Wine with Leslie: My favourite thing about wine is that it still shocks and excites

14 years into this column, I still am fascinated by Wine

Leslie shares three independent exclusive wines in an homage to his first column

I've been rewatching The Shock of the New on YouTube, the seminal art history series by critic Robert Hughes. It’s such a catchy title and my favourite thing about wine is how it can still shock and excite me.

I have been writing this column for 14 years this month, my first column appeared in October 2012. Thankfully, I still find wine as thrilling and fascinating as I did then, and I also know that I have much left to learn.

Just last week, in Italy, I tasted my first wine made from albarossa grapes (found in the Veneto and Piedmont) and created in 1938 from a crossing of barbera and an obscure French grape called chatus. The winery (in Gavi) also makes wines from uvalino and slarina, two grapes I’d never heard of. The albarossa, since you ask, was darkly fruited, textured, and savoury, I loved it.

I looked back at that first column and it focused on supporting local wine shops as we would our butcher or bakery, a relevant theme this week as the red, white, and rosé below are only available in independents.

This week I also found inspiration on what is easily the best wine region website: bourgogne-wines.com which contains everything you could possibly want to know about Burgundy. There is drone footage of every village and cru, and all the stats you could want.

I was on the site to read about Irancy, just south of Auxerre and south-west of Chablis. At just 179ha this is a small region but reds thrive here thanks to the hills that create a bowl and shelter the pinot noir grapes from the wind. Also below is a delightful tangy aligoté from Marsannay, just south of Dijon at the north end of the Côte d’Or, and finally a rosé to suit the unseasonably warm weather.

Maison Saint Aix Rosé, Coteaux-d’Aix-en- Provence, €24.95

I featured the Aix blanc during the summer but their rosé might be even better. From a high altitude vineyard in Provence with cool nights and grapes that are night harvested and cool fermented.

A blend of grenache, syrah, and cinsault, this pretty pale salmon pink wine is lively and aromatic with raspberry and citrus fruits, a tangy juicy mid-palate and a crisp finish.

• 1601; Bradleys; Matsons, Youghal; Whelehans; Next Door; Castle; Avoca; Deveneys; Independents

Domaine Sylvain Pataille Bourgogne Aligoté, France, €32

Sylvain Pataille’s purple labels are easy to spot and he has developed a cult following for his tangy bone dry rosé and elegant layered reds from Marsannay just south of Dijon.

Pataille’s aligoté, Burgundy’s other white grape, is similarly lauded. Intervention is minimal and the wine has lovely purity with herbal lime aromas plus a hint of smoke, elegant apple, grapefruit, and lemon notes and fine textural complexity.

• MacCurtain Wine Cellar; 64 Wines; Baggot St Wines;

Vignoble Dampt Frères Irancy 2023, Burgundy, France, €29

The quest to find affordable red Burgundy continues.

This is from lesser-known Irancy a small region south west of Chablis, around 70 minutes north of Beaune.

The microclimate suits red grapes and this has a small amount of local grape césar added. Red berry fruits and rose petal aromas, textured and ripe with a delightful silky roundness and proper elegance and poise. A real find.

• Whelehan Wines, whelehanswines.ie

Augustiner Oktoberfest Bier, 6.3% ABV, 50cl, €4.59

Munich’s Oktoberfest is over but this excellent special edition märzen from Munich’s most lauded brewery is still available.

Biscuity and fruity with grassy fresh hops, crisp, textured and delicious.

Also watch for Hopburgh Oktoberfest and you will find beer offers and events throughout the month including October Feis (oktoberfeis.ie) in Waterford on October 21 and Limerick on October 30.

• O’Briens; Bradleys; Wine Centre; widely available