The first post I made on this site related to my first working experience, in Victoria Wine in Southport, back in the 70’s. Today I retire from over 40 years in the Finance Industry, and take up a role in the Wine Trade – A life turning Full Circle. Here is the post I made on Social Media telling the story – Thought I’d post it here for both my readers, and who knows, I may even rekindle this page for the future to see where we go… Enjoy…
“The time has come, the Walrus said, for Cabbages and Kings”
Well, maybe not Cabbages and Kings, but the time has come for me to fill you in on life, the universe and the New Beginning.
After 44 years, more or less, of working in the Finance Industry in one form or another, with the last 17 in Revenue here in Ireland, the time has come for me to hang up my Lifetime Career and Retire (makes me feel old, even though I am a VERY YOUNG 65!}….
Yes, I am officially retired from my career – So, what is this New Beginning Lark ? They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, well, I’m proof that you can, even at this stage of my life. Obviously I am far too energetic, despite my health problems over the last few years, to run off to the back pastures, and while away my time, so… Here comes the New Beginnings…
You may have noticed that I have got quite seriously into wine over the last few years, studying, taking exams, and yes, even drinking the odd few glasses, just in the quest of knowledge you understand – Well, from today, I am now “In the Trade” as they say – I have taken up a position with the Team at The Corkscrew Wine Merchants at their new location on Harry St., across from The Westbury Hotel, just off Grafton St., here in Dublin.
Ironically, my first job, as a 16 year old was working at Victoria Wine, an off licence back in Southport, on the Lancashire Coast, and here am I nearly 50 years later, finally finding my feet and getting into the Wine Trade. Day One under my belt, great fun, a great Team to work with, and already looking forward to tomorrow and beyond.
So, these are my new beginnings – A Challenge, a lot of hard work, and a lot of fun to come. Wish me luck
Tremendous evening at @jnwine portfolio tasting in Dublin in the wonderful company of @trish.wine.diary . As ever, two hours is far too short to get around and speak to all the ambassadors and winemakers.
Special thanks to Isabelle Clendenen at @aubonclimatwine and their wonderful #PinotGris based blend, opening my eyes to a Cali wine I did not expect to like.
Karl McCullough from @extonparkvineyard and their excellent English Sparkling.
Marjory da Silva from @aubertetmathieu where their Amy Grenache and their Cotes du Roussillon Villages caught the eye.
Philipp Hettich from @weingut.salwey with the Weissburgunder & Chardonnay and the Steingrubenberg Weissburgunder GG really impressed.
Emiliano Morando from @picomaccario , where all the wines excelled. The Gavi di Gavi was exquisite, the Tre Roveri Superiore Barbera d’Asti excellent, and the 2018 Barolo open for drinking today, but with years to come ahead…
Francois Thienpont
Finally, to Francois Thienpont, and thank you for the wonderful conversation, at Wings from Bordeaux @francoisthienpontwings , with all the reds we sampled excelling in their class. The La Parcelle Rocher 2016 all the way to the perfection in a glass from La Gravette de Certan 2016. Definitely a list to check out.
Apologies to the many others displaying their wares last night time ran out. I am certain, given the quality we sampled, their wares will also be up their on the spectrum.
Well, finally made it home from what seemed a lifetime away. Managed to bring 7 bottles in my suitcases, a case of 4 fincasophenia robertoluka which is rated highly, so will look forward to those in time.
Of the other three I managed to bring, two were also from @fincasophenia , their Synthesis, The Blend 2018. This wine was one of only 7 Argentine wines to receive a Platinum Medal at @decanterawards in 2021, scoring 97 points. A Bordeaux blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, I drank a couple of these while away, at dinner, and didn’t make notes, but #Decanter commented as follows..
“Supremely elegant nose of graphite and ripe hedgerow fruit, mulberry, vanilla and smoky notes. Perfectly poised with well-integrated tannins and a long, lush, fruity finish. Classy toasted palate.”
It certainly went down well with my fellow dinners over the holidays, glad I was able to hide a couple to bring home.
While I am very familiar with El Enemigo and their Gran Enemigo Malbecs, I have yet to try their Bonarda, and look forward to enjoying this before too long.
So, all in all, a great supply of wine added to the cellar, with a few more bottles due when @pauzuche comes home in a while. Not to mention my supplies of #chianticollisenesi due from @campochiarenti in the near future. I believe I’m well stocked, for the short term at least.
Continuing my adventures with the wines of Argentina, and another from the @fincasophenia winery, their Sauvignon Blanc.
From Gualatallary, Tupungato in Mendoza, at the height of 4,000 feet a.s.l , comes this top notch SB. Hand harvested, like so many of the top Argentine grapes, the grapes here are multi harvested across the ripened period, to offer different levels of ripeness, allowing acidity, aromas, and volume to show in a balanced fashion across the final blend.
First thing to note is the greenish yellow colour as the first pour reaches the glass. Even before the liquid has settled in the glass, the aromas of citrus fruits and floral herbs exude from the glass, inviting a raise to the lips and expectation of something above the normal.
Not to be disappointed, the mouth explodes with flavours. Floral at first, with tropical fruits bouncing around, with the texture of the wine filling the mouth as the acidity works alongside the flavours to create a harmonious fullness, before the final swallow and the residual acid leaving you wanting more, as the lengthy finish results in the lingering of fruits, before raising the glass for another sip.
One thing I have found on my latest trip to Argentina, after two years away, has been the expansion of quality wines more readily available, from a far wider variety of grapes than previous encounters. Whilst I have drunk Sauvignon Blanc from here before, this wine from @fincasophenia stands head and shoulders above others I have had from the country, and I believe thus particular wine has good potential to develop further over the next couple of years.
I will definitely revisit this. (My score, for what it us worth, 92/100).
Last night, it was a family asado as my vacation in Argentina starts to wind down.
It was back to one of my local favourite producers @mosquitamuertawines and their entry level Malbec, The Cordero con Piel de Lobo.
The grapes are hand picked, and fermented in Concrete, before 50% of the juice spends 6-8 months in oak, before being blended with the unoaked portion.
The final result sees a somewhat sweet tasting, deeply purple,fruit filled wine, with plum and black fruits in abundance on the nose, following through on the palate.
There is an earthyness about this wine, with peppery spices also hovering around, although, somewhat surprisingly, a short finish, and no lingering flavours.
I saw that this wine has scored in the 90’s in earlier vintages, this was a young 2021, and although scores can be taken with a pinch of salt, and much as I enjoyed the wine, I would find it difficult to see this scoring better than the mid to high 80’s on my own levels.
Locally, at the price point, certainly a wine to go to for an everyday Tipple, and a good starting point for the higher level wines from this wonderful winery.
The last 14 months or so have been challenging for us all, wherever we may be around the world. The lockdowns, the restrictions, the half opening of society again, only to go back into seclusion as we awaited the arrival of the Super-Vaccines to steer us out of all the isolation we have faced. With restaurants, bars and travel excluded from our lives over this time, we have all found ways to cope in our own sweet ways, and for Paula and myself, here in Dublin, instead of our regular trip to the local pub for a couple of drinks to start the weekend on a Friday evening, early doors as I still call it (harking back to younger days when pubs were not open all hours), we tried to make the most of our extra time at home, and Friday’s have become Steak Nights.
Of course, to go with a good steak, it’s imperative that you go with a good wine, and this week, as we celebrated my first shot of Astra Zeneca’s and the upcoming lifting of many of the restrictions we have faced, was no exception. As I have talked about before, I am a member of the Roscioli Wine Club out of Rome, and every six months I receive a mixed case from them, and earlier this year, one of the bottles I received was this Chianti Classico from Podere Il Palazzino, their Argenina 2017.
It’s no secret that Sangiovese is my favourite grape variety, and I enjoy the various examples such as Brunello di Montalcino’s, Vino Nobile’s from Montepulciano, and the Chianti & Chianti Classicos from Tuscany. This particular wine is a blend, unlike Brunello’s, and the 2017 vintage consists of 85% Sangiovese, with 10% Canaiolo and 5% Colorinio. The resulting mix is fermented in steel vats, at relatively low temperature to preserve the primary fruit aromas, before being aged in small oak casks prior to bottling and release.
The Il Palazzino farm, owned by Alessandro and Andrea Sderci, is located in Monti in Chianti, 20 km northeast of Siena, in the southern part of Chianti Classico Area, with Argenina being one of the oldest hamlets in the region, and with 3ha of vineyards, 310 metres above sea level, around 25,000 bottles are produced each year.
And so to the wine itself. Medium ruby in colour, cherries leapt from the glass, before subsiding as the liquid settled down, and further aromas started to emerge. An earthiness was evident, but in a reassuring way, not overpowering the fruit, with raspberry brambles mixing with the cherries, and floral notes of violets. Having located the obvious primary aromas, there were further complexities to find, with sweet spice, tobacco and hints of leather, hinting of the ageing potential of this wine – All this before taking my first sip.
I should note here that the alcohol showing on the label indicated 14.5%, but with medium acidity and tannins that were in complete balance, not too harsh, but enough to get your taste buds tickled, the level of alcohol was not an issue, as some can be at this level and above. The fruit aromas, transferred to the taste, with cherries and red fruits fighting for attention, with a hint of sweetness in the mouthfeel, a smoothness of flavours, and an exceptionally long finish for a wine that comes in at a very reasonable price point.
Paired with my Sirloin, mushrooms, and baby potatoes tossed in olive oil and black pepper, it was a match made in heaven. Sipping the last glass as the evening wore on, it reminded me that while the last 14 months have been hard on us all, there are moments like this that can at least bring a smile to my face on a Friday evening, where a good wine, good food, and great company can mean everything.
It’s been a while since I last posted here. It’s not that I have been avoiding you, and I didn’t give up Wine for Lent, but I have been pre-occupied over the past six weeks or so, as I started my Italian Wine Scholar Course, and its very intense, taking up a lot of my spare time, with a lot to learn, as I’m sure anyone with knowledge of Italian Wine will agree with.
However, thought I would post a few words about a diversion that took place this week, and a Zoom Wine Tasting we did with my local Grapes of Rath Wine Club. It’s obviously been impossible over the past year to have face to face meetings and tastings, so we have tried to pivot to Zoom, and on-line meet-ups. In truth they have been a great way to stay in touch with fellow wine aficionados, obviously not ideal ways to share wines, but we have to do the best we can, and last Thursday we spend a couple of hours catching up, and sharing two wines.
The two wines we enjoyed were from Portugal and Germany, a welcome change from my Italian Tastings, much as I love my Italian Wines, but drinking for pleasure rather than for study purposes is always a nice break.
The White, was a 2019 Adega de Pegoes Colheita Seleccionada from the Peninsula of Setubal. An interesting combination of grapes go into this blend, mainly indigenous Portuguese varieties. 30% Fernao Pires, 25% Verdelho, 25% Antao Vaz, 10% Chardonnay and 10% Arinto.
The colour was enticing, quite straw like, and the nose had a buttery hint, indicating the oak involved in the fermentation, with pear and only slight indication of more citric fruits. On the palate the buttery aromas turned into vanilla with that pear being there again, but overall the fruit was being overshadowed by the woody influences. Having said that there were some tropical fruits notes trying to break through, and the finish stayed with me for a good lengthy time.
If you enjoy an oaky Chardonnay, this will appeal.
The Red was of great interest to me, a 2018 Martin Wassmer Spatburgunder from Baden in Germany, otherwise known as Pinot Noir/Nero. Its been a long time since I sampled German Reds, and this didn’t disappoint at all. Pale Ruby in colour, light in the glass, and the first thing I noticed on the nose was the lack of that familiar funkiness associated with Pinot’s from Burgundy – here I could smell the fruit oozing out of the glass, red cherries, raspberries, maybe cranberries too. The acidity was relatively sharp, but the fruit balanced out the tannins, and while a light texture, the taste was lingering long after the last swallow, leaving sweet spices on the residual.
If you are a Pinot lover, this will be right up your street as an everyday Pinot, at a price that should put the French Wine Industry to shame. This may only be Martin Wassmer’s entry level wine, but on this example, it will be well worth seeking out further wines from his stable.
The two hours flew by as we chatted, and I finished off the Spatburgunder with a hearty late dinner casserole, which complimented the wine perfectly. Now it will be back to Italy for the next couple of months, but I will try and pop back to post now and again.
Might seem an unusual title for a Post, especially as Lockdown Fatigue has definitely taken it’s toll around the world. To all intent and purposes, here in Ireland, we have been restricted in our movements since March last year, almost 11 months now, and although there is a light at the end of the tunnel, with the advent of the vaccine roll-outs, that light is still very dim.
But since the arrival of the arrival of the virus in the world early in 2020, and the effects that it has had on so much of what we had taken for granted, there have been some changes to the way we operate that may not have happened without the lockdowns and the problems caused to so many.
Personally, having far more time for myself, with no commute to work, and no ability to be out and about as much, I have found the time to expand my knowledge and have spent much of the last year studying, and developing my knowledge of wine and wine regions.
2020 had started well for me, as I received the information that I had passed my WSET Level 3 Exam, taken in December 2019, by the end of January. What would I do next? Should I go down the road of the WSET Diploma, or was that not appropriate for me, given I don’t work in the industry directly, and also the cost of the Diploma is not something to be sniffed at?
Then, events took over, and on March 16th, the Social World came to an abrupt stop as we entered Lockdown 1 – We were home struck, with no escape for the next few months. What could I do to fill the time? Learning more about specific regions seemed a good idea, and I discovered the Rioja Wine Academy. They had introduced an on-line Rioja Wine Diploma, a self study introduction to the Wines of the DOCa Rioja, an area whose wines I had always liked over the years, and whats more, the course was gratis, so I signed up!
Lo and behold, the course was very enjoyable, it certainly expanded my knowledge of the Region, and I picked up quite a few wines to try, not that I needed too many excuses to drink wines from there.
After completing the studies, there is a little exam to take, and pleased to report, on April 13th, I passed, and they even reward you with a certificate. First Lockdown Stage Ticked off.
So, what next?
Anyone who has followed me, or knows me well, understands that I can struggle at tastings in distinguishing the various aromas and flavours that abound in wines. As my first teacher, Leslie Williams, explained, the best way to learn how to identify everything, was to drink more! While that sounds like a good idea, unfortunately, neither my liver, nor my wallet, would allow that to happen, so I would need to seek other ways to improve.
Years ago, I signed up for some academic on-line courses from Coursera, and while long behind me, I still received mails advertising new offerings from the organisation. One caught my eye, from the University of California, Davis, an institution I was aware provided degrees to many working in the Wine Industry in California and beyond. The Course was on Wine tasting, with Sensory Techniques for Wine Analysis – Why not, surely it would help.
Similar to the Rioja Course, the on-line modules developed skills, in this instance in how to identify flavours and aromas, with on-line lectures and peer review assessments, some of which I have written about previously.
I completed the course, with my peer reviewed assessment, in May, and found the course to be informative and entertaining, although the lack in interaction on the tasting experiments was not ideal.
I took a break over the summer months, not that there was vacation to be undertaken, seeing as we were still in lockdown. I took the opportunity to catch up on my reading, and enjoyed Kerin O’Keefe‘s wonderful book on Brunello di Montalcino, Oz Clarke‘s latest on English Wine, along with some great “airport” fiction from David Baldacci and John Grisham.
But come September and I was ready to jump back into “learning mode”, and after much consideration of which way to proceed, I decided that the Wine Scholar Guilds approach to specific countries, namely France, Spain and Italy, was preferable, compared to the WSET Diploma, which, while extremely informative and detailed, was aimed very heavily at professionals in the trade. While I may like to revisit this in the future, it is an expensive course, in both time and money, so it was off to WSG and a choice of where to start.
Over the past couple of years, I have started to explore the wines emanating from Italy, largely due to a trip to Rome and Tuscany in 2019, and visits to a number of vineyards on the trip. I also joined a Wine Club in Rome, Rimessa Roscioli, who supply me with two mixed cases a year from small producers, and opening my eyes, and taste buds, to grape varieties rarely seen in the export market here in Ireland. Although my first love had been Spanish Wines, I decided that Italy was the place to go, and as the WSG had just introduced a Foundation Course for their Italian Wine Scholar programme, I signed up for the first instalment.
The Course Book was supported by a series of weekly webinars, hosted by Andrea Eby, and after completing the study material, and revising over December, I took the on-line, fully proctored examination of 50 Multiple-Choice Questions on January 18th, feeling nervous at the strange environment, but put at ease by the Proctor on-line who talked me through the set up process. The exam was relatively straight forward, although, naturally, it was a nervy wait for the results, but lo and behold, I received the news that I had passed with honors (that’s how my letter from WSG spells “honours”, being a US based body), and another step in my learning project was completed.
As before, I had a decision to make as to where to go next. Having completed the Foundation Course for the WSG Italian Wine Scholar Course, logic dictated it was an easy choice this time. I have now signed up for Unit 1 of the two-part Scholar Programme, which commences with my first Webinar of a 10 week plan, on March 2nd. The course is split into two Units, given the complexity of the Italian World of Wine, and Northern Italy will be my first stop, starting with Piemonte and its plethora of DOCG’s, DOC’s, Sub-Zones and varieties of grapes. Wish me luck!
For us all, this past 12 months has been very difficult. The majority of us confined to our homes for large chunks of the year. Living, if not in fear of the Virus, certainly with concern for what might happen. Many will have seen at first hand the effects, and my thoughts go out to them. Thankfully my family have been spared to date, but we are not out of the woods yet, and although the light may finally be switched on, the there is still a length of the tunnel to travel before we can resume the things we took for granted.
But as I stated in the beginning, despite the problems faced, the opportunity to take on studies for my “hobby”, probably wouldn’t have been possible if things had continued at their normal pace. As a result I have taken steps to expand my knowledge of the subject, and will continue to move forward in the learning plan. I have no idea where this journey will eventually take me, but every step can only help me try to understand the fascinating World of Wine, so thank you Lockdowns, in a weird way, for giving me the opportunity – Every Cloud etc……..
Earlier last year I wrote about the Vineyard Rambles taking place on Instagram over lockdown, by Katie Jones from Domaine Jones in the village of Tuchan, in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. Last summer I ordered a mixed case from Katie, as we continued to enjoy the rambles, from vineyard to winery as the 2020 Harvest came in and the wine-making commenced for the Vintage.
I have been working my way through the wines, and saving the two rarest wines for a special occasion. Well, last night was one of those nights. The twelfth anniversary of my far better half and I meeting in person for the first time, in London, and so, it was time to pull the cork on one of those bottles. The bottles in question are the La Perle Rare Syrah de Falandrin 2015. The grapes come from a single vineyard, Falandrin, marked with an arrow in the tea-towel map above, (available from the shop at the website), with only a couple of barrels, aged in the finest of French Oak for 12 months, produced each year. The bottles are numbered, and the one I opened last night was #450 of 800 from 2015.
What can I say about this wine? I am not one for hyperbole, but despite having been fortunate to enjoy some tremendous wines in recent weeks, mainly from my Italian Collection, this wine is certainly up with the very best I have tasted in recent years, an absolute delight, and the only disappointment I have is that I have only one more bottle of this heavenly juice sitting in my cellar. The 2016 is available now, so I will be making a point of ordering some before too long, (bit of an issue in deliveries at the moment thanks to Brexit), hope Katie can save me some.
SO – Why did I find it so special?
I am always in two minds as to whether or not I should decant. Rule of thumb, I open the bottle, pour a small amount into the glass, and judge the feel of the wine (also helps for the pictures!). The very obvious first glance at the drop poured, the dark, inky liquid, had me. The aroma rising strongly from the pool of juice had an earthiness, with vanilla essence, and fruit fighting to come through – It needed to mellow, and so into the Decanter to develop, as we started on cooking dinner.
Two hours later, the sirloin steaks cooked, the vegetables served, and the dining table set, it was time to fill our glasses from the decanter. The mellowing had taken place, with the aromas now being led by the fruits, raspberry and blackberry, followed by that oaky vanilla, and toast, with the earthiness still there, but now reduced to a minority partner. As we took our first sips, the flavours were to explode in the mouth. Ripe red fruit, followed by caramel, with hints of liquorice, the toastiness from the French oak, spice notes too, which lingered long on the finish, black pepper, even cinnamon, combined with the flavours from the steak providing an absolutely wonderful combination. The silky smoothness of the wine further developed, long after the dinner was complete, and the last sips taken had me almost begging for more.
As I say, this wine ranks up there with the best that I have tasted in recent years. If you haven’t checked out the wines coming from this area of Southern France from the hands of Katie Jones, you are missing out on absolute delights. Katie is continuing her rambles on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 8:30am (French time), 7:30am for me here in Ireland, and while that time may not be great for my American friends, the Rambles are available on Instagram Live IGTV later in the day, and well worth viewing, giving an insight to the year of the Vineyard.
I know this is a cliche, especially for those of us of a certain vintage, but as the title of this post, and Billy Paul once said, “Me and Mrs Jones, We got a thing, goin’ on”, and in this case, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!
I recently wrote about the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino from the Il Palazzone winery, which I enjoyed on Christmas Eve. Following on from that, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer to sample the first of my very Special Single Vineyard bottles of their Le Due Porte from 2015. This was the first year that Brunello has been made from grapes solely from the high altitude plot, just outside of the town of Montalcino itself, some 540m above sea level. With only 1.24 hectares of vines, on sandstone and loam soil, the supply was to be limited.
2015 was a spectacular year for Brunello, and Italy as a whole, and the early expectations of superb vintages to develop over time are well documented by others far more knowledgeable than myself. I have already cellared bottles from a number of different Montalcino producers of the 2015, but this was to be my first sample of the year, having been tipped off that, while it will mature to even greater delights over time, it was drinking superbly today, and so I decided to take the plunge.
The wine was matured in Slovenian Oak for 36 months, before being transferred to two 10HL oak barrels to complete the ageing, before finally maturing in the bottle before release late last year. Only 2209 75cl bottles were produced (plus a small number of larger editions), and each bottle is individually labelled, my first being number 218.
Given the youthfulness of the wine, it was clear that a lengthy decant was in order, and as I was preparing a Top Rump Beef Joint, needing plenty of cooking time, I pulled the cork and decanted early in the afternoon, giving a good three hours of time to open up, as I headed to the kitchen to commence the meal preparation.
The decant was perfect, and once dinner was ready and served, I poured my first glass. The colour that was glowing in the decanter oozed into the glass, the rich translucent ruby red liquid caught the light, flickering as it settled, granting a bewitching first impression.
Immediate aromas of fruits leapt from the glass, the familiar cherry tones of Sangiovese, laced with red fruits, raspberries and plums, and if I wasn’t mistaken, hints of licorice, tobacco and salted caramel, (I guess even my nose had fell in line that all caramel aromas come salted these days!). One thing I did note, given the vinification and maturation in oak, was there were no over-reaching aromas from the oak, just subtleties from the tobacco, nothing over-powering.
Onto the taste – The ripe fruits filled the mouth. Once again, the familiar cherry, with a freshness from the acidity which exaulted the flavours, developing each second, from cherry to raspberry, with savory spices rounding off the profile, before a hint of minerality, an earthiness trying to come through. The texture was rounded, with the tannins, although present, not fighting for appearance, just combining with all the other elements to produce an overall perfectly harmonious taste, with a length that belied the fact that I had swallowed the wine, leaving a lingering sensation of something exceptional.
They say that 2015 was a Vintage of a lifetime, although, I am lead to believe that 2016 is to be a match. I was accused of infanticide by a friend for opening this so early, and while I plead guilty to the desire to explore this wine today, it is absolutely drinkable now as a superb example of what can be done with Sangiovese in Montalcino under an expert hand, and with a single plot. I am sure that the Le Due Porte 2015 will continue to improve in the years to come, and given its starting point, I look forward to the next time to see how perfection can be improved upon.
The Long Wine Road 