Autumn Series of Wine Tasting
Nights with Cases Wine Warehouse
Peter Boland in Cases organised a wine tasting series where
along with himself, Jean Smullen and Gerry Gunnigan from Liberty
Wines discussed a broad range of wines and wine styles.
Huge Thank to Peter, Conor, and Kevin for organising the
events and show cases some very interesting wines. I think
you should definitely add the weekly cheese selections to
your website so people can keep up to date with the excellent
cheeses selected from Sheridans.
I have included my tasting notes from the various nights,
they are running in the order from the tasting sheets provided.
There were some absolute crackers and some that didn't do
it for me. All prices quoted are those quoted on the respective
nights.
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1. Errazuriz Max Reserva Merlot 2006
Lovely creamy blackfruits on the nose with some vanilla and
spice evident also. The oak is very smooth and well integrated.
The fruit is soft, ripe but not totally jammy with a touch
of blueberry on the palate. On the palate the wine is smooth
with very fine tannins. Good balance and a solid finish with
some chocolate and black cherry on the finish. Solid wine
but perhaps a tad pricey ?
Food wise - some quality burgers or sausage based dishes
would be good.
Robertfranciswine – 89 Points
Price - €18.95 per sampler bottle and €16.65 as
part of a case.
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2. Ch Reynella Mc Laren Vale Shiraz 2004
Lovely blacky red colour to this wine with delicious mentholly
blackfruits on the palate. The wine is rich, warm and quite
classy on the nose. Not an over the top fruit bomb but definitely
new world ripeness on the nose here. The usual characteristics
of southern Australian shiraz of blackberries, black currants,
spice and vanilla are present here but there is a degree of
class to this wine. Good finish to the wine with well integrated
oak and spice. Overall a nice wine but again a touch on the
pricey side ?
Food wise - barbecued foods would be good or a nice rack
of lamb would be great.
Robertfranciswine – 89 Points
Price - €23.95 per sampler bottle and €20.95 as
part of a case
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3. Gabriel Meffre Laurus Crozes Hermitage 2005
Garnet coloured wine with a very perfumed nose but much
more subtle then the Mclaren Vale Shiraz as you would expect.
A nice herby touch to the nose with some floral/summer pudding
characteristics on the nose as well. Herby blackfruits with
good balance, minerality and a nice tannins on the palate
with a good finish. I am a huge fan of wines from this region
of the Rhone Valley however this was a solid rather then spectacular
effort.
Food wise - simply roasted leg of lamb or beef based dishes
Roberfranciswine – 89 points
Price - €18.95 per sampler bottle and €16.95 as
part of a case
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4. Dom de l'Amesque Chateauneuf du Pape 2005
Lovely browny red colour to this wine which is very elegant
on the nose. Lovely red fruits - delicate strawberries and
cherries dominate the nose. On the palate these fruits come
through to with some nice spice characteristics. The tannins
were firm but yielding - I was quite surprised by this wine
and really enjoyed it. It had a really good finish with good
balance and fruit. Pretty solid value at this price point
!
Food wise - Meaty dishes but due to the grenache basis of
this wine lighter meat dishes would be better.
Robertfranciswine – 90 points
Price - €19.16 per sampler bottle and €16.76 as
part of a case
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| 5. Principat
Catalunya DO 2006
Big blacky purple coloured wine which is very fruit forward
in style. Nice strawberry, cherry and a touch of blackfruit
on the nose. The fruit is solid, rounded and well balanced
on the palate. There is a sort of summer pudding nose to this
wine - in a good way. Solid finish to this wine which is a
blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. So you get
nice red fruits from the Grenache with a touch of blackfruit
and power from the Cabernet. Ridiculously good value at this
price - buy some now before it sells out !
Food wise - Barbecued foods or meaty casserole dishes.
Robertfranciswine – 90 Plus Points
Price - €9.68 for a sampler bottle and €8.52 as
part of a case.
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6. Robert Mondavi Winery Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
2001
This wine was sensational ! An absolute belter ! But please
note that if you go to Cases now to get a bottle they are
sold out [last time I checked] of the 2001. They do carry
the 2005 but this will need a couple of years to mellow out
to be in line with the 2001.
Blacky Brown in colour with a gorgeous creamy pie note to
the nose. Blackfruits just dominate what is a delicious nose
to this wine. This is a textbook example of how good Napa
Valley Cabernet can be, it has great fruit, leather, boot
polish, spice and sweet tobacco on the palate. There is insane
balance to this wine with all of the parts not overpowering
each other and working together to be more then the sum of
their parts.
Food Wise - Simply cooked steak [medium rare for me :)] or
a nice fillet of beef would delicious.
Robertfranciswine – 94 Points
Price - €36.95 per sampler bottle and €31.95 as
part of a case.
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| 7. Saint Clair
Pinot Noir 2007
Cherry black colour but lighter style of pinot - can see
fingers through it. Cherries, black cherries, raspberries,
spice and a touch of vegetal aromas to this wine. Good cleansing
acidity to the wine, with a slight touch of leather and spice
to the palate. The fruit is lovely and has a nice juicy crunchiness
to it. I am a huge fan of winemaker Matt Thompson and this
Pinot is a textbook example of New Zealand Pinot Noir.
Food Wise - Chicken, Turkey, Pork simply roasted. Light enough
that it could even be paired with some meatier fish such as
seabass or monkfish due to it delicate tannins.
Robertfranciswine – 88 plus Points
Price - €13.95 per sampler bottle and €12.95 as
part of a case.
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| 8. Nicolas Potel
Burgundy AC Pinot Noir 2006
Nice Colour to the wine with subtle strawberries and cherries
on the palate. A touch vegetal and damp earth aromas on the
nose to. Typical Burgundian Pinot Noir on the palate with
soft fruit, light to medium bodied wine with a good finish
and subtle tannins.. I am a huge fan of this producer who
is really on his game at the moment. A different style of
wine to the Saint Clair much more delicate and complex both
are perfectly valid and delicious on in their own right.
Food Wise - Similar foods to the Saint Clair.
Robertfranciswine – 89 Points.
Price - €16.95 per sampler bottle and €15.95 as
part of a case.
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| 9. Errazuriz
Estate Sangiovese 2004
Tomato leaf with a sugary sour cherry blackcurranty nose
to this wine. That does sound a little unusual I know but
it was a whole lot better then I was initially expecting from
this wine. Nice fruity wine with lovely cherries and a touch
of vegetal characteristics on the palate. Good balance with
some tannins. A steal at this price if you are looking for
a bottle to go with a no frills mid week bolag !
Food Wise - any tomato sauce based Italian dish.
Robertfranciswine – 88 Points.
Price - €7.25 special offer
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| 10. Ruffino
Chianti DOCG 2006
Cherries, black cherries, raspberries, spice and pepper were
the dominant characteristics of this wine. A solid Chianti
is not a spectacular one. This wine didn't really do it for
me - the Errazuriz was much more fun and a better wine for
me. Medium bodied, okay finish. Solid but nothing hugely spectacular.
Food Wise - any tomato sauce based Italian dish.
Robertfranciswine – 87 Points.
Price - €11.56 per sampler bottle and €10.36 as
part of a case
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| 11. Bodegas
Fontana Fontai La Mancha DO 2006
Solid purple cherry black colour with delicious strawberry,
leather and boot polish nose to this wine. The fruits are
chunky with solid tannins on the palate. The strawberry, leather
and boot polish come raining through on the palate with some
nice menthol and cinnamon on the finish. A really solid value
wine that people should certain look into.
Food Wise - Meaty Casseroles
Robertfranciswine – 88 Points.
Price - €10.75 per sampler bottle and €9.45 as part
of a case
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| 12.Ravenswood
Vintners Blend 2005
Rich, big, brooding wine. Huge blackfruits, raspberries,
black raspberries and pepper on the nose. The fruits are really
smooth, rich, lush and balanced on the palate. I am a fan
of Ravenswoods wine with the rich and sweet fruit guaranteed
to play well in a crowd.
Food Wise - Barbecued food, Chile Con Carne, and Burgers
Robertfranciswine – 88 Points.
Price - €13.95 per sampler bottle and €12.45 as
part of a case
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| 13. Sula Zinfandel
[Not sure of Vintage]
Sweet blackfruits with spice and a huge chuck of vegetal
characteristics - Broccoli for me ! Simple blackfruits, basic
pepper and cinnamon flavours. Not for me ! but if you are
having a curry or something really spicy and insist on having
a glass of red wine maybe in that situation it might be ok
but I would be reaching for a beer or glass of white !
Food Wise - Curried food
Robertfranciswine – 78 Points.
Price - €11.16 per sampler bottle and €9.96 as part
of a case
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| 14.Bodegas Lagar
de Costa Albarino 2006
Dry, crisp with lime, lime leaves, apricot and peach flavours.
It has nice cool climate fruit with nice citrus fruits on
the palate with good acidity and a solid finish. A good food
wine. A solid albarino.
Food Wise - All forms of seafood.
Robertfranciswine – 88 Points.
Price - €20.95 per sampler bottle and €18.80 as
part of a case
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| 15.Domaine de
la Janasse Viognier 2007
Coming from Orange in the Southern Rhone valley this viognier
had nice peach, floral characteristics on the nose with some
talcom powder. There were some delicate spice flavours in
the background and huge length this was a very interesting
wine. Viognier is generally a tad pricey as it is difficult
to grow and takes huge dedication from the winemaker to produce
quality wines.
Food Wise - Seafood or perhaps some pork
Robertfranciswine – 89 plus Points.
Price - €22.45 per sampler bottle and €19.45 as
part of a case
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| 16.Villa Maria
Private Bin Gewurtztraminer 2006
Solid citrus flavours, with boat loads of Lychees and lemon
sherbet on the palate. Very nice aromatic wine which was light
to medium bodied with a touch of residual sugar. It had good
weight and balance on the palate. I really liked this wine
and think that it would be a great starting point for people
who want to try a Gewurtztraminer.
Food Wise - Asian food would be good.
Robertfranciswine – 90 Points.
Price - €16.75 per sampler bottle and €14.75 as
part of a case
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| 17.Firesteed
Pinot Gris 2005
Paleish lemon coloured wine which is light and subtle on
the nose. Lovely smokey, stone fruit with good acidity on
the palate. The acidity died off a bit quickly for me but
this was a wine of a quality and one that really grew on me
especially when I had another drop of it at the end of the
evening.
Food Wise - Seafood or perhaps some pork
Robertfranciswine – 89 plus Points.
Price - €22.45 per sampler bottle and €19.45 as
part of a case
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18.Alpha Zeta
'R' Ripasso 2005
A brownish reddy coloured wine with oak and medicinal
notes to the nose. Caramel and raisiny fruits come through on
the palate with the fruits comprising of sweet plums and damsons.
Nice spice flavours and good length on the finish.
Food Wise - Meat based pasta dishes.
Robertfranciswine – 88 Points.
Price - €15.95 per sampler bottle and €13.95 as
part of a case
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| 19.Willunga
100 Shiraz Viognier 2005
Huge black colour to this wine that is a blend of 95% Shiraz
and 5% Viognier. Hugely perfumed blackfruits and pepper on
the nose. This is a fruit bomb no doubt about it - there is
a touch of floral sweetness in the background. Sweet, ripe,
lush fruit on the palate with some degree of richness and
a solid finish.
Food Wise - Burgers, quality sausage based dishes, and barbecue
ribs.
Robertfranciswine – 87 Points.
Price - €15.95 per sampler bottle and €13.95 as
part of a case
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| 20.Vetus Toro
2005
Made from 100% Tempranillo with excellent colour concentration
in the glass. Really good black fruit and concentration with
spice, pepper and creamy vanilla. Delicious fruit with good
tannins on the palate which are well rounded on the palate.
Fantastic wine with huge length on the finish. One of the
best reds I have had in a while !
Food Wise - Steak and Roast Beef simply cooked.
Robertfranciswine – 92 plus Points.
Price - €26.65 per sampler bottle and €23.55 as
part of a case
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| 21.Quinta do
Infantado Douro 2005
A blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinto Roriz
with delicious ripe black fruits and a touch of vanilla on
the nose. The black berries and black currant with added vanilla
are well rounded on the palate with nice firm tannins. There
is some additional complexity with some nice notes of nutmeg
and pepper on the finish. Good finish to the wine.
Food Wise - Roasted Lamb based dishes.
Robertfranciswine – 90 Points.
Price - €19.95 per sampler bottle and €17.95 as
part of a case
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| 22.Corte Giara
Amarone 2005
Rich sweet raisiny figgy fruit with delicious damasons and
christmas cake spices on the nose. This wine is full bodied
with sweet, smooth, and lush black fruits, figs and damsons
on the palate. There are huge christmas cake spice characteristics
on the finish. A nice but not earth shatteringly good amarone.
Food Wise - Hard Cheeses
Robertfranciswine – 89 Points.
Price - €39.95 per sampler bottle and €36.95 as
part of a case
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