Weekend wine with Blake Creedon

THE Voice of Ireland talent contest on RTÉ1 seems to have caught the public imagination, with 708,000 viewers tuning in for its debut.

The twist is that the judges aren’t allowed see the competitors, and have to assess the performances ‘blind’, based entirely on what they hear. Makes sense doesn’t it?

Well it makes even more sense for us to judge a wine ‘blind’, based entirely on its colour, aroma and taste. In a blind tasting, you try a little serving of each of a range of wines poured from identical bottles, each wrapped in a brown bag to hide even the slightest clue to its provenance.

Startlingly, there’s every chance the wine you like best will be moderately priced, or even the cheapest. And while I and many other outside observers have long pointed out broad disparities between the price and quality of wines, there’s a growing body of statistical evidence to back us up. Much of it is collected in The Wine Trials, a book exploring value wines which could change the way you view wine. Compiled by Fearless Critic, a group of independent American critics, it cites scientific studies suggesting we (experts and novices alike) give too much weight to price and reputation — for instance rating a wine highly if we’re told it costs a lot, but dismissing it if told it’s a cheapie. The authors are also critical of the international consensus on ‘best’ wines, producing statistical analyses challenging the reliability of the Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate.

Just as importantly, the wines recommended in the book arise from blind tastings of 6,000 wines by 500 volunteer tasters. Quite a few marques I’ve recommended down the years crop up as favourites of these blind tastings — and below is my selection of some of the best value ones.

* The Wine Trials can be ordered from good bookshops for about €15. The topic is more detailed than we’ve room for here so I continue the discussion over on my blog at blakecreedon.wordpress.com. where you’ll also find tips on how to run your own wine tasting.

Alamos Malbec Mendoza 2010, Dunnes Stores, €11.17

Argentina is one of wine producers that features heavily in The Wine Trials selection — in this case with its signature red grape, malbec, in a lovely crisp fresh red with peppery spicy savoury notes and ripe red fruit.

Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva 2006, Widely available at around €13

Rioja in northern Spain is one of the great hunting grounds for handsome polished reds. This popular one is a beauty, a mature deep savoury tempranillo from one of the best-known big producers in the region.

Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir 2008, €15 at Bubble Brothers

Easy-drinking but dark, rich and rounded pinot. Buy it online at www.bubblebrothers.com or in their stores in the English Market and on the Marina, Cork.

Concannon Chardonnay 2008, Selected independent off-licences, €15

There’s a sort of austere luxury in this upmarket Californian — fresh lemon acidity set off by a generous fillip of tropical fruit in a rich, creamy texture. Imported by Barry & Fitzwilliam

Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Widely available at around €13

In case you don’t recognise it, this wine was formerly known as Montana — one of New Zealand’s oldest and largest wineries, in this instance bottling an excellent lemony, crisp example of the country’s emblematic white grape.

Freixenet, Cordon Negro Dry Cava, Widely available at around €16

From the other big name in Cava, the ubiquitous opaque black bottle conceals a lovely light orange and lemon inflected bubbly. Available nationwide at Tesco, Dunnes, SuperValu, Superquinn, O’Briens and Next Door.