It didn’t really come as a surprise to us when we saw the wine scores for La Pèira in the The Rhône Report back in March. It epitomises the greatness coming from this top terroir, and from a region that is still (thankfully) being overlooked by the masses. I can still hear Aimé Guibert of Mas de Daumas Gassac:

“When I made my first bottles the retailers and buyers came and they laughed at me. They said “we don’t give a shit about your wine. It’s very good, but you have no name, you have no AOC and you want to sell it like this? At this price? Like a big Bordeaux? No, that’s not possible.”"

Today Mas de Daumas Gassac can easily sell for over £80 a bottle. Maybe if it hailed from Bordeaux it could sell for £1,000 per bottle. Aimé claims the Bordeaux winemaker “… doesn’t worry about making poetry. He makes money.” Okay, there’s some fighting talk here. Aimé is known as a man who doesn’t mince his words.

While the essence of what he is saying is true, we shouldn’t ignore that for the everyday wine drinker – like the vast majority of our customers and myself – Bordeaux, Rhône and Loire offer up plenty of super, affordable wines for everyday drinking. But at the high end, for the Rothchilds and the Petrus’ of this world, market demand grants a licence to print money. The likes of Gassac, La Pèira and Le Mas de L’Ecriture, smaller, more humble and lesser-known, are plying out their own products of excellence without a groomed market to sell to. And that’s good for those in the know.

“Aimé Guibert was one of the first pioneers with the guts to say he could make a vin de pays de l’Herault that was good enough to make people cellar it for at least a decade.”

Ryan O’Connell, Love that Languedoc

Back to La Pèira, an even smaller producer than Gassac, but an equally important player in raising the bar. The highly respected Rhône Report had special praise for the 2010 Les Obriers. We sold out of the 2009 vintage within two months in the run up to Christmas last year. Demand was high, but given its painfully small production volumes it didn’t last too long. We have the 2010 landing in September, which is currently still in barrel. This is the best score received of the last three vintages.

Tasted as a final blend, the not yet bottled 2010 Obriers de La Pèira is even more impressive than the ‟09. A blend of 65% Cinsault and 35% Carignan that’s aged all in wooded vats and older barrels, it yields a beautiful array of savory, mineral-laced aromas of black cherry, plum pit, wild herbs, lavender, and toasted walnut shell that carry into a medium to full-bodied Languedoc that has brilliant purity of fruit, a deep, layered mid-palate, and a building, lengthy finish that keeps you coming back for another sip. Even better on the second day, this elegantly styled, complex red should drink beautifully on release, yet age gracefully for 5-8 years. (91-93 pts.)

The 2010 Las Flors held up brilliantly also with 93-96 points. You can view the 2009 vintage here.

Full-bodied and rich on the palate, with surprising elegance and silkiness to the texture, this improves with air, and while it will be approachable on release, it should have no issues evolving gracefully for upwards of a decade or longer. (93-96 pts.)

And the top score went to the top dog. This wine was labelled “next global cult wine” by wine guru Gary Veynerchuk. The 2008 vintage is here.

Deep, layered, and yet still incredibly light and elegant on the palate, with spectacular purity of fruit, loads of richness, and fantastic freshness, this full-bodied beauty might just eclipse both the ‘07 and ‘09.

Not too shabby, eh?

Pictured: Lélé, Le Mas de L’Ecriture. Get 20% off Languedoc wines until the end of June.

By now you might know our opinion on screwcap. It is undoubtedly the best closure available for wine today. Now the screwcap revolution is moving to sparkling wine, and it is the Australian’s who are once again pioneering the technology.

Two Aussie companies, Guala Closures and glass manufacturer O-I, have developed a new high pressure screwcap in conjunction with De Bortoli Wines, an Australian wine empire hailing from Northern Italy. The major incentive for developing a screwcap closure for sparkling wines was to benefit bars and restaurants. This new system helps keep the sparkle in the bottle for longer, a very practical solutions given the circumstances in the trade.

As much as I’m a screwcap advocate, and I do think this is a great idea for the trade, I’m not completely sold on it. Critically, I’m not sure how it is going to fly for the average consumer. Not yet anyway. There is still some resistance to change surrounding still wines and screwcap, but sparkling is another ball game altogether.

I can, however, see the benefits at the lower end. A lightly sparkling Moscato or Prosecco Frizzante are under lower atmospheric pressure when bottled. Packaging and closures are less sensitive at the lower price level. Perhaps the Viiva (the name given to the new closure) will better retain the bubbles throughout the life of the wine, or simply act as a more reliable seal, so when we open it at home we’ll receive the same wine that every other consumer of the same product is getting. As the winemaker intended, so to speak.

Inevitably though, the classic sound of the cork popping, or the fun of aiming it at the back of someones head, would not be possible with Viiva. A lot of people say to me that even with still wines they like the ritual of popping the cork. I can see where they are coming from. For me it wouldn’t justify using a closure that risks cork taint, as well as the other impracticalities that come with cork, but the pop of the cork from a bottle of bubbly is more than a ritual…

I see it as the green light for “let’s party!”

Yes folks, that’s this Thursday at Mansion House, Dublin. Radio DJ Rick O’Shea will be playing host and in true Mr Mulley & co. fashion it is certain to be a blast.

The awards ceremony celebrates the best of social media in Ireland. You don’t have to have a blog or be part of any organisation that likes to blog. Anyone interested in the WWW – that includes Twitter and Facebook – who is looking for a good night to meet lots of lovely, chatty people then Thursday night will not be the night to sit in.

Last year we won the award for Blog of a Business, and we’re up against some very tough competition this year again in the same category, as well Best Twitter Account (for a business). Wish us luck!

For more details and to view all the finalists go to socialmediaawards.com

When: Thursday 17th May, doors open 7pm, ceremony @8pm
Where: Mansion House Dublin
Tickets: €50 (includes finger food & drinks reception)
Get your tickets here.

For bulk ticket orders of 1,000 or more email: holyshitWereRich@SocialMediaAwards.com

The two latest additions to the Some Young Punks range involve sisters Trixie and Tessa Love fighting monsters and ninja’s down in Trouble Town, and an all wise naked young lady on roller skates. And just when you thought the Punks couldn’t get any more weird or random. Still, whatever you think of their artwork on the bottle, it’s their craft and ingenuity on the inside that counts. Pictured below, their garage-style winery at sunset.

Double Love Trouble (T’N'T)

Trouble always sticks to sisters Trixie and Tessa Love – but this time, it’s Double Love Trouble! This wine was awarded 90 points at the International Wine Competition, showing that making class wine is where the brilliance of the Punks really lies. The Tempranillo (50%) comes from Adelaide Hills and the Shiraz (50%) from Clare Valley. Fourteen months in French oak barriques has brought extra layers of flavour and a smooth finish with a hint of spice from the Shiraz.

Naked on Roller Skates (The Pulp Series)

An unscrupulous rake – an all-wise young lady – an unexpected love affair. The Punks hand selected this original artwork from ‘low brow’ literature of the 20′s through 50′s for The Pulp Series. You neither have to like hillsides or nudity to enjoy this wine. The Shiraz & Mataro (Mourvèdre) are sourced from high quality vineyards in McLaren Vale. It’s a versatile little number, with expressive notes of musk and violets, and the palate is dense with black fruits and juniper spice.

Check out the full range from Some Young Punks here.

If you’ve made it to Carcassonne you might already be quite familiar with the wines of Corbières, an AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée) producing more wine than any other AOC in the Languedoc.

It’s a fascinating appellation showing just how place (terroir), the winemaker and the grape variety all play their part in producing something very different. The variation in style between each wine made in Corbières is quite remarkable.

That said, if dark fruits and licorice are your thing, maybe Corbières is for you. If one tried to put a finger on the style of what is being produced out there, the reds tend to be spicy, fruity and full bodied. I tried one recently and I found it big on the licorice, but also floral and herbal. Certainly something to go well with game or roast lamb on a Sunday. Only small amounts of white and rosé make up the balance, as red is the specialty of the region.

The x-factor of Corbières may lie in its terroir. Wine writer Hugh Johnson describes it as a geological chaos of mountain and and valley reaching from the sea 60 kilometres inland to the Aude département. Limestone, schist, volcanic rock and sand make up the earth and the influences of both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean play their part in making this land unique, with the micro-climates and soil types being varied throughout. For this reason the AOC is split into 11 different terroirs including Sigean, Lézignan, Boutenac and Lagrasse.

Carignan is the most common red wine grape. It is quite resistant to heat and wind, and hence does well in Corbières. Old vines grown on dry gravelly slopes are helping produce some superb wine. Typically Carignan gives the wine a deep, rich colour, sturdy tannins and high acidity. It is often blended with the other varieties of the AOC to bring a softer, fruitier wine.

Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre are also heavily involved. Grenache is low in tannins, complimenting the highly tannic Carignan. Syrah brings those rich, dark plummy fruits and even hints of chocolate and burnt rubber, and Mourvèdre brings body, bouquet and ageing capacity to the wine.

This fascinating appellation is well worth a try. Check out our oddly Carignan-free Corbières, on offer until the end of June with the rest of our Languedoc range under €25.

What’s a couple of hundred thousand dollars for a bottle of wine when you’re a billionaire? Sure, why not. A bottle of wine once owned by the 3rd US president Thomas Jefferson is an attractive asset for those with a bottomless pit of cash. And it’s from Château Lafite, the famous French wine estate now owned by the Rothchild family. But of course, the big question. What are the chances it’ll be corked, or simply gone to vinegar? Very possible, but there’s yet a bigger question that must be asked. Is it a fake?

Back in 1985 a member of the Forbes family paid $156,000 for one of these bottles. That’s a lot of money now and it was even more money back then. It was purchased from Hardy Rodenstock at Christie’s Auction in London. At the time it was the world’s most expensive bottle of wine. Soon after questions began to be asked about the authenticity of Rodenstock’s find. The pop band manager turned wine collector was known for unearthing extremely old and exquisite wines, although his reputation was being questioned. After this, in 1992 a German court found that Rodenstock had knowingly offered adulterated wine for sale.

Now billionaire William I. Koch is involved in a lawsuit against Christie’s in which he accused the auction house of fraud over his purchase of four wines – the same wines sourced by Rodenstock and said to have been owned by Thomas Jefferson, and with the same telling signature on the bottle “Th.J”. Koch purchased the wines back in 1987 and 1988 but only discovered the controversy surrounding them in 2005. The Monticello report from 2005 revealed that Jefferson ordered an entire year’s supply of wine in a single purchase. The orders from 1787 to 1792 were intact and none reflected purchases of the “Th.J” wine.

Koch is said to be worth around $4 billion so I’m sure he’ll get over it, however, the mystery remains. No one really knows for sure if the wines are fake or if Rodenstock was pulling a flanker. To help shed more light on the matter a book called The Billionaire’s Vinegar – the mystery of the world’s most expensive bottle of wine – will make for a fascinating read.

As our promotional focus has shifted for the months of May and June, our Californian range is benefitting from a salivating 20% off. Here’s the great wine state in 10 did-you-knows.

1. The state of California produces around 90% of US-grown wine.

2. If California were a nation, it would be the fourth leading wine-producing country in the world behind France, Italy and Spain.

3. The first vines were planted around 1770 by Franciscan missionaries, the historical evangelists of wine.

4. California avoided the worst of the phylloxera epidemic in the late 19th century, as they grafted European vines with the resistant American rootstock.

5. Despite relatively relaxed wine laws, chaptalization, the process of adding sugar during fermentation to boost alcohol, is not permitted in California.

6. Zinfandel, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, is California’s signature red grape variety. Full bodied and high in alcohol with flavours of black fruit, dried fruit and sweet spices, the best and most intense are made from old vines.

7. California is split into four main wine regions – North Coast incorporates Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley. Central Coast covers San Francisco Bay down to Santa Barbara. The other two regions are South Coast and Central Valley.

8. For a long time terroir was somewhat of a bogus term in California. Traditionally winemakers saw themselves as the most important factor in the creation of good wine. Nowadays, however, much more credence is given to the French term.

9. Californian winemakers have a bit of a fetish for French oak. They used to import it by the bucket load until they realised with the right treatment and techniques that their very own American oak also does a great job. It only took the Spanish to find that out first.

10. It’s not all about red wine in California. Full bodied, creamy Chardonnays fermented in oak barrels are popular with the American palate (as they are with my palate!). Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Riesling also flourish.

Get 20% off Californian wines until the end of June – click here.

It’s “Love the Languedoc” for the months of May and June and we’ve one of our tastiest prizes ever up for grabs in our May competition.

Described by Gault & Millau as “a Lafite in the Languedoc”, “the only Grand Cru of the Midi” by Hugh Johnson and “Exceptional” by Robert Parker, Mas de Daumas Gassac have been the benchmark for Languedoc wines for over 30 years. Their flagship Mas de Daumas Gassac Grand Cru was declared “one of the top 10 wines in the world” by Michael Broadbent.

With the new vintages – 2010 in the red and 2011 in the white – landing this week, we’ve a bottle of each to give away as part of a “Love the Languedoc” prize pack that also includes Mondovino, the 2004 Cannes Film Festival awardee documenting the family succession struggles of wine dynasties across three continents, and featuring none other than Aimé Guibert, founder and patriarch of Mas de Daumas Gassac. (Aimé’s the gentleman declaring “wine is dead!” in the trailer below.)

Finally, a copy of Rupert Wright’s Notes from the Languedoc, “all you ever wanted to know about the Languedoc, a cultural, historical and contemporary tour de force” according to the Daily Mail, completes a box of goodies that will have you salivating at every sip, frame and page-turn.

To win the Love the Languedoc prize pack, you must be subscribed to the Curious Wines newsletter. We’ll be including a not-so-difficult question and instructions on how to enter in our May newsletter going out soon.

Just missed it? Sign-up here and you’ll automatically get it sent to you.

May’s case of the month is a hand-picked mix of the best of this month’s specials, with wines from the Languedoc, South Africa and California, and over 20% off normal prices!

This 12 bottle mix contains:

From the Languedoc, France:
1 x Pont de Gassac Blanc 2010 (RRP €14.99)
1 x Pont de Gassac Rouge 2010 (RRP €14.99)
1 x Domaine Delsol Picpoul de Pinet (RRP €10.99)
1 x Dignite Syrah 2008 (RRP €12.99)
1 x Grandiose Sauvignon Blanc (RRP €9.49)
1 x Grandiose Cabernet Sauvignon (RRP €9.49)
1 x Moulin de Gassac Classic Blanc 2010 (RRP €8.99)
1 x Moulin de Gassac Classic Rouge 2010 (RRP €8.99)

From South Africa:
1 x Paarl Heights Chenin Blanc (RRP €8.99)
1 x Paarl Heights Shiraz (RRP €8.99)

And from California, USA:
1 x Crane Lake Sauvignon Blanc (RRP €8.99)
1 x Big Top Zinfandel 2009 (RRP €10.99)

A delectable mix, normal price combined for these 12 bottles is €128.88, but they’re yours for only €99 or €8.25 per bottle including delivery during May.

And we’ve got all red and all white versions, with two bottles of each type from the standard mix, and with equivalent discounts.

Click here for May mixed cases ->

Well, ok, we’re being a little optimistic that summer is going to start any time soon, but we’re all set for a summer of great wine offers to see you through rain or shine.

No longer a well kept secret, the Languedoc has been producing some of France’s most interesting and best value wines for quite a few years now. Through great value vin de table, fashionable sub-regions, star estates and modern icons, there’s no region in the world right now offering a greater diversity of styles and, in our view, bang for buck. It’s time to get exploring France’s deep south: we’ve 20% off every wine from the Languedoc* in May and June (*excludes wines over €25).

If you prefer New World to Old, from crisp Chenin Blanc to Napa Cab we’ve also got 20% off all wines from California and South Africa – and, with prices from only €7.19 per bottle, you don’t need to be a Fat Cat to afford them.

And finally, to Australia’s Langhorne Creek and the country’s second oldest winery (what were you doing in 1850?), we’ve 20% off Bleasdale wines*, also until the end of June (*excludes icon wines over €25).

Now don’t forget to stock up on charcoal for the impending heatwave