Empty Glass

The Turk's Head

2012-02-20T13:18:00.000Z

Thereare many things the Germans do well. Two of the most popular are the timing oftheir locomotives as well as their delicious beer, which comes in so manyvarieties, flavours and colours. I’ve visited Germany a number of times overthe last three years and I always come back with a new favourite. The two beersreviewed today however, were both bought on a punt in Ireland, and I’ve neverbeen happier.

First upis the Solzar-Bier. This bad boy goes toe to toe with most of the Germanicbrews reaching our better stocked off-licences however failed to bring anythingunique that would set it apart on the shelves for us normal beer drinkers. Thatsaid, it was by no means a mediocre beer and I’d happily drink this again andagain. Ideal for a few cold ones on a Saturday afternoon.

Solzar-Bierprobably suffered because what would follow it in my tasting which, in myopinion, is a behemoth of alcoholic delight. Doppel-Hirsh or double stag asShane has told me, lives up to its name and more. I would easily have drunkseveral of these bad boys with my breakfast, dinner and tea. The dangerousthing lies in the fact you don’t realise that this is 7.2%, it’s that tasty andeasily drank. That aside, it ticked all the right boxes for me in terms offlavour and as its not badly priced, it makes a nice choice if you want to be alittle bit fancy on a Friday night in.

Solzar-Bier 5.2%

Price: €3.12

Colour:Dark amber that shines with delight when held up against the light.

Nose: Aninteresting but subtle hint of toffee.

Palate:A smooth taste with a bitter finish that makes for very refreshing daytimedrinking.

Score:87 (B+)

Doppel-Hirsh 7.2%

Price: €3.85

Colour:Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruuuuby AHAHAAAAAAAH!!!!

Nose:Yummy Caramel, seductive like that Cadburys bunny.

Palate:Heaven. But more descriptive would be a very strong texture with interestingfruity tones and that delicious caramel comes through with a bitter finish.Yes, I spent a lot of time tasting this.

Score:95 (A+)

Pádraig Mc Carrick

Vin-Aire: Does it Work?

2012-02-18T12:00:00.000Z

Anyone in the trade will be all too familiar with the ins and outs with this Vin-Aire malark. Only thing is, does the thing work? And more importantly for all of us normal non-trade folk, what is it and what does it do. Well, after a quick chat with Andrew Nolan from Vin-aire Ireland and a "special package" in the mail we got down to tackling these all important questions.

We decided we'd run three wines through a run of three tests. Some would come straight from the bottle, some would get the Vin-Aire treatment and then, last but not least we'd take Vin Aire on with the decanters.

Who were our candidates? We decided on a blend of madness, one we knew we wouldn't like, another we hold in only the greatest of esteem and finally, yet by no means least, a tannic beast to really give Vin-Aire a run for it's money.

Waterford, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 (The guaranteed failure)

Non Decanted/Vin-Aire:
Rubber notes extremely prevalent on the nose (Which is one of our major problems with this wine). Blackcurrant with very faint notes of earth present, however, with Cabernet, even at the five to ten quid point these things are managed, a very disappointing wine which really fails to live up to any of the new rumours around South Africa's Quality jump which are circulating at the minute.

Vin-Aire:
The shock tactics of Vin-Aire really add some much needed life to the wine, the nose explodes into something vaguely familiar of a €20+ wine. Blackcurrant finally asserts itself, the earthy qualities finding themselves expressed through a dark coco and some leafiness which finally evolving in the form of tobacco and sage. By far the most successful way to drink the wine. Vin-Aire, seems to soften the tannic structure than hides away the pleasant nose of the wine and minimising the effects of the awful rubber notes that protrude through the wine.

Decanted:
Surprisingly the decanting of the wine, which lasted for well into 3 hours proved no use. Initially the wine opened offering the same fruits on the nose as the Vin-Aire test trail but despite taking an extended amount of time, the wine fell flat on it's face as the burnt rubber nose reappeared, not only on the nose but as a back lash on the palate almost mockingly.

Comment:
Awful wine, that showed so much wasted potential, which is a pity, but we aren't here to talk about the wine. The Vin-Aire preformed specifically well here, offering a by-pass to sitting waiting for the decanter to weave it's magic, or in this case unsuccessfully weave. Here, the Vin-Aire stands toe to toe with the decanter and offers and excellent experience if nothing else! Worth giving a try especially if our harsh words don't preserve you from the wine.

Dead Arm, 2002 Shiraz (The Old Favourite)

Non Decanted/Vin-Aire:
Amazing wine, intense fruit on the nose, palate was a little sleepy but after 10 years in the bottle you'd expect something of a wine feeling a little jet-lag.

Vin-Aire:
What could the Vin-Aire possibly do here? Well apparently it can wake the wine up quick. A run through the Vin-Aire and the palate jumped with excitement, intense blackberry notes with slight hints of herbaceous plants and some spice were all revealed. The Vin-Aire treatment was clearly working wonders here.

Decanted:
With almost what will be a mantra for this article, with time the wine did begin to open up on it's own. The Decanting was seemingly less aggressive to the wine. Achieving different results, in a sense, with much more of the wines elegance retained, with the wine feeling less abused. The one thing worth noting is that the guys at Vin-Aire are quite modestly portraying this as fantastic and ideal for young wines, in our experience, a glass run through the Vin-Aire at the kick off of the night is no harm done at all, and chucking the rest in the decanter to mellow normally.

Comment:
This was the tightest of the three wines to decide which method worked best, a draw between Vin-Aire and the Decanter seemed the fairest of things to do, with both offering good results maybe the decanter tipping ahead slightly for retaining the elegance of the wine.

The Chocalan, Special Blend 2007 (The Monster)

Non Decanted/Vin-Aire:

Closed fruit, refusing to offer up anything straight from the bottle, as we had suspected. Tannic structure everywhere on the wine, a real monster altogether.

Vin-Aire:
Almost daring the Vin-Aire not to work we tested this. And we were very pleasantly surprised to see positive results roll in. Tannin reduced and fruit opening. Now while we agreed that the wine needed more bottle time regardless of Vin-Aire, there was good improvement from Vin-Aire here.

Decanted:
Again, given a long period in the decanter, the wine did begin to open up. The only difference was that the decanter did offer something of a slightly more elegant effect again overall on the final product.

Comment:
Put to the test the Vin-Aire stands up confidently against conventional decanters. It offers up the positive of cancelling out the 4-5 hour wait people may not have the time for.

Final Word On Vin-Aire:

Is it worth having? Well, the answer is up to you really, our opinion is we'd think so, it works wonders on breathing life into wines. It also did damage control the Waterford Cabernet. I can see the noise being made with the Vin-Aire being a big put off to older crowds, yet with many it is brushed off without as much as a serious joke. A very smart and intelligent product. Empty gives it the thumbs up - expect to see a few more reviews using the Vin-Aire from our end.

Cost: €30.00 (The Corkscrew Wine Merchants)
Value: 4

Domäne Wachau, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Terrassen 2009

2012-02-14T09:00:00.000Z

Long name and typically Germanic thing altogether this, well Austrian that is. Grüner as it fondly known amongst those who have happily made its acquaintance. Now New Zealand looks poised to make some stunners out of the grape but I have a thing for the Germanic/Austrian wine world. These wines are due a come back, is there something to be making a fuss about? I'd better find out.

Big tip, rummaging through the fridge at in the local can turn up a few last chance gems, which, is where I found this. Fittingly this wine is something that the industry seems to have been rummaging around for for quite some time now. A last ditch attempt to find something new. Thing is, like this bottle hiding it out in the fridge, the Grüner has been on the shelves before. The market had somehow fallen out of love with its lively spice. Now, the boys in the Merchant trade are hoping that same spice will liven the white wine market (Empty is considering applying for copyright of awful puns and word plays considering that we use them so often). Aside from my tangent, what are my thoughts towards the big G? Well, frankly, we're missing out.

A bit of back information on the wine probably wouldn't go a miss, seeing as any of the newbies to wine won't be all that familiar with it. Grüner Veltliner, which I shall fondly acknowledge as the big G from this point on, is an Austrian grape, that on finding yourself a good one, you can be rewarded with a wide array matched only by Rieslings, and guess what these bad boys pull an ageing quality that usually only Rieslings and top Chardonnays can, resting happily on a rack for a decade. There is a problem however, try keeping it there that long.

The grape itself a couple of things and to be fair it is a picky little bugger self admittedly by many of the guys behind the wine (and just while we are on the subject of winemaker the chap just up and to the left is the guy that's behind our wine today), with many protesting it's difficulties above Austria's other principle white, the aforementioned and my ever favourite, Riesling.

The vineyard sites where it becomes picky and its begins to become obvious why Austria is top dog for big G once you understand. Liking sites with a specific elevation, the foot of a slope usually, where the soil has just the right amount of clay and extreme mineral content. If you've ever been to Austria, you may have realised they have rather a bollock load of slopes, forgive the language, but I did spend a holiday cycling round the place. How does this one fair for for it's site? Steep slopes but terraced, to compensate. What really ticks boxes here is the soil is primarily rock and lean so our clay balance is good too. Smaragd is one of the notable areas in Austria for quality.

On our vintage, the 2009, is a hit and miss for Mr Parker, who I would oddly note seems to be rather harsh on Germanic wines overall, Alsace taking rather a trashing with many vintages marked as Irregular. Getting more balanced reviews on the year Jancis Robinson notes it as a great vintage with some regrettable but only slight bitterness, a long warm and sunny period meaning that the grapes for big G to a perfect ripeness. Fruit numbers were down, which is not all bad for those less in-tune with this.

Something else that big G likes and that will be all the important for the rest of us is food. Now despite my stunning looks, my old age is getting the better of me and I am expecting wine to come with food, and am gaining a bloody good appreciation for wines that sit happily at the table with a nice bit of grub. The big G likes the grub it does. It is without doubt one of the most food friendly wines about.

Moving swiftly on, how does this one, fair?

Appearance:
Clear, with an intense golden hue building a little around the edges.

Nose:
Clean, medium nose Pears, Lemon and Blossoms opening. Peppery spice grows a little, well controlled and all very elegant. After two glasses I did something very un-Austrian and cheated (This has become un-Austrian after they got cheating once by adding things they shouldn't to the wine, all non-lethal of course, now thanks to that Austria has one of the cleanest wine industries in the world). Anyway, I cheated, I put the cork back on, and left it until the following day, which is now ritual with me. Big G needs to breath. and Breath a lot, a testimony to it's ability to age . what happened next is why I love big G. Zest, and a racy mineral life with almost paradoxical creaminess. These are serious wines. Don't write them off without giving them a fair chance.

Palate:
Great acidity on the palate. A creamy medium body with pronounced notes all things citrus. Lemon taking the fore again, with notes of apricot, grapefruit and some greenness similar to lime rind. Minerality and spices are batter home the point that these are refreshing little wines. The finish is medium with a clean crispness to them.

Comments:
One thing, and one thing only, let them breath. Try before and after. A possible wine to try with vin-aire.

Score:
(B+) 87 before Breathing, good dollop of air and it shoots right up 2 points to 89 (B+)

Price:
€16.95 (Mill Wine Cellar) Check with Searsons for a list of people stocking this wine.

Value (Out of 5):
4.5

An Irish Twist, El Commandate Wines

2012-02-11T21:41:00.000Z

Cold and biting as the morning wind in Dublin was, it could not detract from warm welcome offered by Tom Lynch outside the traditional meeting spot of Dublin for strangers, Beweleys. Coffees poured, Tom opened on friendly terms, producing two bottles of his wine, from his bag as a gift. I wondered as to whether these would play up to the same standard as two Bronze medallist wines he and winemaker David Kingsbury have already been behind (The 2009 Malbec and 2010 Chardonnay for those of you who are unfamiliar with the wines won the aforementioned medals at the London wine fair. No small feat, not to mention this was their first entry). A friendly laugh and an acknowledgement the he has still yet to enter the wines, something he also adds he ought to do.

Founded in 2006 by Lynch's Late father Michael Lynch, the winery seems the finest of legacies to a man that Tom openly acknowledges had many fine tales to tell from his army days (Thus the El Commandate name to the wines). One of my favourites being the aiding of the Ch. Musar grapes en-route to make the world famous wine while on tour in Lebanon. Jim Barry's famous line "Sometimes it takes longer than a lifetime to do a lifetime's work… it's now up to my children." had stuck with me on reading the story of Michael's death and the thrusting of the family winery onto Tom, which Tom himself admits in his own happy way that this probably isn't the worst thing in the world to find on your doorstep. Asking the obvious question, is he enjoying his job is greeted with a positive response admitting he has loved every minute of it.

Finding it on his doorstep did however mean he was cast very quickly into the world of wine at top speed he revealed. Having quickly gone about clocking up time in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Tom quickly jumps to add that it a lot of credit is owed to their winemaker David Kingsbury who has been involved for quite sometime in the winery and has picked up 15 to 20 year experience being immersed in wine all around the globe. It is Dave's oenology knowledge that we use to source the grapes for the range Tom adds, noting that the winery has developed close ties to the locals of Mendoza. In a jest tom gives a colourful vision of the paddy ex-pats that have made Mendoza their home, describing as we laugh as the typical Irish Mafia stereotype, which personally I think for a wine named El Commandate is fantastic.

Chatting more about his father, I probe as to where Tom has envisaged the range going. A basic expansion seems to be on the cards, with hope for opening up some new markets for the range and a hope that a reserve range could be achieved, hesitant that I may go off on a creative spree and declare the release of this Tom adds, this is all aspirational. He does reveal that he has been trying to get the range to the UK and Sweden and it seems that his warm manner is working and he seems to have been met with some mild success.

In terms of extra varietal, he warms me up by saying the hallowed words of Cabernet Franc, but the traditional Argentinian grapes seem to pull heart strings for Tom, saying he would love to explore the possibility of Torrontes and Bonarda additions to the range.

Pulling him back to the idea of the reserve range, I asked would he attempt to use the range as a tribute to his father. Agreeing on the idea, he noted if he could managed to his desire would be to create a wine that embodied his fathers robust and rich personality, a great tribute .

Finishing our chat on an odd note I asked what Tom's oddest twitter spam follower had been. The Answer priceless: An Indian Rent Boy.

So without further Adue here are the wines

El Commandate, Chardonnay 2010

Appearance:

Clean, pale hue, with a gold body and a good intensity of about medium.

Nose:
Pronounced, with tropical fruit, intense notes of melon, peach, pear drops and slightly mineral note, some notes notes of a juicy apple

Taste:

Some residual sugar is noticeable. A medium body, light acidity, with melon and apple notes taking most of the palate, hints of spice offer some life to the wine, while at the same time apple notes become more and more prevalent.

Comments:

A nice pleasant wine, ideal to introduce people to wine, lots of potential for the next vintage, overall for it's price point it offers happy drinking. A good wine. with the story behind these wine the drinking instantly becomes more enjoyable as the history of El Commandate Michael Lynch, flowing from the mouths of those acquainted with him.

Price:

€11.95 (Corkscrew Wine Merchants)

Score:

82 (B)

Value:

3.5

El Commandate, Malbec 2010

We cheekily had tipped into the 2009 vintage before trying the 2010 just to see how the wine had developed and to test Toms own claim that the 2010 vintage was showing much more potential behind it than the previous one.

Appearance:

Clean, with a deep purple hue to the wine, even at the level of appearance the wine seems much more serious than the 2009 counterpart .

Nose:
A clean nose which is instantly more interesting and structured than 2009. Offering up more of the elegant fruits which Tom noted they had tried to achieve. Notes of smoked meats and plum bring up the initial assault on the nose, the wine, opens slowly offering up red fruits that show again more structure than the previous embodiment. Fig comes soon followed by cheddar and cedar box. A nice and light style of Mablec.

Taste:
Chocolate, plum, a medium body with good tannic structure giving way to darker fruits of Fig and blackberry, the palate is fantastic however the finish is slightly short and this is the only fall down of the wine. On a bonus however the fruit flavours intensify with a tibble of food for which we selected unsurprisingly some steak, the wine really craves food and rewards those that feed themselves and the wines craving..

Comments:

This is a good wine, with some potential for age. However what is more exciting about this range is the staggering jump in quality. The guys really have tweaked the wine in a way that has made it fit the bill. I am really excited for the next vintage to see if they can continue the improving quality of the wines. This is a great food wine and really I advise some food for them, it shows the wine in its best light. We tried it with some Steak and the wine really came into its own, bringing all the primary fruit to the fore.

Price:

€11.95 (Corkscrew Wine Merchants)

Score:

87 (B+)

Value:

3.5

Errazuriz - Chile Gets Serious

2012-02-09T19:20:00.000Z

Chile has been a run-away success for as long as I can remember on the Irish market, providing wines that are easy on the palate and more importantly, on the pocket. Way back when, at the very beginning of my wine awakening Chile was my go to region in search of a decent Cabernet. Then when I got adventurous I tried a Carmenere. This beautiful grape is fickle, it needs care and a decent wine maker to ensure the spice and fruit are in harmony to get the desired result, a Merlot with character. At this point I decided that Chile perhaps had more to offer the world than entry level 'international varietals'.

Recently the Empty Glass Team had the pleasure of meeting Jonathan Stevens, regional director for the Errazuriz winery and the question of 'where does Chile go next came up' came up. We all agreed that if the consumer is willing to spend a little extra they will be suprised at the quality that Chile has to offer. I'll let the wines tasted do the talking.

Sauvignon Blanc Single Vineyard 2010

This wine heralds from Aconcagua Costa a region that is unique to Errazuriz. The region has a similar heat summation to Marlborough, with a cooling influence from the ocean, combining to produce a stunning Sauvignon. On the nose it was intense gooseberry, lemon rind, a hint of minerality and definite herbaceous quality to it, the latter nowhere near as pungent as the NZ style. So On the palate it was intense white peach, minerality and a long and refreshing citrus finish. As a Sancerre fan myself I was impressed with the restraint shown, but there was also a good weight of primary fruit to offer something a little different to all Sauvignon drinkers out there. So, a serious Sauvignon from Chile ... There ya have it.

Score: 88 (B+)

Cabernet Sauvignon Max Reserva 2008

Of late I have been very irate, There has been a severe lack of Cabernet, that one could afford every day ... I have to get some use out of an English Degree and also the be the first blog to rhyme. Anyways, you get the idea. Decent Cabernets at a sensible price are few and far between, but every so often an exceptional one makes itself hear above the cacophony of banal Bordeaux wannabes (I include most entry level Bordeaux in this category), this is one of those exceptional wines.

On the nose there was intense cassis, blueberry (sorry Rob) , thyme, eucalyptus, cinnamon and a hint of cedar. On the palate there was intense fresh balckberry, a hint of eucalyptus with cinnamon and cracked pepper on the finish. Very well balanced with a persistent finish and medium-high fine tannin. Definitely a serious Bordeaux style, but from Chile and a fraction of the cost.

Score: 90 (A)

Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve 2008

Just when I thought it couldn't get any more serious. This wine was a monster. Dedicated to the founder of the Vineyard this wine shows just what a careful handling of the grapes and good terroir can do. The wine is A bordeaux blend based on Cabernet, normally just over 80% depending on the vintage. This particular vintage has some Carmenere, Petit Verdot and a dash of Syrah to mix it up a little.

On the nose, fresh blackberry, raspberry, violets, tobacco, eucalyptus, cedar box, chocolate, cinnamon, and cracked pepper. The palate was awash with primary fruit, initially cassis, then raspberry and cherry on the mid-palate all wrapped in delicious mocha and a long finish of subtle spices. The wine was superbly balanced with huge tannin and good acidity. This one is a keeper and is too young to be showing it's true colours just yet. I suggest lying this bad boy down for another 2-3 years at the very least, but it will continue to develop long after that.

Score: 91 (A)

Comments

All of these wines had the elegance and sophistication normally reserved for Sancerres and Haut Médocs, but at a much more affordable price. Even the Reserva level will age very well. This is definitely a vineyard to keep an eye on as Chile continues to get serious.

Have a quick fire round of questions with Jonathan Stevens below

Quick chat with Maria O'Riordan from Seifrieds

2012-02-07T17:36:00.000Z

Having recently encountered Maria O'Riordan from Seifried's of Nelson Bay I reflected on how much had passed through our brief discussion. The oldest of the South Islands family owned wineries, Seifried's best known for their Sweet Anges Riesling which has gobbled up awards left right and centre. What is undoubtedly more interesting about this family range is the quality and variety of whites they present. Playing with three levels, the Rabbit Island, Old Coach Road, and flagship range "Seifried"

(They do have a fourth tier, consisting of only one wine the Aonatea, a Sauvignon Blanc that for just over half the cost of Cloudy Bay offers a fabulous wine not too far off the "boutique" giant) .

Empty's first encounter of the range happened occurred purely by chance, having been offered samples by a rep, and surprisingly not a Sauvignon but a Gewürztraminer. More surprising about this wine was the quality it offered, winning our best white of 2011 award in the Blueberries. Better again was the next experience was the stumbling upon back vintage Rieslings from 2003, a Pinot Noir from 2002. With these two encounters was the proof that the wines we were handling were not only fantastic young wines but presented with great ability to age and develop. It was the ageing ability of these wines that would begin the conversation. A slight light ignited within her as the topic of the back vintages came up, and her tone jumped a pitch with excitement and her lively reaction following my own thoughts that "It's fascinating to see how they respond to bottle age". Our chat continued to the Rieslings, I offered question on the difference in ageing style to Germanic style Rieslings, "They have the same residual sugar, yet they follow a more critic flavour and nose than the German counterparts". Continuing the topic of the winemaker arose "We are so lucky to have Hermann, he grew up with wine all around him". We tippled away at the history of the vineyard, and it's claim to being the Southern Islands oldest family vineyard (INFO ON HISTORY).

Pushed for time we quickly ran through the wines. Hitting upon the Pinot Gris, which was by no means a write as I had expected. A fantastic wine to which Maria smiled in politely in agreement, the quality of the wine was fantastic with great acidity "It's built to age" clearly noting my surprise. The flagship range was closely followed by the Rabbit Island Pinot Gris which at €10 was a fantastic offering, mimicking the Sauvignon yet distinctly more interesting and grassy. Dicussing the wine and how markets had taken to it Maria added thought "While in the trade we all look to Alsace, the public has never been too keen, the German AC names creating confusion, and that's what we have on our side, people are trying our examples and they are loving them". To me the style was indeed wooing and it seems the terroir of NZ combined with Nelsons micro-climates the variety seems to be preforming at a fantastic level.

The Sauginon's were great examples of NZ Sauv Blanc as would be expected- they were however somewhat more price friendly. Avoiding lingering on these we moved on to the Guner Veltliner which had only the previous day offered a head turner to even the likes of Mary Gaynor at the master class that was run at the New Zealand Wine Fair. A real treat, it offered a wine that is only being held back by vine age, watch this spot these wines will be fantastic gems in 4-5 years and offer a nice change right now, to quote Ms Gaynor "what the world desperately needs is another grape variety".

Pushed by time the quick chat ended, thanks to Maria and Martin Fagan of Classic Drinks. Below is a quick run through of our top 5 wines we tasted from Seifreids.

Rabbit Island, Sauvignon Blanc

great balance, good acidity, more restrained than many NZ sauvignons. If you like them, this is a top quality example.

Price: €9.99

Value: 4.5

Rabbit Island, Pinot Gris

Good Acidity and interesting grassy notes, for only €10 an excellent wine.

Price: €9.99

Value: 4.5

Seifried, Gewürztraminer

Interesting, delightful, our favourite white of 2011 too. Flawless wine.

Price: €14.95

Value: 4

Sweet Anges Riesling

Good balance, by far one of finest dessert wines on the Irish market, if you haven't tried it shame on you and you should promptly rectify this

Price: €18.00

Value: 4

Seifried, Pinot Gris

My favourite wine of the lot, interesting, fresh, amazing acidity, massive potential for ageing. Amazing wine.

Price: €14.95

Value: 3.5

Rob

d'Arenberg, The Dry Dam Riesling 2002

2012-02-05T16:32:00.000Z

If you, like I, have ever watched Shaun of the Dead, it should be needless to say that you will have grasped the rather central thematic concept that a Zombie is someone or something that should by all rights be dead at this point, but is apparently not. Now to another harsh feature of these Zombie types, they come in an endless wave, persistent and never ending. To make sense of this, were I looking for a metaphor to offer the to Riesling here, well, I would most definitely compare it to a Zombie.

Why this metaphor? Was it solely because of the Hobo with a Shotgun, yet another soul misplaced from the afterlife, who relentlessly continued his various quests which like Shaun of the Dead mimicked the Riesling's surprising life and relentless assault upon the palate? Possibly. Which given the facts here seems to map on beautifully, at €10 with 10 years bottle age, albeit from a amazing producer, unmistakeably, something seems amiss, the wine, at face value teeters towards the fraternity of "too good to be true".

Yet, for once, it is without doubt, true. More than true, it is spectacular.

Appearance:

Clean, with a vigorously intense golden body and hue.

Nose:

The nose exposes no faults, no signs of slowing up, no hesitation to woe the taster. pear and white peach form the fruits that become punctured by an intense and delightful petroleum note, that forms the most integral spine of the wine. All finished by a slap of minerallity that chases all other notes gently from the nose.

Taste:

Dry, some hints of residual sugar more noticeable through the honey notes that lightly coat the palate rather than as a sugar. A medium body, with surprising acidity that adds an inconceivable amount of live to the wine. Green apple, peach and melon offer up the fruits and a streak of elderberry is ever-present. Clay offers an interesting back-note of minerallity on the palate. Despite already being a fantastic wine, it is not these features that sell the wine, it is the finish. lemon and lime sitting together perfectly, with the sharpness of the lemon clearly visible, while the green rounded flavours of the lime protrude from time to time. One taster and you can happily up and leave the room, go for walkies and you will still be tasting this two to three minutes later.

Comments:

This is an amazing steal, the wine itself is spectacular and could even develop further, from a fantastic Aussie vintage and from a real stalwart of the wine industry. The bottle ageing has clearly massively improved the wines. It is wonderfully complex and structured with elegance and grace and yet lacking no element of zingy life that creates great Rieslings, this is one of the underrated undiscovered wines of the world. All I can say is I am glad I have a second one.

Price:

€9.95 (Corkscrew Wine Merchants)

Score:

92 (A)

Value:

Quinta do Carmo 1996

2012-02-02T19:57:00.002Z

1996 was a big year for me, the Nintendo 64 was released heralding in a new era of Mariokart shananigans and of course Goldeneye would later be released and be the cause of sleep deprivation for many a night, while we all would scream, 'no you can't be Oddjob, there is less of him to shoot at!' 1996 was also the year that I began to think that maybe girls are more than a source of cooties or whatever it was the boys would exclaim they had that week. I remember the moment well, I was watching The Den (for our non-Irish audience, this was the staple of every child's evening viewing), when the Spice Girls appeared with 'Wannabe'. In hindsight these scantily clad ladies should probably not have appeared on children's television, but nevertheless, something happened that day, regardless of the chant 'girl power' being nothing but shallow commercialism.

However, like it or not these things are history, and shape what we become. This is not to suggest that I will thank the Spice Girls for the decidedly feminist slant in my MA thesis ... Should I? What I am getting at here is that a good wine evolves and develops with age. It is a beautiful process of chemical reactions within the bottle that combines with the accumulated history of the bottle, allowing for a unique and wonderfully subjective experience. This is one of the many things that makes wine an art, something to be appreciated and savour the challenges and complexities within the bottle. More importantly I have also developed with age and only listen to the Spice Girls occasionally.

Colour

A beautiful amber, the elegance of the wine wassublime, with the light bouncing off the rim producing amber hues.

Nose

Dried cherry, leather, soil, smoke, clay, cinnamon, cedar everywhere, truffle, thyme, were just a few of my initial notes. As the wine was certainly in its mature phase, I expected the tertiary aromas of truffle, thyme and leather to become more pronounced. I was wrong. After about an hour in the decanter an intense nose of sweet cherry and raspberry emerged.

Palate

The palate was just as complex with truffle and a hint of thyme on the mid palate. As as it opened strawberry compote,some very sweet spice, cracked black pepper. As with the nose the red fruits that later emerged became dominant, I even made a note that it was like I was having some sort of strawberry fueled affair. The wine was not finished with me yet, as it was to offer some more on the finish with a hint of fig.

Comments

Everything about this wine was elegant, from all of the complexities if offered nothing was overbearing and just when you thought you had the wine figured out it decided to change its mood. Wines like these make me fall in love with wine all over again. Alentejo is a region to look out for, as their blends offer something unique, fruit forward in youth developing into something amazing like this as they mature. Anyone who likes Bordeaux, but is fed up shelling out a fortune for them should give Alentejo a try.

Score:

(A+) 97

Price:

(I picked this bottle up for €16 while on holiday in Portugal, a steal. It is also available 2002 vintage in O'Briens for about €22)

Value (out of 5):

NZ Riesling, an Appraisal & Rant

2012-02-01T12:54:00.002Z

First thing is first, I am a Riesling nut, and it is one of the grapes that when someone has the ability to do the thing justice softens the very hammerings of the world and I realise that, things aren't actually all that bad, so long as there is this glass of wine in it. However, this is a two way street, cock that up, and I'll be upset, I will be very very upset. Now to the point of this, on Monday I was subjected to a Riesling tasting of 12 Rieslings from the same vineyard, same harvest, the only difference? The winemaker.

Sounds fantastic, and by and by it was. As an experience. However, what has caused me to write this is the quality variations that were noticeable, and how in reflection of the tasting made me think to New Zealand's place in the wine world.

Personally, I on the whole love NZ Riesling, within the small micro-climates of the various valleys and the extreme soil quality to which the vines are given over to, I feel is the potential for something huge and world shifting for Riesling. There is within these two Islands the climates, soils and absolutely no lack of talent as it was evident from several of the Rieslings on show. Where, however, has it all gone wrong? and why hasn't this come to pass yet?

My argument would focus on several points such as over expansion, suitable terroir and it's availability, vine age, and so on yet I feel that the dual edged attitude towards wine that prevails here, covers all these most effectively with the limited time being a final year student offers me. That is this "Can do" approach, now let me haul the firing squad and ask those at my throat for but a moment, I am not attacking this mentality entirely, rather I'd argue, in the right hands this is New Zealand's trump card against the rest of the world. It's offering up a lot of potential discoveries of sorts, Gruner to name but the most recent.

Combine this with their fresh and young attitude and you have a generation of wine drinker who have started with the infamous Marlborough Sauvignon and come whole circle to return only to try the most noble of the grapes from these regions and have had their heads blown, put simply you have a generation whole hearted captivated, no easy thing to do now.

Yet it's not happening, and it's not down to the vines age, as a region and a whole these wines should be still showing people that in 4 to 5 vintages there will be a new force in the Riesling world.

So, why aren't these wines doing this? I focus in on my point, in the right hands. Why is this? The tasting on Monday offered up a stark picture. One that in my own way horrified me. Some of the winemakers had managed to drown away the acidity from the Riesling. Now there is something to be said for the low alcohol to the wines but these were completely unbalance, they were sloppy and overall they let what was a brilliantly styled team down.

Too many of the wines tasted offered up nothing exciting other than residual sugar by the bucket load. I shan't name the culprits, as I feel there's no need to be nasty over it, yet it is astonishing that these people thought that this was an excellent style to pursue? Its baffling.

My point before I lose the run of myself is this. That this "Can do" attitude is mutating into a financial "can't fail" attitude, it's mutating from an expression which co-incidentally make money into something which is entirely different, its a heinous and destructive attitude that has happened with the precious New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Now everyone is making it, soils that should be preserved as landmarks to show what not to look for when planning grapes and now suddenly rolling vineyards of Sauvignon Blanc as far as the eye can see, none of it made with any real thought for the art of wine making (and believe me it pains me to sound like such a prick when I say that).

While it is the flagship grape of New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc is more than often notoriously badly made. Selling solely for the coveted New Zealand label slapped on by some grinning tight arsed accountant. That is not wine, marketing maybe, and while it is a fine piece of marketing it has gone too far, and its ready to crash in on itself, the aura of wonder that the grape had initially brought is being abused and the image is suffering. Many wine-heads and even weekend winos have moved on. They've began to write of NZ wines.

With honourable exception, New Zealand Sauvignon has taken a dangerous step on the road to becoming the next blossom hill, blue nun of the wine world. This wrapped attitude that we can't fail financially is leading a drive to destroy the hard work of exceptional bright stars of the wine world. Anyone that argues otherwise, need only look to the damage that cheap "German Riesling" has done to the German markets, in this country, it is a challenge to convince even the most trusting customer that German wine is not cheap plonk.

This would be fine of course if there was anything to write off, but there isn't. Within New Zealand there is a real potential for a fine wine industry, all that is stopping them is time, the vines need more time, and the wineries need to admit this, which many of them have begun too.

The quality and talent is out there but more that it's increasingly becoming overshadowed by the poor "made to meet demand models that have saturated the market.

It is up to New Zealand, to calm down and realise there is some time yet before this can do attitude manifests itself fully. Vineyards like Seifried and Spy Valley are for myself leading the way on this. Taste their Rieslings and see for yourself. I will name and Shame Spy Valley 's Paul Bougeois as the Riesling maker that won it for me from the table, the wine was elegant, pronounced, and well balanced, it did what Riesling is suppose to do, grab the taster by the throat and offer intensity and finesse with balance. Seifrieds Riesling has responded to bottle time uniquely, the 2003 vintage was tasting truly wonderful only a month ago, moving from a Germanic style to something more lively and truly individual.

Bringing this back onto the Riesling, the failure of some of these wines, overshadows the truly magnificent Rieslings tasted. If New Zealand wants to win back the hearts of its now matured white heads, it's time those who really can't, put their hands up and admit it's not their grape. If not, the disillusioned Sauv Blanc heads are going to attempt a return only to be gravely disappointed and with what can only be described as an inconceivable amount of potential for Noble varietals especially Riesling that would be shameful.

(PhotoBlog) The Bordeaux Blends Of New Zealand

2012-01-31T19:52:00.000Z

Very Rustic Bordeaux style, farmyard notes
http://coevintners.com/

fair showing, out done really
Liberty Wines

Fruit showing well, tight tannin and great wine
Treasury Wine Estate

One of our favourites, intense
Evergreen Wines

Everything from Esk Valley was stunning
Barry & Fitzwilliam

Firm wine, good fruit, good wine
http://www.stratfordwine.co.uk/

Just amazing, fanatastic wine, great age, too much too say for it
http://www.herzog.co.nz/

Big whack of sluphur, sort of a put off but lots of aging to do yet
http://www.obrienswine.ie/NewZealand/Fine-Wine-//10WNZ011/

Good, but much too young
http://alphadomus.co.nz/

against the competition it was lost
Barry & Fitzwilliam

Another wine that just couldn't hack the competition
http://www.ampersandsales.ie/we_win.htm

Good wine, tannic, again, more age needed
http://www.trinityhill.com/

Another good wine, typical bordeaux style
http://fells.co.uk/

Excellent, really tannic more aging needed
http://www.cooperscreek.co.nz/

Very good wine, offers good fruit and structure
http://www.jnwine.com/

Apologies for the shortness of these reviews, the wines that we've seemed a little harsh on are good wines, but they were playing directly up against amazing competition and we've quickly written these in light of that. So, we hope we haven't offended anyone too much, feel free to comment below if you tried anything here and disagree, we'd love to chat about these wines.

Chateau Montelena, Chardonnay 2009

2012-01-31T14:38:00.002Z

If you are a Chardonnay fan, this is for you, if you hate Chardonnay and think it's over done and uncontrolled and just outright sloppy, grab a mate and go halves on a bottle, pour a glass and watch as your remarks are wiped clean from your face by what can only be noted as a benchmark for legends of the wine world. Coming from an estate draped in history, with an coming first in the 1976 Paris judgement.

Colour:

A pale gold hue, giving away it's youth, and this is a youthful wine mind you. Clean with medium intensity of colour.

Nose:

This is were it all kicked off. A calculated, refreshing mind boggling explosion of a dictionary of terms, restrained to the last while allowing it's expression to be known. Clean, and pronounced, never coming closing to losing its elegance. Tropical fruits rule the day, with grapefruit, lemon, peach, apricot, kiwi, melon and blossoms all adding to the wine, standing their own beside one another. Ss the wine opened a nose something vaguely similar to lavender or something medicinal added life. The herbaceous elements that had manifested began to dance between lavender and heather, offering a beautiful perfume to the nose. The most constant and powerful note on the nose which created a bed for the wine to fall upon was the chalky limestone feel which permeated every fruit of the nose.

Palate:

The nose carried through to the palate and the fruits exposed themselves once again, adding green grannysmith apples and a slight nutty flavour to the fore. the stone and chalk again playing a huge part for the structure of the wine. Dry, but with the most refreshing acidity, this wine has some bottle again to do, still fantastic. Nectarine began to emerge dancing on the clean palate cut by the acidity. The finish was other-worldly, never ending and intense, with a mouth covering feel as lemon flushed around the palate. in a word? Wonderful.

Comments:

I could expend a dictionary on this experience, truly refreshing. Expensive but very worth getting your hands on. Deconstructing the wine was immensely hard, it offered a very big challenge it is well integrated and flawless in its style and expression, honestly pick up a bottle, tell me I'm wrong. My only complaint is I can't speed up time to try this in 5 or 6 years from now.

Score:

(A) 95

Price:

€54.95 (The Corkscrew Wine Merchants)

Value (Out of 5):

3.5

LIVE BLOG: New Zealand Wine Fair Radisson Blu Hotel Dublin 30-Jan-2012

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000Z

Rob and Shane will be reporting live via the tweet machine on the New Zealand Wine Fair. Rob will be tweeting via @EmptyGlassIE and Shane will be on @thobiasinkblot. We have our HQ working on compling all the tweets here and updating with anything we have from the day. So watch this spot. #NZWINE

Tweet Feed Showing Most Recent First

3:15 @PowerandSmullen tweeted: @Greywacke Sauvignons very fine and complex. Giesen and Whytes Estate offer very good quality and value. #NZWine

3:15 @PowerandSmullen tweeted: Very impressed with Pinots at #NZWine Syrahs from Craggy Range amazing. Lots to ponder. Great work @smullenj

3:00 @Jaq_Stedman tweeted: @EmptyGlassIE Odd? In what way? #Chardonnay #NZWine

2:05 @dcnzwine tweeted: Getting busier here at the #nzwine tasting in Dublin. Great masterclass session by Matt @saintclairwine and excellent job by @smullenj

2:00 @RaraGiggles tweeted: “@thobiasinkblot: On the way in to #nzwine. Looking forward to some nice pinot” very jealous! Think of me studying law yeah? :)

1:21@EmptyGlassIE tweeted: First Riesling of the day, ant mckenzie very good. #nzwine

1:10 @EmptyGlassIE tweeted: Just arriving in the riesling table sounds great #nzwine

12:22 @saintclairwine tweeted: #MattThomson will be presenting #nzwine Grüner Veltliner in a seminar at the @NZ_Wine_UK tasting today for the Irish trade :)

12:17 @libertyireland tweeted: Tamra at the @yealands stand at the #nzwine tasting in Dublin.

12:15 @NZ_Wine_UK tweeted: The Dublin tasting is open! Riesling Challenge already popular. If tweeting please use #nzwine http://yfrog.com/klbkoozkj

12:00 @saintclairwine tweeted: @EmptyGlassIE and of course you lot too! ;) @nz_wine_uk

11:00 @EmptyGlassIE tweeeted: Empty Glass: LIVE BLOG: New Zealand Wine Fair Radisson Blu Hote... http://emptyglassie.blogspot.com/2012/01/live-blog-new-zealand-wine-fair.html?spref=tw #wine #ireland #NZwine

10:50 @EmptyGlassIE tweeeted:@saintclairwine @NZ_Wine_UK stuff the Dubliners it's the rest of us you should be excited about ;) #nzwine5

10:38 @EmptyGlassIE tweeeted:Rob is tweeting from @EmptyGlassIE and Shane is manning his post at @thobiasinkblot #NZWINE

10:37 @EmptyGlassIE tweeeted: Follow Rob and Shane's coverage of the #NZWINE fair today via our live feed on the Empty Glass http://emptyglassie.blogspot.com/2012/01/live-blog-new-zealand-wine-fair.html

10:24 @smullenj tweeted: @smullenj @adriancummins @clayton_groupon @theirishpatch @icos_bxl @travglutenfree More info about NZ Fair goo.gl/YpDyb

10:15 @smullenj tweeted: @NOffLA NZ Fair.. 2Day Try the Riesling Challenge, 1 block of Riesling, 12 winemakers, all showing their own style! pic.twitter.com/lGuClKPl

10:10 @saintclairwine tweeted: Looking forward to seeing all those Dubliners braving the weather to come taste some great #nzwine at the @NZ_Wine_UK #Ireland tasting 2day!

9:44 @NZ_Wine_UK tweeted: All set and ready to go in Dublin. Look forward to welcoming the Irish trade to our Tasting #nzwine http://yfrog.com/gysb7efj

9:30 @Mackenway_Wine tweeted: @smullenj looking forward to the NZ wine tasting today and the nz master class...

the wee hours @ggunnigan tweeted: Enjoyed a bottle of @Yealands Gruner over dinner last night. Will definitely steer people towards it at the #nzwine tasting tomorrow.

the wee hours @dcnzwine tweeted: Looking forward to seeing our Irish trade & media friends on Monday at the #nzwine Annual Trade Tasting at the Radisson BLU in Dublin.

E-mail: EmptyGlassIE@Gmail.com

Château De Pierreux, Brouilly 2010

2012-01-29T11:01:00.000Z

I decided I would challenge a wine prejudice I have built up over the years recently. Beaujolais. Not only did I allow the challenge but I also give the wine a fighting chance by giving a healthy budget for it of around €18. So armed with my typical good will, an open mind I set out to taste none other than a Brouilly that I had heard only good things about. Was this about to shatter my little wine world?

Appearance:

So, was this doll soft on the eyes? A big juicy purple broad greets the eye. Medium intensity, so that at least was on it's side. It's clean, thankfully they'd gone to the trouble to fish the leaves out of this one (My mind is as open about Beaujolais as it can be).

Nose:
On the nose, pleasant. Clean, light a little closed. Strawberries emerged from the mush of fruit which holds the body of the wines nose. A slight stalky note from the carbonic marceration premeated the nose, yet it was a lot more controlled and directed. On other Beaujolais this smell of stalk on other Beaujolais it messy and vegetal rather like olive oil, now while it's considered character, it could be argued that it's just bad wine-making. By actually sorting the grapes from the leaves etc. we get the clean and pleasant nose. This number get into my good books on that note.

Palate:
Dry, typically vacuous of tannin, but that's what we are trying to achieve, so thumbs up there. Light body, with a slight vegetal note, but again better restrained that others I have had forced on me. Strawberry is very present along with some other red fruits but none extremely well defined. Hints of blackberry open up, and had some much needed dimensions to this wine, but the wine itself still remains very 2D. Bitterness becomes a factor on the palate too. What happened though was the grapes character turned its head to say hello. The finish opened the said door. Mushy peas, which was seconded by a room of wine novices. This was very very unattractive for me. the nose began to reveal potato at this point. Now in a turn of events I'll offer a defence here, drank at a low temp, slightly chilled this won't happen, so Gamay heads, chill your bloody Beaujolais. Thankfully the finish was only medium and so the wine ended.

Comments:
There are two sides to my comments. One, this is the best example of Beaujolais I have tried, and I can understand the praise this model has gathered. This wine is by far the smartest offering a wine shop has in terms of Gamay, so to all stocking this, good call. This is a case of a good wine-maker with terrible resources showing us a pure example of Gamay. For that I commend him. The flip side? The wine is nearly €20, does it compete? No. At all? No. It is a relic of the tasteless yuppies of the Celtic Tiger. This may sound harsh, but flick through our reviews and you'll see the competition at €20. The wine itself is simple easy drinking and good for wine drinkers starting into red, but still very expensive. Now to finish on a good note, drankk. Chilled, in summer, with sun, this would be very nice. However, It is cold, I have no heating, am listening to the Blues and my grapevine thinks its autumn, this is as seasonal as Mulled wine and honestly as gimmicky. So was it the wine to break my thoughts? No. But it put up an okay showing, and I did manage two small glasses before donating it to others.

Score:

Price:

€18.95 (Mill Wine Cellar), €18.95 (The Corkscrew Wine Merchants)

Value (Out of 5):

There is a Pint to be made here

2012-01-27T18:13:00.000Z

O'Haras Leann Folláin

This is not a beer for the faint of hearted, but for those of you who enjoy a good stout. For too long in Ireland we have been left with little but Guinness to drink as Diageo have homogenized the market. Never fear, the small Irish Brewery is here. Carlow Brewing company have been around for awhile now and represent one of the most successful microbreweries in the Irish beer revival. Their Leann Folláin is exactly as named, a big rich stout that has a hefty alcohol content to boot (6%).

Colour

Rich and dark with a rich a milk chocolaty hue ... mmm

Nose

Rich Coffee, with a hint of spice. A plain ole pub pint this is not.

Palate

Rich flavours of espresso coffee and a hint of chocolate are complemented by a slight spice to the finish. While the higher alcohol content gave it a slightly too bitter finish, this is certainly more interesting than Guinness, with a heap load more character.

Alc 6%

€2.89 (O'Briens Wines)

Score: 80

Long Legs Food Craft Beer Tasting

17:59 And it's Trouble with a Capital "T"

2012-01-27T11:15:00.001Z

Apparently it all kicked of at just a little passed five to six in a little sleepy hollow called Kildare. No more that three minutes later our boy Arthur was hassling his rent to half a student rate in none other than the capital working out at forty five quid no less. Now the time is little after ten passed the eight and back in the Allenswood of Kildare there is trouble brewing. Today we decided we'd hand out two alternatives to the infamous Mr Guinness.

Trouble Brewing, Dark Arts Porter

Colour:

A clean and intense darkness, as you'd expect, with a halo of a light chocolate edge.

Nose:

Smelling this you know one thing, this is going to be great. Clean, with an engulfing nose of a fresh ground warm roast coffee bean, punctured by an already encircling bitter chocolate.

Palate:

I'll had the Black stuff one thing it does bitterness. This black stuff however stylishly owns bitterness, hiding it away and not offering a hint of it up until, as a fear grasps you that the porter is tipping over to sickly, an austere streak of refreshing and cleaning bitterness rides in to clean everything away and leave you standing in nothing short of awe. Now add this to the preceding chocolate, caramel and coffee Molotov cocktail already causing taste buds to rupture, and you have nothing short of a small display of art.

Comment:

A flawless stout. Really worth picking up. It's worthy of a cult status at this point and seems to have grasped quite rightly this importance of balance in a beer. An experience that is more than advised by Team Empty.

Score: (A) 92

Price: €2.99 (Mill Wine Cellar)

Value: 5

Guest Article: the Good, the Bad and the Bitter

2012-01-27T11:13:00.002Z

To changethings up a bit and try some new things, a little group of us (including Rob ofTeam Empty) devised a beer tasting that would give us a nice range of flavoursand styles. Well, we got what we asked for; a lovely variety, including a fewreal gems. Up for tasting we had Trouble Brewing Ór Golden Ale, ErdingerWeissbier Kristallklar, ErdingerWeissbier Dunkel, HoneyDew, and Belfast Blonde. So folks, here is my review of the good, the bad andthe ugly of it all.

Trouble Brewing Ór Golden Ale

The Trouble Brewing wasamong my favourites from the tasting. Very crisp and refreshing, as well asbeautifully smooth and full-bodied. This classy beer has a pleasing appleytaste and a general subtle fruitiness. You can plainly taste the quality of thebrewing. Very tasty drink that would probably tempt me into having more thanjust the one!

Alc. 4.3%

€2.99

Score: 83

Erdinger Weissbier Kristallklar

TheErdinger Kristallkar pours a pale golden straw colour and smells of fresh herbsand oddly enough, a little like lettuce. The herbs come through in the flavourand there is noticeable grapefruit and some soft peach, making it pleasantlyfruity. On first impressions, I found this beer a bit strange but overall itwas enjoyable, and I recall thinking it reminded me just slightly of a fruity Riesling,so it could suit Riesling fans rather well.

Alc. 5.3% Vol.

€2.50

Score: 68

Erdinger Weissbier Dunkel

This Erdinger was myoverall favourite at the tasting and fairly won my heart! It has a luscious,rich, dark colour; like cola or a dark chocolate. Its smell is lightly sweet; anice soft caramel. A little of this caramel sweetness translates from the noseto the palate, where it is mixed with apple, raisins and chocolate. Mediumbodied and on the whole, delicious!

Alc. 5.6%Vol.

€2.80

Score: 90

Fuller’s Organic Honey Dew

The HoneyDew is a golden ale. Unsurprisingly, honey dominates the aroma and the taste,giving it a strange sweetness. Basically, Honey Dew does what it says on thetin. This sweetness is countered by a bitter kick. It is an interesting beer worthexperiencing for a change but personally, I wouldn’t be able to drink too muchof it or have it too often.

Alc. 5%Vol.

€2.99

Score: 52

Belfast Blonde

I’m alittle apprehensive about reviewing this beer as I simply didn’t like it, and Iknow the boys at Empty Glass disagree! I’m going to go ahead with my opinionanyway, but I would recommend taking it with a pinch of salt for personalpreference. Belfast Blonde is a citrusy light ale. The tang of oranges inspecific stood out. There is far more than a hint of bitterness (which isprobably what put me off). Something about the consistency seemed oily and ingeneral it was just a bit dull and bland. Unimpressive.

Alc.4.3& Vol.

€2.99

Score: 40

Ca'Rugate, Valpolicella Superiore, 2007

2012-01-25T12:23:00.001Z

I have mentioned Valpol before, I have mentioned my infatuation, I have mentioned even my love of it's colour. I think now is the time to admit, I am obsessed with the bloody thing. Now, I am picky however, and have been set on many a rage by attempts that betray the grapes, the style and the very reason for Valpol. That being a wine, that is enticing, fresh and vibrant. This example, well lets say, pricey as it was, didn't disappoint.

Appearance:

Clean, vibrant ruby, that crimson I always talk about in a very good Valpol (and not pale gold which I had misread from my tasting notes of a previous wine, which, if you have in your Valpolicella, I would hazard a guess you either aren't drinking a valpol or need a doctor rather urgently). The colour of the wine was a follow up with excellent intensity.

Nose:

Clean, and rather pronounced, a deep and intense dark black cherry opened up the nose game. A really refreshing nose and some great notes of thyme, adding some herbal freshness, which considering the freshness of the wine already could seem needless, yet, needless it was not, the refreshing nose added so much liveliness that other Valpolicella really aren't getting these days.
More fruits teetered out of the crimson, strawberries, and a red-currant. Where's the Cherry-cola you say? read on.

Palate:

Dry, with surprising tannic structure to the front of the mouth, I was having questions of whether this could age another 3 years, not only was I debating this but I still am. High acidity as you'd expect from an Italian, just begging pizza or pasta, with a full body of the black cherry, which exploded as the cherry cola you may so covet, everywhere on the palate, fruits like strawberry would hold tightly for their lives as the cherry hammered at them. As red currant opened so too did what seemed to be a slight oak influence, a tiny lick of sweet spices give another lively jump to this wine. It's finish is what really pushed up the marks here. it's length was never ending and the coat of liquorice was a fantastic way to end the glass really an amazing wine.

Comments:

A fantastic wine, my one and only problem? The price, at €20, it is in the realm of some real Corvina beasts, Ripassos kick into there element around this price point. All said, it's one of the few Valpolicella Superiores that I would like challenge a Ripasso, it is capable of offering the same body and yet doing something too many Ripassos fail to achieve a fresh balance of freshness. The most interesting thing here is definitely that strong gripping tannin. That could be holding a backlog of fruit and in a year or two that'll reveal itself and this will be a wine to revisit. As for food, well anything Italian will work, simple pasta dishes are a perfect match.

Score:

(A-) 91

Price:

€19.99 (Mill Wine Cellar)

Value (Out of 5):

3.5

Don David, Torrontes Reserve 2009

2012-01-23T09:00:00.000Z

We'll admit without any fuss made, we tend to forget our whites here a lot. How to adjust for it? Reviewing slightly mad gems like this. This is my third tasting of Michel Torino's Don David Torrontes. My second tasting was with Thobias, and I had challenged him to blind taste it owning to his rather excellent ability to guess what's swirling about in the glass. His response for this? A Gewürztraminer? Riesling, Chardonnay? Confusion.

Appearance:

Clean, with a pale gold of a light intensity, so nothing to distinguish it from a million other wines in terms of what you see.

Nose:

Clean. From here, its resemblance to anything else either ends, or you begin to imagine every grape in the world having a little boogie in the glass. Medium intensity. with notes of subtle Lychee similar to Gewürztraminer, elderberries and yellow roses pulling the face of Chardonnay, and melon and lemon rind offering more on the nose. The noses elegance betrays all to come, excellent style, distinct yet not overpowering.

Palate:
The palate offers as much well orchestrated chaos as the nose, begging you to sip more as it evolves and moves. Dry, with medium acidity, roses and lychee pulling up the palate assault. with melon and orange rind coating the withdrawal of all the primary flavours. This dances on the palate.

Comments:

The expression of this wine is flawless. It would suit the palates of Alsace drinkers looking to see Gewürztraminer in the new world while offering them an excellent alternative to Gewurz. The wine is more than great value for money. It's unusual and technically excellent. The quality follows suit from the rest of the Don David range, the Cabernet coming third in our reds of the year and the Malbec being a fantastic example of what Malbec is.

Score:

(B) 82

Price:
TheWineShop.ie €12.50, Booze.ie €12.50, Baggot Street Wines €12.99, Cellars Big Wine Warehouse €12.49, Redmond's Off Licence, New Town Inn Maynooth €11.95, Stewart's Wine Shop

On Wine Lists:
Ananda Restaurant, Jaipur (Dalkey, Malahide) Koh Bar and Restaurant, Pinocchio Restaurant, , Stillogran Orchard, Trim Castle Hotel, Village at Lyons

Value (Out of 5):

Quinta De Fata Reserva 2003

2012-01-21T11:17:00.001Z

The first day of holidays in Portugal I decided it best to tip down to the shops for some essentials for the apartment. While perusing the shelves of a local shop (under the pretence of going to the shop for some coffee and milk), not even a wine shop I was not expecting much. However, all was not as it would seem. Normally I am used to going into a supermarket and seeing overpriced banal branded wines staring back at me, today this was not the case.

Comment: (We put this up first today because he is on Holiday)

What greeted me was most definitely the proud products of a wine producing nation. Every bottle screamed out at me, ‘I am not Wolf Blass’. I of course replied, ‘perhaps some of us should become better acquainted’. After another ten minutes of getting to know these wonderful characters a little better I had come to a conclusion. This being a supermarket and al at best I am only getting to see some of the weaker and more mass produced wines of the region (Alentejo and Dao). Just as I had come to this conclusion I spotted a bottle, nonchalantly sitting right in front of me.

It spoke to me in a quiet whisper, ‘You have persevered, this is what you have been searching for’. The wine was a 2003 Reserva from Dao DOC, predominantly Touriga Nacional (one of the main Port varietals, with a tiny sticker on it extolling the silver medal it had won for the regional awards. This was what I was subconsciously looking for.

I opened the wine that night and was greeted with a bang of oak and truffle. The label on the back suggested that I decant this wine for an hour, from the initial smell and taste I assumed this to be a conservative estimate. Holy Bananas was I right. Coming back to the wine decanted in a lovely fruit juice jug an hour later I had a good shmell and shlurp … I nearly lost my face.

Think Nick Cage in that film Drive Angry, then superimpose all his ridiculous dialogue and storyline into … Forget it, just think Face Off. This is what happened to me, I was blown away by how much this wine was throwing at me in both aroma and flavour, this is not to mention the tannin. Oh, the tannin. I honest to some supreme non corporeal entity thought this wine was going to rip my face off, then it did.

Nose:

The metamorphosis was not pretty, but I emerged with doves flying and blazing bullets (yes, this is reference to another scene in the eponymous Face Off). On the nose the wine was boldly old and new, a mixture of truffle, dried fruits, violets, a hint of oak, and as it opened up, strawberries, blackberry jam, cedar box, more truffle and coffee.

Palate:

On the palate the truffle followed through with intense blackberry jam and some nutmeg on the finish.

Even later the wine gave a hint of dried herbs. To put this in some sort of context o opened this wine 24 hours ago and the latter primary fruits and strawberries only just emerged. Moral of the story, when on holidays don’t be tempted by wines that are €2 and €3 in the local market, I bought one and it was corked and more to the point do what I did, spend a little more than the average on the shelves (€6 for the wine I am talking about), which will be a lot less than you would spend at home for a wine at this quality.

Score A- (89)

Thobias Inkblot

Also Reviewed today is Materne Haegelin, Alcase, Pinot Noir here's a snippet from the article

Being the resident Pinot nut, Power and Smullen's tweet "Do have a tasty Alcase Pinot Noir fom Haegelin" sparked a unusual thirst in me, while my response was tame via the tweet machine, in reality, I was bouncing off the walls of the student gaf here in Maynooth. Having used all my muck-man skills I mastered the treacherous Dublin Bus timetables and pottered in after college one evening. Christ was I glad I bought two. This was wonderful and insanely, too young.

Materne Haegelin, Alcase, Pinot Noir 2009

2012-01-21T09:00:00.000Z

Appearance:

Clear, surprising intensity medium at least, wait till you realise the bottle is actually clear and you'll see what I mean.

Nose:
Clean, medium nose of cranberry, frugal almost game quality on the nose, blackcurrant and strawberries, the nose was a little closed at first, but given time continued to open, and as time continued the wine began to reveal itself. A flintish quality to the nose that you'd expect from something from Alsace. All in all a really interesting nose. Watch the fruit as it begins to evolve on the nose, this is really aluring, it's pronounced but not out of control.

Palate:

Medium acidity on the palate, with soft tannins. A light bodied wine with pronounced notes of strawberry and cranberry, a refreshing streak of minerality to the wine. Juicy wine, but doesn't lose any structure at all. Top quality and beefed up Pinot, very surprising for an Alsacian red.

Comments:

Now the score and the value may not seem to match my enthusiasm for the wine now there is a very simple reason as to why? I am a self confessed Pinot Nut. I love the stuff, and the chance to keep creeping north this year has had me doing twists. Germany has shown some outstanding examples, and to finally get my hands on one of these is a bit more of a personal thing, now this said if you are a Pinot head too this wine could be rated way higher for value and for score, however we are trying to give a neutral view of the wines we throw up here.

So onto the important stuff age worthy? Yes, maybe 2-3 years on this could be a controlled explosion of fruits and teraitry flavours real a world of a difference. Having read up on this from the big man OZ, apparently well made pinot (Check) will age in three step,m vibrant youth, clams and almost becomes boring in middle age and then.... well then things go a little mad and the reason for pinots literally descriptions is revealed. Despite our slow start but fruit gently crashes in, this is one to wait on. Food, here starts the debate, it's medium bodied and has good flavours just waiting for food to bring them out. But what? I'd go with something in the line of turkey, or other lean meat, something to wake this up a little. Overall a very good wine as it stands, given a year or two, this is going to be something else.

(We'll be opening a second one of these again, and putting it up against some big contenders)

Score:

(B+) 87

Price:

€16.95 (Power & Smullen)

Value (Out of 5):

Also Reviewed today is Quinta De Fata Reserva 2003 here's a snippet from the article

While perusing the shelves of a local shop (under the pretence of going to the shop for some coffee and milk), not even a wine shop I was not expecting much. However, all was not as it would seem. Normally I am used to going into a supermarket and seeing overpriced banal branded wines staring back at me, today this was not the case.

Corvina Veronese, Monte Zovo, 2007

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000Z

If there is one grape that tickles me fancy it has to Crovina. In fact my wine epiphany happened to involve just the culprit in the form of a Valopicella Ripasso, and has been the bar all wine finds itself up against ever since. Now, this is something a little different, it's a straight Crovina, form Monte Zovo, whose Bardolino has already struck a good note with me. So how did the single varietal stand up?

Appearance:

Clean, with a very light intensity, the ruby colours characteristic of Corvina (Tip: with Valpol, hold it up to light and it should be a brilliant crimson red, if it looks a bit pinkish, you've got yourself a badly made Valpol/Bardolino/Corvina)

Nose:

Clean, and thankfully uncorked, or oxidised (Have had a run of two or three baddies recently). Very pronounce, straight away letting you know that there is a whole lot to the wine. The nose opens up with all sorts of red fruit a cherry-cola and strawberry the main fruits, dusted off with some herbicous notes of Thyme. The nose all in all was intense.

Palate:

Dry, with good refreshing acidity and soft tannins to the front of the palate. Cherry Cola take on most of the body. The finish reveals a juicy strawberry which as the wine opens invades onto the palate.

Comments:

Balance on this was perfect, mimicking the Bardolino's freshness, which seems to be a consistent feature of Monte Zovo's range. Perfect to drink now or even hold on to for a year or so. Wine is at it's peak and drinking great, no reason to hold onto it any longer. My own personal comment would be "Sweet Jesus Christ I love Crovina". Definitely worth picking up. As for matching it too food? Well, smoked samlon or chicken would be nice however nothing all that big or huge, the wine is very light, I think it's almost better on it's own.

Score:

(B+) 89

Price:

€16.95 (Power & Smullen), (The guys at The Corkscrew Wine Merchants have been kind enough to offer to get it back in stock for anyone who wants too get trying the wine, if you're interested, give them an advised buzz)

Value (Out of 5):

4.5

The Blueberries (Empty Awards for 2011)

2012-01-17T15:00:00.001Z

Here at team empty we have decided that we could kick off the new year by having ourselves a little bout of awards just to mention some of the best wines, people, producers, regions and wine businesses that we've come across over the 2011. Our format is very simple, there is a first, second and third place, see simple. That in mind, here are our Blueberry awards for 2011.

1. Red

One of those does what it says on the tin categories. We encountered a lot of top quality reds this year which left this a hard contest. One thing to note from our experience this year is the quality for money in Rioja has finally began to show. Crianza's have started to offer up a lot more that little uncontrolled oak bombs, we'll follow this up in 2012 to see if the quality and price stick. Without further delay here are our three favourite red wines of 2011.

1st: Conde De Valdemar, Crianza 2007 (€12.95)

Intense is not the word to describe how this wine asserts itself, one of the finest examples of an oaked wine that has come to our door this year, and at the price of €12.95 an absolute steal.

2nd: Segada, Red, 2008 (€8.95)

This wine was our favourite last Christmas and rightly so, offering a lesson in how to display smooth fruit that integrates well with spices such as cinnamon and vanilla. Textbook and we love it.

3rd: Don David, Cabernet 2009 (€11.95)

New world Cabernet has a name for being a monster and no other sort of a monster than an untamed one. Yet, stick it at around 1000 meters above sea level and watch as elegance appears alongside intense notes like blackcurrant, tobacco and tertiary favours.

2. White

Without dancing around the subject, we were without fail spoiled for whites this year, with a huge surprise for ourselves, all the Riesling we so covet has lost out entirely. More surprises that not only was Riesling out done but none other than the gimp of the wine world, NZ Sauvignon Blanc. Not finished with the double batting of surprise that conjured notions of wooden spoons, we again opened our jaws to New Zealand and a very surprising South Africa.

1st: Seifrieds, Gewürztraminer 2009 (€13.95)

Whoa. This is all. This is all there is to say. A must try, and a must stock, intensity that is normally reserved for dessert wine, while being only off dry and having a finish of Ginger that really left every glass ending in awe.

2nd: Rabbit Island, Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (€9.99)

Well here it is, a Sauv Blanc that we don't hate, worse again a new Zealand Sauv Blanc, well restrained and balanced, exactly why the world fell for NZ, a pity there is not more styled like it.

3rd: Springfield, Chardonnay 2010 (€14.95)

Thobias spins in his grave at the thought of it, the home of the Rubber bandits. South Africa with it's dirty burnt nose offering a wine to the awards, luckily though, this one is white, so our problem of burnt rubber was not on the table. Two words, buttery heaven.

3. Rosé

We offered little time to this section with the exception of Miguel Torres Rosé example there was no rosé that surprised or even ignited a flame for Empty. Quality in this department is poor at best, with of course our aforementioned exception.

1st: Santa Digna, Cabernet Rosé 2010 (€10.95)

An excellent wine and why every rosé maker out there ought to hang their head in shame, a great wine that offered amazing summer drinking, and suited food or banter perfectly. Good balance, only problem was a slight greenness, yet the vines youth accounts for this.

2nd: Tachetto Rizzardi, Rosé (Shane was bold, and didn't say, but Shane has now returned and said it is €11.99)

I am not normally a Rosé fan, but this one was a treat during last years summer. Anyone remember that day? I think it was towards the end of July. Anyways, the wine is rich in colour and flavour, with notes of strawberries and cherry and has a well balanced acidity that leaves a refreshing finish. What more could you ask for in a world awash with cloying and overly sweet Rosé.

3rd: Curious, Sparking Moscato (€5.99)

A product I loath, a creation of the Pinot Grigio brigade, yet as a space filler, it offered nothing offensive, still not a repeat buy.

4. Sparkling

The intros for these very obvious categories are really hard to write. Consider this an Empty wish list if you fancy spoiling us! Bubbles was not a main point of the year for us, however their where some notable wines here, Billecart & Salmon NV is an example of what we mean. Just heavenly.

1st: Billecart & Salmon NV (€46.95)

This is what champagne is all about. Complexity, elegance and style. Walnut, almond and fruit all dancing around the palate to really for Champagne that is worth the money you pay.

2nd: Veuve Clicquot NV (€50)

Runs on the citrus fruit that Billecart dances with, a very rich champagne.

3rd: Jeio, Prosecco Superiore (€18.95)

Under €20 and a really excellent bubbly. Stands up to and betters many Champagnes twice its price. Fine bubbles which go on and on and on, and on.

5. Best Overall Wine

Well this was a pain in the arse of a category to judge. We decided on fairness and left out wines such as a 1981 Shiraz, a 2005 Dead Arm or Two a 1994 Vintage Port, 2001 Alcase Riesling, and none other than a 1995 Opus One to mention but a few. Put simply the quality out there for €10 - €20 is astounding. The New World especially seems to come of age from €15 upwards. Here are three wines that if you have not tried, you must.

1st: Devils Elbow, Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (€17.99)

Thobias has had multiple love affair with this wine no doubt. Massive aussie Cabernet, Empty is guessing this won't be long off getting a huge Irish following. Top tip would be to decant the wine for about an hour to really let it open up a bit and let all that Australia has forged it Cabernet name on surge forth. When the nose of eucalyptus enters is where my heart jumps every time.

2nd: Paul Dolan, Zinfandel 2006 (€12.95)

This was narrowly beaten from first, for a single reason, we can find any more of it without going through suppliers, a fantisic wine, elegant and most definitely has swung me to the Zin side of the Zin/Prim argument. From a petit flu youghrat like nose this evloves into raspberry which continously open and become sharp, distinct and almost regal in a way. Finely oaked and an organic wine too to boot.

3rd: Chateau Cluzan, 2009 (€10.95)

Breaker of Thobias and his immovable believe that Bordeaux wine was overpriced or muck. A tour de force on what it means for a wine to tick on the boxes and be allowed linger in the glass. Champion wine from an excellent vintage, for around €10 this is a treat, one to age, one to drink now, one to savour.

6. Producer

This category was up there among the hardest to judge. Some producers offering timeless jewels, and others character, charm and experience, after verging on an hours debate we finally shortlisted and voted, which saw a three way tie and required a more qualitative approach.

1st: D'Adrenberg

Dead Arm 2005, The Copper Mine 2005, Footbolt, D'Arry's Army, The Hermit Crab, The Stump Jump, need I say more? No, however I will offer this picture as a supplement to words.

2nd: Seifried

Not as dramatic as the above, but our krauts turned Kiwi really are something to behold when it comes to wine. If the rest of NZ was following suit with the quality of the wines these guys are offering we'd have seen the death of D2 Sauv-Pinot NZ ages ago, and what we'd have in it's place is, a dedicated wine country that has more than just mass appeal but mass appeal paired with character and flavour. I say this with no hesitation, these are the best whites I have tasted all year by rather a long shot.

3rd: Luigi Bosca

This is a team favourite when it comes to quality wines, moving beyond his obviously fantastic Malbec, Luigi Bosca offers well structured and powerful wines. His Pinot Noir stole hearts here at Empty and is set to feature in a Pinot Battle planned for this year which it is strongly tipped to be a winner. The La Linda range is excellent with indigenous grape single varieties to spice things up. Bumping up the quality, the Gala range needs no word save masterful. Really a man to acquaint yourself to.

7. Region

1st: Barossa

Rob won over to Shiraz by it. Myths produced by it. Peter Lehmann holding a standard only to falter due to the problems of the market, new heroes uncovered continuously. These little and huge stories are what wine is about. Then there's Eden Valley attached, the Riesling, Pewsely Vale, amazing. Wine Australia's display of Peter Lehmann's 1981 Shiraz showing what really is a place that can and has produced legends.

2nd: Argentina

Luigi Bosca, Catena, Del Fin Del Mundo, so many good wines, and they are all reasonably priced, not one encounter so far is too expensive or bad value. Really a region where we need to look beyond the principal grape of Malbec, because we are all missing out!

3rd: Rioja

We like Spanish wines and make no secret of it. Especially, we like a good Rioja, but the problem is until this year the prices really hadn't added up, but with Conde de Valdemar leading the reductions on shelves, even bringing a grand reserva down to the bargain of €20. The other stunner was as aforementioned the crianzas available, truly a great year for the wine region giant.

8. Best Wino of The Year

This award led to a great chat here at Empty recounting the past year, and all the faces and people that have made this year the year it was. We had more than an abundance of people to talk about and people that deserved the award. To everyone that has crossed our paths this year, thank you, it has been a pleasure without exception!

1st: Chris Gifford (The Corkscrew)

The happy head that has often greeted Empty to The Corkscrew Wine Merchants Dublin's Chatham's Street. If you have yet to have something advised to you by this man, remedy that fact without pause. In a burst of words, a gent, knowledgeable, friendly, down to earth. Well and truly Empty's favourite wino of 2011!

2nd: Adrian Hoffman (Barossa grape-grower)

A grape grower met at Wine Australia Ireland Annual tasting in Corker this year, a huge personality that captivated a room, and guided Empty through some of the Finest wine we have yet to taste.

3rd: Berna Hatton (Mill Wine Cellar)

Our local who has offered advice, help and as if that wasn't good enough, Opus One. We are greatly indebted without a doubt. Thanks Berna!

9. Fintan Traynor Award (Best Wine Business)

This award is dedicated to the late and dearly missed Fintan Traynor. Its an award we gave much time and thought to. We considered it a fitting tribute for one of the greatest driving forces behind Empty.

1st: The Corkscrew Wine Merchants

The guys of Chatham Street are really beating people to the polls today. The Selection in the shop paired with the staff, and the great wine ambition really ensure that the Corkscrew is one of Ireland's best wine shops if not the best.

2nd: The Wine Store

Only recently discovered by ourselves here at Empty but already it has nudged it's way into our hearts by helping out the MSU Food and Wine Society. A great old world site that has more than a lot of quality old world goodie up there. Truly what seem to be a great bunch.

3rd: Ely Wine Bar

Wine bars like Ely don't come along every day, and when they do, you never expect them to be on your doorstep or even on your Island. Their blog has recently kick-started again and it's looking great too. If you would contend this award, find their wine list for wines by the glass and then come back to us. Amazing Atmosphere.

10.Website

The Last Category of the Blueberries, and something that shouldn't come as a surprise to those reading this, but the Irish wine web scene is fantastic, this was really another category where we were spoiled for choice.

1st: Wine Ireland

Lar Veale has stolen the award with this simple yet amazing idea of getting everything in one place under the nice simple name of Wine Ireland. In it's baby steps now but genuinely a fantastic idea and project.

2nd: The Corkscrew

No Irish Wine Website has quite managed the look and style that the Corkscrew has. We love it, they also have a huge selection of their wines up to choose from.

3rd: Curious Wines

Our Favourite of the on-line wine retailers. Fresh and lively feel to them, with an appropriate selection of wine to follow that feel-good feeling with!

Regards,

Rob & Shane (Thobias)

For more info contact: EmptyGlassIE@Gmail.com

All prices are not fact, and are from various Merchants at Various times, we hold no liability for them.

Ring Bolt Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009

2011-12-04T16:03:00.001Z

So with these occupation things being all the rage and usempty heads sharing an ironically leftie view of the world we said we woulddedicate this review to the exec of Maynooth’s Student Union who at the time ofwriting are bailed up in a TD’s office in Naas. The wine would need the values of #Occupy at heart so what wine ticks all these boxes?

A wine which happens toreside on special offers shelf no less. Two words which offer students arespite from the dreaded offerings of Tesco’s wine. What’s odd? This isactually a Tesco’s wine. Apparently this finding a wine from one of the great beckonsglobal capitalism doesn’t send out the #Occupy vibe we’re gunning for. Seeking out a more philosophically pleasinglink to activism we turn to finding a rose within the wine? Unfortunately thatlink isn’t going to hold for this wine – it reeks of violets.

Where have we found our tie? The motto occupying the neck ofthe bottle “Hold Them Fast” seemed more than apt tie. Feeling we hadpreformed our duty by arbitrarily linking items, we continued to crack on withit.

So, what were we looking at here, a purple hew engulfing the halo, we instantly we could have been forgiven for assuming thewine would be a tannic beast on the palate, yet we would be mistaken as it happens.But before we could even get that far the nose grabbed attentions and heldthem fast. Very Pronounced and offering up a hit of eucalyptus and a healthydose of blackcurrant to compliment. Leaving us with no misconceptions that ringbolt knows exactly what cabernet is about.

Before we encountered the palate we began to see the layersopen up and the real expression of this wine arise, cedar, and tobacco, withchocolate creating a gel of the flavours, these earthy characteristics began tobecome more leafy and fresh, with notes of mint and thyme appearing.

A well blended mix of violets and blackcurrants coated thepalate and began to develop; sweet red peppers, cassis, and a faint trufflebegan to develop from the violets and blackcurrant. The tobacco followedthrough on the palate, more leafy than on the nose.

A classic oak finish left everyone content to forcefullyremove the occupying vino from the glass.

And all for €10 in Tesco’s, well worth picking up forMaynooth Christmas Dinner!

Score: B+ (84)

Conde De Valdemar Crianza 2007

2011-11-25T20:10:00.001Z

Conde De Valdemar Crianza has long been a favourite of mine for many reasons. The has always been of exceptional quality, even in ropey vintages, such as 2006. When it returned to my local I wept with joy. Well, not really that would be a bit odd. I did however, purchase a bottle.

Later that night in the my tasting laboratory (a.k.a. my kitchen table, riedel glass and a bottle of the Crianza sitting in the decanter) I began to delve into the intricate layers of this Rioja.

Mr. Roboto having a rest

A Crianza in the Rioja D.O.C. must spend a minimum of one year in oak and one year in the bottle before it is released. The idea behind this is the wine must be of a particular standard and 'ready to drink' when released. This of course all depends on how you like your wine, youthful and fruity or mature and broody.

Straight out the of the bottle into the decanter an intense array of oak aromas were released, most notably vanilla and cedar box. The wine itself spends 15 months in oak barrels, so no expense is left out here by the winemaker. After about 45 minutes I came back to the wine and a heap of fruit had emerged, blackberry, cherry, raspberry and tobacco on the nose wrapped in delicious oak.

On the palate there was an abundance of black-berried fruits and cherry, with a light touch of cinnamon and vanilla from the oak. The finish was long and the tannin firm with very good levels of acidity. Very well balanced and most importantly delicious.

Score: A (91)

Availabe in the Mill Wine Cellar for €12.95

Thobias Inkblot, with special thanks to Shane Mc Nally and Mr. Roboto.

Affairs and that Malark

2011-11-01T16:28:00.000Z

Truth be known, I've been rather a busy tramp of late. Tastings and ponse go-lóir! To add to this my favourite grape is an obscure little gal by the name of Cabernet Franc. Now in Ireland she's a rather expensive and a hard to find doll. In effect everything against the idea of Empty really, but of late something has changed. Not seeing Cab Franc in a while, I don't know, it's left an encroaching loneliness, something that another grape is swooping in a filling. Who is this mystery tart? What hoor is it that tries to whisk me away with its robes bitter-sweet with the smell of fresh tobacco as she enters the room? Tempranillo.

The Bitch I hear you cry. Yes, I have been courting this grape a lot of recent. Not a hard to find obscure gem like Miss Franc but a subtly brilliant slut to my tastes.

Mill Wine Cellar, €8.99

Mill Wine Cellar, €8.99 Edging towards me, the smell of mint beckoned me from its mouth, flirting with an inviting glint mimicking the colour filling my eye, a ruby red hiding the blushes of mine as I thought fondly of my beloved Cab Franc, waiting for me alone, surrounded by... My mind fleeted, the red filled my eyes as it dared me to inhale the aromas shrouding the Lady dressed in only a Riedel carved to smoothly caress her light skin. Plum-like perfumes turned to a light cherry and, I held back no more. Sipping not lightly at this poisoned dark chalice of betrayal. No, deeply, overwhelmingly and passionately I glumped as the favourite chords were plucked upon, a refreshing minerality, flowing and furthering the cherry'd lips of this Spanish lass on me. Lashing distinct, but soft, echoing the cherry with a full lingering plum, finishing her presence on me with an engraved all engulfing liquorice, which harboured the hand tied to my human fancies, primevally harassing a desire to stop till it wished itself be washed in the tarnish too. The second taste of this sweet affair revealed something which awoke an ancient fear in the heart which sought light amusement bereft of meaning, a seemingly empty aesthetic hoarding in its cold beautiful elegance began to show a warmth. Oak. A spice jumped, cinnamonesque, sweet to the senses, lasting, but yet this hollow hoor, offered the decadency in calculatedly and venomously addicting measures. Elegance and the final look upon the wine offered a wish of more, a guilt, a renewal, a jealousy of the charm wielded with subtle and almost unnoticed aggression(deleted repeated word). The crescendo of the hoor the glass lowered, nothing remaining save a lasting cherry from the lips, and the burning desires to repeat.

Effectively my point is this little light to medium body character ticks a lot of boxes for the fruit headed Pinot/ Cab Franc lover and what's better is its price. A surprisingly stylish and appeasing wine for €8.99. Well worth a taste and well worth revisiting. It's a top notch example of a Tempranillo, will a subtle touch of controlled oaked. At its price it's a student’s delight or even a table wine for the poor but decadent!

Score: (79) B

Camins del Priorat/The Spanish Thing Continues

2011-09-10T19:54:00.000+01:00

So another Spanish lady in red being reviewed this week. Having been lucky enough to manage two seats at a "meet the winemaker" lunch in Dublin this week. Now we did managed to taste a few wines we don't intend buying again until we have real wages! Besides the point, the wine in question was a kind parting gift to all who attended the meal. Now, as it goes, freebies are never freebies, there's always some sort of catch. Here, in this case with a room full of 50-60 people you'd expected that the wine wouldn't be up to much. Rather the opposite actually! This wine was in fact something completely different altogether. A better kind of freebie, a show off freebie.

The star of the show was an entry level wine from Mr Palacios' Priorat vineyards. What is this wonderful concoction? 50% Somsó, 40% Garnacha (Grenache to you and me), 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Really it's a good slap of whatever you like.

Now, it is a very rare occasion I get excited about wines but this one, was again different. Pop, the cork came out, I left the room for a decanter and chugged the wine into the said object on return. In need of a glass I left the room for a second, merely to wash a glass and again return. In the minute that it took to leave and return to the room it had filled up with a beautiful sweet aroma of fresh wild berries. And so my giddiness started. Swirling the glass, my nose found itself the victim of what can only be described as a delicately soft yet concentrated assaulted by a combination of alluring aromas, first it began with an all consuming elegant and softly expressed blueberry. Once this began to open the wine began to offer something I have not experienced from a wine in rather a long time. A beautiful and ever expanding list of notes, a development from one thing to another, the nose was truly alive. A fresh swath of leafy aromas began to flood in around the blueberries at the heart of the nose, tobacco, mint, violet and rose petal, all dancing entrickedly to form an expression of what this wine is.

Even within these notes a constant flowing evolution was in flux, the tobacco opened from a leafiness to an ash to an empty echo of it's presence, a lingering feature that added nothing short of a curious and wrapped beauty to the wine.

The blueberry suddenly exploded, raspberry, blackberry and still a persistently strong core vein of blueberry began to wash almost caressingly over the wine. Filling in the crevasses between the leafy texture.

So, it was finally time to taste the wine. What was offer was nothing less than mind blowing. The strong tightness pulled at the blueberry that characterises a very rare but elegant display of talent on the wine markers part, too often blueberry is lost or fat on the palate, squashed and poorly expressed. Not here. The length of the finish was almost haunting, and it became an opening phase for the rest of the expressions of the nose to flood onto the palate, now with added touches of cedar, and sweet spice, with cinnamon notes dominating.

The berries on the nose further evolved on the palate; with blueberries and blackberry forming with structural brilliance on the palate a new fruit entered the stage. Strawberries the light refreshing succulent dash played a cord too. The tannic content of the wine also began to reveal itself, with the front of the mouth tightening firmly and offering some bottle life. The wine without doubts has surpassed much of what I have tasted in the last while and is definitely something that shall be tasted again.

The Art in the bottle

2011-08-13T19:59:00.000+01:00

The Tim Adams Shiraz is a wine I had heard a lot about and all good things at that. This always makes me wary, is it going to be like Avatar? The biggest hyped up movie of all time that turns out to be this mess of images and plot that leaves me left to wonder whether or not I have just witnessed the death knell of art and culture.

Where am I going with this? Well, after so many let downs of late by hyped up wines I decided to take a chance and buy a wine I spotted in ... wait for it ... Tesco. Gasp! As mentioned above, I had heard some very good things about the entire Tim Adams range , almost too much.

I am a very sceptical person at the best of times, so I approached this wine with great trepidation. Shiraz is certainly one of my favourite grapes, but it is abused far too often in making truck loads of wine to fill supermarket shelves the world over.

So, what was it like? ... One word, amazing! It ticks all the boxes of a good entry level shiraz should do. It was complex, but smooth and unwilling to be summed up in one bland sentence like very many of its counterparts.

The nose was a complex mix of chocolate, earth, eucalyptus, raspberry jam, leather and a hint of pepper. The palate was equally impressive with intense blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, chocolate, pepper and coffee. A full bodied wine, but with silky tannins that will become smoother with some more bottle age. This wine has the structure to age for many years to come.

While normally retailing at 14.99 it will easily stand up to the likes of d'Arenberg footbolt shiraz, one of the most consistent sub 20 on the market. However at the offer price of 10 euro this is a no brainer. It is extremely rare to get a wine of such complexity at this price.

Score: A or for the purists 90 points.

Thobias

Spirit Hawk; 2009 Pinot Grigio, USA – California

2011-07-28T20:18:00.000+01:00

Glaring off with the Eagles stern dead lifeless eyes, a duel is set. A veteran wino bellowing laughs of triumph over naught but a flabby hollow and over branded grape. Well that’s how this scene was set in my head, yet, god knows the world loves an underdog. By god was the earth good to this one. In my wine journey I had encountered one Pinot Grigio, which had turned heads, mine included, now this was an ever interesting thought and I felt that the review at hand might not see the light of empty, and another wine might fail to have merit found in it.

RRP €9.99

If I take a moment to demystify myself, I felt that pop of the cork was to signal nothing but disappointment and failure, from the king of poor performance, pinot Grigio, the favourite of the tasteless, unadventurous and the plain out right buffoon.However, something happened, the pistol like pop beckoned peach to the nose, soft and elegant, pear like minerality followed to freshen things up and with a tilt of the glass the plain white paper filled with gold. All of a sudden the dark empty eyes of the hawk lit and glinted with a vengeance of which offered up something mix between a flamboyant burl of deserved arrogance and a certain glare which offer me again to the challenge.

The hawk and I blinked to break the contest of wills allowing me a nose cleaning breath of air, and rallied myself for the counter attack, merely passing f the first engagement as a fluke of the freshness of the wine but, no, I was wrong, what we had here was a winemaker that like braking prejudice, ignorance and snobbery which I think must prevail like any wind once in a while.

Minerality flowed and conquered me, as the hawks blink had only offer it time to calculate the thoughts I had squabbled together after my initial trashing from the wine. Offering more, this time in the form of a crusted apple, almost that of an apple tart. The interesting thing here was what was happening with the peach, it solidified and offered up a picture so clear and distinct of the soft flesh of a fresh peach daring to be tasted. The daring temptation won over in the end, and I tasted what can only be described as a good wine defying the pinot Grigio pinch faced followers palate and offered something more, mild complexity, an ability to in some small way develop to a degree. Now if this was a chardonnay, or a Riesling this would be poor but it wasn’t it was what I regard as the door mat to the cattle shed of grape varieties, as I have mentioned the words boring flat and empty spring to mind. The palate veers towards the marks of faint melon and elderberry, now; it fails to distinctly gain these traits, but however it is an amazing expression of a grape. And something I enjoyed. Rather more as the wine struggled to break from my iron glare with tastes of bitter lemon. Truly the most complicated Pinot Grigio I have tried, and one of the most palatable wines, I have experienced; not the mind blowing Riesling or the elegant smooth crisp Charonnday sans oak nor the big monster of the chardonnay avec oak, but pinot Grigio, plain and simple, but friendly and definitely one for the hardcore wino to tip into as a good reminder about what wine is about; an art of expression.

Low Alcohol makes for light evening sip
With our new scores the wine hits a healthy; C+/B-, which means the wine at around €10, is the perfect party wine, light in alcohol and friendly but just a big enough neck turner for the one wino at the do!

Won’t suit a wine gig with big complicated wines that will unfairly over shadow the wine.

To avoid seeming lovely praise filled I’d add that the wine can feel slightly hallow at points during the exchange of fruit, and it’s finish is rather poor but as noted its 100% a party wine.

Enjoy!

Rob.

Chablis, Risk, Betrayal, Revenge; The Important StuffJ. Moreau & Fils, 2009, Chablis

2011-07-26T19:34:00.000+01:00

A long overdue review and return to an old favourite for me occurred last night. I had a little date with RISK and wanted to numb the sting of rent week, so off to my now empty “cellar” (Thanks to two oxidised wines in one night), and fumbled about my stock, a Geil Pinot Noir (Review sometime soon I hope), an Alsace Pinot Blanc, a Segada, a Cluzan, a port and finally the last of my stock an interesting looking Chablis.

So as we set off to conquer the world, the cards were dealt, dice rolled and cork popped. No sooner than I had my arse handed to me and had been kicked off half the globe did the whack of a clean cut, mineral laden pear extravaganza. Suddenly it didn’t matter that I was banged up in Australia. Suddenly that choke point on the board which meant I could hang on until the wine was gone and then break out and head for France for more in was looking a whole lot better. However something was bothering me, maybe it was the big blue army amassing in South and North America, maybe it was everyone else’s desire to avenge failings of their own lives on me, nope, it had to be something else. It was. It was a taste that was bugging me and not showing me who it was. I began to concentrate on other things, like the beautiful notes of peach, violets and apricots washing up and down my tongue in a wave and receding back to give way to room to the finish much like, a crisp acidic finish of lime and the length was as long as it took me to get back into the game (Which was rather long).

The backbone of flint-like minerality which was wasting no time pushing through the wine seemed to mimic the blue army which was fast consolidating the world.

The tropics! That’s was bothering me the equator had been thrown wide open thanks to some bad defensive manoeuvre by the yellows. Then it hit me, tropical bloody fruit. Scribbling in rather big letters on the note book, Mellon, a certain grin clawed across my face, and as grapefruit was identified the grin only seemed to elongate. Things we looking up; the envious greens had their front broken by my dark horse black army, a ceasefire and truce had ensued, Africa started to look safe, and Asia minor was falling to me.

Then the wine ran out, now it’s not often this upsets me, but this did, the little Chablis star that had cost me no more than €14.95 and which had powered me to the great feats of RISK was gone, but the finish was lingering, as I soon did, alliance broken by the untrustworthy, the sibling rivalry flared again and woe I had warned of - the blues marched across the globe, and as the last glints of wine faded from my palate, the game was lost, and the was finished. Save, victory stolen from me and wine ravaged, I swore I’d return with more of the same Chablis.

As the day dawned the game had faded but the well made textbook Chablis had not, an amazing find and great way to get back into Chablis if you have lost your way or have become disillusioned with big slutty oaked Chardonnays. At the very least, well worth a look in.

Score: B

Artificial Decantation

2011-07-13T00:44:00.000+01:00

I managed to follow this wine over three consecutive nights by accident. My busy schedule and a missing vacuum seal had left me relying on my trusty robot bottle stopper. So what were the consequences of this? Well the wine itself was left exposed to the elements, the main one being Oxygen.

Decanting allows a wine to be exposed to a large surface area of Oxygen. This is done to help the wine show its true potential, by mellowing the wine and allowing it to express hidden aromas. A well made wine will always benefit from an hour decanting. A wine that was closed and not up to much when first opened should be jumping out the glass ... unless it needs more time in the decanter or is rubbish to begin with. This isn't much help is it? Ok rule of thumb, if a wine has enticing aromas, but is somewhat elusive, give it some time.

So why so serious, or why are you banging on about this decanting so much? Well if you have stuck with me this far I will tell you why. I opened up the bottle over to the left on Saturday night and had two glasses. The wine displayed nice tight aromas of red fruits and nutmeg. Still slightly closed i left it with trusty Mr. Roboto.

The following night I opened the bottle again and was pleasantly suprised, the assortment of spices had settled down to a defined aroma of cinnamon and and a hint of cedar, enclosed in a delicious aroma of fruits of the forest. The palate was much smoother and had a lingering finish of cinnamon and a hint of herbal scrub.

I was so tired on Sunday night that I had to go to bed rather than finish the remaining glass. On Monday evening I arrived home a whole 48 hours since the bottle had been opened and to be honest, thought it was going to be faded and dull. This was not to be. The nose displayed delicious aromas of red currant and raspberry and the spice had given way to full on cedar box (something I am very fond of). There was also a hint of blackberry and a very distinctive aroma of basil with a lick of minerality.

The wine is a blend Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre, that sees 15 months in French Oak. A traditional Rhone valley blend and to be honest stands up to some of the former's top producers. Mas Belles Eaux is a wine that has the structure to develop for a long long time. While it is normally at a respectable 19.99, it is now available in the new O'Briens in Blachardstown shopping centre for a mere 9.99. This is a must buy for anyone interested in a complex wine that keeps on giving or for those with the patience to keep it and follow its evolution. I know I certainly will.

Thobias.

With special thanks to Mr. Roboto.

Palha Canas, 2007, €13.95

2011-07-10T19:45:00.000+01:00

Seeing as this week has been wine filled I felt it was okay to treat myself to something I personally had tucked away for a month or so waiting to open. Why was that such a treat? It’s coming from one of those few wine countries that I have always felt I get a bargain from, Portugal. Now dust off the images of port and Christmas for just a second. Because what you can be exposed to in this gem of a region if you simply take that first leap is truly quite astounding.

I could rant and rave for an extended period about why this is; however there is a better way - to let you read about my little treat for the week.

Let’s start popping the cork on this review, nose of a valop styled cherry assault the nose but not aggressively offing more of a velvet blanket to fall head first into. Things left curious by an underbelly of thick plum. This entire nose starts to take a berry like-structure and the juice of the wine can literally be detected vividly on the nose. Vanilla begins to start puncturing the fruit so prevalent on the nose. This is where in my experience of Portuguese wine, things liven up and they begin to distinguish themselves from the pack.

Berry notes started to become more distinct and developing into a riper red currant. Now excitement gets to me and the nose starts to dance with my fancies,. A mature cheddar giving grain to the nose, and a cider box smell that I am sure one of the team is obsessed over. The ashy tobacco lingers for a while, giving away the great depth this wine is hiding, and in a final swoop the wine already steals my heart, a new appearance on the scene blackcurrant evolving and existing alongside the redcurrant.

Swirling the glass, I finally pulled myself from the nose and was rewarded with a silky smooth cherry dominating the palate and having the nose mimicked with plum forming a core to the wine. The spices started to dance on the palate now too- cinnamon, a dominant one, its presence adding a wood sweet life across the palate. The tobacco developed and cheery filled the voids at the edge of the palate, vanilla began to cream up the alongside the notes of cinnamon.

A mild tannic structure had been forgotten as the fruits and sweet spices danced the palate fixating.

A textbook bargain from the Portuguese. Giving itself away at €13.95, from the Mill Wine Cellar. Something that tickled my tastes, and that I strongly advise tasting.

Score: 79

Rob

Ferngrove, Shiraz, €12.99

2011-07-08T20:00:00.000+01:00

So enter another Auzzie poised to steal me and my little old world heart away to the great down under. Punching in at €12.99 this little wine offers a tight entry level to the world of austrialian shiraz, or so it seemed.

Stylishly labelled the team who used the wine as our first video (Keep your eyes peeled for that one) spent some pre match time eyeing up the bottle and explain the devout love we both wished to throw at the feet of this amazingly well branded wine (Sallow? Yes, but the vast numbers of badly labelled good wine which never bought is beyond reality)

Opened with a lovely crack of the screw top the wine started to fill the room with aromas but maturely we decided it need time to breathe.

So finally an hour later we reappeared and offered our nosed up to the wine in the bottle. Textbook. Red and black-currants taking up an interesting dance fleeting in-between one or the other and a well panned out layer of plum. The three working effortlessly to provide the guts of the nose here. Then as expected we were introduced to a light black pepper. And then as if having lured us into a false sense of security the carpet was pulled from under us and behold something we hadn’t expected Blueberry. In Shiraz. Forgive me my doubts but after it showed itself on a Valpol not too long ago and then I thought I was beginning to tipping over to the darker side of insanity. But no, here it was and here it was getting more and more dominant on the nose and too boot we had appearances of cherry vanilla, and liquorice. Let’s just leave the nose saying it left the taste of this a lot to live up to.

And do that it did. Bashing the door down with blueberry the wine was medium to full bodied, with nice spices of pepper and vanilla. Offer up all it had on the nose. It even showed off a little tannic structure- a glimpse of what the wine might do given a year in the bottle to mellow further. Really a well structured wine and a great surprise. The red fruits holding up in face of their black and blue counterparts. This combining to offer a really interesting examination of the palate which felt sensibly fluid allowing for flavours to flux between one and another but stopping well short of confusing the palate. Really all in all a textbook Shiraz with a few beautiful surprises thrown in.

Score: 76 Points

Mill Wine Cellar: €13.95

Find and Enjoy

Rob

Montezovo, Bardolino, 2009, more commonly referred too as drink up.

2011-06-20T20:28:00.000+01:00

The Corkscrew, €12ish quid

Truth be known I have been awash with disappointments with wines of late a corked Spanish wine being replaced only to be found on its last legs, fruitless, empty, and bitter ready to turn over to a vinegar. Bordeaux with honourable exception has become a stalwart of disappointment for me, anything and everything that it has thrown my way failing to live up to even basic expectation. Outside that safe haven for the pretentious and over-paid France was failing again, now in Cote D’Oc, a Cab Sauv, which opened with so much freshness turn to a decaying hunk of meat within 20m minutes not too long ago to add to all this.

Effectively if you hadn’t guessed by now my disillusionment with the old world was growing so I did what any sensible wine lover does, I turned to region that first stole my heart. Veneto. If you ever find time to potter through our old archives before we expanded the team, you’ll see this regions name pop up more than some might see reasonable. However I argue, find me a grape that performs like Corvina. Back to the point, I resorted in the wee hours of this morning to an old friend for whom I have unwittingly many fond memories, not only for the wine but for its homeland, Lake Garda, where I would see my first vines in the flesh at a relative’s wedding, long before I would ever hear a pop of a cork.

Enter Montezovo’s Bardolino, enter with what can only be described as the reason I feel in love with vino for, a nose of fresh succulent cherry, not your bog standard bite that is dressed up as cherry so often but the cherry flavour only Crovina packs.

Now, this little reminder of why Italy can in my eyes be seen as the a last stand against the rise of new world wine, does not simply rest on the grounds of a single flavour I am very fond of, no, this little vino is a text book old world classic, subtle, elegant and complex.

Beautifully light on the palate, it is both clear and transparent, yet holding the most beautiful crimson of reds, again a text-book Veronese characteristic.

On the nose, one can only say in the words of Thobias Inkblot – boom. Or in my own turn of phrase “*four letter Profanity* me sideways”, a beautifully changing and flowing side between cranberry and the cherry I’ve mention ensued and every once in a while up would pop a fleeting strawberry, only to subside and offer a herbaceous note that too fleeted and again like a film reel on a continuous loop began the dance of cherry and cranberry until a half hour later our cranberry emerged victorious from the duel and began running rampant and delightfully on the nose.

Then on the palate this beautifully refreshing light red revealed itself and I began to understand what Chris from the Corkscrew had meant by the wine being “interesting”. Fruits way beyond its weight began to emerge and display their merits, the aforementioned red fruits; strawberry, cranberry and most prominently the cherry I am clearly raving about. This was all dancing merrily around the palate until finally a new comer to the scene introduced themselves, a note if I am not passing into insanity, of cola, a tweaked and delightful addition to this already brilliantly curious Venetian wine.

Sounding as if this wine is ruled out of a foodie’s night in? Wrong, make yourself a pizza, and watch as what seems on the palate harmless acidity harasses the fat of the cheese into a flavour-overdose. Now before I fall into the trap of typing all night I ought to review this wine, bearing in mind the harsh review Empty heads other than myself have offered Bardolino in the pass, I will stay on the side of caution with this score as not to review this for myself (In which case the score would be “How much is that a case”), I would be more than happy to offer this and 80’s score, personally high eighties if drank now, however to suit all Empty tastes let’s say a healthy 82. I finish by advising you all to pop down to The Corkscrew, and pick up a bottle for that midweek pizza, especially when this wine jumps in at a more than respectable weighing in around €12.

Captain Hungover,
Robo

Santa Digna 2009, Gewürztraminer, €9.95

2011-06-07T20:25:00.000+01:00

Mill Wine Cellar, €9.95

Ring the bells the Chilean prejudice is well and truly dead. An interestingly clean and clear straw gold filled glass seems like it has been the straw that broke this camels back. Something that’s rather not the norm this Chilean, with what can only be described as pungent aromas leap from the glass and there is no difficultly in there location but there is a lot going on in the glass.

We have nearly every tropical fruit in the world vying for the nose from the off, we start the journey with a clean melon and honey nose, and a curiosity to which will play the bigger part in this as the air opens the curtains on this wine. But as the mini drama unfolds the honey sharpens and rounds into a distinct honey suckle and a fragrant and refreshing blast of passion fruit, lime & pineapple erupt on the nose. It’s fair if not safe to say that the notes from the nose on this wine are already small novel in themselves.

But the nose didn’t end there. Rose petals and a gritted flint entered to bolster the notes of minerality that had been so far overwhelmed by the big fruits that were tussling around the glass for superiority. Pine apple and passion fruit and pineapple started to mesh closer and closer and a faint memory of Dragon fruit was awoken and suddenly there was a whole lot more to this already brilliantly complex wine.

Now, it would be stupid to think after enjoying the tastes of this that I would leave it at that and not taste the wine. But after becoming obsessed with the nose I was a little worried that the wines palate offers would have too much to live up too.

Thankfully, the wine packed one hell of a tropical fruit and minerality punch. It could be said that the experience was akin to being beaten with every fruit imaginable and then told to lick freshly cut flint to cleanse the palate. A slightly less than bone dry wine, the Gewürztraminer offered pineapple and refreshing mineral as its spine.

This developed into honey suckle and peach and the pineapple so prevalent on the nose began to open on the palate. A debate broke out to the spicy flavours of the wine and was settle by accepting my palate much be sensitive to it after the chilli soup incident. What was interesting was the way the wine began to close with a final bow of the core elements of melon, pineapple and honey suckle and give a hidden lash of grassy and gooseberry sharpness to interest the taster.

Now after all that, you might expect that we would be talk €15 plus on this but no, we are actually coming in at a very healthy €9.95 which left my Chilean prejudice left for dead and my feet gathering pace to find a second bottle. See what you think?

Regards,

Rob

5 wines to try

2011-05-09T20:30:00.000+01:00

Shoo Fly, Chardonnay, 2009

€13.95, Mill Wine Cellar
Chardonnay as it should be, beauitful soft and full bodied, with a strong body of melon and elderberries both on the nose and on the plate. The wine opens with peach and minerality showing and developing, grapefruit makes an apperance on the palate. Not the most complicated wine but extremely tasty, offering a lot of taste and a good interesting cool-climate chardonnay from the adelaide hills a region fast stealing my heart. Advice would be to find a bit of spare change and add it to the ten quid bottle you normally get and try this wine. Tis an award winner after all having the title of best white wine on the Irish Market under €20, not a bad reputation to have mind you.

Petit Fumé, Michel Redde et Fils, 2010

€16.99, Mill Wine Cellar
We have sun, we need a crisp clean cut white to celebrate, look no further than Petit Fumé, made by Michel Redde et Fils, this Sauvignon Blanc is what you need, Sauvignon Blanc has risen to popularity of late- especially with the rise of New Zealand wine. While New Zealand is now regarded as the King of Sauvignon Blanc, I feel that this title is fairly undermining of the French examples, we have loire producing some of the most crisp examples of this vartiel, so looking at this pacticular bottle, we have a crisp and clean experience. Brilliantly structured, fresh apple and minerality notes, finishing with acidity to clear the palate after each mouthful. The nose is especially inviting on this, best when just slightly chilled to take the acid edge off. While slightly expensive, this bottle and grape has finally come into it's own, rarely failing to impress. What we're talking about here is a sleek stylish examof what is now just a bulk grape; it has distinct fruit notes and subtle hints to leave you curious. Its greatest drawback (being students) is the price. However remember it is on offer, so it’s well worth picking up as a treat, and in this weather the wine will be one of the most refreshing things on the shelf

Santa Digna, Cab Sauv Res, 2010

€9.99, Wine Mill Cellar
Sun seems as though it would like to stay and as a ritual in it's honour (and as a hopefully attempt to persuade it to stay for a short while longer) I thought I ought to toast to it this weekend. Now we have offered you our white wine selection, but despite two of my bigger predujices, the first that chilean wine will dissappoint and the second that Rosés are a stupid idea and are boring wines of my own I decided I'd give the following wine a bit of a test drive. So the wine up for tasting? Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé, 2010, from Santa digna, chile. So starting out with low expectations, opening the bottle, I was suprised to be greeted by a more than pleasant raspberry and subtle strawberry nose, beckoned by this I knocked a bit into a glass give it a bit of a swirl and slurped me some Rosé, and for the second time in not so long chile has surprised myself. So with this we were looking at raspberry, strawberry, bit of early minerality of a very flithish style. As the wine opened up we started to see the fruits develop a little, we started to get grapefruit and the nose turned slightly Sauv Blanc with gooseberry. What was the biggest slap in the face was how refreshing the wine tasting despite the fact it weighed it at a burly 13.5% alcohol. That fact showed the quality of the make of the wine we were dealing with, that combined with the full body of the wine. I'd have given it a 7, fresh wine, felt a little green at points but nothing overly officious to the palate!

Max Fred. Richter, Mosel Valley Riesling, 2009

€14.99, Corkscrew
A lovely example of Mosel Valley Riesling. Crisp and refreshing as all Riesling should be, it is sweet with a Clean nose, the wine is extremely complicated with melons, pear, apple and a slight hint of citrus making up the main fruits of the wine there is a nice touch of clove to the wine and everything seems to have a thin blanket of honey coating it. To boot it even has a foral smell as it opens which does not get lose on the palate, despite the mass arrays of smells and tastes each one is well defined. Leaving for a truly enjoyable wine that seems to wreak of a come hither note.

Leyda Reserve, Pinot Noir 2009

€14.95, Mill Wine Cellar
New world wine is a bit of a new thing for myself only letting go of my predjuices against many regions. However one predjuice has managed to last the test of time Chilean wine. That is until recently, so recent in fact it was this week, when I found a bottle of Pinot hiding behind large quanities of Shiraz from the same nation. Single vineyard always a good sign. Opening the bottle I was greeted by a warm smelling wine, nice mind you, slowly this developed into a nice red fruit and tobacco form, living up to the warm cilmate Pinot reputation of packing a punch, not only that but this also as it opened smelt meaty, and on the palte started to minic this and also add a sweet red pepper undertone. It kept opening up as the night progress and showed signs of the red berries and other red fuits as well as the prevelant tobacco smell and palate, all in all? A wine well enjoyed.

Chateau Ksara, Reserve Du Couvent 2008

2011-04-02T01:23:00.000+01:00

Lebanese wine, a rather interesting thought this now. You have this little tucked away country in the rather turbulent area these days that is the middle east, happily pottering away at wine. No matter whose being kicked out of office or which neighbour is bombing the holy bejesus out of who, they always seem to batter out a few bottles. One I managed to grab happened to be inhabiting the shelves of the Mill Wine Cellar Maynooth, and was sitting quite happily at €14.95 too.

Now the tasting of the wine was an all round interesting affair. Firstly I was rather unsure of what to expect from this region- they're a pretty odd bunch in a sense. For example if we get down to grapes, just for a moment I promise, but this has as much cab franc as cab sauv, now, I challenge you to find somewhere messing about in the same way with their mixes. Cab Franc is a rather neglected grape, especially in Ireland where it hasn't been taken too rather well. It's a bigger fruit, similar to cab sauv, not as complex but in my opinion much bigger favours.

Now why is this wine is an interesting one? You have Syrah, Cab Sauv and Franc all battling it out at the one time on the palate.

Important question who wins. Once the bottles opened, you get smacked by every conceivable favour a wine can embody, cherries , plum, raisins, you name it it's there. However, the notes that are there in hints, say blackcurrant and tobacco leaf that's where it starts to get interesting as these in a sense hijack the wine. What's more interesting is the notes I associate with Syrah, pepper per say, has it's head kicked in in no uncertain way. Now again you throw me a why, now in the form why is this interesting? Look at the picture above, note the numbers, syrah is 40%, and it's letting the side down to be polite about it. Revisiting the notes that you associate with the two other bad boys. Blackcurrant and Tobacco. Now the latter is cab franc territory, and while Cab Sauv can do it to I have yet to encounter one who does it quite as well. For a while it feels like the Sauv is gone and dusted with. However, never one to open straight away, Cab Sauv begins throwing out blackcurrant and berry notes on the nose and more on the palate, however the plate is still dominated by tobacco and various other fruits overpowering each other. 1 hour later and you stick your nose in, and you are welcomed by a tremendous slap of blackcurrant and blackberry, not too mention the undertone of tobacco which lingers. Now This means I must reluctantly proclaim that the finish of the wine is Cab Sauv in nature. However consider the notes of pepper, tobacco and the fading red berries and other red fruits. These keep the wine interesting and a bit of a journey.

Final verdict? A rather nice wine by the by and one definitely not to be ignored, a must try even if only for seeing it open up! Hey, and if you don't believe me just look at the top label.

Red Creek 2008 Merlot

2011-03-26T19:31:00.000Z

New Zealand? Merlot? "That's not Pinot Noir!" I hear you scream. Well your powers of observation clearly do not fail you now at this pivotal moment. It is not a Pinot Noir and it is in fact from New Zealand. If I may dare to scare you further, New Zealand actually produces many different wines beyond Sauv Blanc and Pinot Noir. Now that said it's not always that good at producing the others. Merlot in my past experience from them has been "sinked" a whole lot more than a student budget can afford. Big question, did I sink this one? No, I tasted it in a shop- that'd be rude, but also no because it was nice. It may have needed another year in the bottle to kill the last of the tannins and open the fruit a little more, but it was below a tenner. €8.99. I complained not. You had a lovely mesh of wild berry and of chocolate on the palate. complemented quite well by the very same on the nose. Simple but rather effective. At a guess I would say that berry will be opening up a little more soon. Still all in all a rather nice treat if you want it. It is also a major improvement on other models of NZ Merlot, this one at it's price is great, be warned with NZ Merlot however, I have "sinked" bottles that just were not drinkable at over €10. So, be smart with this and realise that the Red Creek model is worth a shot, but other NZ Merlots, well, maybe they ought to just stay on the shelf and make the place look pretty.

Gate 108 [Edinburgh Wine trip:Part I of II]

2011-03-26T11:07:00.000Z

Gate 108, entrance to Edinburgh. Long a hold of cheap drink. Cheap drink means cheap wine. Now, unlike the Irish system which despite constant warning from the front-line wino's has resisted price regulation until late, however even with the hikes in Scotland, they have cleverly decided not to squeeze the good out of the world of wine. For students with friends over there to whom they make constant visit too, this is good news.
Now, if only had we two such people, willing to taste wine in a country famed for her scotch, a county where you are as likely to pair your wine with battered Mars Bar as you are with pasta. If only. Clearly I would not elaborate to this extent if we hadn't, otherwise this article would be rather (Forgive the language but) shite. So this seemed like the idea spring holiday for the Empty Glass boys to go for a holiday! Now this also meant getting to sample a few airport wines, over priced as they are, still nothing like settling the nerves before take off.

So we're did we take off? Wining began in the Oak bar café in Terminal 2 (despite the fact we weren't flying from there). The first wine to go down was Rioja. Cune as this bad boy was christened, opened quickly, typically oaked like any other Rioja, you have the usual trade mark punches of Rioja, raspberries and vanilla, but you got something extra in this. Strawberry. This is there in more than a hint form too. At €20, not really in normal circles paying its worth BUT as ever this is the airport and a good find in T2. A note on the Oak bar the "Just here for a job staff" are lovely people and all, so try hit them! The Oak bars selection is amazing, with a few 50cl bottles from for a popular destination (These bottles including a Fleurie and the said Rioja) but beware the arrogance of the senior staff behind the counter who thinks that your money somehow means less because you are a student.

Last texts sent, drinks necked and time for O'Leary's death trap

So it took us a while to mount our offensive on T1. Once we hit there, besides asking our team mate Rob to strip to all but his boxers going through security, the bar was of course hit. We ended up watching flights take off and of course our own merry plane come in! So from my comfortable bar stool I sipped from my cleaned palate my Chardonnay. Jacobs creek, while not a star in the league of Chardonnay, is a pretty bog standard pub wine. Not a bad one either, not a great one mine you but hey on this side of the water, a good pub wine, don't pay more than €4.50 for it because even that is expensive for it!

Watching the flights come in and out provided ample time for "empty" talk as we've begun to refer to it now. topics that have we're raised in the chat were newsletters, college societies, attempting to use Empty to organise student wine societies around the country so that they could interlink and add meaning to student wine. A lot of things were put into our heads and who knows what'll come of it, but it is exciting to be in the middle of it.

Watching all the planes fly got to my nerves going, so in the most sensible way possible I steadied myself for another drink on the plane. Prosecco, was the next on the causality list. Very, overly appley, so appley I began to wonder had I in fact asked for apple juice. However an inspection of the bottle revealed no plausible links to apples on this note, Mr O'Leary can once more be thanked for annoying me.

Tasting Cabernets with a Blindfold on

2011-03-24T23:06:00.001Z

While none of us attending the Empty Glass' first blind wine tasting were actually wearing blindfolds I did have to close my eyes when they were poured. The reason for this was because I knew what each bottle looked like, even if they had brown paper covering the bottle. So, that is the idea of a blind tasting, you are not supposed to know what each bottle is. We began the tasting by telling everyone in the room about the noble grape Cabernet Sauvignon which is the basis for some of the best and some of the expensive wines in the world. Typically consists of aromas, such as Blackcurrant. This is then normally added to by the influence of oak aging which adds complexity to the palate and nose, with notes of cedar-box, cinnamon, vanilla etc. depending on the type of oak used.

The reason for blind tasting is to be able to objectively judge each bottle on its own merits as opposed to looking at a bottle that has Bordeaux on it and assuming it will be the best one. The results of the tasting were interesting and it was a very tight race between the top three. The wines were scored by each of us out of 5, 1 being something the taster would never ever drink again and 5 being the best thing that they have ever tasted. The results were as follows;

1. Longview Devil's Elbow Cabernet Sauvignon, Score: 29 available for 17.99 in O'Briens

2. Torres Gran Coronas Cabernet Sauvignon, Score: 27.5 available from most off licences for 15.45

3. Peter Lehman Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon, Score: 25.5 available from the Mill for 10.95 or two for twenty

4. Lafite-Rothschilde Légende, Score: 22 available from O'Briens at 12.95

5. Heartland Cabernet Sauvignon Limestone Coast, Score: 20 available from the Mill at 14.95

6. L'apostolle Cabernet Sauvignon, Score: 16 available from the Mill at 8.99

What was most interesting about this tasting was the variation between wines from the same region such as the Heartland and the Longview. Both displayed the typical Adelaide eucalyptus, but the Heartland was taking a long time to open up. While all the wines were decanted for half an hour before the tasting some of them would have benefited from longer. For example the Heartland tasted much better two hours later. However the results were a very fair assessment of the wines and what impressed me most was how well the second cheapest wine did. The Lehman Cabernet Sauvignon punched well above its weight. While it is a fruitier style and perhaps not as complex as the Torres and the Longview, it blew the pants off the others near it, including a Bordeaux from the eponymous 2005 vintage.

So, what did this tasting teach us? All the hype about famous Bordeaux names with equally famous vintages are apparently not up to tackling New world wines that are slightly more expensive or in one case cheaper. Tasting notes for the wines themselves will soon follow this article.

Remember, be informed, price and hype does not always denote quality.

With Special thanks to the Mill Wine Cellar Maynooth who supplied tasting glasses (and also stock the over-achiever Peter Lehman Cabernet that was the winner for me in its quality and price).

Rabbit Island Sauvignon Blanc 2010

2011-03-18T19:50:00.000Z

When people say terroir in reference to a wine, one might think of the French telling you why their wines are unique and more importantly the most expensive wines in the world. Now, while France does produce some excellent wines the price unfortunately stops most of us mere mortals from every affording them.

As for Sauvignon Blanc, the most famous from France being Sancerre. This region was deemed to be the best producer of Sauvignon in the world ... that is until New Zealand stepped in with the likes of Cloudy Bay and reinvented the grape. This is why New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has become and will be for a long time yet one of the most popular wines and for good reasons too. They are fruit driven and very moreish, like the much more boisterous cousin of the restrained and subtle Sancerre, which tends to be sedate and full of minerality, a wine to really think about. So in summary it is immediately pleasing vs. complexity.

So, now on to the Rabbit Island and where it fits in between Old and New World, or restraint and power. Well the Rabbit Island fits happily between the two. It has the fruit driven qualities that have made New Zealand famous, but with elements of complexity that give away the gravelly soils of the Nelson region (not dissimilar from Sancerre), this is illustrated by some minerality and herbaceous qualities lurking in the background.

Colour - Pale Straw/Gold

Nose - Lime and Gooseberry, hint of passion fruit and nettle

Palate - Medium bodied with a refreshing lime quality and a passion-fruit filled finish, with a hint of minerality. Delicious.

What impressed me most about this wine is the length of finish, I was still tasting it almost a minute later and this is all for only 9.99 at the minute in The Mill Wine Cellar http://www.facebook.com/THE.MILL.WINE.CELLAR

Definitely worth a try at this price. Try it on its own or if adventurous with a slightly spicy dish.

Old Ripasso Review

2011-03-12T15:59:00.001Z

CESARI MARA- Ripasso

I do believe I seen a bottle of this within O'Briens halls and the Wine Mill use to stock it, regrettably no more. This is the first bottle that has managed to be bought twice by myself, more than this, this wine was bought twice, in one week, in first year, and now the owner of the Mill is now hounded to restock with the wine. At €20ish a bottle this is a big ask out of our measily budgets- My defence? This is the bottle that grabbed and dragged me to the world of wine! If my rusty memory serves me right this bottle had a deleciate balance of plum and cherry, the acidity was a little less than a normal Valpol, I would say sweetness, save sweetness is really denying the elegance of this wine. It would be impossible to classify this as sweet, it is yet far from dry. All in all, this bottle has yet to be moved from its place as my favourite bottle, whether it is the nostalgia of the wine that really got you into wine or the wine itself could be debated, however either way the wine is a star. Failing to find this try pick up a Zenato, they are about €16 at the moment a steal if nothing else.

NEW VINTAGE TO BE REVIEWED JAN 2012

All in the Glass

2011-03-06T19:42:00.000Z

Wine glasses are an area in this world that harbours a bit of curiosity for myself, generally there are a lot of them out there, so what are we looking for in a glass?

Well there is no easy answer to be honest about the whole thing. It really is a case of personal preference and occasion. Some wines will benefit from being allowed to open, and as a student having a decanter is a bit of a rarity. In that case a glass with a wide "arse" as I like to refer to it is good, and then pouring technique comes into it, you should aim to fill to the point were the most surface area will be showing. Now while a big arse is important thin necks are too if you like smelling the wines, and this is an important rule all round!
Now while glasses like that will mean a little slower drinking, so that won't really help if you are at a party and not a relaxed and overly paced occasion. In the party world it's also rather annoying to have people continuously ask "Why do you drink wine", now don't get me wrong I love a good rant on the why's of my life but once a why must be answered at every turn round in your life you tend to be a little shorter every time, meaning when you actually meet people genuinely interested you're a little too sharp with them. Solution? The rebel wine wave has brought with it a new style of glass, a stemless one. A very clever thought this, (possibly not the best for whites as the wine will heat on contact with your hand, and while it's not too serious you'd rather not have it).

It allows to to swirl on tables a little more vigorously I find, as the "skill" of wine swirling is removed. As well as opening the wine in a rather quick fashion, when people don't see a stem, the question rate can drop off a lot, it sort of removes the stigma about being a "ponse" because, well simply you're drinking from a normal glass. On the other side of the wine world resides our occasions when we want to be ponses, and here enters bubbly. So we have all heard the rumour for the shape of the stereotype bubbly glass, it's modelled on some French tarts booby. The style actually came about from the fact that a mini revolution removed the sediment from bubbly and it was considered very smart to have one of these glasses designed not to make sure you didn't end up swallowing something and having an ungraceful moment, but long have the days passed since that mini revolution and now we've transformed the reason into a pretty cool myth and possibly even chat up line for the more shady of us out there. Still, I find the old flute has a lot to offer yet, a good one, with a long neck allows you watch the Bubblies fizz from the bottom for an age with a good bubbly, this is captivating for anyone who likes wine as more than a brisk meeting from time to time. Now trying to get a long stem here is as important to getting long stems in whites, more so even. Remember, these will be slightly chilled and will taste better that way, so long stems stop your hand heating everything up to levels were the wine starts to taste of undesirable things! so for me simple answer I seem to have expanded on is, for red and white big arses thin necks, whites and bubbly long stems, simple rules, but good ones I think. There is only one more rule for students, glasses break, don't spend more than €1.50 a glass and even that is high €1 is plenty for a glass, check budget shops, Dunnes and Tescos for cheap glasses!

Veneto and Valentines - Whites & Bubbly

2011-02-04T23:04:00.000Z

Supposedly the Famous Balcony

Hello there, Veneto is a bit of a favourite with us here, and I decided I'd throw together all the prices and scores of Venetian wines we've reviewed (If would like any more information on these E-mail us at theemptyglass@gmail.com) as it's coming up to Valentines and Veneto is after all home to Verona the city of Romeo and Juliet. So enjoy a student take on how to get wines from one of the most romantic regions in the world without burning a hole in the wallet.

All three eventualities of taste are covered here, Red, White and Bubbly, sort of a testimony to the variety this region has to offer in terms of wine.

Well, the whites and bubbly are up next so for anyone with wine buckets looking to impress this might be the way to go.
1. Sacchetto, Prosecco
Score: 7.33
Price: €6.95

2. Jeio, Prosecco Superiore
Score: 8
Price: €15

3. Masi, Soavie
Score: 8
Price: €12.95

4. Zenato, Lugana
Score: 8
Price: €9.99

There is another Zenato to be reviewed this week, so keep your eye's peeled for it! And as always if you want advice on where to find these or want more details just pop us a line! (Also I deliberately avoided Pinot Grigio, it's a simple grape you really can't go wrong with it!)

Veneto and Valentines - Red

2011-01-28T21:29:00.000Z

Supposedly the Famous Balcony

All three eventualities of taste are covered here, Red, White and Bubbly, sort of a testimony to the variety this region has to offer in terms of wine.

Here are the Reds from the list there are a lot of wines so we've split the articles up! Enjoy! Hope it helps in finding the right wine for the day!

The List
(What any information, just pop us a line!)

1.Zenato's Bardolino,

Score: 8

Price: € 7.95

2.Zenato'sValpolicella,

Score: 7.33

Price: € 9.95

3.Lamberti'sValpolicella,

Score: 9.33

Price: € 11.95

4.Zenato's Valpolicella Ripasso,

Score: 8

Price: € 16.99

5.Tommasi Valpolicella Ripasso,

Score: 8

Price: € 20

6.Ceasrai Valpolicella Ripasso,

Score: 7.33

Price: € 17.95

7. Lena Di MezzoValpolicella Ripasso,

Score: 7.33

Price: € 13

8. Masi, Campofiorin,

Score: 8.66

Price: € 13.95

9. Sparoti's Valpolicella Del Amarone,

Score: Cheating Here

Price: € 23ish (Which is why it's cheating)

New Website & Effect On Blogspot

2011-01-26T18:15:00.000Z

Well, if you're reading what we've been saying lately, you'll know that there will be a Website launched pretty soon. So what does that mean for The Empty Glass on Blogspot? Not a whole lot really the site will be maintained, reviews still posted and updates as we see fit so if you rather Blogspot, you have nothing to fear! Although giving the website a look might be a good idea, it'll have big database and quick reviews of wines.

Looking for your opinion.

2011-01-13T20:52:00.000Z

Well, as you know the goals get you lot (Students) interested in wine! We have been working on a website to compliment the Blog and it's nearly ready to get up and running. So we're wondering, Have you lot anything you want covered? Or any format you'd like us to follow? Weekly reviews? Anything at all? Well E-mail, theemptyglassirl@gmail.com or comment here and let us now! Thanks if your reading!

Bit of Structure Coming Soon

2011-01-07T21:51:00.000Z

Well there, we're intending now that Christmas has passed and we're heading back to college to get this blog up and going properly. We'll be getting reviews, banter and a sort of structure to the page so that it isn't just a mass of articles on the HOME page, so keep your eyes peeled hopefully this will be well and truly under way come mid February (Unfortunately, we have got after Christmas Exams, and February Assignments due, so that is why it's then and now just now). Anyway thanks for reading!

Masi of all Masi

2010-12-12T01:05:00.000Z

The 08, Masi Modello Rosso is a gem of a wine. I have a little thing for the Masi, and have drank many bottles of them. However this one caught my eye and taste buds. The minute it touched my tongue I knew this was the nicest I had tasted. It is an Italian wine set to please. It does not break the bank at a mere €12.99 in O'Briens. I have had more than one bottle since we became aquainted. The first was shared by the other half of the blog. Now I am unable to share a bottle as I want to taste every last drop. It is a very sort wine, with a nice fruit combination. It has a slight nutty taste to it, which did it for me I must say. As you may have guessed a highly recommended bottle for a gathering of friends who like their wines.

Wine Knowledge

2010-12-11T13:51:00.000Z

"How do you know so much about this" Question number one from students at the tasting I was working at last night. It got me thinking, well the hell do I know some of this. hopefully these tips all from my own experience will help you to build up your own library of knowlegde on wine.

Wining it up with friends.

Handiest and best way to learn about wines. Possibly the best as a student, buying 3 or 4 with a group means a lot of tatsing gets done and alot of good conversation can flow without thinking about how much you've spent as it cuts the price down! Talking about the tastes and the nose of a wine are excellent ways to start getting better at knowing what it is you can taste! Also departing any knowlegde on the regions helps get the foundations of being a student wine head in place!

Following Up those real Gems

Once you hit something you really like, using the internet to find out what made it the way you like is definitely the way to go! If your interested in wine, this is possibly one of the better ways to go about it, you'll waste less money by hitting bad bottles.

Talk to the people selling you the wine

These are the people who kind of give their lives up to wine, they know quite alot! Go talk to them, they will have no problem telling you about the wine your buying or about anything wines you woould like to buy! They are a wise bunch these ones. If anyone can sort you out it will be them!

Foundation courses

These can be a slightly more expensive way to get knowledge in your head, we'll get a list of ones up soon as we can! Not the most student friendly of the options but definitely gets the job done.

Quaintness at €8.99

2010-12-07T19:55:00.000Z

Viognier, better known to myself as a flag grape for South Africa, has notes, that if like myself your are fond of sharp white will turn your head, odd notes of apricots and a distinct lack of that citrus kick I have grown to associate with white wine (My main white wine being Sauvignon Blanc, the one of the few wines I drink that is hip).

This French example is from Chateau Camplazens, a small gaffe, still hand picking grapes and that to try and keep the standards high. The flavours are most likely owning to the low yield of the vines these lads have.

They're an organic winery, which is nice I suppose, however, for myself I really don't care. The wine takes a small spell in french oak, 6 months. The result of of which is a Vin de Pays D'Oc that's not too bad at all.

Tasting Notes: Apircots, slightly syrupy taste to the wine, I found it on the sweet side nothing crazy but there was no acidity to clean it up after which was the only draw back. There's a funky vegtable taste to it- similiar to that in a fleurie oddly! All in all its something very different to the majority of wines out there so for that alone it's worth giving a lash. Also it smells of flowers, flowers, how often do you smell flowers anymore!

Cluzan 2009

2010-12-07T17:18:00.000Z

Bordeaux, sounds savage "Nailed a bordeaux last night". No doubts the name holds a certain alure. Gives all the rights you need to call everyone in a room a pleb. So here is a very nice number from the holdings of Chateau Cluzan.

Named simply "Chateau Cluzan" this wine punches above its weight and should be bragged about to the uneducated as costing more than it did (Weighing in at €10.95 at my local).

Its got a nice look to it as well, here is some of the wine buff knowledge should you wish to know, or simply wish to have a script to ward off preadators who prey on gaiety dragging it down and smuthering it quickly until it ceases all bodily functions.

The lower river is our lad

Overlooking the Garonne Valley, the vineyard of 25 Hectares has been something of a family business, passing into the hands of Guy Cluzan the present owner in 1988. The wine from this estate however until 1997 was processed by the local co-operatives, and thus until the serious injection of Mr Guys pocket money the wine passed without taking the mans name. However now with the shiny new toys which allow our Guy (see that pun, I am just amazing) now produces this little known gem.

Tis an award winning wine, giving you an example of velvety autumn fruits as only bordeaux can. The 2009 is at the point were drinking is advised, and I ought to know this is bottle three this semester. Each bottle showed reduced tannins and it can be fairly hard to resist this wine, it's simply a statement of "Yes, we in Bordeaux make you in the rest of the world look rather special when it comes to making wine, now of you go and destory more grapes".

Now despite my criesfor this wine to be drunk early and drunk often, the bottles labels proclaim the lady in red inside will last up until 2014 (More on the aging of this one in a bit). Which is a nice fact for any budding wine-head looking to hold onto a bottle of wine, and create a cellar in their college room. Also its a short enough time span to allow you to resist the temptation long enough to allow it peak, and sure when its €10.95 for the novelty that has to be worth giving lash?

Right enough raving from me, lets do the important bit, tasting the blooming thing.

Tasting Notes: Cherries tipping about the place, there is as has been mentioned a velety taste of autumn fruits, blackberries and currants spring to mind, there is still a few tannis in the bottle yet, but personally I like a slight chew to a wine. Soft and Dark fruits is probably the best way to sum it all up.

Well worth a lash.

Wine Humour?

2010-12-05T20:14:00.000Z

So what or more precisely are we dealing with here? A humourless bunch of dry leeching bores intent on relieving you of one of life's few simple pleasures. Probably not, well at least we hope not from the possibly disillusioned viewing glass of Empty. Wine is like anything else pretty much, you have the bores who have long forgotten what, why and how they fell in love with Vino. This love is inter-tangled with wit, charm and a healthy dash of laughter? Summating my flowery bullshit rant, what in as many words is this fleeting entity wine humour? A more pressing issue for those out there whose struggles have led them here, does the bloody thing exist? Or are we as our abstract accompanying swan necked friend suggests above this meagre engagement of the plebeian masses insofacto, humour?

Labels

Beginning where most of our wine affairs begin with a simple glimpse at labels. Many wines, wineries even wine markers would woe the day their label ended bearing anything other than a heavy dust and prosaic mantra of incomprehensible riddles and jargon. Yet thankfully, this is a dying breed, and while I will self admittedly decry I am not without shame and have Bordeaux's of the square mustard labelled variety sitting quietly on a shelf waiting to emerge in a million years time, it is not with them my fondness lies.

Names Creep into thoughts, Fat Bastard (Below) and Arrogant Frog, and while my experiences of these has been light it has been met with a wine of poor quality, simple and large. Moving beyond these we are engaging with bigger giants where a slight of wit dashes the conservative belief of matching fine wine by labelling and champions the idea nonsensical labels maybe bearing a burden not of muck wine, but of ageing potential, elegance and flavour.

Enter Sexy Beast, a subtly named unsubtly, worth grabbing the eye, elegant Cabernet from no other home but Australia. A paradox apparently. Yet, so is the cocktail of interesting labelling and fine wine is one was to believe the bores bound up solely by their Bordeaux-Burgundy pairing.

Here's a few favourite labels the team have picked out; Monsters Attack (Curious Wines), Geil (Corkscrew Wine Merchants, Geil translates as a childish "Horny" in German),

Our Taste

Beer geeks are bearded, bicycle-messengers-short-and-ironic t-shirt waring hipster elitists. Wine Snobs are inclusive only if you possess an adjective vocabulary larger than a kitchen sink pantry, blessed with a nose comparable to that of a dog.

‎

Enter now the blunt of our irony, our sensory perceptions, taste, smell, colour. A tasting would not be a tasting with the side nudge as a glass of water is described as having perfumed notes of chlorine and minerality with a hint of fluorine cleaning up. These jokes are the endless bastard children of the long known fact that wine seemingly to some smell like grapes while the said individuals are in the company of tasters. The irony to the joke spread as soon the thoughts of unravelling the heart of the wine and its core elements become harder to resist.

Herein lies possibly the greatest problem for the defence of wine having a heart and capability to laugh, translation. It seems that this unwanted exclusiveness garnered by again our armchair arseholes has bandied yet another problem for us Joe-sub turned taster.

Yet, us, the brave the 99%, the rebel wine movement are really beginning to add a fresh breath of air to the dusty cellars of the laughter vaults. No icon has become safe from the trawling eyes of wine nerds; Hilter now endorsing US cult wines and our very own take Wine Spotting image (Click for Larger version).

At empty we have our own way however of twisting taste into humour, our reviews, hold a key to an soft laugh, one review was once described as soft porn.

Our best advice on how to find wine humour? Pop open a bottle with a friend and create a memory of gaiety.

Regards
Team Empty
(Enjoy some of our finds below)

Portugal and Wine

2010-12-05T17:06:00.000Z

Portugal is much better noted for Port production than any big wine drive, but here is two cheap numbers that but up a fair show!

Segada, Portugal 2009 – White (Mix of Chardonnay and Arinto grapes) €7.99
Best Old World Wine Under €8 Irish wine Show

Tasting notes:
Syrupy apple body to the taste, however that’s short lived until a sharp citrus after taste kicks in.

All in all this is a very cheap and chirpy wine. It’s similar to Pinot Grigo in terms of the apple notes; for anyone familiar with the Italian all rounder, but beware the citrus kick will be unpleasant if you are not that hot on citrus. I might dispute the award, but would not slash the wine too much; it’s a good bottle for €8.

Segada, Portugal 2008- Red (Merlot and several local grapes) €8.99

Tasting notes:

Typical merlot autumn fruit plum and cherry (these two are a normally pairing), not very well defined difference between the two, feels as if they compete on the palate and this take away slightly, there is a lovely coco note present too, it changes from a more strong dark chocolate to a softer note as the wine opens up.

A side note about the tasting of this wine is it was recorded in crayon by a friend, as I screamed notes across a room. There is some slight reasoning into the providing of this window into my neurotic life, the wine was enjoyed more in a larger group. From experience better memories are had if wine is drunk with a group of friends. It can make all the difference in a wine tasting mediocre and pretty good.

This aside, this wine is massively underrated. At €8.99, it’s a real bargain. It has all the typical notes of a pure merlot (a much underrated grape) with the added quirkiness of the chocolate note. A nice finishing point about the wine is that despite being 13%, the sharpness of the alcohol is well hidden, so it leaves for smooth drinking.