SuperValu Christmas Wines. Six of the Best!

SuperValu Christmas Wines

Six of the Best!

SuperValu’s wine expert Kevin O’Callaghan has brought together a great collection of wines for Christmas and the New Year. Wines from all over the world (though the six we’ve tried are from France mainly and Spain), including some Premium wines at unmissable prices. 

Kevin: “Those looking for gorgeous gift offerings won't be disappointed with our selection of market leading case deals from magnums of red wine to 6 bottle cases from Bordeaux and an organic from Spain.” There are discounts galore until the end of the year.

Pagos de Labarca AEX Rioja (DOC) 2014, 13.5%, €22.99 (€18.00 until 31/12/17) 

It won’t be all turkey over the Christmas. There’ll be beef and some good hard cheese and then you’ll be glad you have a bottle of this Rioja on hand. Maybe a bit too much for Ireland’s favourite bird but its rich fruit and spice guarantees it a welcome on the festive table. This limited edition, just over 6,000 bottles, is a big wine for a big occasion. AEX by the way stands for the Spanish Alta Expression, highest expression.

Colour is a mid to deep purple. Rich concentrated dark fruit aromas and maybe even more intense on the palate. Warm, rounded and spicy, juicy too, with excellent persistence. Quite a treat and Very Highly Recommended. I've heard Kevin O’Callaghan describe this as a blockbuster and it certainly lives up to the billing.

Rioja vineyards seen through the glass of Bai Gorri Winery

Lunatico Monastrell Jumilla (DOP) 2015, 14%, €18.99 (€14.00 until 31/12/17)

This young red wine is part of SuperValu’s Specially Sourced Signature Range and has spent 12 months in French oak. It is 100% Monastrell (probably better known to many by its French name Mourvedre). Jumilla is one of the better areas for this grape.

Kevin O'Callaghan says this is “the new favourite wine of the moment”. He also has an eye for a good label and says this the art on this one is only surpassed by the art inside, “dark and rich with no rough edges”.

Colour is medium purple with the legs slow to clear. Black berries feature in the aromas. On the palate, the rich berry flavours are enhanced by the sweet oak spice. It is rich and smooth overall with a long and pleasant finish. Highly Recommended.

Keep an eye out too for other wines from Casa de la Ermita, especially the Idílico and the Crianza.

Chateau Tour Baladoz Saint Emilion Grand Cru (AOC) 2005, 13.5%, €44.99 (€25.00 until 31/12/17)

The Bordeaux vintage of 2005 is legendary and this rich, plummy wine is just gorgeous. Merlot is the main grape here with both Cabernets also in the mix, Franc at 20%, Sauvignon at 10%.

Colour is purple and the aromas are concentrated, ripe dark fruits plus fragrant floral notes. Full bodied for sure, sublime soft fruits with great balance, tannins now very soft indeed and this well-rounded rich and splendid wine provides a beautiful lingering finish. One to take your time with, small sips recommended. The wine itself is Very Highly Recommended.

Andre Guichot Pouilly-Fuissé (AOC) 2014, 13%, €22.99 (€18.00 until 31/12/17)

Colour is a medium gold and there are aromas of citrus and white fruits among quite a medley. In the mouth, it is smooth, close to creamy, richly fruited and soft with good acidity too plus a lingering finish. An elegant wine indeed and Very Highly Recommended. Recommended with shell fish, king prawns, lobster, crab or poultry in cream sauce as well as goat’s cheese. 

Andre Guichot Meursault (AOC) 2014,13%, €44.99 (€35.00 until 31/12/17)

Colour is a greenish gold, limpid and brilliant, and here again the fruit and acidity match up in an exceptional balance. Fresh and smooth it has an excellent refined mouthfeel with a streak of minerality and a long finish that keeps giving. This is indeed excellent and Highly Recommended.

On the area’s website, I read: “Nowhere in the Côte de Beaune does the Chardonnay grape do better that its does here”. Former US president Thomas Jefferson once visited the region and reported: "..at Meursault only white wines are made, because there is too much stone for the red".  

Andre Guichot Vin Mousseux Blanc de Blancs Brut, 11.5%, €17.49 (14.00 until 31/12/17)

Andre Goichot, best known as a negociant but who is also a producer, has been here in Burgundy since 1947; watch out also for his Chablis. He is well known too for his bubbles and this Blanc de Blancs (just means it’s a white from white grapes) is a delightful way to start your evening. Bubbles in your glass will also be welcome before that Christmas lunch or at any gathering around the big day. Just serve a few nibbles with it as those bubbles go straight to the head!

And if you like it, and many of you will, Guichot promises “a perfect match with all food styles”. It is off dry, the bubbles very evident immediately after pouring. There are lovely fruit flavours before a good dry finish. Recommended for sure and good value as well. Bonne Noël!

This particular AG Collection also includes a Demi-sec and a Rosé Prestige.

Burgundy Bourgogne. Five of the Best

SuperValu Feature Burgundy
Some of Bourgogne's Best

The French Wine sale is underway at SuperValu until the 23rd of the month (September). The focus here is on Burgundy (Bourgogne) and indeed mainly on the whites of the iconic area.

Burgundy and Bordeaux are perhaps the best known wine areas of France but there are major differences. Bordeaux is the area of the the big chateaux, the extensive vineyard. But Burgundy is the land of the small holder.

In Bordeaux too, they blend both reds and whites. In the Bourgogne region, the wines are mainly single varietal. This “purity of expression” means that each plot gives each vintage its own personality and unique characteristics. Chardonnay (48%) and Pinot Noir (34%) are the most widely grown here.

The current sale gives you, and me, a great opportunity to sample the superb wines from the region. Andre Goichot, best known as a negociant but who is also a producer, has been here since 1947 and all the wines below are his.

Maison Andre Goichot Mercurey (AOC) 2013, 12.5%, €18.00.

Colour is a light, and bright, red while the aromas give you a nice mix of raspberry, cherry, strawberry. Red fruit flavours, cherry prominent, on the palate, light as you'd expect, the lightness of a classic youthful Pinot Noir; acidity and tannins combine well as you go into the dry finish. Very Highly Recommended. You’ll be hard pushed to find a better example at or about this price - if you do, let me know.

Don't think I'd go as far as to say it's a divine wine but the village of Mercurey is named after a local Gallo-Roman temple to Mercury, the messenger of the gods.

Did you know that Pinot Noir juice is clear? The grapes must be macerated in vats to put the skins in contact with the juice. The colour is in the skins and, without this maceration, the Pinot Noir would produce a white wine. Pinot Noir accounts for about a third of the Burgundy harvest.

Maison Andre Goichot “Les Petit Meix” Chablis 1er Cru 2014, 13%, €18.00.

This, of course, is a Chardonnay, dry and fresh. If this is your first Chablis, you’ll probably find it much drier and fresher than the non-burgundian Chardonnays you've been drinking. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the wines of Chablis are surely the most flattered in the world - according to DK's French Wines 1999.

Colour is pale gold and it has the characteristic mineral aromas that hint of the dryness and freshness to come on the palate. It is quite a gorgeous mouthful, fruit and acidity in good balance and a super dry finalé.

Matches indicated include fine poultry, oysters and veal in a white sauce. But this is a complex wine, very versatile (you'll have no problem with duck or pork) and Very Highly Recommended.

Maison Andre Goichot Meursault (AOC) 2014, 13%, €35.00.

Colour is a greenish gold, limpid and brilliant, and here again the fruit and acidity match up in an exceptional balance. Fresh and smooth it has an excellent refined mouthfeel with a streak of minerality and a long finish that keeps giving.

On the area’s website, I read: “Nowhere in the Côte de Beaune does the Chardonnay grape do better that its does here”. Maybe a little early with this one, as they say “it is a great white wine for laying down”. It is indeed excellent now, and Highly Recommended, but whether it is twice as good as the Chablis or Montagny is debateable. Perhaps its best days are in the future! So maybe I’ll buy a few of these for that special occasion in a couple of years and lots of the Montagny for the here and now!

Former US president Thomas Jefferson once visited the region and reported: "..at Meursault only white wines are made, because there is too much stone for the red".

Domaine Les Guignottes, Les Resses Montagny 1er Cru 2014, 13%, €20.00

Not too much to say about this - just go out and buy and enjoy! This classic Chardonnay has beautiful intense white fruit aromas, peach the most prominent. Colour is a bright gold and there are amazing fruit and nut flavours, some spice too. The acidity too is outstanding. Fresh, with  a gorgeous mouthfeel and a long finish. Very Highly Recommended.

Domaine Les Guignottes, Montagny Les Guignottes, 13%, €18.00

Falling in love with Montagny, for sure. Tried this out with a trio and they all loved it as well, its amazing colours, brightness and aromas but above all for the outstanding flavours and acidity and that long finish. Great value too. Very Highly Recommended. 

Montagny (in the Chalonnaise region) produces white wines only - fresh, young, alluring classic burgundian. Very versatile as a food wine, including seafood, many cheeses (including goat) and it won't be intimidated by paella.