Two Very Fine Viogniers. One from the Rhone, the other from South Africa’s Paarl.

Two Very Fine Viogniers. 

One from the Rhone, 

the other from South Africa’s Paarl.

Ferraton Viognier Collines Rhodaniennes (IGP) 2019, 13.5%

€19.50 Ardkeen Grocery Store, Waterford// Little Green Grocer,

Kilkenny// Manning's, Ballylickey// The Olive Branch, Clonakilty.

This mellow full bodied Viognier, from the Northern Rhone, comes in a lovely bright yellow colour with green hints. Apricot (with pear and orange) plus floral notes combine to promise much as they lead the aromas. And the promise is well delivered on the cheering palate, soft and thick, fresh and vibrant, all the way to a very pleasant fruity finish. 

It comes unostentatiously (it is after all the relation and neighbour of the ultra-famous, and much more expensive Condrieu), laden with a sack full of delicious scents and flavours. Very Highly Recommended.

Collines Rhodaniennes more or less covers the entire Northern Rhone, stretching from Montélimar (well-known for its nougat) in the south to Lyon (capital city of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region) in the north, and its IGP replaces Vin de France. 

The fruit for this Ferraton is grown on the right bank of the Rhône, along the foothills of northern Ardèche. The terroir is composed of granite and decomposed granite. Traditional agriculture methods are in use and the harvest is carried out manually when the grapes reach optimum ripeness. 

It is recommended to serve this wine at 12-13°C as aperitif, with foie gras, with salads, with grilled meat and all fish dishes. Wine Folly suggests dishes flavoured with almonds, citrus, stewed fruits, and aromatic herbs such as Thai Basil and tarragon. And, with its apricot influences, you could also try it, as Grapes & Wines indicate, with pork or chicken with an apricot stuffing. Also, the Armenian dish of trout and apricot should be another match.

I often wonder does the name of this grape put newcomers off buying a bottle, especially if you have to pronounce it. Here’s how: vee-own-yay. Much of the Viognier we come across here in Ireland is from France but it is grown around the world and finding favour in Australia and California in particular. And we've got another good one below from South Africa.

Charles Back

Fairview Viognier, Paarl South Africa 2020, 13.5% 

RRP €24.99 The 1601 / Wineonline.ie

The South African Viognier by Fairview has a bright light gold colour with exotic fruit aromas along with subtle oak notes. It is vibrant and refreshing in the mouth, rich and complex with apricot shining through, peach and lime in there as well. A lively acidity contributes to the balance along with the subtle oak. It feels close to creamy (thanks in part to its time on lees). And there’s a long lasting finish. Very Highly Recommended.

The grapes were hand picked in the early morning and whole bunch pressed. Only the free run juice was used. Sixty per cent of the Viognier was fermented in French oak barrels (20% new) with the remaining 40% fermented in stainless-steel tanks. After fermentation, the wine was left to mature on lees for eight months, with regular stirring, prior to being blended for additional texture and body.

The fruit is sourced from the vineyards at Fairview farm in Agter-Paarl. These trellised Fairview vines are grown on the slopes of Paarl mountain, on decomposed granite soils. Summer canopy management practices including leaf removal and shoot positioning ensure optimal sunlight penetration into the canopies.

I heard owner Charles Back and wine-maker Charl du Plessis, in a Zoom presentation the year before last, say the high cropping level is a problem. “We need to manage the canopy. Treat it as a red grape early on, the aim always is to get the correct balance between the alcohol and the tannins.” I reckon they got it spot-on in 2020.

That year, unlike previous vintages, was very good, not just for the region, but for South Africa in general. Winters were cool with sufficient rainfall. Spring was mild and summer saw warmer temperatures allowing fruit to ripen at a steady rate. The Viognier was harvested between the 2nd - 7th February.

The Fairview website, naturally enough, is proud of the achievements of owner Charles who  was awarded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by the International Wine Challenge in 2014. He is a true pioneer of the region, credited with bringing Mediterranean varieties to the Cape. 

“One of the (many) gifts that Charles Back has brought to Cape wine was, and still is, Fairview Viognier. Planting the mother block of this French grape in 1994, Charles and team have nurtured this variety to bring you a gorgeously aromatic and refined wine. A must try!”

 

Christmas Rocks at Rock Farm Slane

Christmas Rocks at Rock Farm Slane

Carina Conyngham of Rock Farm

 

The Christmas farmers markets at Rock Farm Slane are a convenient one-stop-shop for your Christmas dinner essentials this year. Organic turkey, ham and roasts, organic vegetables (including the crucial brussel sprouts) and lots of delicious festive fare from the Slane Food Circle all under one roof. Bring the family along and make a day of it on Wednesday 21^st, Thursday 22^nd or Friday 23^rd December from 11am to 4pm.

 

What could be more festive than Rock Farm Christmas Market in the old Hay Barn, twinkling with lights and bedecked with Christmas trees. Every enticing stall is dressed up for Christmas, featuring special hampers and Christmas gift packs making browsing for last minute presents a pleasure. We’ll have artisan food, arts and crafts stalls competing for your attention with an abundance of yuletide gift ideas and treats. These include Slane Food Circle members Rock Farm Slane, The Cider Mill, Boyne Valley Farmhouse Cheese and Newgrange Gold Rapeseed Oil.

 

Take time out and treat yourself to coffee or lunch with some homemade festive favourites. Time out just for you in our spacious seating area while yuletide music plays in the background. There’s even a nice loop walk through the farm around the glamping area, where children can burn off some energy and work up an appetite

 

Rock Farm Christmas products include organic turkey and ham, pork, beef and the popular Organic Christmas Breakfast Pack, perfect for Christmas morning. The turkeys are Hockenhull bronze turkeys, slower growing than standard white turkeys and carefully chosen for their flavour and taste. Like all the stock on Rock Farm, they are raised organically. Turkeys must be pre ordered.

 

Add a little treat like a wheel of Boyne Valley Blue or a selection of Mark Jenkinson’s delicious ciders to enjoy over the festive period. You won’t be caught out this year when unexpected guests arrive. Rock Farm vouchers are a great gift option, either for Christmas products or a general voucher which can be redeemed against anything from glamping to farm tours.

 

All Rock Farm and Slane Food Circle Christmas products are available to order by email (shop@rockfarmslane.ie) for collection during Christmas week (21^st-23^rd December) from the Christmas Markets. Christmas orders can also be collected by arrangement from Dublin collection points.

Choose Rock Farm this Christmas and taste the difference.

press release

 

A Quart of Ale± #131. On the craft journey with Lough Gill, Bradleys, Kinnegar, Whiplash.

A Quart of Ale± #131

Session anyone?

On the craft journey with Lough Gill, Bradleys, Kinnegar, Whiplash.

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Lough Gill If I was in LA Californian IPA, 6.8%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Probably safe to say that hoppy West Coast IPA, with its amazing aromatics, not to mention flavours, is the regions’s flagship beer. But before that, American hops were being rejected by brewers in Europe and the US.

And then, according to National Geographic Atlas of Beer, along came Bert Grant of the Yakima Brewing and Malting Company and he developed the Northwest’s first version of the IPA. Soon that developed into the West Coast IPA that so many love today.

Lough Gill do quite a bit of business in the US and this pale and hazy IPA is not their first with a hoppy nod to the states. You’ve got two US hops deployed here, Citra and Mosaic. And you’re expecting a lot of citrus and tropical. 

What you do get is a more or less perfect balance between bitter and fruit notes. Malted barley with oats and rye are included in the ingredients and brewer Francesco Sottomano has managed to get them all in harmony. Hop forward yes, yet the flavours, attractively rounded, are long lasting and this is one for my shortlist! Hope Lough Gill put it on their core list!

From what I can glean, this IPA is like those of the southern part of the West Coast of the USA, “the San Diego version” according to Jeff Alworth’s Beer Bible, with “stiff hopping”. From a northwest IPA, expect more malt, less bitterness, and more aromatics and fruity hops.

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Kinnegar Leaf Kicker 2022 Marzen, 5.9% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Most of us who have hosted and or attended weddings will no doubt have enjoyed a beer or two. Very few weddings have started a beer trend. But that’s what happened when a royal wedding between Ludwig (the future king) and Therese took place in Bavaria in October 1810. That party was so good and the couple so popular that another party was held the following year and so Octoberfest was established.

By 1819, the festival had become a 2-week event (beer was just one strand), now organised by the city of Munich, and kicked off, as it does now, in mid-September. Marzen was the main style of beer for the festival and its name came from the fact that it was brewed in March to be at its best in Autumn.

Märzen later became - still is - popular in Austria though their version is lighter in colour and maltiness than the Bavarian beer.  In both regions, it was, before refrigeration, brewed in the Spring for consumption in the Autumn and, according to the National Geographic Atlas of Beer in 2017, held 60 to 70 per cent of Austria’s beer market.

And here we have the right royal brewers of Kinnegar with their Märzen which they did bring out in September (its colour close to the leaves of its name). So I’m a little behind, not for the first time, hard to keep up with all the new beers out there.

“…here’s our new autumn special,” they said. ”Each year we’ll make a different classic beer style, beginning in 2022 with this German Märzen. A lager, Märzen, was originally served at Oktoberfest in Munich. Enjoy this 5.9% ABV rendition as life returns to a slightly slower pace for the autumn months.”

This is for sure more the Bavarian style. Its ABV is in the Märzen range of 5-6.5% as against 4.5% to 5.5% for Vienna Lager. Amber is the colour (fountains of bubbles rise up) and it has an almost creamy mouthfeel.  This supple beer leads with its rich malts, along with a sweetish bagel* flavour and a touch of caramel. It finishes clean and a little hoppy.

It is deeply refreshing and also well suited to food including BBQ, pizzas and tacos plus a chicken from the rotisserie. Octoberfest may be finito for 2022 but this Donegal beer can be enjoyed for another month or two. 

* I’m thinking of the bagel I regularly get from Cork’s Bread & Roses..

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Whiplash The Wake Export Stout, 7.0%, Whiplash online

Here's an excellent Export Stout from Whiplash. Black, like newly laid tarmac, with a soft tan head that’s slow enough to shift. Aromas of lightly roasted coffee and chocolate may be mild but they are persistent. And what follows on the impressive palate is not a million miles away, flavours of lightly toasted bread, plus a lick of cherry across those lips, coffee is never that far away as this quite hefty stout waltzes smoothly on its way to a merry, dry and rather marvellous finalé. May I have the next dance also, please!

That’s my immediate reaction to The Wake, (hardly a dancing occasion, getting my metaphors mixed up). The Whiplash crew, rarely slow to offer advice, are a tad shy here: “… while we don’t want to tell you how to drink your beer, we’d highly recommend this one on a cold evening in front of an open fire.” That could be arranged as could a case of this black beauty.

Thanks you Whiplash. Enjoy The Wake and Happy Christmas.

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Whiplash Rollover Session IPA 3.8% ABV, 330 can 

Looking for a decent session beer. No shortage but my go-to is this Whiplash Rollover. Murky orange is the colour - no way you’re going to see through this haze! This was our session beer of 2020 and this most recent tasting confirmed it’s as likeable as ever.

Pale yellow colour with a  short-lived white head over a hazy body. Citrus fronts the aromatics. And the quartet of hops dominate the palate. Amazing that this has so much hops and still weighs in at less than 4.00% ABV. Quite a concentration of hops then, before a lip-smacking finalé.

They say: Same hop rate as our DIPA’s, less than half the alcohol. A very heavily hopped Session IPA: this comes at you with buckets of Simcoe, Ekuanot, Citra and Mosaic hops with a light touch of malts and an easy crushable body. Unfiltered, hazy, hoppy and juicy – Rollover is a New England inspired IPA without the heavy alcohol in tow.

Adrift at Dunmore House honoured at prestigious Food & Wine Restaurant of the Year Awards

Adrift at Dunmore House honoured at prestigious Food & Wine Restaurant of the Year Awards

There were double celebrations for the family owned and run Dunmore House in Clonakilty this weekend as Adrift, the fine dining restaurant at the 30 bedroom hotel, was announced as Highly Commended Hotel Restaurant of the Year on the same day that owner Carol Barrett celebrated her birthday.

Now in their fourth generation at the beautiful seaside property, Carol’s mother Mary O’Donovan accepted the award with members of the team on Sunday 6th November at The Round Room at The Mansion House in Dublin, with 450 guests celebrating the best of Irish food and drink in a sold-out event hosted by Food&Wine editor Gillian Nelis. Adrift was keeping very good company as the Michelin starred Oak Room at Adare was named overall Hotel Restaurant of the Year on the day.

 

Speaking about the award, Carol Barrett said, “We are completely thrilled with this award from Food&Wine, to know that we were nominated by guests and then judged by some of the best food writers, influencers, chefs and industry experts and to be acknowledged in this way is such a joy for us as a family and for our whole team who make this happen. I was equally as thrilled for my mother Mary, and thoughtful of my dad Derry whose parents started Dunmore, to be able to accept this award – we wouldn’t be here without her and we strive every day to maintain her standards.

 

Carol’s son and General Manager at Dunmore House, Peter Barrett added, “It’s a great honour to receive this recognition for Adrift, the whole team at Dunmore care deeply about what’s served on each plate, the experience of every guest that comes through the door and maintaining that sense of genuine Irish hospitality that started with my great-grandparents and hopefully will continue at Dunmore for generations to come.”

 

Adrift is a beautiful space seating 40 guests with sweeping views across Clonakilty Bay. The menus change regularly and feature some of the best produce in the area with a focus on seafood from nearby Union Hall cooked simply and beautifully – guests can expect poached lobster, John Dory, cod bouillabaisse and black sole on the bone, not to mention house black pudding, handmade ricotta and Gubbeen ravioli. Included in the Michelin Guide UK & Ireland 2022, Adrift is open seven days a week from 6.30pm – 8.30pm.

Menus can be found here, for booking please call 023 883 3352.

 

For more visit dunmorehousehotel.ie

Wayward Irish Spirits Proudly Unveils the Coming of Age Release of the Lakeview Single Estate Whiskey

Wayward Irish Spirits Proudly Unveils the Coming of Age Release of the Lakeview Single Estate Whiskey

Wayward Irish Spirits are proud to release the Lakeview Single Estate Irish Whiskey. This first Single Pot Still Whiskey from the Lakeview Estate Barley showcases the special maturation conditions on their Estate and captures the spirit of the land, their family home of 900 years. The Coming of Age Release is limited to just 300 numbered bottles.

Made from barley harvested from the Estate’s Hilly Field in 2018, this was small-batch malted in Naas and distilled in March 2019 by Great Northern Distillery into Pot Still spirit (to their 50% malted / 50% unmalted barley mash bill and specification). It then returned to the Estate’s 300 year old stone bonded Storehouse, ‘The House of Contentment’.

Matured initially in ex-Bourbon casks for 3 months, then a further 40 months in ex-Premier Cru Bordeaux NEOC barrels with 10% finished in ex-peated casks for 3 months. The Lakeview Single Estate Whiskey was gently cut (borrowing from Cognac traditions) over 6 months to ensure integration and smoothness, with no colour added and minimally filtered (no chill filter).

Tasting notes: Expect cherries on the nose, a rich honeyed taste with a hint of smoke and a long finish.

Maurice O’Connell, Founder of Wayward Irish Spirits, says:
“Rapid maturation is a sort of Holy Grail for Whiskey makers. In Killarney we say we have 4 seasons in an hour – resulting in lots of daily variations in temperature, causing the Whiskey to move in and out of the wood, the basis of maturation. We’ve been measuring temperature and humidity in our Storehouse for the last 4 years and this has shown we have a longer ‘maturation season’ (>7C, where the Whiskey interacts with the cask) of 101⁄2 months a year, compared to the East coast where most Irish Whiskey is matured. Speyside, for comparison, has 6 months.”

“We have long believed that our microclimate should enhance maturation and we now have liquid proof of this with a Whiskey which many are saying tastes well beyond its 31⁄2 year age. We’re calling this effect ‘Maturation Terroir’ and we hope our Coming of Age Release will start a conversation on the importance of where a spirit is stored to its maturation. We think this is a specific regional effect and we look forward to seeing whether our local peers in Killarney get similar results.”

Maurice continues: “It’s been really important to us to use our own barley – as well as showcasing this land we love, this provenance gives us an undeniable authenticity. We’re one of very few Single Estate Whiskeys in Ireland, where the barley is grown and the Whiskey matured in the one place. Pot Still is Ireland’s heritage Whiskey style so it feels right to be producing it from our heritage estate here in Killarney.”

The design for the bottle draws inspiration from a family treasure, a large bottle of D’Orsay perfume that was a wedding gift to Maurice’s grandmother in 1921. The bottle became a much talked about family challenge and thwarted numerous attempts to be opened over the last 100 years.

Blended and bottled on the Estate at 46% ABV, just 300 numbered bottles of the Lakeview Single Estate Irish Whiskey Coming of Age Release are available from Celtic Whiskey Dublin, James Fox Dublin, Carry Out Killarney and Irish Malts. RRP is €195 with a 40ml miniature bottle included.

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Wayward Irish Spirits is a family-owned Irish Whiskey company based at the stunning Lakeview Estate, Killarney, County Kerry. It reconnects the founder, Maurice O’Connell, with his family’s roots of supplying spirits to the gentry of Kerry. As early as 1450 the O’Connells were based at Ballycarbery Castle near Caherciveen, importing wines and brandies from Spain. The imposition of excise duty in 1661 rendered this business taxable but didn’t stop them and they moved up the coast to Derrynane and grew the business there. By 1820, Maurice ‘Hunting Cap’ O’Connell had a fleet of 8 ships smuggling luxury items in and shipping out salt, hides and young men seeking to escape the oppression of Catholics in their homeland.

The name Wayward derives from the insult levelled at Daniel O’Connell by the British Prime Minister, Robert Peel, who called him ‘that wayward Irishman’ (Dan meanwhile referred to him as ‘orange Peel’ so maybe it was deserved). The family own the insult with pride. Maurice adds “My forebear Daniel O’Connell’s independent spirit and sometimes wayward approach inspires our determination to craft our Whiskey our way.”

For their Liberator range of Whiskeys, they commission young spirit from the best Irish distilleries to add to a growing library of flavours and styles. They mature the spirit further then finish, blend and bottle on the Estate in their 300-year-old stone Bonded Storehouse, ‘The House of Contentment’. 

The influence on maturation of the famously changeable Kerry lakeside micro-climate, their selection of the finest and freshest casks for finishing (each connecting with a part of their long family history) and skilled blending all contribute to the flavour, complexity and originality they bring to their Whiskey making. 

Maurice comments “With much of the Whiskey world historically fixated on Single Malts, we are determined to showcase through The Liberator range the benefits of blending from a range of exciting new Irish distilleries. It’s like comparing a single finely tuned instrument and an orchestra – different but both can be wonderful”.

The Liberator Irish Whiskey celebrates the legacy of Maurice’s forbear, Daniel O’Connell, born in Kerry in 1775. The original campaigner for civil rights, heedless of race, gender or creed and often hailed as the greatest ever Irishman. With powerful oratory and insistence on peaceful protest only he mobilised millions to ensure Irish voices were heard for the first time.

Alongside their Liberator range, since 2018 they’ve been growing barley for their Lakeview Single Estate Whiskey which returns to the Estate for maturation. It’s very rare in Irish Whiskey for growing and maturation to take place together but the company believes that this is the only way to showcase the effects of their special terroir – the spirit of their land.

See more about their story on www.waywardirish.com.

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Bella Napoli’s Pasta Delights. Spur Of Moment Visit.

Bella Napoli’s Pasta Delights. Spur Of Moment Visit. 

Sometimes it takes ages to make up your mind where you’ll eat on a Friday; we’ve been known to start talking about it early in the week and dragging it out until the night before. Sometimes it takes minutes and that happened last Friday. With an evening engagement coming up (that didn’t involve more than finger food) we realised while in the city centre that we’d need something substantial.

We knew we were in the right place, strolling down French Church Street from Patrick Street. And then I saw that bright blue and white circular sign on the high wall of the old Russell carpet business. It said Bella Napoli and that very restaurant had been recently recommended by a guy who know his Italian.

The place was busy, very busy, and we had to wait a while (not too long) before being seated. The menu is, like most Italian restaurants, long and varied. It includes six starters (including the classic Caprese Salad),plus a couple of more substantial salads, then onto the  pizzas and pastas, then items that we are more used to in local restaurants such as sandwiches, burgers and steak, before finishing with desserts, cocktails, Italian beers and wines.

We had a good look at the menu in the bright and attractive room on very comfortable chairs indeed and picked two dishes from the Pasta selection. 

Mine was the Rigatoni with Ragu Napoletano with six-hour braised beef in an onion and tomato sauce served with rigatoni pasta and bruschetta (17 euro). I hit the jackpot here. This was beautifully cooked, the quality of the beef was top class and plenty of it as was also the case with the ragu. Very happy with this one and one that would slot right into my recent list of best beef dishes in Cork.  

Lasagna Bolognese -  bolognese in bechamel sauce with parmesan, mozzarella, basil and a side salad (14.50) was our other choice. This had superb cheesy flavour with a terrific sauce. Both the sauce and the piece of lasagna were generous servings and excellent value.

Enjoyed the occasion and looking forward to going back sometime soon to try the pizzas (even if we have to share). But we’ll have a good starter first and perhaps a glass of wine or one of the Italian beers. Last Friday, I enjoyed the Italian Hazelnut Liqueur flavoured with cocoa and vanilla called Frangelico with my huge Pizza dessert!

Caution: Dessert Ahead!

Nutella Pizza: strawberry, nutella, banana, icing sugar €8.50

Tiramisu: homemade coffee flavoured Italian dessert €7.00

The Liberty Bar Is Back. "GREAT BEER, GREAT COCKTAILS, GREAT MUSIC AND GREAT TIMES."

 The Liberty Bar Is Back

"GREAT BEER, GREAT COCKTAILS, GREAT MUSIC AND GREAT TIMES."

The Liberty Bar Is Back And Ready For You. Pictured Is Upstairs At Resistance

With over 100 eventful years of history and many iterations The Liberty Bar on

South Main Street back open.

Closed since the beginning of the pandemic, the new team have created two

unique spaces in the bar.

Manager, Diarmuid Clayton, says “the Downstairs is a bright relaxed open

space with an industrial/eclectic feel. The bar features exposed brick,

galvanised sheeting and conduit, old crates and printer trays and custom made

shelving and wine racks made with materials from Cork Builders providers”

“We wanted to create a welcoming bar with a little bit of difference, and small

nod to the previous incarnation of the Liberty when it was a favourite haunt of

the punks and students of Cork”

The old Liberty was a place where you could buy flagon’s and cans of cider.

“As another nod to this ‘lively’ past, we have created tasty new signature

cocktails, The Flagon and 5 Go down To The Sea, in honour of Cork’s original

punk band”

You can click the link below to hear a piece from the Cork Folklore Memory

Map Project The Liberty, Punks and Rats

“Upstairs at Resistance is a more luxurious speakeasy feel. Dark and rich with

subdued lighting, antique leather sofas, rugs and mirrors”

The walls are adorned with antique gilt frames which contain a series of unique

pieces of artwork, commissioned by local artists. The only guidance they were

given was the theme of resistance.

Local Artists, Alan Hurley, Kevin O’ Brian, Lucia Moreno are just a few of the

local artists who have completed a piece for the new venue.

Diarmuid say “Resistance is the place you go to relax and leave your worries at

the door. Enjoy one of our ten signature cocktails, great classics, wine or just a

tasty beer. Come in, and forget everything”

“We are delighted to get the place open again, and become a new addition to

the great night life of Cork City.

We will be introducing lots of new signature cocktails and events in the near

future”

The Liberty is located at 92 South Main Street, Cork City, and is open daily

The Liberty is an over 18s venue. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelibertycork 

press release

The Irishman The Harvest Single Malt and Single Pot Irish Whiskey. Killowen/Blackwater Poitín Combination. Cork's Cask nets another cocktail award.

There's more than one Irishman! 

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+ below, Killowen/Blackwater Poitín Combination

Cork's Cask nets another national cocktail award.

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The Irishman The Harvest Single Malt and Single Pot Irish Whiskey 40% ABV

Widely available at about €40.00.

Here’s the introduction from producers Walsh Whiskey: The Irishman. Premium Irish Whiskey. Exceptional character. Championing Irish Single Malt. The recreation of age-old recipes to create unrivalled expressions. For a new generation of whiskey enthusiasts.

A Duo Of Excellent Whites From North-West Spain. Monterrei and Rias Baixas

 A Duo Of Excellent Whites From North-West Spain

Via Arxéntea Godello Y Treixadura Monterrei (DO) 2021, 13% ABV, €17.80 MacCurtain Wine Cellar

This is a Spanish white wine with a marked varietal character. Made with Godello and Treixadura, both native Galician varieties, to transmit those aromas and flavours that our land, climate and fruits are capable of producing. 

That’s part of the info on the label of this blend produced by Via Arxéntea in Monterrei in North West Spain.

It has a bright yellow colour and it is certainly aromatic, apple, peach (especially) and mango to the fore; notes of citrus also. The intensity is also evident on the palate where flavours are bold but balanced by an excellent acidity. There is a long and fruity aftertaste, with a faint sweet sensation never too far away. 

Serve at 8-11º degrees and pair with cooked fish, grill, seafood rice, squid a la plancha and vegetable dishes. Very Highly Recommended. 

The DO Monterrei is in the province of Ourense, close to the Portuguese border. Most of its wine is white and most of that is based on Godello (which is also called Verdello); other varieties of white grapes here are the autochthonous Doña Blanca  and Treixadura.

Godello is quite possibly the most scented of the newly fashionable white varieties in Spain’s far north-west, according to Grapes and Wines. “Almost extinct in the 1970s, it is now flourishing in Valdeorras.” Valdeorras is also in Ourense.

Early ripening Treixadura is one of the grapes that blends well with Godello. In Portugal, where it is called Tradajura, it adds crisp, citrus characters to Vinho Verde.

The MacCurtain Wine Cellar, owned by Trudy Ahern and Sean Gargano, is essentially a wine shop where you may select your purchases from a huge wall of wine. Don't worry though, you'll have lots of excellent advice, given with knowledge and a rare enthusiasm, not to mention charm. 

If you wish to drink on the premises, that is no problem in the evenings. And while wine is their priority, they also provide some very tasty small plates and sharing boards as well. Such a poremises is known as a Cave à Manger in France.

There is a the fantastic range, all organic, biodynamic or natural. I picked the Godello and Treixadura blend from Monterrei while Sean suggested the Celler del Roure Cullerot Blanco (toi feature in a later post!). He was very enthusiastic about this winemaker and about the future of wines from the Valencia area.

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Almirante “Vanidade” Albariño Rias Baixas (DO) 2020, 

13% ABV,  €15.95 Bradleys.

Did you know that we Irish are the fourth largest importers of Albariño in the world? It comes from our Celtic cousins in Galicia, in Spain’s Rias Baixas region. It has all happened quickly and relatively recently.  

“It is a young industry,” said Lynne Coyle MW, one of our hosts at a Rias Baixas Tasting in L’Atitude during the summer. “In 1975 there were just 200 hectares of Albariño here, now there are over 4,000, lots of small holdings.

Val de Salnés is the main region. And it is from here and its granite soil that this wine by Vina Almirante comes. That ocean influence is evident in this dry crisp and elegant wine.

The Vanidade has a beautiful and inviting gold colour. Citrus and peach notes in the aromas. Those fruits also feature on the intensely flavoured palate, fresh and zesty, no shortage of acidity,  with a slightly salty tang, plus the starting fruit all the way through to a clean and refreshing finish.  

You don’t get many poor  examples of Albariño but this is outstanding and you are thinking straightaway of matching it with seafood and white fish. See for yourself why Albariño became so popular so quickly. Very Highly Recommended.

Vanidade translates as vanity. I’m very happy with this one and so too are the producers: “Very tasty, very good, wonderful. This is Vanidade, a wine of which we are particularly proud. Both because its organoleptic properties and tasting ratings, and because it’s a champion of cultural change in our time.”

Vain? Proud? Not you? Take a look at the producers site where they have a vanity test ready and waiting. Up for a bit of fun? Click here.”

Importers Findlaters tell us that Vina Almirante is one of the most important wineries in North West Spain. “Its properties are in the borough of Portas in the Caldas de Reis region situated in the northern part of Salnes Valley. These legendary vineyards, which extend over the 35 hectares, are treated with tender loving care and in keeping with state-of-the-art wine growing techniques. The wines.., are distinguished by the faithful reflection of a late autumn harvest, giving rise to a macerated wine endowed with brilliant notes of freshness, elegance and an intense flavour that’s sure to please even the most demanding of palates.”