Had an interesting chat with a friend recently about the importance of the wine buying experience. He likes to buy at O'BriensWines out at Monread in Naas.
Note:
It wasn't the car parking
It wasn't the valueIt wasn't even the quality on offer - although this was taken as a given!
It
was quite simply -The Better Shopping Experience. This, my pal
explained is an amalgam of factors such as ambiance, knowledgeable
staff, friendly staff, available staff, help, advice and so on. On top
of this he puts quality, then value and finally services such as
glassware hire, delivery, wine club etc
O'Briens Wines held a press tasting recently at the Royal Irish Academy on Dawson
Street. It was great and I wish I had the time available to look at
everything that was on show. But, you know, present me with winemakers
and I'm away asking questions until we all run out of time!! Recently I blogged up Longview from the Adelaide Hills and Astrolabe from Marlborough. Today it's the turn of Rizzardi.
 |
| The very impressive Giuseppe Rizzardi in Dublin |
A little while ago
in laws dropped around for a chin wag. This developed into a game of domino's.
Ah, the joys of an active suburban lifestyle! They brought a bottle of
Rizzardi Munus Bardolino with them. I was dead impressed. How many
memorable, good value, Bardolino's are knocking around these days?
Rizzardi Pinot Grigio 2010 €12.99
My notes say that no-one will dislike this. Faint praise! I have always found it difficult to warm to Pinot Grigio. I don't know why. Maybe it's the pear like fruit. Maybe it's because so many examples on the market don't have the pear like fruit (or anything else for that matter)!! I asked Giusseppe whether vignerons in the north of Italy had missed a trick by allowing the wine world to steal Pinot Grigio away from them. Not at all, he told me. Sure, once it took off from other countries they (Italians) haven't been able to keep up with demand for the grape. Missed a trick? Not when everyone else is doing the marketing for them!
Noone will dislike this wine because it has ample fruit on both nose and palate with definite texture in the mouth and a good firm backbone to the finish. This is honest and well made wine. Perhaps I need to reassess my own preferences....
Costeggiola Soave 2011 €13.99
I do like Soave and I have always liked it. I like its structural presence in the mouth and its almond like twist at the finish. Soave is one of my 'food banker' wines. It is a perfect pasta and pizza companion and still has time to allow white fish to excel. Costeggiolla has a fair % of Chardonnay in it. This lends a breadth to this wine that is not the norm in Veneto. The rest of the wine has all that I like about the style with the added bonus that because of the chardonnay blend I reckon I could serve this quite cold and enjoy it, on its own, as a summer delight.
Munus Bardolino 2010 €12.99
Love this wine. Its not at all light as one would expect of Bardolino. It's rich, warm and generous to a fault without having anything but delicate fruits and interesting perfumes wafting about the place. Highly recommended.
Pojega Ripasso 2010 €18.99
Here's a style that seems to have gained traction in Ireland over the past few years. Proper order. Its rich and savoury with bright, fresh, red berry fruits overlain by ripened raisin. Ripasso means 'passed over' and is made by passing the fermented unpressed skins of fermented Amarone grapes across the juice of a Valpolicella. If this is poorly (or inexpensively!) done then the resulting wine will seem lightly oxidised, too raisiny and tannic. If it's properly done, as it is here, then the result is added richness, interest, body and alcohol. Supercharged Valpolicella.
Rizzardi Villa Amarone 2006 €39.99 (bottled summer 2010)
While Amarone style wines may not be everyones cup of tea, simply because they are so very rich, there is no denying that these are the daddy's of them all in this part of the world. I have only visited the region once and loved it even though it was a cold and late springtime. Grapes destined for Amarone wines were slowly fermenting in open top barrels after their long period of being dried beforehand. This drying process dessicates and concentrates. With time, and this wine is only beginning to show this, aged tertiary effects develop onto ripe, very rich and lusciuos primary fruit elements. With a high alcohol and a rich smoothness associated with spending 36 months in oak barrels this wine bursts with fruit and ageing effects. It's still fabulously ripe and immensely memorable.
Rizzardi Pinot Grigio 2010 €12.99
My notes say that no-one will dislike this. Faint praise! I have always found it difficult to warm to Pinot Grigio. I don't know why. Maybe it's the pear like fruit. Maybe it's because so many examples on the market don't have the pear like fruit (or anything else for that matter)!! I asked Giusseppe whether vignerons in the north of Italy had missed a trick by allowing the wine world to steal Pinot Grigio away from them. Not at all, he told me. Sure, once it took off from other countries they (Italians) haven't been able to keep up with demand for the grape. Missed a trick? Not when everyone else is doing the marketing for them!
Noone will dislike this wine because it has ample fruit on both nose and palate with definite texture in the mouth and a good firm backbone to the finish. This is honest and well made wine. Perhaps I need to reassess my own preferences....
Costeggiola Soave 2011 €13.99
I do like Soave and I have always liked it. I like its structural presence in the mouth and its almond like twist at the finish. Soave is one of my 'food banker' wines. It is a perfect pasta and pizza companion and still has time to allow white fish to excel. Costeggiolla has a fair % of Chardonnay in it. This lends a breadth to this wine that is not the norm in Veneto. The rest of the wine has all that I like about the style with the added bonus that because of the chardonnay blend I reckon I could serve this quite cold and enjoy it, on its own, as a summer delight.
Munus Bardolino 2010 €12.99
Pojega Ripasso 2010 €18.99
Here's a style that seems to have gained traction in Ireland over the past few years. Proper order. Its rich and savoury with bright, fresh, red berry fruits overlain by ripened raisin. Ripasso means 'passed over' and is made by passing the fermented unpressed skins of fermented Amarone grapes across the juice of a Valpolicella. If this is poorly (or inexpensively!) done then the resulting wine will seem lightly oxidised, too raisiny and tannic. If it's properly done, as it is here, then the result is added richness, interest, body and alcohol. Supercharged Valpolicella.Rizzardi Villa Amarone 2006 €39.99 (bottled summer 2010)
While Amarone style wines may not be everyones cup of tea, simply because they are so very rich, there is no denying that these are the daddy's of them all in this part of the world. I have only visited the region once and loved it even though it was a cold and late springtime. Grapes destined for Amarone wines were slowly fermenting in open top barrels after their long period of being dried beforehand. This drying process dessicates and concentrates. With time, and this wine is only beginning to show this, aged tertiary effects develop onto ripe, very rich and lusciuos primary fruit elements. With a high alcohol and a rich smoothness associated with spending 36 months in oak barrels this wine bursts with fruit and ageing effects. It's still fabulously ripe and immensely memorable.
No comments:
Post a Comment