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.

Argentina Scores with Reds. And Whites.

Argentina Scores with Reds. And Whites.
Mascota Malbec And Beef Wellington Hit The Spot At Cornstore Wine Event

Matias, introduced by Mags O'Connor (Cornstore)

The Cornstore is renowned for its aged steak, Argentina’s Mascota Vineyards for their Malbec. Put the two together and you are on a winner. That happened in Cork’s Cornstore last Monday night and it was the highlight of a lovely wine evening with El Esteco’s Matias Ferraro our knowledgeable and humorous host.

Matias took us through a series of excellent wines from two vineyards, the whites from Amaru High, the reds from Mascota, all imported by Cork company Classic Drinks who also helped the evening run smoothly.

As we started off with some gorgeous tapas from the Cornstore kitchen, we were introduced to the Amaru High Torrontes 2013. The vineyard, believe it or not, is situated at 1700 metres and higher. “The height and coolness leads to a thicker skin, more concentration. Light yellow, it is a little spicy but with good balance,” said Matias.

The Torrontes is regarded as Argentina’s national grape and I'm surprised it is not better known here. Perhaps with Matias and Classic Drinks promoting it, we’ll see more of this gorgeous wine with its beautiful fresh flavours and balancing acidity. If Albarino can make the breakthrough here, Torrontes must have as good a chance.

Now we dropped down to the Finca La Mascota, a vineyard near Mendoza, the town where Scotland beat Holland in the 1978 World Cup. Matias may have been down following the recent World Cup final loss to Germany but this Buenos Aires resident has Boca Juniors to cheer on in the weeks ahead.

He cheered us all up on Monday when he introduced the Opi Cabernet Sauvignon. Opi Sadler is the winemaker; delays in his journey meant he didn't make the Cornstore but Matias went solo and was in top form. As was this excellent wine, full bodied and full too of dark fruit with a long finish. Superb with some of the tapas, particularly the Beef Carpaccio.

And then it was on to the Beef Wellington, with twice cooked Roast Potatoes and Caramelised Root Vegetables and a Bordelaise Sauce. What a dish! What a wine! The La Mascota Malbec 2012 is a gem, beautiful aromas, vibrantly fruity, smooth and easy drinking and with a long lazy finish. It takes two to tango and this beef and this wine were the perfect pair.

Beef Welllington.

The Menu

Amaru High Vineyards Torrontes Rosé 2014

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Parma Ham and Toonsbridge Mozzarella Roulade.

Beef Carpaccio en Croute with Truffle Oil & Parmesan Cheese.

Smoked Salmon Rillette with pickled Cucumber.

Wild Mushroom Risotto beignets with Celeriac Purée.

Amara High Vineyards Torrontes 2013.

Opi Cabernet Sauvignon 2012.

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Classic Beef Wellington, with twice cooked Roast Potatoes and Caramelised Root Vegetables and a Bordelaise Sauce.

La Mascota Malbec 2012.

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Poached Rhubarb and Strawberry in Rose Jelly with Blood Orange Sorbet.

Santa Ana Sparkling Wine Malbec Rosé.

Yours Truly and Matias.

Taste of the Week

Taste of the Week

Mariko Sparkling Green Tea

Back on the tea trail again today for our Taste of the Week. It comes all the way from Ballina (County Mayo) and the full title is Mariko Sparkling Sencha Green Tea. No calories or sweeteners in the 250 ml bottle (also available in 750 ml size). The “luxury” green tea leaves are “uniquely brewed” into a lovely thirst-quenching, healthy, refreshing and delicious cool drink.

Christine McAndrew is the lady behind Mariko Sparkling Green Tea and she is also founder of Pure Glan Food Ltd, which has been providing fresh food service to national and secondary schools for over a decade. Read all about the tea (it can also be used in cocktails, punches and cordials) here.

Flight of the Bee Sensations

Flight to the Top for Bee Sensations

Irish Quality Food Awards 2014.

Great to be at the table with Bee Sensations last Friday evening when one of their lovely jams won at the Irish Quality Food Awards 2014. On the Pig’s Back and Burren Salmon were also among the victors on a night which is mainly for the supermarkets and the larger producers (such as Dale Farm Dairies, ABP Cahir, Kepak, and O’Brien Fine Foods who were all on the podium).

Munster based Bee Sensations are a husband and wife company, run by Tom and Croéin Ruttle. They are quite famous for their innovative (often blended) jams, which use honey instead of sugar, and of course for their honey. As it happened it was one of their jams, the Honeyed Fig, Rhubarb and Chilli Savoury Jam, that struck gold in the Grocery Ambient - Savoury class.

But there was a moment of unnecessary drama before the win was confirmed as apparently the wrong class was called out first. Still, the busy couple were soon able to relax as their name appeared on screen. It was about the only obvious hitch in a very slick presentation, introduced by Paul Kennedy and compered by celebrity chef Catherine Fulvio (“a farmer’s daughter”).

Birgitta Curtin is one of the heroes of Irish food and she keeps innovating and winning. Her success came  in the Fish section where her Burren Smoked Irish Organic Salmon with Seaweed Marinade came out on top. This came in for high praise from the judges: “really fantastic in terms of colour, texture and flavour”. Like Bee Sensations (and unlike most of the other producers), she didn't have a supermarket partner listed.

Olivia, of An Olivia Chocolate, and, sister Emily (left)

But Cobh’s Deirdre Hilliard and her company Just Food weren't as  fortunate in the Soups section. Her HiLo Super Greens Soup was behind a Lidl Ireland soup, Newgate Tomato Soup by Princes (the international food and drink company).

The cross-border event is labelled Irish Quality Food Awards not Quality Irish Food Awards. There is a difference as we all know from small print on food packaging! Honey is one often quoted example.

Cork’s Isabelle Sheridan of On the Pig's Back certainly enjoyed her trip to the Mansion House as she was named the Supervalu Small Producer of the Year.  Based on her French family recipes, Isabelle has been making chicken liver patés and terrines in Cork since 1995. Her Chicken Liver Paté with Garlic and Brandy is the product that led to this breakthrough and the organisers say they are sure “it will be a fantastic addition to Supervalu’s product line and look forward to working with On the Pig’s Back”. Well done Isabelle.

The awards are open to all retailers, food producers, wholesalers and food service operators “across Northern and Southern Ireland” (someone should tell the PR it is the Republic of Ireland!). Awards were presented in some fifty categories and the Overall Gold Q Award went to Simply Better French Trimmed Connemara Hill Rack of Lamb (Dunnes Stores/Tendermeats).

Yours truly with Isabelle Sheridan (On The Pig's Back)

See the full list of awards here.

Blas na hEireann update on Bee Sensations July 2015 here

Amuse Bouche

“It’s true, when you think about it,” Colette said with a giggle. “There are frogs everywhere in the world but only the French eat them. Why is that so?”

“The French are the only ones who’ve found out how to eat them,” Luc Giraud said. “Another example of French in-ge-nu-it-y.”

“As far as food is concerned, the French are the champions of ingenuity!” Madame Valette laughed.

from On Leave by Daniel Anselme

Huguenot Bistro. Le Retour de Fred

Huguenot Bistro

Le Retour de Fred

Stuffed Chavignol Goats Cheese

Fred is back in town. Frederic Desourmeaux*, the big French chef with the magic touch in the kitchen, is back in town and heading up Brendan Cashman’s impressive team in Huguenot, the new French Bistro and Wine Bar in Carey’s Lane. The venture marks a return too for Brendan to the city centre where he previously enjoyed enormous success with Augustine's.

And it is a French bistro. Make no mistake about that. Lots of produce being sourced from the Cork area but the dishes are unmistakably Gallic. Classics such as French Onion Soup, Coq au Vin and Tarte au Citron (all keenly priced) stand out in the menu as do French cheeses and French wines.

For me, it’s like strolling down town and going on holidays. Even the menu is in French. But worry not! It is also in English and there are some daecent Cork accents in among the European. It is a lovely restaurant, spread over four floors. Downstairs you have reception and a place to enjoy a wine or a coffee and the next two floors is where you'll dine in space and comfort.

Grilled Morteau sausage

We settled in in midweek and took our time with that new menu, nibbling on some fresh French bread and sipping some Bordeaux (Chateau Gait Garriga Semillon and the Chateau Ste Marie Merlot/Cab Franc).

Settled on Stuffed Chavignol Goats Cheese on toasted brioche, beetroot, herb salad and pesto and the Grilled Morteau sausage, warm Puy lentils salad, parsley shallots vinaigrette. The Cheese looked amazing and both tasted delicious. We were winning.

And the meal continued on a high note. My mains was the perfectly cooked Pan Fried fillet of Hake, Ragout of squid, chorizo and roast pepper, garlic Aioli and pesto. Small things can make a big difference in restaurant meals; at the very least they are an indicator of quality. And the small things here, the chorizo for instance and also the exquisite mashed potato that accompanied the mains, made a difference and underlined the quality of the kitchen.

CL had chosen the Braised Beef Cheeks (above), glazed baby vegetables, mousseline potatoes, and smoked bacon crisps. A superb offering, all done to a “t” including those baby vegetables. The beef itself - I had a few mouthfuls, there was no shortage - was magnificent, melt in the mouth stuff.

Took my time choosing dessert. Was tempted by the Cafe Gourmand but narrowed it down to a final two: the Forest Fruit Clafoutis and the Lemon Tart. Finally took the Tarte au Citron and its Raspberry Coulis. More culinary magic from M. Fred! Will just have to go through everything on that dessert menu.

Indeed, a quick return to Huguenot is on the cards. Very Highly Recommended!

* Just to let you know....Fred is no longer working at Huguenot (this update 28.09.14)

Taste of the Week

Taste of the Week
Organic Relaxing Tea

I got mine at Schull Farmers Market.
Also available online - see website below.

A relaxing cup of tea. How often have you heard that said. And much truth in too, particularly if you sup in good company.

How about a relaxing cup of Relaxing Tea? No kidding. I have here in my hand a pack of Organic Relaxing Tea from the Peppermint Farm and Garden in West Cork.

Lots of teas around this house, I can tell you, And it took a while to get around to this one. Not sure that it is more relaxing than some of the others but it does slow things down - after all, brewing time alone is ten minutes! Must say though that it is very enjoyable and that is a big step on the way to relaxation.

The ingredients are basil, chamomile and peppermint and I like the line on the pack: “if you are strained this tea will help you relax”. Humour too in the names of some of the many other teas available from the farm, e.g. Splendid Women's Tea, Kicked Back Evening Tea, Cupid’s Delight Tea (I wonder what’s in that one!) and Banish Exhaustion Tea.

Peppermint Farm is run by Doris and Achim Hoffmann. They do much more than blend and sell teas and you may read all about them here.

Camus Farm and its Delicious Dexter Beef

Camus Farm and its Delicious Dexter Beef

Dexter rump steak

The Natural Way

In a small family farm in West Cork, the cattle remain in their family herd. They are not subjected to the stresses of dehorning or castration. They reproduce as nature intended.

The calves remain suckling their mother's milk until fully weaned. In contrast, intensively farmed calves are removed from their mothers and fed on ‘milk replacement’. The West Cork herd is raised organically and there is no risk from the uncertain effects of GM feeds and residues from pesticides and so on.

Even if there was no difference in the taste of the beef, I know I'd be picking from the West Cork farm. It is called Camus Farm and here Vic raises his herd of Dexter cattle, Ireland's native beef breed.

And there is a difference in the flavours and the Dexter comes out on top. Over the weekend we sampled both rump steak and stewing steak from the herd and they were superb. Vic dry ages his beef. In contrast, industrial beef is either not aged or wet-aged. You can check out all the details here.

Vic kills once a month and fresh meat will be available again in Clonakilty Farmers market on the weekend after next. In the meantime, you may buy it frozen (as we did) at his stall in Clon and at the farm-gate. You may also order via the Fresh from West Cork stall in the English Market. Well worth a try!

Interested in raising Dexters? Then Vic's your man, as he also sells cattle. Dexters may be relatively scare in Ireland but they can be found all over the world. The latest we heard is of a herd in the South African vineyard called the Elgin Ridge Winery. It is an organic operation and interestingly Dexter cattle help keep the vineyard clean! Owner Marian Smith grew up in Ballyjamesduff.

www.camusfarm.ie

Facebook. /dexterbeef

Twitter. @irishdexterbeef

Tel: 023 886 9268

Our call to Vic at the Clonakilty Market was part of a quick trip west to sample the week long festival  called A Taste of West Cork. Read here about a fantastic multi-course meal featuring seaweed and here about a very enjoyable twenty fours that also included a tour of the West Cork Distillery in Skibbereen.

Great West Cork Distillery Tour. Beautiful Baltimore

Great West Cork Distillery Tour

Beautiful Baltimore. Bountiful Clonakilty. 

A terrific tour of the West Cork Distillery in Skibbereen was the highlight of the first part of our twenty four hours in West Cork. A twenty four hours that had some changes to the “plan”, a rather loose one admittedly.

First hiccup, if you could call it that, came on the way down when a phone call to Baltimore revealed that the two o’clock trip on the SeaSafari was off as the craft was out of the water for the afternoon and being cleaned up.

So then the Distillery tour, one o’clock start, was pencilled in. Got into Skibbereen in good time and called to a busy Apple Betty’s. Ordered a panini. That was a little slow in coming but it was gorgeous, a terrific filling of bacon, Cashel blue and a fantastic relish. Rushed it a bit and hot footed down the street to the Distillery.

John O'Connell (foreground) in the Distillery

Things didn't look good here as people were coming away rather than going in! Apparently, the Distillery weren't very happy with the time published in the "Taste of West Cork" brochure. Director John O’Connell explained they couldn't do the tour at one but would have “a good one” at three.

It worked out well, at least for us. We headed off in the sun (the weather forecast was not exactly spot-on either) to Baltimore, packed with people who seemed to know more than the forecasters. So packed, we didn't find a space in the car parks.

Off out the road we went to the Beacon and enjoyed marvellous views both on the way and during our walk up to the Baltimore landmark. Great views over the islands, Sherkin the nearest, and back to the little town. Later, we had a pause and a walk by the harbour. Hiccups yes but this day was going very well indeed.

The Beacon

So well, we nearly missed the tour or so we thought. But there was no rush as dozens and dozens of people arrived, the big numbers a surprise to John and his friendly staff. Still we were all settled, with a glass of their Drombeg, perhaps their most famous whiskey so far, and a good one too for this time of day as it is just twenty per cent abv.

John then took us on a walkabout of the distillery where the staff were still working. He took us through the process, from the malted barley coming in, and along the journey to the casks (they use sherry casks) and the bottling at the end.

Great informative stuff and more whiskey before we left, with tastings of their West Cork whiskey, the normal and the cask (57% abv!). If you like your whiskeys flavoured then Kennedy’s is the one for you. You may have it Spiced, Honied, Limed and Chillied! They also do a gin, poitin and a vodka here, under the Two Trees brand. And that’s not all.

The ferry, from Sherkin, just arrived in Baltimore

But that was it for us and we headed through the town and off to the Inchydoney Island for that evening’s magnificent nine course dinner “A Taste of West Cork”, all part of the week long food festival in the area. Read all about it here.

And there was yet more whiskey on arrival as we were pleasantly surprised with a glass of the lovely Irish Mist. Time then for a walk on the fantastic beaches here.

The Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa is a four star hotel on the Wild Atlantic Way but I must say that the facilties and service that we enjoyed there were closer to five star. Great place with great staff. The only hiccup perhaps was a delay at breakfast but I think that was down to the many customers that all came together at about ten o’clock on the Saturday. Hard to legislate for that!

At Apple Betty's

They support local produce here obviously and I enjoyed my Scrambled Egg and Ummera Smoked Salmon before we headed off to Clonakilty in the morning mist. It had dried up by the time we arrived and we wandered through the streets looking for the Lettercollum Project shop.

We found it and it was busy, selling salads, tarts, cheese, wine, nuts, seeds, breads and so much more, much of it based on produce from their walled garden in nearby Lettercollum. We went off with enough salad (mixed beans) and bread for two delicious lunches over the weekend.

And we also found Vic and his organic Dexter beef in the market. The main market is on Friday but you’ll find some stalls operating on Thursday and Saturday. I’ll soon have a separate post up about Vic and his tasty beef but for the latest check out his Facebook page . 

Our twenty fours in West Cork were up and it was time to head back to the city. But we’ll return. Again and again!

Seaweed Featured in Multi-course Taste of West Cork

Seaweed Featured in Multi-course Taste of West Cork
Inchydoney Chef and team in top form

 Meet Jim and Maria Kennedy from the Intertidal Zone. “We spend most of our time there,” said Jim as they introduced us to the Magic of Seaweed at the start of the third annual A Taste of West Cork meal in the Inchydoney Island last Friday.

Jim and Maria had quite a few samples of the various seaweeds available (to taste, to touch) and spoke in detail of their different properties. “Seaweed is a super food….from a garden that doesn’t need to be weeded… dulse and carrigeen have traditionally been used in the Irish kitchen...Seaweed is also an amazing detox ingredient….makes a nourishing top dressing for your garden plants.”  And so much more.

West Cork garlic, organic Rosscarbery leeks, Clonakilty potato, and hand foraged Sea Vegetable Soup,
with a seaweed scone, tomato jam and roasted garlic cream cheese.

Jim advised to “look at the Spring tides when the better seaweeds are exposed”. “But,” he added, “If doing it yourself, be careful.” Read more about seaweed here.

Jim and Maria, who run Atlantic Sea Kayaking, are from Skibbereen but you could come across them almost anywhere, from the Liffey to Mexico, from Spain to Japan.

Rabbit and Harrington's black pudding, Shannonvale Chicken lollipop.

Friday evening though was firmly rooted in West Cork and Inchydoney Head Chef Adam Metcalf had the major task of blending all the marvelous products of the area, from its bountiful and beautiful land and sea, into a multi course meal as the week long festival, also named A Taste of West Cork, got underway. Surprisingly, there were no local beers, ciders or spirits included. Maybe next year?

Adrian, the local representative of Findlaters, took us through the various wines that had been picked to accompany the meal. We were greeted with a glass of Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad Cava and that went very well indeed with the Seaweed Sushi (including an amazing toasted Nori) that came with Ummera Smoked Salmon and also the Smoked Shannonvale chicken with Pickled Ginger and Sea Kale.

Castletownbere Monkfish, wrapped in Gubbeen cured ham
with Carrageen Moss and caramelised Shallot Potato Puree.

Some gorgeous breads on the table as we sat down including a Dulse Seaweed, Marsh Samphire and Atlantic Sea Salt Loaf. And Sea Lettuce featured in the Bantry Bay Lobster Course as did a spiced Bluefin Tuna.

Next up was a hand foraged Sea Vegetable soup with a seaweed scone! Rabbit was stuffed with local black pudding and also accompanied by a Shannonvale Chicken Lollipop.

Elderflower Parfait

All the while, the wines were being poured and the next course, the Castletownbere Monkfish (caught by the Fair Maiden), was accompanied by an intense Albarino. The fish was wrapped in that terrific Gubbeen Cured Ham and there was some discussion as to whether the salt of the ham did the fish any favours. Someone suggested that a pancetta wrap would have been better. Someone else said the fish didn’t need a wrap at all!

Then on to the sweet things, an Elderflower Parfait (foraged elderflower, Valley View egg and Clona Dairy Parfait) with a hand picked Wild Damson Compote and a Bushy Strawberry Sauce. Delightful.

The finale.

To finish, there was a choice of Barry’s Tea or Java Coffee with Inchydoney Recipe Chocolate flavoured with seaweed, some oak smoked Gubbeen cheese along with the hotel’s own Plum and Sultana Chutney on an impressive Patisserie Royale Cracker, handmade in nearby Lisavaird by Richard Graham Leigh.

That last course was accompanied by a glass of Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Port. The earlier wines were Vicar’s Choice Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (quite a favourite at our table), Pionero Mundi Albarino, and Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz (70%) Cabernet.

Findlater's Albarino

So well done to the many West Cork producers chosen this year and a big congrats too to Chef Adam and his crew who did the hotel proud.  I spoke to one guest who has been at all three events. He reckoned the first was a bit over the top (quite large portions all the way through), the second was underwhelming (probably in reaction to year one), but “this time they got it right”!  And so say all of us.
See account of the full day in West Cork, including Distillery visit, here.