I am still sweating and writing this article about 5 minutes after coming back from two vineyard visits today in the searing heat. I hear there has been a drop of rain in Ireland but France continues to sizzle. There are only so many times you can change your underpants in one day. Too much information I hear you shout. Anyway, this article will describe a visit I had today with a legend in wine.

John cools off in the heat

Emmanuel Gaujal is the foremost consultant in Provence wine and in particular white wine. He owns a company that consults with other winemakers but his most important client is the very famous Chateau Miraval. I have used the word famous with many vineyards so you might think, “here he goes again”. Why is Miraval famous? Is it because it goes back to pre Roman times or because Pink Floyd recorded their seminal album “The Wall” there? Is it because The Cranberries recorded in the same studio, as well as a lot of other famous artists? Maybe it’s because it was recently purchased by a very famous Hollywood couple who are among the most famous people on the planet, if you are into that type of thing. All of the above is true, but it is also famous for creating a white wine that many regard as the best in France.

Gary Gubbins of Red Nose Wine in Chateau Miraval, Provence

In advance of the trip I had to send details of my car and the person travelling with me. A rigorous interview at the security gates and we were in, and took the 2km drive to the main house and around the back to the office where an early morning coffee and a discussion on the philosophy of the estate was had in the courtyard. Organic is the order of the day here and very traditional methods are used in parallel with Mr. Gaujal’s many years of expertise. He helped create estates including the original incarnation of Chateau Vignelaure, later made famous again by David O Brien. This part of Provence is not really known for white wine as the hot weather does not make a good bedfellow for the acidity often required in great white wine. However the commune of Correns near Brignols uses its altitude ( a few dodgy bends were manoeuvred to get there ) and microclimate to create a truly exceptional wine. We tasted their Rose ( called Pink Floyd ) before the 3 whites. While the “Lady Jane” is the wine that is technically the most complex, for me the middle wine, Terre Blanche really stole the show. It had supreme balance, acidity and a wonderful expression of fruit. It really impressed me, and also my guest, who usually prefers red wine. At a fraction of the cost of the serious Burgundy wines, I am seriously considering trying it out on the Irish market. I’ll keep you posted. If I get it in, it will be in small amounts, but I will open it for a week in the shop. I can’t promise we will get Brad or Angelina over for a tasting, but you never know.

The Miraval estate covers 2 appelations - Cotes de Provence ( left of road ) and Cotes Varois ( right )

After the visit to the Hollywood Hills, we met one of my earliest suppliers, Philippe Guillanton of Chateau Margui for a very long and leisurely lunch. This was followed by a visit to Margui itself and while I have been there a few times, my guest has not, and was suitably impressed. He renovated an old farmhouse from the 18th century and it is a sight to behold. If you are near Provence, and want to visit a vineyard, let me know. Philippe is a most gracious host and his estate will blow you away. Like most of France, Philippe is very excited by the 2009 vintage and i have the white chilling in the fridge as I write. The reds won’t be bottled until next year. I have long waxed lyrical about Philippe and his generosity to me when I started. The fact that his wines are still as popular is testament to his skill as a winemaker and a businessman. Until next time, from the sunny south of France.

Gary Gubbins of Red Nose Wine and Philippe Guillanton of Chateau Margui

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

TWEBT 5 happened last night and Red Nose Wine were the supplier.
I didn’t know how it would go and if people would like the wine. I completely forgot that the top of the cork said 2007, and the year is one of the questions. Whoops! For the rules of TWEBT, see Brian Clayton’s blog.

I asked everyone to open it up a little early, so at 8pm I did the same. However, I knew the wine, so felt it only polite to start ahead of the group. ( They had to wait until 9pm). The wine is question was a Cotes du Rhone from Nicholas Boiron, maker of the award winning Chateauneuf du Pape wines. It was also from great 2007 vintage so it had a lot of body and very pure fruit. In fact, when deciding on which wine to use for #TWEBT, it was these recent comments from Robert Parker, that made up my indecisive mind – “last call…2007 Cotes du Rhone’s among the best values I have ever tasted but disappearing, and replaced by less successful 2008s and 2009s”.

Gary Gubbins and Nicholas Boiron C de Pape 2009

I really wanted to put in a Loire Cabernet Franc, or maybe a Chenin Blanc, but felt it important to give the crowd something they might be familiar with and enjoy across the board. There were some very nice comments about the wine and I think for the most part everyone enjoyed it. There was a very interesting Whiskey tasting going on it parallel. Most people got old world, and higher end of alcohol spectrum but it took a long time to get the 3rd grape variety, Cinsault. To be fair, its only 5% of the mix. The newly anointed @grapes_of_sloth, Paul Kiernan was very aggressive with his guesses. He tweeted with the air of a man with his WSET diploma in the bag. I got so carried away with it all, I even offered a free bottle of wine to the person who guessed the right grapes in the right order of magnitude. A bottle will soon be on its way to @JoannaSchaff – Congratulations.

Anyway, all in all a great night and I was delighted with the response to the wine. While not to most adventurous selection, I think it goes to show that if you look for it, there really are top quality wines from the south of France at a great price. With the sale on, this wine is a steal at €13.05 ( 10% off ). Other similar wines are on sale with 15% and 20% off.

Big thanks to Brian and Kevin for inviting me… we all await Twebt 6.

There is an old Joni Mitchell song that goes, “Sittin’ in a park in Paris France, reading the news and it sure looks bad”. I always thought that it was a cafe she sat in, and not a park. I was sure about it until i finally bought the album. Its funny how you can be 100% sure of something and still be wrong. Maybe it’s a male thing. The news sure looks bad today as I sit in a cafe in Clonmel, Ireland. Our beloved hurling team had a very bad day in the office and I had to drive to Cork this morning ( the day after the match ) to collect wine in the warehouse. The lads in the bond are avid hurling fans and let me have it between the eyes. I would imagine Liam Sheedy will have something more to say this year. At least the weather has picked up and is trying to help us get over it.

London – in search of gold

I put back on my travelling hat these last few weeks. I decided at the very last minute to go to London for the annual wine fair. I got the flight cheap and the hotel even cheaper and said why not. There was so much to see and do over the 2 days I was there that I could probably write 4 articles. We’ll see how this one goes down. I was also at the Wine Australia event held in Croke Park. Will I be back there again this year? Enough hurling references, my French friends are lost. I was told that my articles have a little following in the south of France among a bunch of winemakers. It’s one of those things where they might be laughing with you or at you – I’m not sure. What to talk about in regard to the London Fair is difficult to decide. There really was a huge amount of things to see and taste, and the organisation of the event was top notch. It was very different from the French shows and there was a lot more grouping of regions. For example, Italy came together and sectioned off different regions, so if you were looking for a Pinot Grigio, you could sit down and chat with Veneto winemakers and specify exactly what you were looking for.

Must I drink Bordeaux in the morning

There were also a lot of high end chateau who came together from Bordeaux and I bumped into one of them I knew early on the 2nd day. This was great except for the fact that I now had to taste varying vintages of Bordeaux at 10 o clock in the morning, including barrel samples of the already famous 2009 vintage. It is seen as rude not to taste everyone’s wine so by 11 o clock, I had tasted approximately 40 rich, dry red wines. Normally you would save these wines until the end of the day as they tire out your palate. I had to take a 30 minute break and regain my composure. And people think this is an easy job. It beats engineering anyway.

Meeting the famous folk

A real treat in London was going to a tutored tasting on regional French wines with Tim Atkin of BBC’s Saturday Kitchen. He is one the rare “Master of Wine” recipients and an expert on cheap but good quality regional wines. Basically, he told us about the new rule changes that are coming for the traditional Vins de Pays wines and how they will be more regionally based – more on that to follow. What was particularly satisfying is that at the start of the tasting, he name checked Mas de Daumas Gassac as the pioneers of quality wine from the unheralded areas of France. Those of you who attended our tasting with Samuel Guibert a few months back will have heard him discuss the upcoming changes. The tasting with Tim was a real stamp of approval for what I have been trying to do in terms of finding these kinds of wines. I had a great chat with him afterwards and he is as friendly as you see on the telly. It is always nice when that happens.

Gary Gubbins and Tim Atkin

I will return to specific parts of the London show in the future, but now for a Monty Python moment, i.e. something completely different. I am not sure if any of you take the time to read my blog but lately it has really taken off. It is basically an unsanitized version of the article. I recently posted a blog about the whole concept of Bring your own wine to a dinner party or to a BBQ. I raised the point that maybe it is OK to bring a bottle for the house but to have your own bottle to enjoy as well. Why should you have to endure the rubbish wine that happens to be open on the table? Would you force a Guinness drinker to drink Heineken, or give them some cheap and nasty discount beer? The blog caused quite a stir in the blogosphere and please feel free to view or add comments at (www.rednosewine.com/blog)

A quick word of good luck to Kieran Quigley, who has recently taken over the Wine Buff in Clonmel, who have long been another champion of quality independent wines. I look forward to heated debate about both wine and his generous golf handicap.

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

Gary Gubbins of Red Nose Wine with Tim Atkin MW

Now and again the wine world and the political world collide, and politics being politics and collisions inevitable, this can mean one can find oneself treated to a wonderful all expenses paid event. One such collision took place in Cork last week, at the very comfortable Clarion Hotel. The Italian Trade Commission are trying to increase awareness of Italian Wine in Ireland, and with the help of Jean Smullen, a well known organiser of marquee wine trade events, they organised a tutored tasting. What is a tutored tasting as opposed to a regular tasting I hear you ask? A fine question, that someone somewhere surely has asked.

A Tasting vs A Tutored Tasting

A regular tasting involves tables full of wine, where everyone supposedly follows a very regimental anticlockwise routine, where we walk around a large hall talking to the importer or the winemakers, while supping and spitting. The true professionals make two trips, the first taking in the whites and the second the reds. I have not always been the true professional in this regard, and I would not suggest tasting a delicate Soave after a big Brunello di Montalcino. Anyway, this tasting was not of that type, for we sat at tables and had a neat array of tasting glasses in front of us. It was like being back at school. The glasses sat upon a mat and were numbered 1 to 6. There was a swarm of bottles to be seen but alas, our glasses were empty. Before the tasting, came the tutoring.

Let The Powerpoint Begin

There was a big screen set up and Helen Coburn, a well know authority on Italian wine, set about a very in-depth and fast as lightening PowerPoint assessment of the white wines of Italy. The range of grapes and regions and rules that are obeyed and rules that are ignored put instant validity to the need for a regional expert such as Helen. When many people think of Italian wines, they think Tuscany or Sicily or maybe the ever popular Pinot Grigio. That’s a fair enough assessment of what is popular in Italian wine, but like many things in life, there is always so much more. We flew through grapes such as Pinot Bianco, Cortese, Garganega, Trebbiano, Verdicchio, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Greco di Tufo, Vermentino, Inzolia and Prosecco with speed and precision. For those planning a wine holiday, the regions included Trentino / Alto Adige, Piedmonte, Veneto, Lombardy, Marche, Umbria, Lazio, Tuscany, Campania, Sardinia and Sicily. So who thought there was only Pinot Grigio in Italy?

Italian Wine Map

There are many other white wine varieties grown in Italy that were mentioned but the varieties above are what we eventually tasted. I have a mass of notes on each wine, and I was happy to see a number of Red Nose Wine selections amongst the mix. We have been working very hard this last year to improve our Italian selection. Our €8.50 Pinot Grigio’s big sales are testament to the fact that the public like what we are doing. Rather than bore you with individual tasting notes on all wines tasted (there are many others who specialise in this), I will list of some of the words scribbled down in the frenzied tasteathon. Creamy, High alcohol, medium acidity, nervy, grassy, yeasty, fresh, good price point, lemon tones, crisp, dry, not enough fruit to the fore, fills the mouth. These of course were for the whites. All wines were spat out.

The Matching of the Food & Wine

After the whites were tasted and rated, we were then invited to partake in a matching of food to wines with Lorenzo Loda, the Italian sommelier from Thorntons Restaurant in Dublin. Little tasting plates were given out, consisting of olive oil, basil, authentic Parmesan cheese, salami and some almond cake. We then were given some Moscato, Gewurztraminer, Brunello de Montalcino and Barbera d’Asti wine. The aromatic Gewurztraminer swamped the olive oil, but was delicious with the basil. The Salami could not stand up to the rich Brunello, but was divine with the Barbera, as was the Cheese. The expensive rich Brunello really needs something like meat to counterbalance it. The Moscato and the cake were a match made in Italian heaven. Some classic Italian Wine – Food pairings include Soave & Risotto; Amarone & Rabbit ; Chianti and Wild Boar ; Verdicchio and Sea Bass to name a few.

Lunch & Parisian Tiramsu

Italian Food

At this point, the little touches of food only made me realise that I was starving, and there was a very Italian lunch laid on, with some classic dishes. I went for two helpings of Lasagne and some Tiramisu. When I lived in Paris, there was a local Italian restaurant that had homemade Tiramisu ( in rue Claude Bernard ) and a guarantee that if it was not the best you ever tasted, you didn’t pay for it. All I can say is that I always paid for it, and will on my next visit. The Cork version was nice, but I can still taste that Paris one. Mind you, in Clonmel we are spoiled for Tiramisu. Both Catalapa and Befanis have delicious versions.

The famous @Grapes_of_Sloth aka Paul Kiernan

The Mighty Reds of Italy ( as opposed to Manchester )

Anyway, full up and weary, I still had to face the biggest challenge of the day. The rich reds which made Italy famous. It was obvious that the Italian Trade Commission were footing the bill because they really opened up some special bottles. Pinot Nero, Lagrein, Teroldego, Nebbiolo, Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara, Sangiovese, Brunello di Montalcino ( Sangiovese clone), Montepulciano, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Allianico, Negroamaro, Primitive Salento, Nero d’Avola and even that old favourite Cabernet Sauvignon were all on show. The superstar regions like Barolo, Barberesco, Chianti Classico and Brunello stood side by side with the Lagrein and Lunelli wines of Trentino / Alto Aldige. The feast finally came to an end and I came out of the tasting a lot more knowledgeable than when I went in. I think that is one of the things that I really like about wine. While you might hold some assumption of knowledge on a particular area or variety, but there is still so much more to learn. Humility and the lack of assumption are two traits that I have found invaluable as I search for new wines. For anyone who wants to try these different Italian varieties ( or the traditional classics ), we have a very good range in stock, at all price points. You are more than welcome to visit and taste. The Italians have a wonderful saying, and Fellini made a film based on the saying, “La Dolce Vita”. In these trying times, we all need a little of the sweet life.

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

Red Nose Wine Article - Nationalist May 27 2010

I am trying something very different in this week’s article. It may work and it may not work. I am writing the article in real time, as I take part in a virtual wine tasting. Using the social media format Twitter, I am one of many around the country, and beyond who are simultaneously opening a covered bottle of wine and blind tasting it. The concept is called #Twebt. The rules of #Twebt or the “Twitter Event Blind Tasting” to give it its full name, are as follows. It is open to anyone and this is the 4th event and the numbers are growing every time. You must register for or have a Twitter account. For those of you who may not be familiar with Twitter, it is a social media format where different people “follow” other people and what they “say”, or post online. They are only allowed to “say” something in 140 characters or less. By adding the hashtag #Twebt to the end of your statement, people can then filter so they only see people involved in the tasting, thus ignoring all of the other rubbish that is sent out into cyberspace. Basically, they must get to the point very quickly. The power of Twitter is that your message can get to a huge amount of people instantly and they then have to power to pass it on to their followers instantly. A lot of the recent world breaking news events were announced first on Twitter, and then the TV stations caught up. I use it from a business perspective and have found it very powerful to gain potential new customers, or even press coverage. I was featured in last Sunday’s Tribune and it came about by getting to know the journalist online via Twitter. Anyway, back to the blind tasting.

Each event sees a different merchant making the wine available to purchase online and we all take delivery of the wine in good time for the event. There are 5 things we are trying to identify with the wine and in this order – Whether it is Old World or New World, what year the wine is, what country it comes from, the grape or combination of grapes used and finally the exact region. The idea is the organisers call for guesses as the tasting progresses and as you can imagine, the dialogue can get a little rowdy as well. I will try and write this in time with the tasting. The organiser has just asked for our first guesses on whether the wine is from the old or the new world. I should state that tonight we taste a white wine. I think it has high alcohol content for a wine of this type, so I have just guessed new world. The fact that it has a screwcap is also a hint, but not definitive. Someone else has just guessed Bordeaux, so if they are right, I need to consider a return to engineering. The crowd had seemed to be strongly looking at New World, but there is a late surge towards the old world. I was sweating there for a while, but the supplier just came back with the verdict – it is New World. It’s always nice to get the first one out of the way. There is a temptation to listen to the crowds and that late rush for the old world could sway you. It’s like the exchanges in Cheltenham just before the race goes off. I was always thought to go with your first instinct on a wine, and that is something you have to trust when tasting wines for possible purchase. I am glad I stuck to my guns.
The next thing we are looking for is the year. My instant impression was a wine that had some age on it. I may be wrong, but we’ll see how it turns out. My reason for this is that the alcohol seems to be more prominent. It is not being masked by the fruit. The acidity is high though but the wine does not have a freshness to it you might associate with a young wine. The secondary characteristics such as honey and aniseed are prominent. The result is in and it is 2007. I had guessed 2006, so I am happy enough with my guess. The exact year can often be a guess, unless you know the region, so you are really looking to get close. I would hazard a guess that 99% of white wines currently for sale in Ireland from the new world are less than 2 years old, so an older one does jump out a bit.

Country is the next thing to consider. I always take a guess outright at the very start and write it down on a piece of paper. I am not allowed to guess at the start. It ruins the fun. This time my guess was an Australian Semillon Chardonnay with some age on it. I have just entered my country guess as Australian. After a protracted wait, I am confirmed correct, so I am happy enough to proceed with the next guess, which is the grape variety. In the last blind tasting I got 4 out of 5 correct, but missed one of the grapes in the blend. This time I think it is a blend again, but predominantly Semillon. I can’t choose between aged Sauvignon and Chardonnay. We have just been given a hint that is a single variety so I am fairly confident it is Semillon as the honey is to the fore. It is hard to build the tension of waiting for the Tweet machine to go ping, so after said same tension was endured, it did indeed turn out to be Semillon. I may not have explained it earlier, but as I input my guesses and thoughts, so do the other people and I see there messages online, as they also see mine. For my final guess, I chose the region to be the Hunter Valley, and only because it is famous for its Semillon. I do think there is a high level of alcohol so that leads me to consider another, hotter region, but at this stage it is a guess. My strength is definitely not in identifying Australian Semillon regions. The last event was a Southern France Red, and I was much more confident. The final answer appears online and it turns out not to be the Hunter Valley, but the much warmer Barossa Valley. I rip off the wrapper and see a 14% alcohol Barossa Valley Semillon wine. The tasting is over, and I am very happy with my performance. It must be said that it came on the back of my brother in laws wedding on Friday in Minella, and the post wedding session in Careys on Saturday night. I wasn’t sure I could taste anything. The wedding was a huge success and I had forgotten how good Minella is for weddings. I can still taste the beef. I’m getting hungry now, but its getting late and its time for an early night after a very heavy weekend. It should be noted that I have been spitting the wine all through the tasting in the interest of responsible journalism.

If you want to get involved in the next #Twebt event, let me know and I can get you all the details. If technology is not your thing, it makes a great game for a party. Call in and I will wrap a bottle for you and write down the answers in sealed envelopes.

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

A Virtual Taste of Wine

Long before there was my blog, there were my articles in the paper. Seeing it is a bank holiday and I am feeling lazy, I will copy one of last summers articles ( or 2 ). I am also planning this summer’s big journey so nostalgia is setting in. However, it may be my age, but nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. Anyway, these articles were posted from the road last June.

Greetings from the vineyards of Provence in the south of France. The sun is beating down on my white Irish brow, and the insects must know I am on a wine tasting trip. They sense either the alcohol or sweet fruits of the vine that are flowing through my sunburned veins. They have devoured me these last few days and one of my legs looks like an overworked bodybuilder, on a bad day. If only I could explain to them that I have been spitting all the wine on this trip.

I have a little gap in my itinerary and have time to grab lunch in Le Bistro de Lourmarin, which funnily enough is in a small village called Lourmarin. This is the village where Peter Mayle re-settled after having to sell his original Luberon house when his book, “A Year In Provence” became a worldwide hit. It made the Luberon very crowded and Mr. Mayle a tourist attraction. I was hoping to spot him having a quiet coffee, but it is not to be. After lunch I make the hazardous and extremely scenic mountain drive between Lourmarin and Bonnieux, which leads on to Roussillon, where Domaine de Tara can be found. Incidentally, Roussillon is where Samuel Beckett spent most of World War 2, having being exiled from Paris. He later complained that he found it too hot, and today I can understand why.

The very scenic village of Roussillon in the Luberon, Provence

Those of you familiar with Red Nose Wine, may be aware of Tara and Michele Follea’s award winning wines, which we have imported since our first day in business. I am here to taste the latest vintage and fight over price. Poor Mr. Lenihan and his excise duty get yet another battering. The wines are Cotes de Ventoux and the reds are primarily made up of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. A cheaper version of Chateauneuf du Pape for all the world, and not as heavy, so you can drink them in the summer. The whites are delicate Rousanne based wines and offer a great alternative to those sick of Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The meeting/tasting goes well and I try once more to find out whether the domaine is named after Scarlett O Hara’s homestead or the big hill beside the motorway. It depends who is asking is the well worn line. Whatever the truth, it is amazing how Ireland permeates the wine culture of France.

Gary Gubbins of Red Nose Wine at Domaine de Tara

Tomorrow I am off to visit the great vineyard of the Languedoc, Mas de Daumas Gassac. Aimé Guibert’s wife Véronique is one of the preeminent scholars on Irish ethnology, and the family have a house in Bantry Bay. Their son, who now runs the business, went to school in Rockwell College. It is a small world. This is a family who redefined Languedoc wines on their own. The wine is referred to as the “Lafite of the Langeudoc” or the only Grand Cru wine from the region. They are no fools though, and have a range of wines from €8.99 all the way up the Grand Cru wine. They are also a joy to work with, as they show true understanding of the demands and realities of the Irish wine buying public. And in true French style (when you get to know them that is), they have also promised to give me a nice lunch among the vines tomorrow. Bon appétit.

With that in mind, I bid you farewell from Provence and the searing sun and hungry insects. All going well, I will return next week with news on many new and exciting wines I have found.

Part 2 of the Article – published the following week

Gary Gubbins of Red Nose Wine visiting Mas de Daumas Gassac

Continued greetings from the vineyards of Provence, Languedoc, Chateauneuf du Pape and Bandol in the south of France. The sun has been joined by an unseasonal mini Mistral wind that swirls above us, and hammers the fishing boats in the harbor against each other. Yet, with nature roaring, the insects prove more resilient than the boats and continue to feed on my weary legs. At least the driving has stopped, and with it the torturous spiting of all the great wines that I have been tasting. Samples fill the corners of the house I am renting, and my 2 year old daughter is beginning to call it Daddy’s shop. Even sadder, I will have to dump the majority of them before I leave.

After I left you last week, I spent a fantastic day with Samuel Guibert in Mas Daumas Gassac. The “Lafite of the Languedoc” certainly lives up to its name and it is truly a magical valley. After a very pleasant lunch in a nearby village, we drove through the valley on Samuels jeep (no car would survive 5 minutes). The vineyard is spread out over an amazing natural amphitheatre – flat, steep and everything in between – see the photo. Rather than raze the whole plot, they decided to keep the natural boundaries in place and what you get is small independent portions of vines scattered throughout the valley. When the family bought this land, it was farmed traditionally with the horse. No chemical fertilizers have ever been on this land (the horse did ALL the work), and this is an integral part of their philosophy. Bordering the valley is the famous forest that Sameul’s father, Aimé, so famously defended from the Californian wine giant, Robert Mondavi. For those of you who remember Falcon Crest, the Mondavi’s were supposedly the blueprint for the family in the TV series. However, this would be completely irrelevant if the Guibert’s were not making fantastic wine at all price points. Samuel has promised to come over to Red Nose Wine next year for a very special tasting / dinner. I can’t wait.

Louis XV of France was once asked the secret of his eternal youth and he replied, “the wines of Bandol”. Now Louis may have told the truth, as the Mourvèdre based wines are delicious, but he did not have to drive from Martigues to Bandol to taste them. Any map will tell you that it is motorway nearly all of the way, and it should take under an hour. Considering I have covered more than 1,500km this week, it is one of my shorter trips. What they don’t tell you is that a part of the motorway goes through central Marseille, and there is a tunnel section that makes Jack Lynch’s look like the gap under Laffensbridge near Killenaule. As I entered Marseille, the traffic got busier, and the lanes got narrower. However, when we entered the tunnel, already being bullied into doing the maximum 130km/hr, every car suddenly found another gear and I found myself in the middle of a scary computer game. I was getting flashed and beeped and people were jumping lanes in the dark. There are actually exits off of the tunnel and people suddenly realize they have missed theirs and just veer at huge speeds to make it. The rules of skiing apply it seems. It is the responsibility of the person behind not to hit the idiot in front. After surviving the tunnel, they then have the audacity to ask you to pay a toll of €2.70. Don’t pay the ferryman. You have no choice if you want off of the mad merry-go-round. I was dreaming of Laffensbridge by the time I finally got to Bandol and its picture postcard wine country. I am still not sure the general wine buying public will have the stomach for Bandol when it is young, or the patience to wait for it to age. I am undecided whether to import into Red Nose Wine. I did taste some great examples of the wine though. I may bring in a little of the Rosé and the Red and see what happens. Incidentally, I took the long way home via Aix en Provence.

I was trying to get under this city at speed

The next article they let me publish will be from Ireland, and I will keep you updated on how the insect bites are adapting to the Irish weather. I know you care. More importantly, I will return to a more structured piece on wine. I just thought you might like the peak into the wine buying routes.

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

I am trapped in a concrete wall with a tiny window, as I stare out into the sunshine. It is not a cell per say, but the office in the warehouse. I am focused on writing an article, but I can hear the swish of a golf club or the clink of a glass at a barbeque somewhere in the back of my mind. I am tired after a very busy week, yet cannot wait for the weekend to start. Oh tortured soul, give me peace from this magnetic sun. I signed up for Saturdays when I left the bright lights of Engineering for the dark shade of the vines. Summer is coming though, and I will look forward to my next trip to visit my winemakers in their little piece of paradise, while Tipperary embraces the summer downpour. One of the things that made this week so busy was the visit to Clonmel of one of my best winemakers. Samuel Guibert, of Mas de Daumas Gassac enthralled over 40 people in Nuala Hickey’s packed Cafe in the Westgate last Wednesday night. I may have mentioned he was coming a few times over the last few weeks. For those of you who missed it, it was a very special evening and Samuel charmed all concerned, especially the ladies. The night was a great success and photos and videos from the night can be seen on the blog – www.rednosewine.com/blog

There is a distinct difference between a tasting with a winemaker and someone who sells wine. The passion and the commitment to quality wine shines through, and as an added bonus, you might get answers to the questions that you have wanted to ask for a long time. The Clonmel audience definitely took advantage of their opportunity. Samuel answered questions on all manner of subjects from the truth behind sulphites, to the reason why sometimes, a white wine can be a little fizzy. All of these questions were asked by a very attentive audience in a very interactive tasting. The wines weren’t half bad either, in fact they are among the best reviewed wines in the world. For this week’s article, I will share some of the questions asked and Samuel’s very precise answers.

One of the topics that I get asked about a lot concerns sulphites. Every wine has to display on the bottle that they contain sulphites, even if it is minuscule amounts or buckets of the stuff. Mr. Guibert told us that there are recommended doses for sulphur dioxide, which acts as an anti oxidant and a preservative. You can’t taste it in the wine, which is why it works better than other anti-oxidants. Samuel told us about the ancient technique of using honey, which worked, but changed the taste of the wine dramatically. The next time you are down at your local farmer’s market, buy some honey and mix it with wine. However, don’t expect to like it. Another advantage of sulphur dioxide is that for every year the wine ages, the traces disappear two fold. However, the biggest insight we received was the scope with which the winemaker has to limit his sulphur usage. If you have limited production, you can constantly monitor and check your wine vats. A factory or supermarket wine is like a brewery and they are often forced to err on the side of caution, i.e. pour in the maximum Sulphur dioxide, just in case. The artisan winemaker can check his wine, as Samuel and his brothers do, many time each day, therefore controlling the usage. Samuel claimed that Gassac use very little ( as up to 10 -20 times less ) when compared to large scale producers, but then good wines don’t have to use it as much – the natural preservatives in the fruit shine through. The many people from the tasting who called in the next day to collect their wine without any trace of a hangover were testament to the negligible amount that Gassac use. One of the members of the group cheekily suggested that Samuel tasted his wine 20 times a day ( he checks it that often ), and was seldom sober. However, he confirmed something I have long been preaching – it is all in the nose. No need to taste every hour. He told us that 80% of tasting is in the nose, and the palate just confirms. When I am picking new wines, I nearly always know if I will reject a wine by smelling it. I don’t know if I will accept it as a buy, as you don’t get the length of the wine from the nose.

A very good question was asked by a certain teacher ( not Mrs. Red Nose ). It came on the back of Samuel’s description of the Viognier grape holding more than average residual sugar, and by that I mean more than Sauvignon Blanc. This means it is not dry, but off dry, and has wonderful honey undertones. Their Faune white wine for 12 Euros was possibly the star of the night, outside the Grand Cru wines. The simple description of fermentation is yeasts eating the natural sugar in the grapes and converting them to alcohol, thus converting grapes to wine. With bone dry wines, there is no more ( or negligible amounts ) of sugar to convert, but with sweeter wines, the chances are that it might start fermenting again – for example, if it is exposed to natural yeasts, such as exist in the atmosphere. What happens in effect is the wines become slightly fizzy as the fermentation happens in the bottle. Have you ever opened a white wine and had a light fizz from it. Now you know the reason why, and for the most part, is not supposed to happen. The most obvious wine where it is supposed to happen is Champagne. They have very special bottles and corks to control the power and the process takes much longer. If you ask for a still white wine in a restaurant and find it fizzes a little, send it back. The better winemakers, like Samuel, control the sweeter wines and the conditions they are stored, aged and bottled in.

There were many other questions asked and answered, and I am sure Samuel could have spoken all night. If there are specific questions you have, please send them in to me and I will answer them, or if you prefer, put the question to some of my winemakers. The truth is always easier to swallow coming from the people on the front line. There is a distinct air of summer barbeque about, so until our next wine makers visit, I bid you adieu.

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

I sat down yesterday to write this article, but I could not. The reason is golf, or to be more accurate, the Careys Golf Society trip to Mount Juliet. As I sat at my desk on Saturday, the day after the trip, I stared blankly at the screen and waited for the words to pour out. Unfortunately I could not hear them for the pounding in my head and the strange noises echoing in my stomach. Arthur Guinness, you are no friend of mine. It’s been a long time since I had a hangover ( good wine gives you strength ), but this one was a humdinger, or as Bob Dylan might say, a folksinger. All I could manage was a lazy blog entry with photos from the day and a very funny video of Robin Williams describing how the Scots invented golf. Have a look at www.rednosewine.com/blog if you are bored enough to hear about my great birdie on the 10th. Much thanks to Mr. O Flaherty for his very accurate club choice. Anyway, onto the wine.

To be honest, I am still trying to figure out what to write about as I type this. The inspiration will arrive any minute now. Hear it comes, and we will talk about…Spain. Where did this choice come from? At some stage in the post golf celebrations in Careys, my brother in law Kevin showed me a photograph of himself and tennis superstar Raphael Nadal on his phone. He met him in the Chicago airport on a recent business trip. I am glad to confirm that by all accounts he was a gentleman and very happy to chat. It’s nice when famous people are friendly. To add to the Hello magazine moment, on the connecting flight from London to Cork, Denis Leamy sat down beside him and they talked rugby all the way home. I doubt they discussed Spanish wine, but I will make amends for them both. I work with a great Spanish importer who has much of the same beliefs as I do for quality winemaking. You won’t see the big brand wines on show with Raphael and Alvaro ( they are Spanish themselves ), but you will see the superstar winemakers that are lauded in Spain and all over the world. Their stable, and consequently mine, include Telmo Rodriguez, Alvaro Palacios, Emilio Moro and Martin Codex, among others. Pick up a wine magazine or browse any website on Spanish wine and these names are regularly featured.

Kevin & Nadal

For many of us, myself included for a long time, when someone mentioned Spanish wine, we thought of Rioja. This rich, oaky wine made from the Tempranillo grape has long been an Irish favourite. My wife raved about it as a student when she trekked through northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the ancient pilgrim walk in the footsteps of Saint James. They would arrive onto small villages and less than a euro would buy them a jug of local heaven. These wines rarely leave their village and it is big brands that definitely lead the way in the market place. However, I would always think you need to be conscious of the price quality ratio with Rioja. Just as with Cotes du Rhone, there is a lot of rubbish out there. There are different types of Rioja, depending on your penchant for oak. Classic or basic Rioja will have less than a year in oak. Crianza will have at least 2 years ageing, 12 months of this in oak. Reserva should have 3 years ageing, and again at least 1 year in oak. The Grand Reserva wines have 2 years in oak. The more the oak, in general the more power you need to tame. Decanting is a must for the longer wines, and that rich chocolate style is most pronounced, albeit after several hours open, in these monsters. You really need food with the bigger wines and decanting is a necessity. There are some modern winemakers, Telmo Rodriguez included, who are abandoning the traditional rules and classifying complex and serious wines as basic Rioja, allowing them to do what they want and in terms of oaking. His Lanzaga wine, which has long been popular in Red Nose Wine, is a perfect example of this. This is very complex and beats most Grand Reserva wines on the quality front, but is only classified as a basic Rioja. There has been some movement to bring the Reserva wines down to affordable levels, and we were delighted to come across the very drinkable Baron de Ley Reserva for only 16.50 Euros. This is an absolute steal for a wine of such quality, and it has awards coming out of its proverbial cork.

Kevin & Denis Leamy and some strange hypnotic woman in the seat behind

There are other regions and grape varieties in Spain other than Rioja and its famous grape, Tempranillo. Among them are the gorgeous whites made from the exciting Albarino, as well as Tempranillo’s other famous wine, Ribera del Duero. Emilio Moro is one the true superstars here. However, arguably the most exciting region lies above Barcelona in an area called Priorat. Alvaro Palacios has almost singularly handed created an icon wine from an unheralded area. Much like Áime Guibert did with Mas de Daumas Gassac all those years ago, Mr. Palacios has created a wine that is heralded all over the world, yet comes from a region not historically regarded for fine wine.

His icon wine is called L’Ermita and sells for serious money – I am too embarrassed to even write down the price. I stock his second wine, Les Terrasses and it recently won the award for the best Spanish red wine in Ireland. This is a serious wine. I had the great ‘pleasure’ of dropping a case of it a few months back. There were only 2 bottles broken, but considering that it is a wine that is actually hard to get an allocation of, this was a big deal. I was not impressed with my butter fingers.

As with all great wine regions, there are wines for everyone, and at all prices. As well as all of these icon wines, you can really get great wines for great prices in Spain. There is value to be had under 10 Euros and there is even better value at that 11-15 euro mark. There are really top wines with lots of forward fruit and easy drinking elegance. I have been talking with Alvaro about doing a proper Spanish wine tasting and once we have the much heralded Gassac tasting out of the way, we will put plans in place. Watch this space. By the way, the title for the article came from my first family holiday abroad. My father brought us on a JWT package holiday to Torremolinos on the Costa de Sol. It was one of those self catering apartment complexes by the beach. You had the battle the Germans for the best poolside sun bed each morning – I know it’s a cliché but it was true. Every night there would be some cabaret and we could hear the music as the bar terrace was directly under our room. This was great fun the first night, but we soon realised that the music went on until about 2.30am every night. The last song was always “Viva L’Espagna” and how we cheered when it finally came on, bleary eyed and exhausted. I have no doubt Spanish holidays have evolved and there is no doubt Spanish wine has. I still hate the song though.

Don’t forget to log onto the blog at www.rednosewine.com/blog or follow the ranting on Twitter – www.twitter.com/rednosewine

For anyone who would like more information and can’t make it into the shop, please feel free to contact me at info@rednosewine.com

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

Slideshow of images

A Really great night was had in Clonmel with Samuel Guibert of Mas de Daumas Gassac. Samuel arrived on Tuesday and planned to leave on Thursday. The volcano in Iceland had something to say about that. In between all of this, we really had a special night’s tasting on Wednesday April 14th in the wonderful venue that is Nuala’s Cafe. Between the old style European venue, the sunshine, Samuel’s accent and the aperitif on arrival, we could really have been in a cafe in France.

Before the night’s tasting, I brought Samuel to see the Rock of Cashel. His brother Roman and I both were sentenced to a spell in nearby Rockwell College, and that is how we got talking when I met him in Paris originally.

Samuel at the Rock of Cashel

Samuel spent some time in the warehouse – he was able to see for himself the growing selection at Red Nose Wine. I tried to get him to lift a few cases, but his phone got busy.

Samuel at Red Nose Wine

Gary Gubbins and Samuel Guibert

We started the tasting off with the Moulin de Gassac range which offers huge value starting from €9. The new Red Le Classic du Gassac also offered the Irish market a new red wine that will really offer huge value for money. Samuel did not get too technical with his presentation and spoke more about the history of Gassac and how his parents, Áime and Veronique started the vineyard after discovering Burgundy like soil in the middle of the Languedoc. Their drive and vision created a truly iconic wine. It has been hailed by many different commentators :

• The French magazine Gault-Milau called Daumas Gassac “Lafite Rothchild of the Languedoc-Roussillon”
• The London Times argued that it tasted like a “Latour”;
• Hugh Johnson called it “the only Grand Cru of the Midi”,
• Michael Broadbent wrote “One of the ten best wines in the world”
• Robert Parker claimed it to be “Exceptional” and “One of the most remarkable non-appellation wines of France.”
• The Wine Spectator’s 1994 article on this region concluded, “Only four wines rated outstanding, and they are all
from the same producer – Mas de Daumas Gassac, the undisputed star of the Languedoc-Roussillon.”

Samuel explaining about where the wines come from

Samuel obviously has his father’s famous charisma as he wowed the crowed and explained everything from the possibility of secondary fermentation in a sweeter white wine ( the fizzy white syndrome ) to the varying experiments with different grape varieties over the years. He tackled questions on sulphites and even got into Hungarian Oak at one stage. Through it all, the crowd sat mesmerized, and I think his invite to everyone to visit him at the Domaine might be taken up. The female side of the room in particular were checking their diaries. I have had 3 calls to date asking when he is coming back, and a number of people who did not attend and were complaining that i did not tell them about Samuel. My pride was hurt, as they knew I would be there, but the wines were the real stars of the night.

Samuel talks about the great Mas de Daumas Gassac

The wines tasted on the night were :

Rose Frizant – served as an aperitif

Guilhem White

Faune ( Viognier based wine )

Classic Red – the new wine that was launched on the night. Great wine for the price.

Albaran

Mas de Daumas Gassac White 08

Mas de Daumas Gassac White 09

Mas de Daumas Gassac Red 07

Mas de Daumas Gassac Red 08

The stars i think were the Viognier dominated Faune and the 2007 Mas de Daumas Gassaec Rouge. The Albaran stood up as it always does, but can’t be compared to the Grand Cru.

The creamy undertones in the Mas de Daumas Gassac White 2008 contrasted with the sparkling freshness of the 2009. The Sauvignon lovers preferred 09 and the Riesling/Viognier lovers, 08.
All in all, it was a great night and I can’t wait for my trip in July to visit Samuel and his family in the wonderful Gassac Valley. I had a great time their last year.

A big thank you to Samuel for coming over to Clonmel. Also, a huge thank you to Nuala and Helen for all their work. Lastly, I would like to thank all the people who made the effort to come out. It was a great night.

Gary Gubbins of Red Nose Wine visiting Mas de Daumas Gassac

Video clips on the night

Today was a terrible day in Red Nose Wine. I dropped the kids to the crèche and came back to try and do a little bit of work at home before facing the cold cold warehouse. Such was my rush to start tweeting and engage in all things virtual that i grabbed the laptop case and forgot that I had deposited a little present in the side pocket the night before. We are currently in the days of Wine and Roses, without the Roses. I am receiving samples from my recent travels on nearly a daily basis. While the warehouse has warmed up considerably, you still don’t want to take the vest off, so I tend to bring the reds home to taste. Also, you need to give the poor bottles a chance to recover from the journey. Anyway, the wine was in the bag, and bang, whoosh, wallop. With one swift movement, i created this :

Needless to say, the tweeting was reduced to a limited few expletives and the mop and broom took centre stage. But it got me to thinking, what else have i dropped. A couple of bottles of the wonderful Les Terrasses and Margui and Margaux. But the worst story i witnessed was in a restaurant in Paris a few years ago. A regular client was impressing a few friends and brought with him a bottle of 1961 Petrus. This is BYOB at its best. The poor waiter was so nervous opening this €2,000 – €4,000 bottle of wine that it slipped through his palms and bang. I was about 2 tables away but the look on his face and the wine’s owner said it all… I will have to drop a lot more bottles to catch up. I hope today was my last.

Has anyone else any good bottle dropping stories? I heard a few on twitter today but won’t repeat them without consent. So, Kevin, Mike, Frank, Paula and David, the floor is open to you and anybody else who nearly tasted that fruit of the vine only for the crash of the bottle to end it all on tears.

“Life is much too short to drink bad wine”

——- update on BlogPost ——-

My comment above ” I hope today was my last” has proved to be a bit of a jinx. Only 2 days later, in a vain attempt to clean up the warehouse when closed for Good Friday, i did the following :

Another Broken Bottle

The only consolation was that it was Le Page de Vignelaure and not Chateau Vignelaure that i dropped. In future i shall keep my mouth ( or blog ) shut….