The beginning of March saw a rejig of our Spanish range. Some old faces went, some remain, but it has been the introduction of our new wines from Cariñena, Rioja and Bierzo that have been earning all the praise. We must have done something right

The new wines, direct from the vineyard, landed here in tandem with the start of our Spanish sale running through March and April, and out of the independent wine critics, it seems it is the Irish Examiner’s Blake Creedon who has caught the same wave as our loyal curious wine drinkers.

All aboard for some great value wines (as recommended by Blake Creedon, Irish Examiner, 12/03/11)

La Mano Mencía Roble 2008 “The relatively rare mencía grape in an excellent fragrant mid-textured red.”

La Granja 360º Tempranillo 2009 “Showcasing the best of budget Spain – a crisp, assertive tempranillo under screwcap.”

La Granja 360º Syrah 2009 “Eschewing the native Spanish grapes but nevertheless distinguished by its plump ripe red fruit and oak.”

Vallobera Crianza 2007 “I do love the bargain bottles above – but this is the best value of the lot: aristocratic aromatic Rioja. For a special occasion you could do a lot worse than its Reserva stablemate, reduced from €20 to €16.”

Vallobera Pago Malarina 2009 (This semi-Crianza was recommended as a food match to a featured recipe)

With the news of Cork’s biggest wine shop officially opening almost two weeks ago, word is still travelling thick and fast throughout the county and beyond. This was helped again when one of Ireland’s most respected independent wine writers made a feature of us in his Saturday wine column for the Irish Examiner.

Columnist Blake Creedon is one who always seems to fly the flag for wine styles that are sometimes overlooked and underestimated. So it’s great to see that he has recommended a number of examples that bring out the best of their varietals at accessible price points. White Zinfandel (of which I have slated in the past. Oops!), Pinot Grigio and Merlot all get the call to be given a second chance.

Recommended wines featured by Blake Creedon, Irish Examiner, 18th & 25th September 2010

The Ned Pinot Grigio 2009 (€12.99) “Much of New Zealand’s Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio tradition is all about wines that are big, luscious and semi-sweet. Much more to our liking is the likes of this one – dry and crisp with playful hints of fruity peachy sweetness.”

Berrigan Point Merlot 2007 (€9.99 currently €7.99) “Sure where would we be without Merlot? Essential component of Bordeaux but also can work so well on its own. Here, a joyous, expressive fruity Merlot with a fresh fruit salad of flavours and a decent representation of essential tannins.”

Gregorina Sangiovese Superiore 2008 (€11.99) “Although the smashing value white Cuvee Jean Paul at curious wines does have a counterpart, you could regard this excellent number as its true dance partner. A subtle, elegant dry red with that lovely herbal scent I always associate with the Sangiovese grape.”

Borgo Magredo Prosecco Spumante NV (€16.99) “Prosecco is a sparkling wine style that we often approach tentatively – and yes some of the lighter ones can seem like a gear change from Champagne. Banish such prejudices – or the enjoy having them upended – by the firm confident verve of this lovely fresh fruity sparkler.”

The Carnival White Zinfandel Rosé 2009 (€9.99 currently €8.99) “I like this a lot, the immediacy of its juicy, generous basket of strawberries beautifully delivered by a fine, creamy texture. Ultimately, balance is the measure of a wine: the 10% ABV alcohol chimes in perfectly, and I certainly didn’t feel overwhelmed by the significant touch of sweetness associated with the style.”

Dignité Viognier 2007 (€12.99) Paired with roasted duck with peaches and rosewater sauce. “Viognier is the wine most akin to rosewater: at its most excessive, it can have quite an overwhelmingly powerful perfume. Here though, it’s a lovely soft-textured white with just a hint of that lovely rose petal scent.”

Our house white has been lapping up the limelight once again, this time from the Irish Examiner’s Blake Creedon and Frank O’Brien of Robert Francis Wine. Cuvee Jean-Paul (click here to view) is one of the very the best wines available in Ireland at €8 – we, and our customers have known this for quite a while – but now the critics have woken up to our best kept secret and it’s time for everyone else to sit up and take notice.

Cuvee Jean-Paul is a rather unfashionable blend of Ugni Blanc and Colombard, but if you like the zippy fruit characteristics of a Sauvignon Blanc, you’re going to love this.

Blake Creedon (Irish Examiner): “…a fresh and fruity white – one of the best value at the moment being the grapefruity mouth watering Cuvee Jean-Paul Sec Cotes de Gascogne.” (July 2009)

“I’m only too glad to do my bit to rehabilitate the reputation of this lovely blend… Tangy grapefruit on the nose sets the scene for this lovely colombard and ugni blanc blend. My best white of the tasting.” (May 2009)

Frank O’Brien (Robert Francis Wine): “On the palate the Cuvee Jean-Paul has good balance, a lovely freshness and good acidity. For me, flavours of melon predominantly come through, which follows through to a nice finish. The crisp, freshness of this wine make this the perfect summer sipper either on its own or with lighter salads, seafood or chicken dishes. I defy anyone not to like this wine. 87+ points.” (July 2009) Click here to see the full review.

The brother of the white is a luscious Syrah/Grenache blend. Together they have been our most popular wines for weddings this year.

Cuvee Jean-Paul is part of our 10% off all French wine for July & August. That’s 12 bottles for €86.40 (any mix) delivered to your home or office, anywhere in Ireland. Yes indeed, hard to knock.

It was a little bit of a gamble going with the theme of Recession Busters for our third public wine tasting a couple of weeks ago in the Ambassador Hotel in Cork. Between economic armageddon, sick pigs and turmoil in the Catholic Church in Ireland, there’s a view that people should be cheering up and trading up in their wine purchases rather than suffering the paradoxically bad value of paying over 40% tax on any bottle less than €10 in this country.

However, with the confidence of young polar bears bounding across thin Arctic ice, we threw caution to the wind and invited Cork’s most astute palate Blake Creedon along to put our value-lines to the test.

I was delighted when Blake once again made a feature of us in his Saturday column for the Irish Examiner last weekend, but particularly pleased that five of the six wines picked out for mention were in that price-critical sub-€10 bracket. Price-quality ratio is such as important aspect of critical wine-tasting and the key to any independent wine merchant’s ability to beat the supermarkets on real value.

Even better, Blake’s favourite white of the 13-bottle tasting was our house white, the Côtes de Gascogne Cuvee Jean-Paul Sec, retailing at only €7.99 but one of the hits of the night with the main audience:

I’m only too glad to do my bit to rehabilitate the reputation of this lovely blend… Tangy grapefruit on the nose sets the scene for this lovely colombard and ugni blanc blend. My best white of the tasting.

Well, like the hundreds of people who’ve tried our Monsieur Jean-Paul since we introduced him to the Irish market seven months ago, we’ll drink to that. And thank-you Monsieur Creedon.