It's the most wonderful time of the year!
However, it can be more than a little stressful organising Christmas dinner and wines for the festive period. Worry not, this list is here to help.
Here are some delicious wines to make your Christmas:
Finca Decero, Malbec, Remolinos Vineyard, Mendoza, Argentina 2012
Around €19.95
Available from: Whelehans Wines, Silver Tassie, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin
This is a winery that Argentina has been think about for some time, a winery that gets down to the soils, that adopts a full on artisan and European or Californian style of growing. The word Decro means from scratch and each vineyard and each varietal has provoked a search for the perfect vineyard, here for the entry level malbec the Remolinos Vineyrd. At present this does not mean much to us, but as its reputation grows you can see this becoming a lure of its own. If Argentina is to achieve the kind of terroir based delights of other parts of the world it needs this sub division of the phrase Mendoza.
The wine thankfully speaks for itself, it is luscious and vibrant with chunky, uber ripe fruit and a luscious evolving finish with spice, white pepper like spice, rich chocolate and earthy tones mid-palate and a sweet, toasty quite flashy finish.
Tueusner Winery, The Independent Shiraz-Mataro, Barossa Valley, Australia 2013
Around €22.95
Available from: Whelehans Wines, Silver Tassie, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin
One of the most frequently touted saying in Australian winemaking circles, after hours, is that it takes a great deal of beer to make a wine. Sometimes amongst artisan winemakers this is altered to a great deal of good beer to make great wine. Neither of the sayings however add, in a pub eavesdropping on disgruntled local vineyard owners. That last but however was the source of this brilliant new Shiraz, or rather Shiraz and Mataro blend from Australia’s renowned Barossa Valley.
Accidentally overhearing vineyard and grape producers plotting to throw it all in and rip up 85 year old shiraz because of the low price they were getting from selling their produce to large brand wine producers, our heroes, the founder of this winery, one Kym Teusner artisan winemaking hero, late of the Torbreck Winery and friend and winemaker Mick Page pounced, cat like and snapped up the old vines.
This wine is a dense, slightly savoury totally hand made, artisan wine. Mataro by the way is Mourvedre, the other grape of Chateauneuf Du Pape along with Grenache. Rich mocha, touch of dark, bitter chocolate, and a slowly building epic finish, that is dense and spiced rather than fleshy. A very delicious wine with an eye Chateauneuf Du Pape lovers.
Dingle Distillery, An Cliabhan, Four Spirit Master Blender Kit, with Pipette
Around €85
Available from : The Dingle Distillery, Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry; The Dingle Whiskey Bar, Nassau Street, Dublin and Celtic Whiskey Shop, Dawson Street Dublin 2 and nationwide on celticwhiskeyshop.com
The pioneers of Irish Artisan Beer, Oliver Hughes and Liam LaHart, who then went on to pioneer Brew Pubs, broke the mould on tapas bars in Ireland, broadened out into clubs like Lillies Bordello, before taking on New York, in 2012 decided to set up what was the first truly artisan Irish distillery and almost singled-handedly sparked the revolution that we now at the cusp of in Irish distilling. The Dingle Distillery in Dingle County Kerry began distillation in 2012 so they have another year or so before they will be releasing legal whiskey. In the meantime they have their brilliant Artisan Dingle Gin and Vodka and this superb set of spirits taken from three different casks, Port, Bourbon and Sherry along with a new clear spirit. This litre set allows you to get a glimpse of what the final Whiskey could be and see the complexity of blending first hand. It is beautifully produced set, an ideal present perhaps for a devoted whiskey lover, or a fine seasonal treat for you.
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