Wine with Leslie: Bargain wines all less than €12 and suited to drinking in the garden with friends
Dick Mack's Historic Pub & Brewery in Dingle, Co Kerry. for Leslie Williams
While the pandemic has been incredibly tough on drinks companies especially pubs and restaurants, a small bit of good news is the general uptick of interest in fine wines experienced by most independent off-licenses. So the great news for the citizens of Dingle and anyone holidaying on the Dingle peninsula this summer is that there is a new quality-focused independent off-license operating out of Dick Macks, which is easily one of the world’s best pubs and whiskey bars.
Dick Macks owner, Finn MacDonnell, has joined forces with long-time Dingle resident, Trevis Gleason, to create the Bottle Library which is housed in the pub on Green Street in the centre of town. Gleason is a chef-turned-writer who published the Dingle Dinners cookbook in 2017 featuring recipes from the wealth of talent in the town.
The shop stocks more than 60 wines as well as a selection of cigars — and of course you can pick up growlers of craft beer from Dick Macks Brewhouse. Trevis is keen to help people match their dinner with the right wine and if you show that day’s receipt from O’Catháin Iasc fish shop or Gerry Kennedy’s butchers you get a discount — part of the shop’s commitment to the independent food scene in the town. There is also a discount if you have bought a takeaway Fish & Chips from Reel or a meal from Solas Tapas bar — two of my favourite places to eat in Dingle (if not the country).
Once indoor pubs open again it will be possible to pick up a bottle from the shop to consume on the premises for a small corkage fee of €5. Here, I recommend two wines from the shop and I was pleased to see they have been judicious in their choice of wines with quality producers such as Trimbach, Krug, Pol Roger, Joseph Drouhin and Peter Lehmann. Trevis told me he recently sourced some difficult-to-find Château de Fieuzal Blanc from Pessac Léognan owned by Lochlann Quinn — good quality white Bordeaux from Pessac like this can age as well as any Cru Classé red and is underpriced for the quality.
I also feature a fine Godello below from another new off-license run by the Ely Wine Bar crew in Maynooth, they have imported some of their own wines and they more will likely crop up on this page in the future. My bargain wines this week are all less than €12 and suited to drinking in the garden with friends (especially vaccinated ones).
Stockist: Dunnes Stores
Dunnes have taken on three wines tied to the MasterChef TV programme and quality is solid — there is a typical Rioja Crianza and a juicy fruit-driven Ribera del Duero. Both reds are normally €14.50 but on offer for €12 until mid-July. This has clean mineral and citrus aromas with a touch of floral and tropical fruit, ripe and crisp with pleasing lemon and green apple fruits, and a bitter twist on the finish.
Stockist: O’Briens
Picpoul de Pinet is the perfect summer white: packed with fruit, texture, and freshness. This is on offer and down from €16. And also watch for their new acquisition Château Albajan Picpoul which has aromas of peach, pears, and a hint of lychee. Both wines are pleasingly dry with crisp lime and lemon acidity suited to a big bowl of just steamed mussels or maybe a dozen oysters on the half-shell.
Stockist: O’Briens
Delheim is a family-owned estate in Stellenbosch and I have praised their wines before - this rosé is a steal at this price. Light pale pink with red fruit aromas - strawberries and raspberries - plus some bonus floral notes. Fruity and supremely drinkable with more red fruits on the palate and a fresh touch of tartness on the finish - serve chilled with a Thai curry perhaps.
Stockists: Dick Macks Bottle Library Dingle, No. 21 Off-Licences, Cappagh Stores Knocknacarra, Independents
Imported by JC Kenny in Galway, J de Villebois is a fine Loire producer specialising in Sauvignon Blanc in that grape’s best region. Their Sancerre has crisp ripe green apple and stony gooseberry flavours, and their Pouilly-Fumé has almost tropical fruit aromas mixed with apples, slate, and smoke — rounded and layered palate with brisk green fruit flavours and good complexity.
Stockists: Dick Macks Bottle Library, Mitchell & Son, Whelehans Wines
Top-quality Priorat does not come cheap so this is a relative bargain from the rather legendary winemaker Alvaro Palacios. This is from the younger vines on the estate and is a blend of Carignan, Grenache, and Syrah with ripe black fruit aromas tinged with spice — plush and ripe on the palate with texture and concentration and lingering chewy blackcurrants and cherry.
Stockist: Ely Wine Shop elywinebar.ie
One of the new wines imported exclusively by Ely Wine Bars and available for delivery nationwide — if you live within 45km of their shop in Maynooth you can also order meats and cheeses from their deli. From Godello, the other classic white grape of Galicia — creamy lemon and lemon pie aromas, weighty and textured with crisp lime, grapefruit, and stony citrus flavours and a bitter lemon kick on the finish.
Stockists: O’Briens, Celtic Whiskey Shop celticwhiskeyshop.com
It's about time I featured Tullamore D.E.W which is now owned by William Grant (who also own Glenfiddich & Balvenie). Grants didn’t just buy a brand but properly showed their commitment with a new distillery just outside Tullamore which opened in 2014 (having removed 250,000 tonnes of peat).
This has a high proportion of pot-still blended with malt and grain and aged in bourbon and oloroso casks. Honey, lemon, and spice aromas: soft on the attack with lemon zest, caramel and pepper notes, and a kick of allspice on the finish. The spice makes this perfect for an Old-Fashioned. And if you want more honey consider the 14yr single malt.
