An Occasional Tipple: Wonderful wine from the tap (and other miracles)
I walked into the kitchen, put my glass beneath the tap and poured a glass of red wine. Which came as a bit of a shock to my darling wife, the illustrious Madame G. “Good Lord, Raymond! Red wine on tap!” she exclaimed, “Where is it all going to end?”.
I should clarify that unlike our Good Lord, I haven’t yet quite mastered the art of turning water into wine- the tap in question wasn’t attached to the kitchen sink- rather, it belonged to a box of wine, today’s WINE OF THE WEEK, the smooth, supple and well-structured 2022 Galodoro Reserva (£44.97 for 2.25 litre box or £29.97 to members, aka Angels, visit www.nakedwines.com).
This medium-bodied Portuguese red has an exuberantly juicy palate with plenty of berry and cherry flavours which are nicely balanced by soft tannins before yielding to a deftly spiced finish with hints of black pepper and coriander. It proved a fine accompaniment to the spaghetti, meatballs and spicy tomato sauce which I rustled up for supper on Sunday past at our lovely home, Rose Cottage.
Also performing miracles is Andrew Eakin from Cavan who abandoned a career selling cars in London to move to France in 2016 where he succeeded in his aim of producing high quality, organic wines at a reasonable price in Bordeaux- quite the high-wire balancing act- and along with his wife, Naomi Murtagh, has set up the company, Classic Drinks, which is beginning to make a bit of a splash on these shores. Worth checking out- visit www.classicdrinks.com.
Speaking in Dublin recently, Andrew said “It is lovely returning home to take part in events such as this and get the opportunity to talk to Classic Drinks’ customers about our wines and how we make them. At Chateau Puynard, we set out to produce low intervention wines that we are ourselves want to drink and bring the joy of that to others. Producing organic wines in Bordeaux is complex and challenging but we have met those challenges and in doing so stepped out of many of the ways in which you are ‘meant’ to produce wine in the appellation.”
Continuing today’s theme of transformation, word reaches me that a much beloved old bar, Hagan’s in Irish Street, Dungannon, has been taken over by Oak Leisure Ireland, refurbished and will be relaunched next month with beer garden and food offerings- it promises to be Tyrone’s next happening place- check it out if you’re in the area.
Where better to finish than with dessert and today’s final recommendation is a Greek dessert wine, the succulent, rich and very full-bodied 2023 Mavrodaphni of Patra (£7.75, Tesco)? A luxuriously sweet palate with intense coffee and raisin flavours alongside backnotes of caramel and spices this decadent red was a fine accompaniment to a sinfully delicious ricotta chocolate dessert I picked up in Lidl from their superb Italiamo range.
Yes, we recommend desserts here too as well as vino. There is, in truth, very little we don’t do if the price is right and we’re very, very cheap. I’m off out for a walk now to visit my dear mother who lives on the far side of the bay - think I’ll follow the crows and gulls and take a little shortcut over the sea . Till next week, tipplers, sante!