Wine with Leslie: uncork the best of Ireland's independent offies and online wineries
Pop a cork - and click on an Irish indie retailer
This is a column without a theme - or perhaps one with a few themes nestling under the main one of excellent wines from Independents. All the wines this week are from independent importers and in independent off-licences or from independent Irish-owned online outlets.
My initial thought was to focus on online outlets but to be honest, there are too many to mention these days. Over the coming weeks I will feature wines from some others left out today such as Siyps.com, StationtoStationWine.ie and CuriousWines.ie and I’m sure I’ll have more from WineOnline.ie, TheAllotment.ie and TheCorkscrew.ie among others.
Four of the wines this week have not appeared here before including the Ch. Gaudin Pauillac which I drank on a restaurant visit recently and was struck by how typical it was of Pauillac in the Médoc. Or at least how close it was to my idea of what a wine from that famed village should taste like before our climate warmed up and a certain homogeneity began to enter the world of fine wine.Â
This is from a small independent producer and was one of the late Paddy Keogh’s finds in the early days of Wines Direct. Thankfully his family still imports it, and it is priced very fairly compared to many of its neighbours. Pauillac after all is one of the most lauded wine regions in the world and home to Ch. Lafite and Ch. Latour which both regularly sell for over €1000 per bottle.
Another wine making its debut here is Pepe Mendoza’s Casa Agricola. However, I have mentioned Pepe’s dad Enrique Mendoza a number of times as he also makes benchmark wines in Alicante. The two worked together for many years until Pepe decided to set out on his own - a bonus for the wine world. Monastrell is king in Alicante although the wine below is a blend with Alicante Bouschet which adds ripe juicy fruits, but the taut complex Monastrell asserts itself easily.
The two returning wines are Ciu Ciu Bacchus from the Marches, an old favourite from Wines Direct - and Segredos de Sao Miguel from Alentejo. Both are crowd pleasers and will help you fill a mixed case if you are buying from some of the online outlets mentioned below.
Rosso Piceno is one of my favourite wines from the Marche in Eastern Central Italy and I often order this specific one in restaurants. A blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano this has generous ripe red cherry fruits and pleasing weight and suppleness on the palate and some herbal zing on the finish.
Mitchell and Son’s best-selling white wine and also imported by Robb Wines (hence its presence in JJ O’D). As you might expect from the region this is a blend of Colombard, Ugni Blanc and Sauvignon for early drinking - lively and fruity with tropical fruits mingled with citrus, some weight on the palate and a crisp fresh finish.
This is available from a few outlets online and is some of the best-tasting wine under €12 in the country. A blend of Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet this is packed with blackberry and dark fruits but balanced with acidity - fruity and supple on the palate with cherries coming through on the finish.
Imported by Portugal specialist Kevin O’Hara of Grace Campbel wines whose wines I should mention more often. This blend of classic Portuguese varieties is fruit driven as you would expect, but with minerality and restraint - pepper, spice and earth tones lurk enticingly under the warm blackberry fruits.
This is a classic Pauillac from a property of just 11ha - exclusive to Wines Direct and one of the few independent estates in the commune. Black fruits, cedar and spice notes and a pleasing ripeness, this opened up considerably once the bottle passed halfway, beautifully textured blackcurrant fruits and a lead-pencil, mineral core.
Made from organically grown grapes and wild yeasts in Eastern Spain and all done in as sustainable a manner as possible. A blend of Monastrell and Alicante Bouschet this has big ripe berry aromas mixed with chocolate and spice - fruity on the palate but more elegant than the nose would imply and cherry skin finish.
Gose originates in Leipzig and is not a style I’ve encountered often so delighted to find this version from Hopfully - as usual, the can art made it jump from the shelf.
This is dry hopped and brewed with Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, Coriander and a combination of Simcoe, Mosaic, Azacca and Comet hops plus a dose of lactobacillus essential to make it into a proper gose.
This pours a hazy green-gold with aromas of grapefruit and lime, zippy and crisp, with a noticeably salty sour tang. On the finish, there is more lime and salty notes and pleasing herbal inflexions.
