THREE REDS and a DASH OF KIRSCH

Who drank all the Kirsch?

FOUR COUNTRIES

         THREE REDS and a DASH OF KIRSCH

Won a case of wines recently during a Sicilian tasting in Fenns Quay.

Tried the Baglio Curatolo Syrah 2007 recently and enjoyed it.  It is deep red with berries on the nose. On the palate, I got berries again and mild spice. It is fruity and supple and long on the finish. Excellent European style Syrah and worth looking out for.

The range is distributed here by Liberty Wines.

Had some of Dunnes Stores French Duck last night (with plum sauce, and fresh spinach from the garden) and picked a French wine from Bordeaux to go with it. It was Chateau Arnauton Fronsac 2001 which had a few silver medals hanging from it.

Again, its colour was quite rich, the nose fruity and slightly spicy. On the palate, it was sharply dry, balanced with fruity and hints of vanilla. Overall, it was quite a well balanced mouthful but with no great length on the finish. Bought that at a Leclerc in the Dordogne for €4.90. While it was okay, it won't feature on future lists.

The other wine on the night came from Chile’s Aconcagua Valley and was much more impressive. It was the In Situ Reserva Merlot 2005. The colour was dark red and the nose was unfamiliar; I had to look at the back label to see that it was cedar. In the mouth, it had a good feel, the acidity balanced with the fruit (mainly cherry, I thought) and, of course, the usual merlot spice. On the whole, this velvety medium bodied wine went down well, much better than the Bordeaux and, besides, it had good length on the finish.

Bought this from Curious Wines and the cost, a few months back, was €11.99.

Just to go back to the meal, the international influence continued into the dessert which came from Italy via Aldi: Amarena Cherries in syrup. The syrup was a bit sweet so that had to be balanced. Just happened to have an artisan made Swiss Kirsch (1998) at hand and that, or at least a spoon or two of it, did the job to perfection.