Wine with Leslie: Polish wine fest returns to Dublin and six wines with an Irish connection

The world is crying out for affordable pinot noir so if they can nail this there will be no stopping Polish winemakers.

It has become a tradition around St Patrick’s Day for me to write about wines with an Irish connection.

The making of wines in Ireland from grapes actually grown here is still in its nascent stages with David Llewellyn’s efforts probably foremost amongst the current Irish vignerons, but with the radical changes to the global climate that may well evolve further.

Just as ‘Irish wine’ sounds unlikely, so I expect does ‘Polish wine’, but in fact Poland has recently developed a small but enthusiastic wine scene. On Sunday, March 26, the second Polish Wine Festival takes place in Fumbally Stables just a few hundred metres from St Patrick’s Cathedral. The festival has support from Searsons, Green Speed couriers, and the Polish Embassy has also pitched in but this is mostly a private venture run by two charming Polish wine evangelists, Maggie Domaradzka and Maggie Domaradzka.

There will be 15 wineries to meet and at least 50 wines to taste on the day as well as masterclasses held by Wojciech Bronkowski MW and the editor of Ferment, Poland’s best wine magazine. There will also be a food stall and a wine bar not to mention T-Shirts for sale.

Winemaking generally needs to happen between 30 to 50 degrees latitude which Poland falls just north of so their most successful wines tend to be from cool-climate grapes such as riesling, pinot gris, and cool-climate PIWI hybrid grapes. Festival founder Marcin Kotwicki tells me he has tasted excellent pinot noir, a grape that presents challenges (it does everywhere) but can be stunning.

The world is crying out for affordable pinot noir so if they can nail this there will be no stopping Polish winemakers. I’ve tasted excellent taut gewûrztraminer, complex orange wine and delightful pet-nat fizz, and I can certainly see a market for Poland in the ‘natural’ category.

There are no Polish wines available here yet but stay tuned!, so my selections this week are all wines with an Irish connection.

• Polish Wine Festival: March 26, Polishwinefest.com

Wines Under €15

Domaine la Sarabande ‘Misterioso’ Faugères, France - €13.56

Stockists: O’Briens stores nationwide

This is from an Australian-Irish couple who grow organic old-vine Carignan, Grenache and Syrah in the Languedoc - reduced from €17 this is a total bargain at this price. Fermented with wild yeasts, this is ripe and fruit-focused with cherry and blackberry scents, spice notes, soft dark fruits, and some herbal garrigue flavours on the finish.

Côte 128 Pech Sévignac Viognier, Pays d’Oc 2019, France - €12.80

Stockist: Dunnes Stores

From a cluster of vineyards of similar terroir at Cóte 128; ‘côte’ being the name for the altimetric contour line of the vineyards on a map. Grapes are night-harvested to preserve aromas and part fermented in oak. Scents of peaches and white flowers with tropical touches, fruity and ripe but with balancing lemon acidity on the finish.

Laurent Miquel Solas Pinot Noir IGP Pays d’Oc, France - €8.56

Stockist: Dunnes Stores

Solas means joy in French and light in Irish so was a good choice of name - also watch for the Solas Viognier at the same bargain price. Bright red and black fruits on the nose with a touch of forest floor, darker fruits on the palate, ripe but not jammy and some herbal edges on the finish.

Wines Over €15

Atelier des Sources Les Allers Retours Cotes du Rhone 2019 - €24.95

Stockists: Cinnamon Cottage; Fields Skibbereen; Matsons; Searsons; 64 Wines; Barnhill Stores; SIYPS.com

Made by an Irish trio led by winemaker Simon Tyrrell - Atelier des Sources is a sister range to ‘Les Deux Cols’ who I’ve mentioned before. Syrah focused with violet-scented blackberry and dark cherry fruits, supple and lively with black pepper and liquorice touches.

Les Hauts de Tertre Margaux 2018, Bordeaux, France - €24.00

Stockist: Selected Dunnes Stores

Reduced from €30 and the second wine of Ch. Du Tertre, Cru Classé in 1855, and once owned by Dublin-born Pierre Mitchell (he also owned a glassworks and established the Bordeaux bottle shape). Darkly fruity with damson, blackcurrant and chocolate notes, creamy and almost lush with cedar and spice notes on the finish. Delicious.

Château Mauvesin Barton 2018, Médoc, France - €27-36.00

Stockists: O’Briens; Searsons; Greenacres; Jus de Vine; Independents.

The low price is O’Briens of course. The Barton family still have their Irish citizenship with Lillian Barton looking after Langoa and Léoville, and her children the more recently acquired Mauvesin Barton which gets better each vintage. 2018 is a ripe year and this has pleasing juicy dark fruits with touches of mint, dark chocolate and blackcurrants.

Beer of the week

Béal Bán, Beoir Chorcha Dhuibhne, 500ml, 5% ABV - €3.95

Stockists: Matsons; Castle; CarryOut; Redmonds; Vintry; Independents; Everywhere on the Dingle Peninsula; www.westkerrybrewery.ie

I last mentioned this beer in April 2013 but I’m featuring it again as it won the 2023 Irish Food Writer’s Guild Drinks Award. Still brewed in the garden of Tig Bhric pub in Ballyferriter, the recipe has changed a little. The base is still hook head ale malt from Minch in Athy plus Cara and Wheat malt, with a combination of English hops with American Cascade to give a citrus kick.

Light amber in colour with a honey tinged biscuit and caramel character and a pleasing mix of dried fruits, hops and malt flavours with a hint of grapefruit - balanced, crisp and delicious.