Author Archives: Eduardo Miranda

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Prosecco Shortage? Bubbles…

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Sales of Prosecco have overtaken Champagne for the first time in UK. The sales numbers rose by 72% in the last year, ahead of its French rival. With total sales of £250m, Champagne is trailing behind Prosecco, according to retail analysts IRI. It’s the third year in a row sales growth of the sweeter tasting, cheaper-priced Prosecco have surged ahead of the classic bubbles.

And might not have an easy way to say that, but it sounds like there’s going to be a global shortage of Prosecco this summer! Apparently, last year’s harvest of the Glera grape was “very poor” – down by as much as 50 per cent in some parts of the region.

That’s according to Robert Cremonese, the export manager of Prosecco brand Bisol, there is a very real possibility of a global shortage.

font: http://www.cityam.com


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Barbazul 2010

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Made from Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and the outstanding Tintilla de Rota, a recovered local variety, this wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and rests in French oak barrels for 5 months.

Very bright and deep cherry colour with purple reflections and an explosion of aromas, black berries, jammy fruit, spicy, with a creamy touch, chocolate, toffee, liquorice and some toasted aromas. Subtle herbal and mineral aromas. Very tasty in the palate with  notes of fruit and creamy feeling with nice balsamic and toasted aromas in the background. Good and long finish, very pleasant and tasty.


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Finca Labarca Reserva 2006, DOCa Rioja

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Appearance: Clear medium garnet.

Nose: Clean, pronounced aromas of red baked fruits, spices (nutmeg, cloves), vanilla, cream, butter and oak.

Palate: Dry, medium acidity, medium tannins, medium alcohol, full body, pronounced flavours of cooked fruits and sweet spices. Long finish.

Conclusion: A classic Rioja Reserva: full body, creamy and buttery, and a subtle oak after taste. Supervalu special for €12 (from €15,99, they say).


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Sartori Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore 2012

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Appearance: Clear medium ruby.

Nose: Clean, medium pronounced aromas of cooked fruits, jamminess.

Palate: Dry, medium+ acidity, -medium tannins, medium+ alcohol, medium body, medium intensity, flavours of cooked fruits and spices. Medium+ finish.

Conclusion: For me Ripasso wines are made to please, you can’t go wrong with it. This is no exception: well balanced and very structured, is a fantastic wine for many occasions, ready to drink. For the “locals”, Supervalue offers it for 12€ this week, reduced from 19.99€, they say.


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La Châsse, Blason D’Or 2012, AOP Costières de Nîmes

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Appearance: Clear pale ruby.

Nose: Clean and youthful, with pronounced aromas of fresh red fruits (red cherry, strawberry) and a sweet spice hint (liquorice).

Palate: Dry wine with low acidity and low to medium tannins. Medium alcohol sensation (despite its average 13%), medium to light body, with flavours of red fruits aromas found on the nose, plus subtle spices and herbal notes. Medium finish.

Conclusion: Soft tannins and medium alcohol with lots of fruit aromas make this wine an easy drinking one, ready to drink. For those in Ireland, Supervalu is offering this wine for 9€ (reduced from 18€, they say).


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Be Aware of Wine Prices in Dublin’s Supermarkets

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I don’t buy my wines in supermarkets anymore, nor in off-licenses, nor in wine shops… It’s been some time already that I only buy my wines online, from off-shore shops around Europe, wherever I can get a good deal in the shipment. This does not prevent me from being a market observer, and I’m constantly out there checking wine prices, and you don’t have to be a sophisticated wine shopper to notice that wine prices tend to zigzag up and down like youngers making their way back home from a good craic. And then, we end up buying the nearest bottle that is on offer…
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Supermarkets understand this, and most of the wine sold in Ireland is sold on some sort of offer, just for the use of the words “sales”, “half price”, “offer”, etc. Some people are triggered by those words, but in reality they’re telling us that we don’t have a clue on how much they are actually worth!Recently I’ve checked prices mostly in SuperQuinn, because is my local store, and to take an example, El Circulo, a red crianza Spanish Rioja, was retailed at €20, normal price, but was on sales for €10 the most of the year, but now SQ its normal price is €21,99! Other example is Farnese Lava Greco Di Tufo, a white Italian now retailed at €16.49 (on sale for €13,00), but I well remember not long ago its full price was €13,99, on sales for €7!

This is clearly not a SuperQuinn’s phenomenon… Neither a Dublin’s one! I checked Tesco’s half-price offers online for the week (hurry up… it ends today!!) and they include a “Special Offer” were you save €11.29 (!) when buying Oceans Edge Pinot Grigio, which allegedly was €19.29 but now is only €8.00! Guess what? The actual price was €9.99 for the most of this year, with some offers on €8, but now they want you to believe it’s a super special sale! If you pay €19.29 for it and then find that out later, would you feel like you’ve been conned?


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Tasting Llebre 2009

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I brought this wine from Spain recently, and offered it to some friends. The feedback was positive… No surprise, as it got a respectable 90 points Parker! So I decided to taste it.

Llebre is produced by Tomás Cusiné, which is located on the northern side of the Sierra de La Llena, part of the Sierra del Montsant. Its vineyards are situated at an altitude between 700 and 740 metres; the soils are limestone and the lands have gravel on the surface with clayey subsoil. Costers Del Sagres is a DO (Denominación de Origen) area.

Llebre 2009 is made from Tempranillo, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Carignan and Syrah grapes, it was aged in French oak for 3 months before bottled, which brings toasty notes to the palate, and subtle oak to the nose.

The nose also is plenty of aromas of red fruits, and in the mouth it’s silky and fresh, with soft tannins and good acidity, plenty of red fruit jam, spices, and a discrete oak.

A very good wine, which I enjoyed which I enjoyed with a wine-peppered sauced steak… Fantastique!