A Taste of West Cork 2017

Dinner menu on parchmentWe're delighted to have been asked to join in with this year's Taste of West Cork festival, a celebration and exhibition of all things delicious from the Atlantic side of the county. Billy Forrester of Bubble Brothers travelled down to the beautiful Liss Ard estate in Skibbereen to introduce some of our wines at an event conjured up especially for the Taste of West Cork: A Taste of Liss Ard. The beautiful, tranquil country house made a very elegant, relaxed setting for the serious contemplation of head chef Danny Barter's tasting menu and the wines that we chose as complements to each lavish dish. The late substitution of sea bass for the originally planned mackerel as a fish course was no upset on the wine front: it's almost as though destiny intervened to come up with an even more carefully tailored food match for Cyril Marès's succulent Tradition Blanc. By all accounts, the event was a great success. Congratulations to the Liss Ard team for their energy, industry and imagination in showing what they can do, and thanks to them for inviting us to participate, with the wines you see listed below.

~ A TASTE OF WEST CORK | A TASTE OF LISS ARD ~

Amuse-bouche

Bottle of Irish strawberry wine on the menu at Liss Ard at A Taste of West CorkShot of apple and cucumber chilled soupMóinéir, Strawberry Wine of Ireland, (Irish strawberries • 11% abv)

Six Course Tasting Menu

Orange soaked Macroom mozzerella on a plate seen from above bottle of Austrian Nut Pinot Blanc white wine on the menu at Liss Ard at A Taste of West Cork▲Orange-soaked Macroom mozzarella green apple gel, sweet roast red pepper gel, fig syrup, hazelnut pearls Austrian Nut, Pinot Blanc, Niederösterreich, 2016 (Pinot Blanc • 13% abv) Ballotine loin of rabbit on a plate seen from above Bottle of 'Le Lucrezie' Sangiovese red wine from Cantina Tudernum in Umbria, Italy on the menu at Liss Ard at A Taste of West Cork▲Ballotine loin of rabbit wrapped in Serrano ham camomile broth, spiced plum gel, butternut squash purée Cantina Tudernum, Sangiovese ‘Le Lucrezie’, IGT Umbria, 2016 (Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet • 13% abv)

Duo of sea bass on a plate, seen from above

Bottle of white wine from Mas des Bressades in the Costières de Nîmes in southern France on the menu at Liss Ard at A Taste of West Cork▲Charred fillet of sea bass corn purée, wasabi, lime leaf, Roaring Water Bay mussel emulsion, samphire, crunchy corn kernel, garden herb oil Mas des Bressades, Tradition Blanc, AOP Costières de Nîmes, 2016 (Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier • 13½% abv) Wild venison Wellington in pastry on a plate seen from above Bottle of red wine from Acústic Celler in Montsant, Spain on the menu at Liss Ard at A Taste of West Cork▲Wild venison Wellington in a juniper berry crust wrapped in puff pastry cashew nut and wild mushroom purée, aged balsamic vinegar and redcurrant jus Acústic Celler, acústic, DO Montsant, 2014 (Carinyena, Garnatxa • 15% abv)

Liss Ard blackberry crème patissière tart on a plate seen from above

Bottle of red dessert wine from Mas Amiel in the Maury appellation in south-west France on the menu at Liss Ard at A Taste of West Cork
▲Liss Ard blackberry crème patissière tart
glazed blackberry, blackberry gel, blackberry sorbet Mas Amiel, Vintage, AOC Maury, 2012 (Grenache • 16.5% abv) Bottle of Late Bottled Vintage port from Butler, Nephew and Co. on the menu at Liss Ard at A Taste of West CorkWest Cork cheese board with homemade relishes and chutneys Butler, Nephew & Co. Late Bottled Vintage Port, 2007 (Tinto Cão, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca • 20% abv)