KELLY'S HEROES:One of Ireland's leading hoteliers has an unflagging passion for wine
As Bill Kelly walks about his cellar, pulling out a bottle here and a bottle there - "Do you know Ramonet's wines? Amazing . . ." - you could be forgiven for forgetting that he is one of Ireland's leading hoteliers, the man behind Kelly's Resort Hotel in Rosslare,
Co Wexford, for he brims with enthusiasm for and knowledge about wine.
He loves assessing, talking about and drinking it. He wants to know where the grapes are grown, what the soil is like and what the climate is like. And he wants to meet its creators.
That's why Franco Conterno, son of the leading Barolo producer Arno Conterno, was to be found sampling Kelly's spa recently. Each spring and autumn Kelly invites a leading producer to share its wines with his guests.
In the laid-back atmosphere that is the cosily luxurious hotel's trademark, Conterno explains the qualities and complexities of his Barolos as we sip through a number of fine wines, including the remarkably complex single estate Aldo Contero Colonnello 2001 (€65 - modest for a top Barolo). There is no hard sell, just the sound of a man proud of his produce.
These wine events - the next one runs from February 25th to March 2nd and features wines from Burgundy, Alsace and Australia - are free to the hotel's guests. One suspects they are primarily for Kelly's benefit. (Kelly even stretched his love of wine into his love life: Isabelle, his wife and the mother of their six daughters, is the daughter of Paul Avril, whose Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape - now made by son Vincent - is considered one of the world's great wines.)
Unsurprisingly, the wine list at Kelly's includes Clos des Papes 2003, which Robert Parker gave 99 points out of 100; it costs a relatively reasonable €64. But there is much more. The list abounds with riches, particularly from France and Italy. Kelly, who travels widely in the service of his passion, imports most of them himself. He offers some of them for sale by the case - check out www.kellys.ie for details.
If I had €590 to spare I'd invest in a mixed case of the late Denis Mortet's wines, which features an intriguing quartet of Gevrey-Chambertins.
Speaking of this Burgundy commune, Jean-Louis Trapet, of the renowned Domaine Trapet, is among the guests heading to Rosslare on February 25th.