva These are meticulously selected wines with a minimum ageing between oak barrels and the bottle of three years, of which at least one has to be in barrels, followed and complemented by a minimum 6 months’ ageing in the bottle. For white wines, the minimum ageing period is 2 years, with at least 6 months in barrels.


Gran Reserva These are wines of great vintages that have been painstakingly aged for a total of sixty months with at least two years in oak barrels and two years in the bottle. For white wines, the minimum ageing period is 4 years, with at least 6 months in barrels.


The labels are colour coded. You’ll see the Reserva has a burgundy colour while Gran Reserva has a (royal) blue.


* The GranReserva is also a beauty and we’ll have a post on it in a week or so.

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Check my growing list of top wines for 2023

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Check out my Good Value Wine List here

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