Fratelli Barba Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC “Colle Morino” 2006

Nice purple black coloured wine - almost Ribena concentrate like. Really nice colour, hugely inviting.

Fresh and clean wine on the nose. Cherries with some sourness, blackberries and some pepper. On the palate it is the black fruits that really hit you first. The fruit is soft but not overly rich. It is much more old world ripe, lighter and savoury then a new world fruit bomb. Nice sour cherries, juicy red and black fruits. Textbook juicy acidity from a solid performing Italian red which has good acidity and fine tannins. A touch of minerality to this wine as well.

Nice wine which would accompany a wide range of foods - some lovely ragu sauces, or beef carpaccio would be delicious.

Robertfranciswine: 88 Points

Available from: Sheridans Cheesemongers

Price Bracket: €12.90 approx

Water Wheel Memsie Bendigo 2007

No - not that Cork …. this Cork

On the 13th and 14th November in the Clarion Hotel Cork - some of the leading independent wine retailers in cork are getting together to showcase their wines. If you have not been to a wine tasting event before fear not - they are great fun, you will learn alot and more importantly they are GREAT VALUE ! Where else would you get to taste 100 wines for €15 - BARGAIN ! These events are great if you want to try different wines and see what you think with out the worry of what if I dont like it - a taste it and see approach is great fun.

The brainchilds behind this event are [in no particular order guys :)]

So put the date in your diary, book your tickets and get yourselfs down to what will be a great two days. Any questions or for booking tickets please contact one of the three above [links to their sites embedded so just click on a logo]

Who knows you might even meet yours truly at one of the days

Details again

Clarion Hotel Cork

13th/14th November

Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel 2006

Hugh Johnsons Pocket Wine Book 2009

The original pocket wine book that is now in its 32nd edition and going strong. Figures of 10 Million copies sold worldwide shows that this book has become an institution in its own right.

The books is nicely set out with vintage details inside the hard cover. What differs in this book as opposed to say Oz Clarkes [Click here for my review of Oz's book] book is that Johnson tackles each region in its own section. With very nice maps a brief discussion of the region and recent vintages by sub region this really is wine geek heaven.

The producers are listed alphabetically with star ratings and details of which vintages are drinking well now, which should be layed down for another day and which really need to drank up as they are fading. I have heard Hugh Johnson described more as a wine writer as opposed to a wine critic - he has an interesting take on scoring wines. Where he rates them based on how much he would drink from a sip all the way through to buying the vineyard. It is an interesting take on what is an extremely subjective topic. The food and Wine pairing section towards the end of the book is also very well constructed and layed out.

I really like Mr Johnsons book possibly a little more then Oz’s if I am perfectly honest. However it is probably not necessary to buy both books every year. Ideally you could buy them on a two year rotation. Again, loads of information at a fair price - as they are annuals you can often pick them up for a bargain slightly later in the year.

Robertfranciswine - 88+ Points

Available - Easons, most bookshops and some wine retailers

Price Bracket - Currently at €12.99 on www.easons.ie

Italian Wine Tasting Event - Press & Trade Only

Just a short post to let all you retailers and wine writers who enjoy my blog know that the fabulous Jean Smullen is organising a tasting of Italian wines in Dublin on the 6th October. Wine makers and winery owners are making the trip to Ireland especially so why not take advantage of this great opportunity and head on down to the Hilton Hotel, Charlemont Place between 11am and 6pm. With such a selection of producers attending the day promises to be hugely enjoyable.

Producers scheduled to attend are

For further details, please contact Jean on the numbers above.

A Mano Primitivo IGT Puglia

A lovely reddy purple colour to this wine, with good depth of colour.

Quite aromatic on the nose, with rich black fruits - blackberries, blackcurrant and blueberries. The fruit is smooth ripe and has good concentration. Puglia being in the south of Italy while still in the Old World it is certainly nice and sunny there ! There is some warmth with a touch of spice and oak on the nose as well.

On the palate the black fruits are upfront and in your face. They are not jammy definitely more towards the old world ripeness - no fruit bombs here ! The blueberries come across as slightly mushy and sour on the palate which gives a lovely extra dimension to the wine. Good mid palate, the finish has some nice spice, with the blueberries coming through in buckets again.

Really enjoyed this wine, it went fantastically well with some homemade stew. It is quite a rustic wine, so hearty rustic almost peasant food suits it best. There are some great value buys available from the South of Italy and this is an area that I will be covering more over the coming weeks - with over varietals such as Nero d’Avola and Negroamaro creating some very interesting wines.

Robertfranciswine - 88 Points

Available from: The Vineyard Galway [Liberty Wines]

Price Bracket - €12.49 [approx]

Cuvee Jean-Paul Sec VDP 2008

Ugni Blanc and Colombard may not be grape varietals that you are to familiar with. They are work horse grapes that often are used to produce bland, high volume, boring whites. Italian White Wine lovers Ugni Blanc is the french name for Trebbanio. This grape is often used in cognac production.

I should point out that I have often heard Mike from Curiouswines telling everyone how great his Cuvee Jean Paul is and that he doesn’t think that there is a white in Ireland that can match it quality at this price. So this wine came with a lot of hype and fuss !

The wine itself is an honest, straight forward, tasty, dry white from the South of France. With its pale lemon colour kicking out aromas of honeydew melon, apples and citrus.

The key to finding a great value wine for, in this case €8 a bottle, is the balance. How does the wine sit in your mouth - is it to bitter, harsh, sharp or flat - like a coke that has been sitting out for to long. If you can get the right balance, with good aromas and solid acidity you are on to to a winner.

On the palate the Cuvee Jean Paul has good balance, a lovely freshness and good acidity to it. Flavours of melon predominantly for me come through which follow through to a nice finish. The crisp, freshness of this wine make this the perfect summer sipper either on its own or with lighter salads, seafood or chicken dishes. I defy anyone not to like this wine.

This wine has it all and does it all well with a minimum of fuss - to use a football analogy. John Giles and the RTE pundits are always talking about honest players that do the simple thing well. They don’t really go in for the showboating Ronaldos of this world but rather the honest workman like footballer who does the simple things well.

Cuvee Jean Paul does the simple things well at a price, considerably less then £80m, that will put a smile on your face. Take my advice and buy a case of it !

Robertfranciswine - 87+ Points

Available from - www.curiouswines.ie

Price Bracket - €8 a bottle

Jean Louis Denois Brut Pinot Noir – Chardonnay NV

Jean Louis Denois is one of the rising stars of the Languedoc and this Sparkling Wine is a perfect example of why. Denois vineyards are located in the very southwestern corner of the Languedoc region sitting at the foot of the Pyrenees.

This wine is a 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and it is aged for 18 months on it lees for increased complexity of flavour. With Jean Louis himself originally coming from the Champagne region in France he knows exactly what needs to be done to turn out fantastic sparkling wines.

On the nose this wine has a lovely apple and biscuity aroma. The nose is fresh, clean and enticing. On the palate there are some notes of strawberries, apple, and a touch of nuts. This is a very elegant glass of bubbles, and in this price bracket [under €19 euros] you are almost stealing it !

This wine is the perfect bottle of House Bubbles – seek this wine out, buy a case and enjoy !

Robertfranciswine – 89 Points

Available from Mc Cambridges, Galway

Price Bracket –€18.99 [approx]

Jansz Premium Non Vintage Cuvee

Now this is a sparkling wine with some serious pedigree - famous Champagne House Louis Roederer purchased Jansz in 1986. Roederer recently sold the winery Yalumba itself being one of the most famous family owned wine companies in Australia.

With the Premium Non Vintage, winemaker Natalie Fryar has carefully blended fruit from a number of cool climate locations in Tasmania. [The cool climate is essential in producing a sparkling wine that has enough refreshing acidity. The Champagne region itself has quite a cool climate].

This wine has a lovely fresh citrus and nutty aroma, with an excellent straw colour. The beading [bottle fermented] is small, delicate and classy. On the palate the wine is crisp, refreshing and perfectly balanced. As this wine is a Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend citrus, strawberry flavours really come through on the palate. There is a fantastic finesse to this wine.

With Cassidys now as the distributor for Jansz in Ireland this will help greatly with availability. I have been known to courier some in from the UK - this wine is that good !

This wine is a classy pre dinner drink and has the balance and to handle seafood or even some chicken dishes.

There is a rose version of this wine, can be difficult to get hold off, that is fantastic if you are a fan of the pink bubbles ! Check in with your local retailer regarding availability and if you see it buy a couple of bottles you won’t be sorry.

Robertfranciswine - 90 Points

Available from O’Briens and Thomas Woodberrys

Price Bracket - €21.99 approx