The Irish Times Wine Club....Not

When is a club a club? When does a retail outlet become a club? Is it right to rename yourself and pretend to be a club when in fact you're still a retailer?

I like the idea of a wine club. I reckon that if I become a member I will receive benefits that non members won't be able to access.

The Irish Times Wine Club is not a club anyone should join. It's not a Club. It's just another way for James Nicholson of the North of Ireland and of warehouse in Blanchardstown to sell more wine! In fact if you become a member of the James Nicholson Wine Club through the web site www.jnwine.com you'll get more than the same site titled www.irishtimes.com.

Look up the Wine Club on the Irish Times site. It's a laugh. Choose mixed case and then American case. Do the same on the JN site and you will receive exactly the same wine at exactly the same price. That's because The Irish Times 'Club' is in fact JN Wines!!

Now buy a few gift bags from the Irish Times Wine Club and you will see that you are about to receive James Nicholson branded bags!! Good for JN. A coup for a fine wine merchant. Not so good for the Irish Times to treat its readers for fools.

This is ridiculous by the Irish Times. I wonder will we see its wine reviewer recommending the Wine Club Wines the way you could if it was the Sunday Times Wine Club? I doubt it. But then he is the consultant to Superquinn and recommends their wines when he thinks they fit in to his column. So why not the Club Wines that isn't a Club at all!

The Irish wine trade has been built from scratch by a lot of talented, hard working and commited people. It is poor form of the Irish Times to try to hijack it in this way.

A Wine Club should deliver more than a few cases of wine from JN of Crossgar. It should:

Build a unique and lasting ITimes wine portfolio
Monthly offers
Web presence to facilitate sale
Facilitate Fine Wine purchases
Members wine lectures with visiting wine makers
Members wine dinners with visiting wine makers
Annual wine lecture with an icon from the wine world. Proceeds to fund a wine education prize/bursary through the Wine Board of Ireland
Free wine advice to members
Web based members-only wine courses
Bi monthly members newsletters

And on and on and on....

Now that would be a Wine Club.

Taylors There, Wakefield Here - good wine wherever.

I have always been a fan of the tight and impressive middle palate that Wakefield wines brings to the table. They have a luscious and bright nature to them and always seem to linger in the memory.

Wakefield is an Australian label out of the Clare Valley 137km north of Adelaide. In the Southern half of the world the wines go by the family name Taylor's. Taylor's Port however keep a tight rein on this name and so in the Northern half of the world the wine is named after a local river in The Clare Valley called Wakefield.

Mitchell Taylor, CEO, recently took time out of his schedule to show me through his range of wines. A very impressive tasting. Helped along by Mitchell's great ability to talk and to talk well!

In the late sixties Mitchell's grandfather and father, who were hoteliers/publicans, were inspired by the late Robert Mondavi. They planted Cabernet Sauvignon just at the right time, in the right place. As Mitchell says, "There was this guy called Bob Oatley selling coffee up in Papua New Guinea. Well he established his vineyard in '69 .....this crazy German guy in the Barossa called Wolf Blass who established himself in the Barossa in '67. Then there was this iconic Welsh guy who set up Rothbury in the Hunter in '67 called Len Evans and there was that gifted technocrat called Brian Croser who also set up at that time.....we all shared information from day one. We're very competitive but just can't stop sharing secrets". Certainly does seem to have been the right time.

Wakefield changed agents in Ireland last year from Koala Wines to Findlater Grants. Not great for Koala but good for the brand. Now Findlater Grants has been swallowed up by the DCC owned Robt Roberts owned Woodford Bourne. Many brands have suffered over the years at the hands of Woodford Bourne. Will Wakefield survive? Won't know until next year. The good thing is they're fighting their corner well with TV and radio adverts pressing home the value of soil, heritage and fine fruit. The interlocking sea horse in the Taylors/Wakefield logo features prominently on the telly ad. It looks good. I still can't believe that seahorse fossils are even possible. After all they're such delicate little things.

The range begins with the Promised Land. These are, Mitchell says, "at the top end of the Brand Champions, retails at around €11.00 and sources all of its fruit in the South Australian region." The label features a seahorse (see below) and to be fair delivers a good fruit in keeping with the varietal.

The Clare Valley brings a cool climate effect and some amazing soils to the sorting table. So when we come to the Wakefield Estate label it's no surprise that they seem to bag medals and awards again and again. Each wine has a magnificent fruit intensity and yet a light and soft palate. You'll find Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Pinot Noir on sale in Ireland. The Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc are the best sellers but I really love both the Cab Sauv and the Riesling. In EasyFood Magazine in January ('o9) I mention that Wakefield Estate Riesling is more a sensation than a taste!

The Eighty Acres range is named after the original eighty acre block that Mitchell's father and grandfather worked in the 1960's. Reserved for the on trade in Ireland it comes in Shiraz Viognier, Cabernet Shiraz Merlot, Semillon Sauvignon and as a Chardonnay Viognier. It's a much richer mouth feel and riper fruit than the Estate range. Demands food. My fave is the Sem Sauvignon.
Next up is a range that I reckon is doing everything the wine makers set out to do. Whether they should have in the first place is a debate for another day! This is Wakefield Jaraman. Here they are 'marrying' the fruits of different classic regions with Clare Valley fruit. I love the finished quality but I'm not a fan of the finished style.

Jaraman is fantastic but ends up, for me, being very French or European or something other than what I want from a Clare Valley wine making set up!

The Wakefield web site uses a lot of platitude describing this range,' Put simply, we have bottled the best of both worlds and made a wine that is complex, intriguing and has great appeal. The result is a single variety wine with a multi dimensional structure. it is a wine where one plus one equals much more than two.' I'll add another, ' The juries still out.

Wakefield Jaraman Cabernet Sauvignon - Clare + Coonawarra
Wakefield Jaraman Chardonnay - Clare + Adelaide Hills
Wakefield Jaraman Riesling - Clare + Eden Valley


Finally, the St Andrews range is Landmark Australia quality. It's brilliant. Mind you it should be at the price. But come on, the price should only be one factor here where the wine is attempting to define region. Bordeaux and Burgundy are more than price alone. More on St Andrews another time.

Last word to Mitchell: "Making great wine is a very delicate, balancing act. The Seahorse really represents making a very good wine.... We make wine that's from a place and that has a proper, traditional, savoury edge.... we try to keep originality and family spirit in the wine all the way through...."

As Wakefield says, The Wine is Everything.

I really hope that the new association with WBourne works out for Wakefield. With the economy in shreds and everything at a standstill its good to see Wakefield pushing itself, and its seahorses, out on radio and television. We'll check back in the new year and see how they're all getting on.

Signs of the Times? Champagne going Cheap.

I'm not sure if these signs mean anything at all.

The first came from Superquinn. Seems that they have gazumped local agents Galvins and brought Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne in directly from a UK source. When I enquired at my local Carry Out (Galvins is the master franchisee) they didn't know anything at all about the fact they they'd been caught off side. Superquinn has it's own Champagne label, H Blin. It's quite good. Especially the Vintage. So why would they go out of their way to take sales away from it and annoy Galvins at the same time? (Oh, and spell Feuillatte wrong on all their flyers!!)

It's back to the old fake Half Price offering I suppose? Look at all the half price offerings out there on wine and tell me if there are ANY that are genuine? It's not possible to do this with something already established on the shelves so bring something new in, put it up at €XX and immediately reduce it to its half price (read real price and full margin)

Is there noone out there protecting the good brand name of Feuillatte?

Well maybe we have reached a watershed. Have a look at this one.

This is the Celtic Whiskey Shop window in down town Dublin this week. They were putting in their Christmas window. What is Bollinger thinking of?? allowing it's brand to be mucked around as a money off bargain product??

I know it was easy to sell Champagne during the boom times but if the first reaction to a down turn is to show how much you've been coining it for the past few years then I'd worry that the brands are being run by monkeys.

Where's the value added promotion? Besides I thought Bolly was on a strict allocation and that it should always be priced above the market?

'How to Wreck a Market Overnight' might be a good title for this latest campaign by those trained in places other than vineyards and wine companies. Or maybe, 'I'm Managing My Career and not the Wine Trade.'

I remember being taught a phrase by an old GM of mine in Woodford Bourne. (I had so many you won't be able to guess who!). 'Manage up,' he said, 'What goes on below you won't progress your career.' Right on, man. I've got another one. 'Have a look down sometime. You might learn something real.' Responsibility, man.

Bruno Paillard in Ireland -- at long last.

This week the High Spirits Drinks Company hosted Bruno Paillard at the Dylan Hotel in Dublin.

Well, it's about time someone did, I thought, when I read the invitation. What a great guy and what a great champagne.

The press release states:

Founded in 1981, Champagne Bruno Paillard is a young, dynamic house that has quickly established a reputation for elegant wines with real style. Fresh, dry and vibrant, they are made with an uncompromising attitude to quality that shines through in the glass. The house follows a strict quality charter that includes only using the first pressings, vinifying each cru separately and putting the disgorgement date on each bottle. Bruno was made a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur in 2006 for his services to Champagne.

Rude as I can be I dived straight from the handshake to asking Bruno whether he thought the expansion of the size of the demarcated Champagne region had anything to do with the (British) supermarkets insatiable appetite for developing the cheap end of the sector!

What followed was a fascinating analysis of the Champagne region, its history and, in the view of Bruno Paillard at least, the short to medium term future for Champagne. As I say, what a great guy.

We must go back to the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th when the region was being demarcated in the first place, Bruno said. Villages had the choice to opt in or out of the idea of being in Champagne region! A good few decided to opt out. Thus the original planted area within the demarcated 33,oo0 hectares was only 11,000. Lets' face it after phylloxera Champagne has effectively been wiped out.

This 11,000 hectares were seriously affected by World War One. The trade was hampered by the great Depression in the late 1920's and then it all went wrong again during World War Two. The net result is that the growth towards the present day where all 33,000 hectares are fully planted is a recent development.

Bruno believes that many villages who chose to opt out at the beginning should be allowed to make their choice again. This will increase the area under vine but only to the level that could, and many believe should, have been demarcated way back in the last century.

Coupled with the process of vetting of new village applications should be a rigorous assessment of quality potential. (Don't forget, says Bruno, two village are likely to lose their Champagne status). The whole process should take up to fifteen years - a generation.

'Supermarket Champagne' is, of course, a separate topic for discussion. Why not, Bruno says, allow the market to decide. Let the authorities determine quality and let the consumer decide on the rest. When I brought up the difficulties the 'sur lattes' system can introduce to this process Bruno diplomatically pointed to his own bottles which have a unique shape. The implication was, of course, that Paillard Champagne, therefore, cannot take place in the sur lattes system whereby a champagne house can buy 'bare skin' (unlabelled) bottles from a number of producers and slap the one brand name label on to each one of them!

And the wines?

Bruno Paillard Premier Cuvee NV: Bracing style; seriously well balanced acidity to big whack of ripe citrus elements set into an elegant and rich palate. Stylish with verve.

Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blancs NV: My favourite. Buckets of ripe and soft fruit with tropical edges. I really like the fact there is a toned down autolysis. It's a brave champagne producer who manages to emphasise fruit character over production characters. It can, oh so easily, go very wrong. Not so here. Outstanding wine making.

Bruno Paillard Rose Premiere Cuvee: Brilliant wine. Mostly Pinot Noir c 85% makes it truffley and serious on the nose but the palate blossoms with bright summer fruits and delicate things. Trademark 'bite' reminds me of ripe raspberries and then the earthy pinot comes back into play rounding the wine off brilliantly Love it.

Bruno Paillard Assemblage 1999: forward, full, rounded and rich bouquet showing toast and lightly warmed cheeses. Fantastic depth to the palate which positively squirms in the mouth. Excellent depth of fruit and a long dry finish.

Bellingham on Track

I tasted the 'Splash and Dash' range from Bellingham at a South African Fair in Dublin earlier this year. I was an instant fan. The fruit is so fresh and mouthfilling. The effect is modern, inviting and satisfying.

To be fair the range is actually a varietal name followed by the words ' with a dash of xxx'. The xxx in this case is another varietal. As both names are on the front label there cannot be any more than two varietals in the blend with the minor grape taking up no more than 15% of the finished product.




When I had a quick look at the range again at the London Wine Fair I was fortunate to meet up the Neil Groenewald, Bellingham Winemaker. He really is a huge man. His ideas are just as big.


Last Tuesday I meet up with him in Dublin. Neil reckons Dublin is worth visiting just to visit the Guinness Storehouse and Museum. (He must have been coached to mention something as good as Guinness to me!)

Neil is a great fan of both the Loire and of the Rhone. He has worked vintages in both regions. When I asked him why not Bordeaux he told me that he wanted to work towards the strengths that he reckons he has in the South African vineyards. As such he is committed to Syrah, Viognier and even Cabernet Franc.

Neil is one of a bunch of young and innovative winemakers emerging out of the South African wine industry. He recognises the problems that over extraction has on Pinotage and realises that if a vineyard has all of its Merlot, say, or Cab Franc affected by a virus such as leaf roll there is no point in attempting to tell the world that the wine is world class. (Believe it or not but there are many SA wineries doing just that!)

We tasted through the Bellingham range which begins with two entry level wines for which the fruit is bought in and blended. It's excellent fruit and as Neil says," Bellingham is an old and respected wine label responsible for South Africa's first Shiraz, first Rose and the first dry white wines. So when it was due a change it became more than just a change of packaging; it was a complete reinvention of the wine styles. The entry level should always over deliver on value and quality."

Bellingham Blends (entry level) are sourced from low yielding vines in the Coastal region. The Chenin Blanc/Viognier has yields as low as 8tons/hectare. It shows on the palate which is quite voluptuous and broad.

Fusion Range: (Splash and Dash) is a normal varietal range except that Neil shows the grapes on the front label that he used. He's not allowed to exceed 15% of the minor grape and cannot use any grapes other than those stated. Neil reckons that he, "demystifies wine which can be scary for lot of people. By putting both grapes onto the front label we make it accessible for everyone to understand."

The Sauvignon with a dash of Semillon has, Neil says, "a great deal of bonification". What's that again? Bonification . Sounds like a church ceremony church in medieval times! No, it's mouth feel, says Neil. Chardonnay with a dash of Viognier; Merlot with a dash of Malbec; Cabernet Sauvignon with a dash of Cabernet France; Pinotage with dash of Petit Verdot (This is a very appealing blend. The Pinotage (low pH) is livened up by adjusting the Petit Verdot high pH!); Shiraz with a splash of Viognier. Believe me when I say that these wines ALL have fruity juice quality fruit character.

Next on the ladder is the Legends range. I tried these previously at the London Fair and Neil didn't have any with him this time around. Three wines here: Fair Maiden (a Chenin, Chardonnay, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Verdelho blend!) who is rescued by St Georges (Merlot, Pinotage, Cab Franc) from the Dragons Lair (Shiraz, Morvedre, Viognier) in the Groot Drakenstein mountains above the original Bellingham property in Franschoek.

Next up is the Maverick range. The Maverick wine maker labels ran into copyright issues and will be re-released shortly under the Bernard label.

Maverick Chenin Blanc is an amazing wine. It has endless layers of interesting fruit. Brilliant wine making. Neil gives great credit to the 40 year old bush vines that supply the fruit. I give credit to a winemaker who clearly believes in the grape. It's not long since South Africans were ripping out their Chenin vines as being a lost cause. Neil let's Chenin sing.

Maverick soon to be Bernard labels include Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Shiraz and SMV (Shiraz, Mourvedre, Viognier).