Joe Breenrecalls the wine highlights of 2006
There were many memorable moments and wines last year. As always, the best were those shared with friends and family. Here are a couple that linger in the memory.
Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2004(about €50; Fallon & Byrne; Donnybrook Fair; Jus De Vine, Portmarnock; Redmonds, Ranelagh, Dublin) has, of course, an Irish connection. Tim Kirk's father is from Co Clare, and Clonakilla was the area, near Ennis, where the family farm was situated. And the logo is rendered in Celtic script.
But the inspiration for the wine is the northern Rhone, specifically Côte-Rôtie, although Kirk is fast making his own legend at his winery outside Canberra. The wine is so concentrated and pure, so silkily spicy and sensuous, so abundant in blackberry and cherry flavour, so perfectly structured, with all the elements hanging so well together, that you keep going back to make sure it was that good. It was.
Kirk also makes a number of other wines, of which only the impressive Hilltops Shiraz (about €25) is available here.
Last year I also fell for Alsace in a big way. The wines of Domaines Schlumberger and Domaine Weinbach, in particular the latter's stunning Tokay Pinot Gris "Cuvée Laurence", which should be on the Irish market next year, were fine examples of the region's craft, but Trimbach's Cuvée Frédéric Émile Riesling 2003(€35-€40; Fallon & Byrne, Dublin 2; and Jus de Vine, Malahide, Co Dublin) remains simply awesome. Restrained and elegant with a honeyed intensity, it has a finish that goes on forever.