MAY CASE SELECTION

Meinklang, ‘Prosa’ Rosé Frizzante (AUSTRIA) (SPARKLING) Grape: Pinot Noir, Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, Abv: 10.5% Certified Biodynamic by Demeter Suggested Food pairing: would be divine as part of a picnic lunch with any – or indeed, all - of the following: panzanella salad, a creamy, buttery Délice de Bourgogne cheese, or ripe strawberries. €20 An utterly charming and smashable Pinot Noir blend produced by the Michlits family’s biodynamic farm which lies on the shores of Austria’s Neusiedlersee, near the Hungarian border. Zesty, red-berried fruit, softly off-dry. Light, fragrant, lovely purity and would be great with any summery foods, as a picnic, or as a light fizz for a celebratory wedding breakfast. WHITE WINES

Adega Entre Os Ríos, ‘Saras…’ Albariño, Barbanza e Iria VdlT 2015 (, ) Grape: Albariño Abv: 12.5% abv Suggested food pairing: Prawns with garlic, steamed mussels, or lemon sole with surf clams and samphire (in season now) €19 A wonderfully exuberant, mineral style of Albariño from southwestern Galicia. This has a little bit of skin contact which helps bring out the intense aromatics conferred by a unique combination of grape variety, granite soils and cool, rainy climate. Apricot, peach and orange blossom aromatics. Dry, with a mouthwatering, slightly saline, mineral undertow. Textured and quite rich (this undergoes full malolactic fermentation) with a lengthy finish. Brilliant value- this delivers a lot of complexity and class for the money.

Domaine de l’Ecu, ‘Classic’, Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie AC 2018 (Loire Valley, FRANCE) Grape: Melon de Bourgogne Abv: 12% abv. Certified organic by Ecocert, certified biodynamic by Demeter Suggested Food pairing: Salmon with new season Jersey Royal new potatoes or a carmelised onion tartlet. €22 “A really complex biodynamic Muscadet, this has an intense savoury and herbaceous quality with fresh citrus and grapefruit flavours. Beautiful with fried or grilled fish. Corinna Hardgrave, Irish Independent Weekend, Friday 26th April 2019 Figuière ‘Le Sant André’ Rosé, IGP Méditerranée, 2018 (FRANCE) Grape: 30% Cinsault, 30% Grenache, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre Abv: 12.5% Farming: Certified organic by Ecocert since 1979 Suggested Food pairing: It has got to be a salade niçoise, dreaming of sitting on a sunny provençal terrace. €18 Alain Combard purchased this 210 hectare estate in 1992. He had previously founded and run Maison Michel Laroche in Chablis and was looking for a new challenge. He saw in the schist soils and cool, sea-influenced climate of La Londe-des-Maures a perfect terroir for producing food-friendly rosé wines. This is a lovely, pale, melon pink colour. Bone dry (just 0.6g/Litre of residual sugar), fresh, saline acidity and aromas of white flowers, orange zest and white peach.

Weingut Geil, Bechtheimer Riesling ‘S’ Trocken, Qualitätswein Rheinhessen 2015 ( GERMANY) Grape: Riesling (dry) Abv: 13% abv. Farming: practicing organic Suggested Food pairing: free range pork rack served with white broccoli tips, red chard and a cider gravy €22 In March’s case, we featured this estate’s entry-level Riesling. During the week we took an opportunity to re-taste the ‘village’ (Bechtheim) wine with the Irish importer and wow, does this deliver some serious bang for buck…My notes: “smoky, slightly petrol, heather honey, apricots and golden, ripe, yellow skinned fruits, very evocative of long, golden autumn days. Dry, with crisp acidity, ripe yellow-skinned fruits again on the palate (2015 was a warm vintage in Germany). Lots of complexity and concentration, but beautifully balanced and perfect to drink now.” The Geil family estate, based in the village of Bechtheim, is a member of the ultra prestigious Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates, abbreviated VDP), an elite group of some 200 quality-oriented German vintners who are committed to terroir-driven viticulture at the highest level.

Roberto Henríquez ‘Rivera del Notro’ Itata 2017 (CHILE) Grapes: Muscat of Alexandria, Corinto, Semillon (some skin contact) (dry) Abv: 12% Farming: organic non-certified, old vines. Low intervention. Unfiltered, so will be cloudy on pouring. Food/occasion: grilled seafood or risotto. €24 “I have written about in glowing terms both white and red wines from Itata before…The whites vary in style but the muscat-based wines tend to be floral, with succulent crisp dry fruits; well worth trying out if you enjoy sauvignon blanc…. A very engaging, gently perfumed “vin de soif” that mixes nicely textured plump orange and pear fruits with a reviving mineral acidity and a long dry finish.” John Wilson (2019) ‘Chile’s newest wines from some of the oldest vines’ Irish Times.

RED WINES

Cantine Tollo, ‘Madregale’ Terre di Chieti IGP 2017 ( ITALY) Grape: 50% Montepulciano, 50% Sangiovese Abv: 12.5% Viticulture: organic (non certified) Suggested Food pairing: melanzane parmigiana or spaghetti bolognese €12 “Light fresh juicy cherry fruits and light tannins. This is very good everyday drinking and great value for money; a great all-purpose wine to drink by itself, or with most foods. Tomato-based pasta dishes sounds good.” John Wilson. (2017) ‘All-purpose red wines that will go with just about everything’. Irish Times. Domaine Matthieu et Camille Lapierre, ‘Raisins Gaulois’ Vin de France 2018 (Beaujolais, FRANCE) Grape: Gamay Abv: 12.5% Organic farming (non-certified) since 1980s. Very low intervention, zero added sulphur – ‘natural wine’ Suggested Food: A ‘glou glou’ style, perfect to drink, slightly cool, with a plate of charcuterie. €20 Camille Lapierre recently visited us in GMW and hosted a brilliant evening with our customers and this wine was one of the all-round favourites. Her father, Marcel, was one of the original ‘Gang of Four’ growers, whose practices around organic viticulture, the use of indigenous yeasts and minimal/zero-additives has resulted in the evolution of a less interventionist approach to winemaking. The latest vintage, 2018, is as always, made in what the French term a ‘glou glou’ style i.e. ridiculously gulpable. Light and vibrantly fresh, with bright red fruits and a juicy, savoury length on the finish.

Bodegas y Viñedos Ponce, ‘Clos Lojen’, Bobal, Manchuela D.O.P. Viñas Viejas 2017 (SPAIN) Grape: Bobal Abv: 12.5% Farming: Organic and biodynamic (non-certified), wild yeast ferments, low intervention Suggested Food Pairing: duck confit or Manchego cheese and crackers. €16 Baby-faced Juan Antonio Ponce, in his early forties, has already more than 20 vintages under his belt. He has been dubbed ‘the Prince of Bobal’ and has almost single-handedly rescued the fortunes of this variety, which is widely planted throughout southeastern Spain. He works only with Bobal as a red variety and encourages each vineyard or cuvée to express its unique character. This cuvée, from 30-50 year old bush vines, planted across six different parcels, at 800m above sea-level, delivers real character and interest at a very modest price. Supple, lush in texture with very pure blackberry and raspberry/cherry fruits, floral/violet notes, bright acidity and a lovely graphite-threaded minerality.

Viticultor Evínate ‘Albahra’ Vinos Mediterráneos L-2016 (Almansa region, SPAIN) Grapes: 70% Garnacha Tintorera (aka Alicante Bouschet) / 30% Moravia Agria Abv: 13.5% Farming: organic, non certified. Wild yeast fermented in open-top, 5,200 litre concrete tanks with 30% whole bunches. Suggested food pairing: T-bone steak with herb butter. €22 "The Garnacha Tintorera comes from 25-year-old vines on limestone and clay soils at 800 meters altitude, and the Moravia Agria comes from 40- year-old vines on limestone, sand and clay soils at 710 meters altitude. The Garnacha is kept unoaked, but the Moravia is put in neutral barriques for eight months. I nearly fell off my chair when I put my nose in the glass. There is a jump in quality from 2015 to this vintage, and they seem to have mastered the Moravia, which has a lot more tannin than they thought. It also has a lot of acidity, but here it seems to provide a very elegant and floral touch, with Mediterranean hints of balsam and herbs. The palate has a juicy texture with a refreshing touch. 93 points” . The Wine Advocate

Zorzal Wines, ‘Eggo’ Tinto de Tiza, Malbec, Tupungato 2016 (ARGENTINA) Grapes: Malbec Abv: 14% Suggested food pairing: Irish spring leg of lamb studded with garlic and rosemary. €24 Zorzal’s ‘eggo’ range is all about expressing the tightly wound, freshness of Malbec grown on the chalky, high altitude vineyards of Gualtallary, Tupungato. Fermentations take place in epoxy-lined ovoid cement ‘eggs’. This shape means that the wines’ lees stay in contact with the juice throughout fermentation and contributes to a sense of energy and volume on the palate. Deep, intense and complex, with the aromas typical of Gualtallary, such as chalk, wet cement and minerals. Good structure, volume and silky body with textured tannins, the acidity gives plenty of freshness. “Concrete eggs are all the rage in wineries these days; this superb unoaked wine, with its fresh, deep, dark loganberry fruits, would go well with all sorts of roast lamb”. John Wilson. (2019) ‘The perfect wines to go with your Easter roast lamb.’ Irish Times. Domaine Montirius ‘Les Violettes’ Syrah Vin de Pays de Vaucluse IGP 2016 (Southern Rhône, FRANCE) Grapes: Syrah (unoaked) Abv: 13% Certified biodynamic Biodyvin, organic by AB. Certified vegan-friendly, gluten-free. Suggested food pairing: lentil stew or venison steak and braised cabbage with smoked bacon lardons. €19 A great value alternative to pricier northern Rhône Syrah. From a 1.5ha vineyard in Sarrians with alluvial silt over sand and sandstone soils, this expresses a lovely floral/violet character, so evocative of, and a great value alternative to, northern Rhône Syrah.

TEL: 01 559 4234 www.greenmanwines.ie