Wine with Leslie: Gold-star wines at the right price

A selection of award-winning wines that won't break the bank.

Stories about soaring energy bills keep coming and small businesses are going to have a tough winter. All the more reason to support local — your butcher, greengrocer, cafe, and of course your wine merchant/off-licence.

Don’t forget that off-licences have banks of fridges that run up energy bills as they are constantly on to keep beer and wine cold. I can’t recommend enough developing a relationship with your local wine merchant as they will quickly get to know your tastes and point you to new and interesting wines.

It has become so easy for us to be dazzled by endless special offers and to slip bottles of wine into our trolleys with the milk and bread and nappies. But are the multiples that much cheaper for the same quality? Not in my experience, and that was demonstrated recently with the National Off-Licence Association (Noffla) Gold Star awards given to wines that are exclusive to the independent wine trade.

This week I have a selection of award-winning wines, and the collective bargaining power of Noffla ensures better prices. I stuck to wines that I have tasted recently, and will likely include a couple more from the Gold Star Awards in coming weeks after I re-taste them. Almost all wines here are from family-owned wineries or from owner-run co-ops and imported by Irish-owned businesses.

One not from the awards is an intriguing white Rioja made from tempranillo blanco blended with sauvignon blanc. Tempranillo blanco is a mutation of red tempranillo and has been adopted by Rioja producers in part because it can be rather difficult to coax flavour from their native white grape viura.

There will be lots of tempranillo blanco and tempranillo tinto on show at the upcoming Wineonline.ie Rioja Festival which takes place this day week. There will be masterclasses and more than 80 wines to taste with many producers making the trip to Dublin to present their own wines.

• For the diary: Rioja Wine Festival, Saturday, October 22, Morrison Hotel, Dublin

Wine Under €15

Coral Reef Shiraz Cabernet, Australia

Coral Reef Shiraz Cabernet, Australia - €9.99

Stockists: O’Donovans; No.21 Off-Licences; Vintry; NOffLA shops nationwide; www.wineonline.ie

I’ve not featured inexpensive Australian wine much recently, mainly because there are so few worth drinking. This is an exception and won the Gold Star in the Noffla awards for best red under €12, punching well above its price point. Dark cherry and blackberry fruits, spice & pepper notes with pleasing weight and liquorice intensity.

Osoti Rioja Blanco, Tempranillo- Sauvignon

Osoti Rioja Blanco, Tempranillo- Sauvignon, 2020, Spain - €14.95-15.95

Stockists: O’Donovans; Lettercollum Kitchen; Connemara Hampers; www.marypawlewines.com

Osoti are one of the few bio-dynamic producers in Rioja — I recommended their fruit-forward red recently. This is a white Tempranillo-Blanco/Sauvignon-Blanc blend and distinctly savoury — one for cheese or pasta perhaps. Creamy nutty peach aromas, textured and layered with pleasing weight and buttery complexity.

Domaine La Colombette Grenache Rosé, Languedoc

Domaine La Colombette Grenache Rosé, Languedoc - €13.95

Stockists: O’Donovans; No.21 Off-Licences; Vintry; NOffLA shops nationwide; www.theallotment.ie

Winner of the Gold Star Rosé in the under €15 category this is made in the Provence style with a mix of young and old vines with the old vines given the saignée treatment to bleed a little colour. This has floral red fruit aromas and is delightfully crisp and fresh with an apple-skin tang.

Wine Over €15

LoLo Albariño, Rias Baixas

LoLo Albariño, Rias Baixas, Spain - €15.95

Stockists: JJ O’Driscolls; O’Donovans; No.21 Off-Licences; Vintry; NOffLA shops nationwide; www.wineonline.ie

This wine won the Gold Star award in the Old World under €20 section and White Wine of the Year, beating wines costing €19.99. From the cooler sub-region of Salnés this has peach, lemon and melon aromas which follow through on the palate — lively and crisp with a tang of saline freshness.

Rioja Vega Crianza 2018, Spain

Rioja Vega Crianza 2018, Spain - €16.99

Stockists: JJ O’Driscolls; O’Donovans; No.21 Off-Licences; Vintry; NOffLA shops nationwide; www.wineonline.ie

This Rioja won the Wine of the Year at the NOffLA Gold Star Awards and like the LoLo above beat out some wines costing €19.99. This is all you would hope for from a Rioja with bright red fruit aromas, darker fruits and spice on the palate — balanced, textured, complex, and supremely drinkable.

The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon, McLaren Vale

The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon, McLaren Vale, Australia - €19.99

Stockists: O’Donovans; No.21 Off-Licences; Vintry; NOffLA shops nationwide; www.wineonline.ie

Best New World Red under €20 and I think the importer has done a deal on this as it used to cost more. It’s classic d’Arenberg — packed with violet scented blackberry fruits with touches of mint, ripe plums on the palate and a gorgeous mouthfeel. This may take a week to appear in shops.

Beer of the Week

O Brother Brewing ‘The Chancer’ American Style Pale Ale

O Brother Brewing ‘The Chancer’ American Style Pale Ale, 4.6% ABV, 440ml - €3.85

Stockists: Matsons; Bradleys; No. 21, O’Briens; McHughs; www.craftcentral.ie; www.craftbeersdelivered.com; www.obrotherbrewing.com

O Brother Brewing was created in 2014 by 3 brothers from Co. Wicklow, Ireland — Barry, Brian, and Paddy O’Neill. Based in Kilcoole they have featured here before and I’ve always liked the spark of creativity around these lads — their can designs are often created by street artists

The Chancer is an American-style pale ale and pours a hazy straw-gold colour — aromas of tropical fruits and citrus with a hint of spice, crisp and fresh with good balance between the malt and fruity hops. There is also a 33cl version in Aldi at €9.99.