Wine

An all-time favourite at Bubble Brothers and fantastic value.

Ripe and juicy with good weight, moderate tannins and attractive notes of sweet blackberry, farmyard and thyme in a fresh, attractive red. Impressive length and complexity for a wine at this price.

The judges at the Paris Concours Général Agricole regularly award the estate's wines in recognition of their overall excellence and exemplary Cabardès character.

‘This is another wine that won me over on the first sniff: its delicious sweet farmyard scent giving way to a well-weighted medium mouthful’.
Blake Creedon, Irish Examiner, January 2012

The Cabardès appellation was established only in 1999 and covers red and rosé wines made in the hills north of Carcassonne. The appellation's slogan “Vent d'Est, Vent d'Ouest” reflects its catchment area: on the climatic border between balmy Languedoc-Roussillon and the more inclement South-West, in the foothills of the Montagne Noir. This double identity is manifested in the grape varieties which make up the appellation's wines: Grenache and Syrah from the Mediterranean; Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon, and Merlot, from the Atlantic side. The result is some unique wines, the majority of which are red.

The Jouclary history goes back as far as 1530, when Guilhaume de Jouclary was the Consul of Carcassonne. Pascal Gianesini, succeeding his father Robert who took over the estate in 1969, is currently in charge of coaxing out its wonderful, expressive wines.

Gorgeously fruity, fresh white with an exuberant nose of passionfruit, hawthorn and honey, followed by a medium-bodied, zingy palate of citrus fruits. Clean, minerally finish with the faintest suggestion of maritime Galicia.

Enjoy this perennial customer and staff favourite with seafood or as an aperitif.

“Full on flavours of gooseberry, peaches, and white flowers. Inviting creaminess.”

Decanter World Wine Awards , Silver Medal (2010 vintage)

Peñín Guide 2012 - Silver Medal, 86/100

“Pale gold. Bright and energetic on the nose, displaying fresh Meyer lemon and green apple scents that give way to a deeper melon quality on the back half. Juicy and focused on the palate, offering sappy citrus and orchard fruit flavors and a touch of honeysuckle. The floral quality carries through a long, mineral-tinged finish that emphatically echoes the orchard fruit note.”
Vinous, 90/100 (May 2017, 2015 vintage)

“Aromas of fresh citrus fruits, crushed vitamins and nectarine are pleasant and welcoming. This offers good acidic cut and overall balance. Flavors of stone fruits focus on apricot and nectarine, while the finish is elegant.”
Wine Enthusiast 90 points (December 2016, 2015 vintage)

Albariño is synonymous with the rainy DO of Rías Baixas in north-west Spain, where it accounts for 90% of all plantings. Officially, 12 varieties are allowed in the DO, but little is seen of the other whites - Loureiro, Caiño blanco, Treixadura, Godello, Torrontés - and less again of the six permitted red grapes.

Lightly-oaked, pure Tempranillo with medium body, soft tannins and ripe flavours of soft fruits, brown sugar and a pinch of allspice.

Plenty of fresh raspberry and strawberry notes make this an easy-going wine to be enjoyed on its own or with a wide range of savoury foods. The hint of oak gives it just enough depth to make an ideal table wine for vegetable, poultry and pork dishes too.

Bodegas Altanza, located in Rioja Alta, was established by a group of wine-loving businessmen in 1988. It has a modern approach to winemaking and its wines are known for their keen price-quality ratio.

This is an excellent basic Bordeaux whose easy charm and fruity, herb-scented attack suits all kinds of meals.

It's a true everyday wine, with relatively low alcohol and pleasant vanilla character enhancing the decent finish. Made from vineyards in the Entre-deux-Mers appellation, its blend of grapes is mostly Merlot for smoothness, while Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc add spice and structure to the blend.

The wine is named for an eleventh century monk, one of the first to join the abbot Saint-Gérard at the abbey of La Sauve Majeure and a passionate viticulturalist in addition to his monastic calling.

Intense red colour with fresh, healthy fruit aromas and a hint of oak. Well rounded on the palate, this aromatic red has ripe concentration, with notes of black cherry, blackberry, liquorice and tobacco. The firm tannins fade into a long, spicy finish. Vinified in stainless steel tanks before a light oaking (twelve months) in French and American barrels.

Good with all sorts of food, this is a superb match for barbecued meats, roast lamb, and kebabs.

92/100 James Suckling
90/100 SILVER Gilbert & Gaillard 2019, blind tasting
90/100 Josh Reynolds, Vinous
90/100 Tim Atkin Report 2021

There is no mistaking the commitment of the Purato range—certified carbon neutral— to minimizing the environmental impact of its excellent everyday wines.

Not only are the wines themselves made from organically grown grapes, but the bottles, labels and cartons for the range are as far as possible made from recycled materials, with pure vegetable inks used in printing.

The blending of the two grapes: indigenous Catarratto with Pinot Grigio creates an enjoyable, everyday drinking wine that delivers intense aromas of citrus and tropical fruits, with a crisp, lively fruit character on the palate too. This is a perfect wine for seafood or as an appetizer—or why not get into the spirit of the Purato project and try it with some locally produced organic fare?

‘…this Sicilian white is all about freshness’
Tom Doorley, Irish Mail on Sunday, May 2020

Smoky red fruits, good acidity and a long spicy finish make this a great choice for dining. Medium bodied, lightly tannic, with ripe blackcurrant, blackberry, and toasty oak flavours.

The 2015 vintage was awarded a gold medal at the 2017 competition for French independent winemakers.

The Château, which dates from the fifteenth century, belonged to successive Comtes of Ségur Cabanac until 1888 and then, to a Bordeaux wine merchant, M. Saint-Cyr Mortier. The Lacombe family are its current occupants.

An extravagant bouquet of sweet spices and pepper, followed by a full-throttle, firm-tannined wash of ripe blackberry, menthol and minerals. A very serious wine! So treat like a Bordeaux, and aerate well, before enjoying alongside roast beef, mature cheeses or chargrilled vegetables.

Cabardès is a relatively small red-and-rosé appellation in the hills north of Carcassonne. Its catchment area is on the climatic border between balmy Languedoc-Roussillon and the more inclement South-West, in the foothills of the Montagne Noir. This double identity is manifested in the grape varieties which make up the appellation's wines: Grenache and Syrah from the SE; Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon, and Merlot, from the SW/Bordeaux. The result is some genuinely unique wines, the majority of which are red.

‘At this price it's a steal!’
Mary Dowey, The Irish Times

Medium-bodied French Malbec, really juicy and fresh with mild tannins and attractive, gently spicy dark fruit flavours. You may find notes of leather and black olive too.
Though you can drink this on its own very easily, it works best—deliciously well—with casseroles, roasts and barbeques.

The wines of Cahors can be burly enough in general (not for nothing is one of the estate's specialities given the time-honoured title of 'the black wine') but this Esprit de Flore, Jean-Luc Baldes' fine, early-drinking example, is made entirely from young-vine fruit and so offers a soft, smooth and very approachable take on the style.

There is no mistaking the commitment of the Purato range—certified carbon neutral— to minimizing the environmental impact of its excellent everyday wines.

Not only are the wines themselves made from organically grown grapes, but the bottles, labels and cartons for the range are as far as possible made from recycled materials, with pure vegetable inks used in printing.

Nero d'Avola is indigenous to Sicily and an ideal choice for organic production because it is suited to the conditions of the island and has evolved to resist the particular challenges posed by the local climate and soils.

This is a medium-bodied dry red with soft tannins and attractive red fruit character. Its layers of flavour make it an excellent accompaniment to meat and tomato dishes—so it's perfect with lasagne, pizza and spaghetti bolognese as well as vegetarian meals. Of course, if you're trying your hand at some Sicilian specialities, so much the better.

‘…rich, supple, cherry-scented and fresh’
Tom Doorley, Irish Mail on Sunday, May 2020

This is a fine, ripe, velvety Malbec with smooth dark fruit character and a long finish. It's tasty on its own, and makes a special
impact when you match it with the best steak or a really good barbecue.

It's a perfect match for beef and other roast meats, but the layers of sumptuous red and black fruit flavour are revealed alongside all kinds of savoury food from tapas to nut roast and beyond.

It's a winter warmer, a summertime treat when the coals are glowing, and decidedly delicious at all times in between.

Rich plum, blackcurrant and raspberry aromas lead to a palate that explodes with red berry flavours before melting into the soft rounded tannins typical of the Sangiovese grape.

As a food wine, Sangioveses are friendly and accommodating, and traditionally served with tomato-sauced pasta dishes; however, because of the fifteen per cent Merlot in this classic blend, it is equally successful paired with red meats or even a rich soup.

According to the company's website, the Umbrian wine revolution begins at Cantina Tudernum. The Cantina is one of the largest wineries in Umbria, and is situated on the slopes of Todi’s hills, along the ancient Tiber Road. Founded in 1958, the winery uses only regionally produced grapes in partnership with 350 selected vineyards from the surrounding area.

You'd have to have a heart of stone not to like this delicious, vibrant Verdejo.

It has irresistible lime and peach aromas, lively freshness and supple body. It's a fantastic white wine as an appetizer, and has enough character to accompany any light meal with its fragrant, confident charm.

Get a taste of the Wild Atlantic Way! Made on Valentia Island, this is Ireland's first native vermouth and contains twenty different botanicals, including many from the island itself. It's a richly aromatic and indulgent fortified wine—a triumph!

Its creators, Anna and Orla Snook O'Carroll, moved to Valentia Island in 2018 and took inspiration from local wild plants and flowers when it came to selecting the botanical essences used in their recipe.

Sweet and bitter plant extracts are blended with caramel and added to a base wine—a Rueda Verdejo—to give powerful and beguiling aromas suggestive of both the local flora and exotics such as oranges. This deep, evocative and various bouquet is matched on the palate by sumptuous smoothness and a perfect balance of bitter herbal notes and sweet, spicy exotic flavours in a vermouth that lends an Irish flavour to the long traditions of this versatile drink.

Enjoy Valentia Island Vermouth as an aperitif, perhaps over ice, or use it in any cocktail—perhaps a Negroni—calling for vermouth. Of course it's a natural partner for a good Irish gin, but your mixological imagination needn't stop there.

A Saint-Emilion generous enough to offer some hints of a Pomerol experience, with dark, dry cherry fruit and earthy, spicy flavours giving depth and character. There's a lean, refreshing streak that balances the fullness of the fruit and makes this a very attractive food wine. Fine, elegant tannins linger into the finish of an ideal accompaniment to roasts and stews.

It's no wonder that prosecco is so popular, when it's as joyfully easy to enjoy as this aromatic example.

To accompany the fine fizz there are typical aromas of citrus fruit and spring flowers, and fresh, fruity flavours with hints of citrus and also of more tropical fruits. While the bubbles are soft and fine, there's brisk acidity too that keeps each mouthful appetizing and makes this an easy choice for all kinds of occasions and especially celebrations big or small.

A generous and structured Tempranillo from the popular Ribera del Duero region in north central Spain.

As well as direct, fruity aromas of blackberries and plums, there are evocative hints of warm caramel from the five months' oak ageing that makes this wine a roble and dark, inky scents too.

In the mouth, its flavours are full, fruity and lasting, with rounded tannins and a final flourish of that inky depth.

The appassimento method of making wine from grapes dried in the sun is a way of adding texture and raisiny intensity to the fresh fruit flavours of the juice.

The most famous wines made by this method are probably the Amarones and Valpolicella Ripassos of the Veneto region of northern Italy, but there is a similar tradition in Sicily, and this luscious red demonstrates that the island's indigenous Nero d'Avola is also an excellent candidate for the drying treatment.

Because the grapes for 'Siccari' (a dialect word for 'sun-dried') come from the relatively higher and cooler vineyards of Sicily's south-east, there's an invigorating freshness in the fruit that balances the enriching, concentrating influence of the appassimento.

The result is a voluptuous but not overpowering wine, silky-smooth and succulent, with plum and cherry character and just a hint of residual sugar. It's a perfect, full-flavoured partner for meat dishes, and its rich, very slightly off-dry finish and gentle tannins make it ideal with good cheese too.

DRINK OF THE WEEK ‘…smooth and round but not in any way jammy. Layered, intense, lovely’
Tom Doorley, Irish Mail on Sunday, May 2020

A deliciously full and satisfying crianza from one of the Rioja region's landmark wineries, a striking building on seven levels that looks out over the Baigorri vines.

Attractive and complex aromas of red and black fruits are given breadth by suggestions of tobacco and leather from the wines' fourteen months in French and American oak.

Although this is a full, powerful wine, there's a freshness and juiciness that balances the rich flavours and subtle depths and makes this a very impressive all-rounder: bright enough for lighter meals and snacks, but with plenty of oomph for steaks, stews and game too.

Bright, energetic red fruit aromas and flavours make this an easy choice for all kinds of occasions with food or without.

It's a fruity, rounded young wine with great ruby colour in the glass, arresting raspberry and cranberry aromas from the off and delicious, crunchy fruit flavours.

A real taste of Spain and of Rioja at an irresistible price.

A serious charmer, cherry red in colour with a rich, enticing nose of spices and ripe fruit. The concentrated red berry flavours are balanced by notes of cherry, blackberry and spices with just enough structure and pleasing length.

Serve this attractive red from the prestigious Perrin stable at a comfortable room temperature for effortless pleasure, with or without a special meal in mind.

Though this is a wine for immediate enjoyment, it can certainly age for a while if necessary.