I went to the Bubble Brothers wine event in the Clarion tonight. Ok so I admit that I had scored a free ticket (unusual for me) but who knows I might have gone along anyway.
There were nearly 100 wines available for tasting. You got your own glass on entry (I saw some naughty people taking them home) and the tastings were around a 1/3 of a glass full - not like the thimblefuls you get in Dunnes(or so I am told).
The quality was great - I sampled some wines that I wouldn't usually do - here are some of my notes:
Meyer "Tokay Pinot Gris" was nice and light but I felt their Gewurztraminer had too much hint of lychee for my liking. The wines from Domaine Rimbert were presented ny the man himself and were good value and tasty. I tried a Cascatel Fitou which had a strong nose of port - it was a tad heavy for me. Spain was ably represented by "Bodegas Pingon" and he progressed me through his three wines - the Roble (4 months in casks) was very nice and no tannins, the Crianza had 18 months in casks and was nice whilst the Reserva got a very good from me.
I usually prefer French wines but I took the opportunity to taste the Australians - Mont Langi had a few bottles. I liked their Cliff Edge Shiraz which comes from a few vineyards with youngish vines - quite tasty; their Blue Label Shiraz comes from one vineyard with older grapes and around 800 cases produced this was nice too and quite filling. Little Yerings pinot noir was also a cracker (I quite like Pinot Noir anyway).
I finished with sweeter/dessert wines. The Mas Amiel Maury was sweet and red whilst the Mas Amiel 6 yr old Maury had port overtones and a light colour - both would make nice after dinner wines (or indeed cold evening drinks). Also took the opportunity to have my first taste of Marsala- lovely.
I also met Donal - this was the first time I've met a Cork blogger and it was nice to meet him. He was accompanied by the lovely Celine (I told you I'd be nice) who does a magnificent impression of the voiceover from Arthur's Mailbag (do a google if you've no idea).
Needless to say Julian from the Bubble Brothers was there and I took the opportunity to thank him for the ticket. Have to admit that the BB are not stuffy wine merchants but have a good solid sense of life.
All in all a nice evening and Lord knows if you wanted to you could drink your way into the arms of Bacchus...
Hi Des, you took a lot of notes there! My two recommendations from the night are Erik Banti's wines from Montepulciano and number 25, which I can't remember the name of but I told you about it last night.
ReplyDeleteGood to meet ya, and you were nice to Celine there:)
Thanks for the great write-up Des, and the feedback. If I'm reading your post it must mean I survived the day (and evening). Nice to meet you, and thanks for introducing yourself. I'm glad the Marsala found another friend. No 25 was the Brightwater Sauvignon Blanc from NZ - my records suggest.
ReplyDeleteAha, you see you were able to take lots of great notes, which saved you from standing about looking friendless.
ReplyDeleteI just don't have the palate to identify things like lychee in wine nor have I the wine vocabulary to really describe what it is that I am tasting. I also smoke far too much, which could mean that I'm not tasting a whole lot.
Anyway, roll on the next tasting, where I shall ask lots of questions and seek out bloggers :)