Ampelomeryx is an extinct mammal that lived during the Miocene period. It was a even-toed ungulate that had frontal and occipital appendages. It was similar to Tauromeryx and Triceromeryx. It was a herbivore, perhaps a browser (Wikipedia)

This curious beast, viewable on the bottle pictured, can be described as a cross between a deer and a giraffe. It lived over 17 million years ago in what would have been a very different looking sub-tropical Gascony. The male Ampelomeryx had two large canines and a horn at the back of his head. (Oh, and based on the fact that giraffes have no vocal cords, I reckon it sounded quite like a deer. Whatever that sounds like.)

It’s incredible to think that these animals were roaming the vineyards of Domaine de Pellehaut all those years ago, and 17 million years later, there’s a part of them still living in the Curious Wines Warehouse. Domaine de Pellehaut have dedicated their signature Vin de Pays (VDP) white blend to their fossil find of the majestic Ampelomeryx, with a label that, in my view, makes for one of the most enticing bottles we carry.

The 2006 is a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Manseng, the latter of which is a grape that is often used in dessert wines, and in the case of the Ampelomeryx, provides an incredibly rich roundedness, that’s further enhanced by fermentation of the juice from all of the grapes in old barrels. Whereas new barrels would impart stronger, pure flavours, the old barrels have added subtle, delicate flavours of vanilla, which are preceded by prominent aromas of white peach and apricot on the nose.

This is a special wine and a real find. It’s almost as special as finding a 17 million year old half deer, half giraffe buried at the bottom of your garden.  One that we would even pit against a white burgundy at twice the price. Now there’s a statement.

For a premium red VDP, check out the superb Dignite Syrah, and click here to view the Ampelomeryx in all its glory. Both have 10% off indicated prices until the end of August.

After a cracking June, hopes are high for a great Irish summer, so right on cue, we’ve some hot summer offers to keep you and your wallet as cool as a breeze.

Never mind spending piles of cash swanning off to France this summer – we’re bringing France direct to your doorstep with fabulous savings on all our French wines for July and August!

Fancy lounging in the garden with a relaxing Rosé, or sipping a chilled white by the seaside? Every bottle, every colour, every vintage is 10% off all summer long!

And it’s not just France that we’ve targeted for special prices on whites. We’ve these recommendations for summer sipping, all with cool discounts to make a stock-up a little easier.

Having trouble picking your own mixed case? Well, things just got a little easier.

We’re building a name as Ireland’s mixed case wine specialists, with permanent discounts on a range of pre-mixed cases from only €100, and with free delivery anywhere in Ireland. We’ve the established Curious favourites, with re-vamped Old World, New World, all Red and all White mixes, or check-out the newly launched Simply range, our recommendations on where to start if Australia, Chile, France or Italy is your thing.

Finally, we always keep the odd little offer, such as bin-end or limited availability wines, for our Newsletter subscribers. If you’re not signed up, you’ve nothing to lose but everything to gain by doing so – click here to find out more and to sign-up in one easy step.

Let’s keep this simple. France is a strange and complicated nation. For a start, they drive on the wrong side of the road, they call a “French kiss” an “English kiss” and, in 1386, they executed a pig by public hanging for the murder of a child (Oink!).

French laws covering the use of Appellation Contrôlée (wine regions) names rarely permit the naming of grape varieties. You may not have realised that all Chablis is made from the Chardonnay grape – and that’s by law! Head to the south west of France for those Vin de Pays (Table Wines) and expect to find much more open and less regulated winemaking.

They haven’t gone through much effort to simplify the laws that regulate their wine industry, and I’m not interested in boring you when trying to explain who can’t use oak or who can’t grow what. So here’s a glance at a number of the appellations and what they do best.

Bordeaux: Around 88% of wine produced here is red (known as Claret in Britain). White wines are typically Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blends. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the red wine blends, although Merlot is the most widely planted grape. Regions include Médoc, Graves and Saint-Emilion.

Burgundy: Great Burgundies, both red and white, are unblended wines made from a single variety – a major difference from Bordeaux. Wines from the wider Burgundy region are labelled as Bourgogne AC. Major varietals are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay (Beaujolais).

Rhône: The two great grapes of the Northern Rhone are Syrah, which you’ll find under Crozes-Hermitage, and Viognier, with Grenache based wines dominating the south, including Châteauneuf-du-pape (meaning “the Pope’s new castle”). Cote du Rhone is another popular red in the south.

Languedoc & VDP: The majority of France’s Vins de Pays wines are produced in the Languedoc, which borders Spain on the southeast. Grenache and Syrah are popular blends in Languedoc AC, but the freedom granted with labelling a wine VDP allows large volumes of inexpensive wines from international grape varieties to be produced. To the delight of us wine nuts!

Crozes-Hermitage, a wine appellation in the beautiful northern Rhône wine region of France, is the largest appellation in the Rhone Valley. Its regulations are less demanding than that of Hermitage, of which some of you may know produces incredible wine with prices to match.

Most of the wines produced in Crozes-Hermitage are red and made from the Syrah grape, sometimes blended with small quantities of white Roussanne or Marsanne grapes (no more than 15%).  Jancis Robinson believes that this appellation can produce some of the best wine bargains to be found in the Rhône, so I was present when Michael (le boss) set out to find one of these so called bargains, not that I really believed at that time that the mere shadow of Hermitage could produce anything exceptional at an affordable price.

At first I was concerned. He swirled the glass, had a whiff and proceeded with some alarming moans, before taking his first slurp. “Well..?”, I asked inquisitively. And just as I started to mumble on about how you can’t knock New World, I started thinking to myself that this could actually be a ‘pick me up off the floor’ kind of wine.

This stuff obviously wasn’t pants. I could tell because he pulls that funny Oz Clarke face before raising his eyebrows so high they could almost fall off his head. I’ll let you see his tasting notes, which I have unashamedly robbed from his little red book of secrets (secrets – so he thinks), and you can decide for yourself:

Dom. Roland Betton 2005 Crozes-Hermitage

“Quite deep, clear, big tears, rich, ruby with a hint of violet. Clean & very pleasant – quite complex with nothing dominating – menthol, cigar box, earthy, coffee, hints of leather and spice. Tons of minerality. Open and medium in body, low acidity and incredibly mellow. Liquorice, blueberry, plum, with chocolate & coffee followed by a medium-long mellow finish. Absolutely wonderful, nearly fainted: 5/5″

Think he liked it? Yeah, I think so. And despite my slight New World bias, it must be said that Crozes-Hermitage is a great appellation to get you into authentic, rustic Old World wine without breaking the bank.

Therefore, I wholeheartedly approve.