A superb thirst-quenching Picpoul De Pinet from Chateau de la Mirande

La Mirande Picpoul De Pinet (AOP) 2023, 13.0% ABV

RRP: €17.35. Stockists: Stockists: 64 Wine Dublin, Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman Dublin, Le Caveau Kilkenny 

A gorgeous, thirst-quenching Picpoul

Chateau de la Mirande, with its vineyard surrounded by garigue, is located in the Languedoc, in an area with a saltwater lagoon dedicated to producing and cultivating oysters and mussels. And this is just the wine to pair with these bivalve molluscs! This stellar example of Picpoul is Very Highly Recommended.

Green harvesting and organic viticulture are part of

A terrific Picpoul from where dinosaurs romanced

A terrific Picpoul from where dinosaurs romanced

Font-Mars Picpoul De Pinet (AP) 2022, 13% ABV.

This is a match made in heaven with a fresh plate of seafood

€16.95 Bradleys, North Main Street, Cork.

If Albarino isn’t available on a particular night, I’d go for a Picpoul. And vice versa!

“In the Languedoc region at Font-Mars, our vineyards are situated on soils, in which fossilised dinosaur eggs are found.”

No egg shells behind that lovely light gold colour, with green highlights. Aromas are tempting, floral (rose) and also fruits such as citrus and peach. The initial attack is lively, almost tart, but then more exotic fruit develops. Best served, between 12° and 14° C, with seafood and shellfish or as an aperitif. By the way, the  reason why Picpoul de Pinet is splendid with seafood and shellfish is that it neutralises the salt and iodine.

Retailers Bradleys like this one: This small domaine in Picpoul is showcasing just how delicious wines from this region can be when made with care and attention. The wine has a surprisingly good texture and very pretty fruit with just a touch of pear drop on the finish. This is a match made in heaven with a fresh plate of seafood.

Picpoul is an ancient grape but the disease Phylloxera almost did for it until the French discovered it could thrive on sandy soil. Hence its renaissance in the Languedoc. It is no surprise, then, that Picpoul is to be found in coastal vineyards such as those which surround Pinet and the Etang de Thau (lots of oysters here, conveniently!), just west of Montpellier.

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The Font-Mars winemaker is Jean-Baptiste de Clock: “Our wines express this Mediterranean nature perfectly, protected by a family, whose history is intimately bound to the vineyard and wine since 1679, and to the Languedoc region since 1864.”

Reckon they know what they are doing. Very Highly Recommended.

By the way, if I couldn't get my hands on an Albarino on a particular night, I’d go for a Picpoul. And vice versa!

Picpoul de Pinet, "Muscadet of the South", is the perfect seafood pairing

Picpoul de Pinet, "Muscadet of the South", is the perfect seafood pairing

Petit Roubie Picpoul De Pinet (AOP) 2021, 12.5% ABV

RRP €16.00-16.50 Stockists: Wunderkaffee, Farran/ Organico, Bantry / Ardkeen

Grocery Store, Waterford / Sonas, Newcastlewest / Field's Supervalu,
Skibbereen / Taste, Castletownbere / Mortons, Galway /
Little Green Grocer, Kilkenny / Connemara Hamper, Clifden / Scally's

Supervalu. Clonakilty / Quay Co-Op, Cork etc. etc. Mary Pawle online.

This organic French wine has a lovely mid-gold colour. Quite aromatic, a mix of floral, citrus,  and apple. Crisp on the palate, no shortage of acidity but, with white and citrus fruit on the palate and its excellent mouthfeel, it is harmonious. Dry for sure, especially towards the finish, and obviously an excellent match for oysters and shellfish (which are abundant in the growing area).  Serve at about 8 degrees for best results; I find a degree or two lower doesn’t do any harm!

Very Highly Recommended.

Picpoul is the grape name and it is found in the Languedoc and the best of it seems to be from the village of Pinet, on the edge of the Med and about 90 minutes east of Carcassonne. It is a very old grape variety and the name means lip—stinger (after its high acidity). Wine-Searcher says this Picpoul de Pinet is its most famous incarnation. “The variety's ability to keep its acidity even in a hot, Mediterranean climate makes it the perfect choice for the region, making taut, full-bodied white wines with herbal and citrus aromas.”

Importer Mary Pawle introduces this 2021 as a dry white, with a green-gold hue. Crisp and appley. “Often referred to as the Muscadet of the South, it is excellent with oysters and most shellfish.”

"Petit Roubie Picpoul is very popular. I've been importing it for about

15 years now and at that time it wasn't so widely known here but now
it's everywhere. The Petit Roubie is excellent...".

Château Petit Roubié has been practising organic farming since 1985. Floriane and Olivier Azan have owned the estate since 1981 and have developed, thanks to a judicious choice of winemaking, a very attractive range indeed. 

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Their lands are in a historic area; if you visit, you can still see vestiges of the Via Domitia (the Roman road) in their scrubland. And those Roman engineers were building on top of an even older “road”. The wine, I’ve read, is presented in a Neptune bottle though that, as far as I know, has nothing to do with the Roman god of the sea.

Wine & Food Pairing : Seafood (shellfish, oysters, shrimps, mussels), Aperitif, Mediterranean Specialties: Squid stuffed with Sétoise, Mussels stuffed with Sétoise, Tielle, Soft cheese, Quiche with zucchinis and goat cheese

Picpoul, queen grape in the coastal vineyards of Pinet in the Languedoc

Picpoul, queen grape in the coastal vineyards 

of Pinet in the Languedoc

Reine Juliette Picpoul de Pinet (AOP) 2021, 12.5%, 

€17.00 Bubble Brothers

Picpoul de Pinet comes from a small area (Pinet) in the Languedoc. It is very reliable and this Bubble Brothers import is one of the consistent ones. If you want something to go with your mussels or oysters, this is a banker.

It has a pale gold colour, is bright, with green highlights, in the glass. There are subtle aromatics, floral, citrus and exotic fruit. Impressively ample bodied, it is a pleaser on the palate, no shortage of citrus fruits and a touch of peach as well plus a refreshing minerality. Well balanced then with a dry finish with light saline notes.

The label suggest pairing with with shellfish, fish dishes, poultry and white meat. Bubbles Brothers also go with seafood and say that it is also an excellent aperitif - I’m can heartily agree with that as I’ve had a few of these Reine Juliette going back to 2010. Wine Folly tell us that the perfect pairing may be fried calamari. Serve at around 10 degrees.

By the way, Picpoul means ‘lip stinger’ but, please, don’t let that put you off. It has indeed no shortage of acidity but nothing extreme (no more than Albarino for instance) and it serves to emphasise the variety’s typical freshness and to help ensure balance.

Indeed, if you can’t get your hands on a Picpoul, then Albarino (or Alvarinho in Portugal) would be an excellent substitute (and vice versa). Other grapes that come close are Assyriko, Melon (the grape for Muscadet), Vinho Verde and Sicily’s Grillo.

Picpoul grows well in sandy soils and is nowadays to be found only in coastal vineyards, between Narbonne and  Montpellier, such as those in Pinet itself and the Etang de Thau (a very large lake with high salinity because of its closeness to the coast).

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Kinsale’s Supper Club Now On Main Street. Come on Down. Wine and Dine. Whiskey too.

Kinsale’s Supper Club Now On Main Street

Come on Down. Wine and Dine. Whiskey too

Crème Brûlée, with a twist!

Kinsale’s Supper Club, in its new location at 2 Main Street, was buzzing when we arrived on a recent Wednesday. But no problem to the crew there who kept serving up delicious food with a smile.

Maybe we should talk about the drink first. Did you know that all the wines, including bubbles, are available by the glass? And there are some super wines on the list, ranging in price from six euro to over twenty per glass. 

The Irish whiskey list is also striking. It’s a long one with well over twenty offerings from Teeling’s Small Batch to the Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve. And then they have cocktails galore, divided into Classics and House.

John Dory

You might never make it past the bar. And that’s all part of the Supper Club, also a social club. Come in for a glass of wine, a cocktail, a beer or a whiskey and have a few nibbles with it, such as a few oysters (from nearby Oysterhaven of course!) to a Charcuterie Board.

The food menu is not as lengthy as the whiskey one but you do get a great choice, further enhanced by the fact that certain dishes (mussels, risotto, the charcuterie board) come in large and small sizes.

Coq au Vin

For my starter I was looking at the Crumbed Durrus Farmhouse Cheese with Roast Shallot & Cranberry Relish before going for their €8.00 Classic Chicken Caesar Salad (Crispy Cos Lettuce, Caesar Dressing, Garlic Croutons, Parmesan Shavings). Delighted with it, one of the best around. CL too was happy, having picked the Thai version of the Steamed Pot of Oysterhaven Mussels (9.00). The other style is Chardonnay, Garlic, Fennel & Cream.

Our wines were now being put to the test and each came up trumps. We had settled on the Guillemarine Picpoul de Pinet (8.10) from the Languedoc and the Rigal Malbec (8.10) from Cahors. 

Time then for the mains and the high standard was maintained, the staff busy but going about the place with pace, precision and patience, always time to answer a query or check if everything was okay. And it was, all the way.

CL picked the Coq au Vin (18.00) and enjoyed the Kinsale version (as against the Dordogne version!), a superb Breast & Thigh braised in red wine with shallots and mushrooms, Baby Carrots, Truffle Mash. The mash, by the way, was outstanding. My sauce, a tomato and wild garlic seasonal one, was also outstanding in my Fish of the Day dish, a fresh as could be and generous piece of John Dory (26.50).

Caesar Salad

Dessert was offered. It comes in two series, the usual “solid” one and the less usual “liquid”. The latter included a Tiramisu Cocktail (Absolut Vanilla, Kahlua, Creme de Cacao, Butterscotch, Cream, Mascarpone), also a Lemon Meringue Pie (Absolut, Limoncello, Lemon Curd, Meringue).

We resisted and were tempted by the Apple Tarte Tatin but then spotted the Salted Caramel Crème Brûlée with Hazlenut Puff Pastry Swirl (7.00). We shared that beauty and were hardly a mouthful into it when we were thinking we should have ordered two! This is so good. They’ve put a fair bit of work into getting this right, we were told, and it is right, more than right, very highly recommended if you get the chance, as is indeed the Supper Club experience itself.

The Supper Club

2 Main Street

Kinsale

Co.Cork.

Phone: (021) 470 9233

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesupperclubkinsale/

PICPOUL HEAD TO HEAD

PICPOUL HEAD TO HEAD


Domaine Reine Juliette, Terres Rouges, Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc 2010, 13.5%, €12.00 Bubble Brothers, 3 stars


Colour is of light honey and it has a moderately aromatic nose. Not a major impression on the palate but quite a friendly one, more of a purr, less of a bark. It has a nice lively acidity with thirst quenching fruit.

While the acidity is sharp it never gets anywhere the point where you feel you might as well be sipping a Citron Pressé. If you want something to go with your mussels or oysters (and there are a lot of months with “r” coming up) this is a banker.


 

Les Costières de Pomerols, Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc 2010, 12.5%, €7.00 Tesco, 4 stars.


Colour and nose is much the same as the previous Picpoul. The acidity is still there but this is definitely more flavoursome, more rounded.

There will always, it seems, be arguments about Tesco’s pricing policy in the drinks department but nor argument that their buyers have come up with a good one here, underlined by the fact that Decanter gave it their Regional Trophy (Languedoc –Roussillon) for a white at under ten UK pounds.

Some differences

A – Closure is artificial cork on Bubble’s, screw-cap on the Tesco.

B- Alcohol is 13.5% in Bubble, 12.5% in the Tesco bottle.

C- The Tesco price is €7.00, Bubbles €12.00