The Dutch invented gin, the British added the tonic, but it was the Spanish who perfected the art of a perfect G&T.

Spain is Europe’s largest gin market with an estimated 3.2 million cases consumed each year. If you have visited the country in the last 10 or 15 years, it’s easy to see how gin has become the national spirit where even the humblest bar could have a stock of fifty different brands lining the wall.

Here you will pick up some truly impressive G&T’s or as the Spanish call it simply, Gin Tonic. Spanish bars are known for serving their Gin Tonic in a large wine glass with plenty of large chunks of ice, topped with incredible, and sometimes outlandish, garnishes. Yes, sometimes they can go a bit wild with the garnish, the term ‘gin salad’ has been used disparagingly for some, but one sip and you’ll appreciate the benefit to the Spanish approach. An approach we are see more and more of on this island.

Doing away with the standard collins glass, instead using a large glass allows you to really enjoy the aromas. The more ice cubes in your drink, the slower they will melt so preserving the taste for longer.

There is more gin, delivering more flavours, in a standard Spanish pour with 70ml to 90 ml of gin in the glass combined with a standard 200ml bottle of tonic, so a ratio of 3:1 or 2:1. Spaniards also pay as much attention to the tonic as the gin, mixing and matching different tonics to each gin.

The garnish? While adding flavour it also adds to the fun! Experiment with different fruits and herbs to find the one that suits you best.

So, pull out your largest wine glass and try one of these great Spanish gins, all three are included in our gin sale!

Gin Mare (Was €62, Now €52)

No list of Spanish gins would be complete without a mention for the venerable Gin Mare. This unusual and herby gin is world class. In fact, I dedicated a whole blog post to it a little while back, check it out here. My recommendation is for a fruitier citrus tonic, with some rosemary or thyme garnish.

Nordes (Was €45, Now €39.95)

A gin with a real sense of place. Nordes is distilled from the pomace of the local Galician grape variety Albarino, lending the gin a smooth soft body. Floral notes with hints of mint and lemongrass abound. Try it with a dryer style tonic and lime garnish to bring out the fruitier elements.

5^th Gin (Was €41, Now €35.95)

There is no escaping the pink gin graze! Spain hasn’t been found wanting here either. This is a delicate and fruity gin with plenty of red summer fruits; strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Try it with a classic premium tonic and a wafer of dark chocolate, trust me it tastes great.

Salud!

Please note prices are correct at time of publishing, these offers will end on May 1^st,  please check our website or stores for the most up to date pricing.

Galicia is located in the Northwest of Spain on the verge of the Atlantic, it is known as the seventh Celtic nation. The language is peppered with Celtic words, pagan customs still abound and numerous Celtic symbols can still be identified in the stone relics of the region.

Interestingly, and perhaps because of this historical kinship, the white Albariño wines from this region seem to suit the Irish palate very well. Indeed, the current export figures show that Ireland is the seventh largest importer worldwide and these numbers are on the increase as the Irish fan base for the wines continues to grow.

Vines of between 200-300 years of age have been discovered in the region, but the Rias Baixas DO was only established in 1980. This is in stark contrast to Rioja for example, where the protection of the region for quality grape growing started in the 16th century.
Prior to 1980, and today, a meander through the region will highlight a local culture of grape growing to make local wines for personal consumption. In fact, numerous houses can be spotted with two or three rows of vines growing alongside, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes and other garden vegetables.

The style of the wines made from the Albariño grape range from refreshing greengage and green apple notes from the Northern cooler areas of the region to melon, peachy and floral in character from the more Southern parts. Both style share an integrated refreshing acidity and can also have an underlying saline note.

Whilst the wines are usually unoaked, they can be oak fermented or aged in oak with the intention of adding a touch of depth, concentration and roundness to the palate.

Wines from this variety are very versatile and work remarkably well with food especially shellfish, fish, vegetable dishes, risotto and typical casual Spanish dishes such as tortilla.

For fans of Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño is certainly an excellent alternative if you want to experiment with something a little different. The grape is now being more widely planted and apart from Portugal beside the border of Galicia, Albariño can also be found in New Zealand, US, Uruguay and the Languedoc.

TASTING TIME

Lagar de Costa Albariño
This is a small family winery located on the Galician coast in the heart of Albariño country near Cambados. The mother and father established the vineyards and winery a few year ago and their son is now managing the vineyard and their daughter is making the wines.
The style of the wine shows some peachy fruit, hints of melon and crisp acidity.

Granbazán Contrapunto Albariño
Started in 1980 in the early days of quality Albariño growing, this family estate is located in the Salnes Valley close to the sea.
The property is dominated by a Chậteau style villa nestling amongst Albariño vineyards with the modern winery housed within the villa. The wine is crisp, refreshing and elegant with a hint of ripeness mid palate.

Marqués de Murrieta Pazo Barrantes Albariño
This small twelve hectare estate is owned by the iconic Marqués de Murrieta Rioja producer.
Also located in the Salnes Valley, this single vineyard wine is known for its highly developed aromatic profile of fruit and flowers and a concentrated palate with depth and intensity. This wine due to its complexity has the potential to age.

Domaine Les Auzine Alaina Albariño
This Albariño is in fact from the Languedoc, a family estate owned by an Irish lady Neasa Miguel, married to French wine maker Laurent Miquel.

Their Albariño vines are planted on limestone, in a cool high altitude microclimate. Laurent’s wine is beautifully balanced with notable minerality and freshness hints of citrus and a ripe mid palate.

To celebrate Malbec World Day, this Tuesday, April 17th, we are taking 20% off a selected range of Malbecs.

Why not join in the celebrations at home by choosing a Malbec and take part in in the global conversation by using the hashtag #MalbecWorldDay

I know that, I for one will be savouring one of the wonderful wines below this evening, now if I could only decide which one!

The pioneering wine-making team at Ocho y Medio were the first to realise that the high-altitude vineyards of Spain's central plateau were perfectly suited to Malbec.

My first choice comes from a somewhat surprising location. For Ocho y Medio Malbec (€10.36 down from €12.95), the grapes are grown in high-altitude vineyards in central Spain, this thoroughly-modern Malbec remains un-oaked, allowing the ripe black-berried & dark plum fruit to shine.

Gèrard Bertrand's Stunning Hospitalet estate.

Staying in Europe for now, ‘H’ de l'Hospitalet Malbec (€10.95 down from €13.95), is a stunning wine made in the south of France by multi-award-winning winemaker, Gérard Bertrand. Violet and blackberry aromas on the nose lead into a palate with flavours of ripe bramble fruit, vanilla, cocoa and dark plum. The finish is long with a silk-smooth mouthfeel.

Norton's vineyards cover some of the best land in the Mendoza region.

My next three selections all come from Malbec’s spiritual homeland of Argentina. The first of these, Norton Barrel Select (€11.96 down from €14.95), displays beautifully balanced mix of fruit and oak, with intense perfumed black pastille aromas mingling with vanilla overlaying a smooth full-bodied palate.

Next up is a relatively new addition to our range, Vaglio Chacra (€15.16 down from €18.95), has an incredible concentration of dark plum and blackberry fruit on the nose, which follows through on to the subtly spicy and super smooth palate.

Bodegas Caro's Malbec vineyards are planted at high-altitude in the foothills of the Andes

My last pick, Aruma (€14.95 down from €18.45), is from top estate, Bodegas Caro, as hedonistic and full of chocolatey richness as they come. This is a joint venture between Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite and Nicolas Catena. The winemaking is overseen by DBR's technical team. Rich, full flavoured; gorgeous ripe, blackberry and plum fruit. Silky smooth this is a superb Malbec.

All of these wineries will be present at our upcoming Spring Wine Festival (Limerick on May 10th and Dublin May 11th and 12th) where you will have a chance to taste more than 250 wines from over 60 of the world’s best winemakers!

*Please note, these prices are available in-store or online on April 17th only, please check our website or stores for the most up to date pricing. 

For my blog this week I’d like to draw your attention to some of our wines which have been reviewed in the Irish Press over the last few weeks.  All of these wines will be available to try at our Spring Wine Festival.

Leyda Pinot Noir Reserva

“With a juicy nose of ripe strawberry, raspberry and a touch of spice, the fruit on the palate is more restrained and savoury, showing the influence of a cool climate in Chile; ripe tannins and good acidity add to the structure. Perfect with seared tuna, duck or steak tartare.”

Corinna Hardgrave, Irish Independent 7th April 2018

Leyda winemaker, Viviana Navarrete is passionate about her region's potential for producing high-quality Pinot Noir.

Gaia Monograph Assyrtiko

“Assyrtiko originates on the gorgeous island of Santorini (most likely) and is perfectly suited to Greece thanks to its ability to retain acidity even in the hottest climates. I’ve praised Gaia’s reds here before but this white from the hilly Koutsi region of Nemea is new to me — citrus and honeysuckle aromas, fresh on the palate but with tropical touches shining through.”

Irish Examiner, 7^th April 2018

Tenute Rubino Punta Aquila Primitivo  

“An explosion of delicious smooth sun-kissed dark fruits. Rounded and supple, with plenty of power, this should be drunk with rich stews or pasta with long-simmered meaty tomato sauces.”

John Wilson, the Irish Times, 10^th March 2018          

Sun-drenched Primitivo vines at the Tenute Rubino Estate         

Pazo Barrantes Albariño

“I’m sure that the Albariño grape will win many new friends during the upcoming Spanish Wine Week — and this is really a top end example. Excellent freshness on the palate and on the nose, which has a wonderful citrus character. The rounded, creamy flavour profile is one of great balance and purity, with notes of citrus, green apples. Enjoy with: Shellfish – a marriage made in heaven.”

Matthew Nugent, the Irish Sun, 10^th March 2018     

Albariño thrives in the cool-climate vineyards at Pazo Barrantes estate in Rias Baixas 

To find out more about our Wine Festival click here

As our Spring Wine Festival is now just a little over five weeks away, we’re all getting very excited about it here in O’Briens!

With over 60 wineries visiting Dublin for a fantastic weekend of wine tasting on Friday & Saturday, May 11^th & 12^th, this will be our biggest Spring wine festival yet with over 250 wines to try and I firmly believe it will also be the best we have held. Australia, New Zealand, France, Chile, Germany, Spain, USA and Italy are just some of the countries who you will have the opportunity to explore through chatting with our winemakers and tasting their eclectic wine ranges. On the night of Thursday, May 10^th we’ll also be holding our Wine Festival in Limerick, with over 170 wines from 40 wineries to taste.

Of course, we have plenty of our favourite wineries returning, many of them visit regularly, but we also have some very exciting first-time attendees, I have picked out a few below to pique your interest.

Jose Lo Vaglio Balbo in one of his wonderful high-altitude Malbec vineyards.

From Argentina, Vaglio is a new winery created by winemaker José LoVaglio Balbo. José’s Mother Susanna Balbo is one of Argentina’s leading winemakers, and José’s vision for Vaglio wines is to make single vineyard wines that focus on micro-climates and minimal winemaking.

For Vaglio Aggie Malbec (€16.95 down from €18.95), grapes are sourced from a single vineyard in Gualtallary, which sits at the Northern extreme of the Premium Uco Valley, the cool climate and poor soils here combine to yield wines of exceptional elegance.

On the palate, an intriguing mix of white pepper and floral notes add serious complexity to the plum and blackberry fruit. The tannins are there, but very well-integrated and the finish is fresh and long.

Luigi Rubino and family at home in their sun-drenched Salento vineyards.

Moving now to the Puglia region of Southern Italy, where the Tenute Rubino project was started in the 80’s by Tommaso Rubino, who was a firm believer in Salento's potential. 1999 his son Luigi, together with his wife Romina Leopardi, took over the reins. Since then many innovations have been implemented both in vineyards and in the winemaking, including building a brand new, modern winery.

Just like his Father before Him, Luigi’s vision is clear and simple: a devoted attention to the promotion of native local varieties.

Tasting his Marmorelle Rosso (€17.95), is like tasting the Southern Italian sunshine in a glass, this is a gorgeous, richly textured red wine with an abundance of ripe fruit; cherry, blackcurrant, blueberry and blackberry along with hints of nutmeg and cocoa.

For the next two wineries I want to highlight, we must re-cross the Atlantic and head for the West-Coast of the United States.

A truly iconic winery, Silver Oak's vineyards cover some of the best land in the Napa Valley.

The first of these is the iconic Silver Oak, which has been described by Robert Parker as one of the very best producers of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Napa Valley. Unlike most wineries, Silver Oak also maintain their own Cooperage, so they can be certain that only the finest Missouri oak is used for the ageing of their wines.

Their seriously classy Napa Valley Cabernet (€120.00) has abundant blackberry and blackcurrant fruit flavours complemented baking spice and tobacco leaf notes on a palate with silky tannins and perfectly balanced acidity.

As the founding winery in the Columbia Valley Region, Chateau Saint Michelle hold some of the very best vineyard sites.

Moving northward along the Western seaboard, we come to Washington State, and the Columbia Valley which is home to Château Saint-Michelle.  The mix of sunny days and cool evenings here create ideal conditions for intense aroma and flavour development.

Château Saint-Michelle Syrah (€18.95) is a very approachable red which boasts gentle pepper spice and perfectly ripe bramble fruit without ever becoming jammy, true to its label, style-wise this is very much a Syrah rather than a Shiraz.

Tickets for the Spring Wine Festival can be purchased in any of our stores or buy your tickets online for Dublin HERE and for Limerick HERE.

An e-ticket will be emailed to you to bring on the day.

*Please note, prices are correct at time of publishing, please check our website or stores for the most up to date pricing. 

O’Briens wine are thrilled to announce their collaboration with TV3’s ‘The Restaurant’ as official wine partner for the new season. Wine director for O’Briens and Master of Wine, Lynne Coyle worked closely with the team to pair each exciting dish on the celebrity’s menus with a unique and delicious wine from the O’Briens portfolio of over 800 exclusive wines.

During service, the celebrities get instant feedback in the kitchen to their menu from remote cameras and microphones covering the dining room. So the pressure was on for Lynne to choose wines that would not only match the food but also delight the diners by enhancing their overall experience.

Domaine Begude Gewurztraminer | Languedoc, France

“This delicious starter combination calls for a rich and somewhat exotic white. The Gewürztraminer works with the cheese but also with the honey, brioche and hazelnut.” - Director of Wine, Lynne Coyle MW

Murphy Goode Chardonnay | Napa, US

“Hearty starter, full bodied Californian white is ideal with the sweetness of the crab, the wines freshness thirst quenching with the Guinness bread and ripe enough to match the savouriness of the dressing.” - Director of Wine, Lynne Coyle MW

Domaine Olivier Santenay | Burgundy, France

“Burgundy red to match the Bourgogne sauce, moderate tannins, summer fruits of the Pinot Noir and its savoury hints are the perfect match for this classic French dish.” - Director of Wine, Lynne Coyle MW

Domaine Naturalist Sauvignon/Semillon | Margaret River, Australia

“A maritime influenced wine to match this delicious seafood medley, the exuberant Sauvignon with its crisp acidity perfect with the Turbot and the roundness of the Semillon adding weight for the prawns & mussels.” - Director of Wine, Lynne Coyle MW

Our Gin Sale is now on! With some incredible value from home grown heroes to gins from around the world. If you would like to know more about our Irish gins then head over to our Guide to Irish Gin.

But, how about some new gin from across the water? We are constantly on the lookout for great gins, and couldn't pass up this London Dry.

What’s London Dry? It’s a classification of gin production where only water, additional neutral grain spirit, and a small amount of sugar (no more than 0.1 gram of sugar per litre) may be added after distillation. London Dry gin doesn’t not need to be made in London or indeed in the UK.

However, my pick for today is a gin that firmly places its London heritage front and centre.

Boodles Gin was created in 1845 and named after a famous London Gentleman’s Club – Boodles. One famous former member was James Bond author, Ian Flemming, making Boodles perfect for a vesper martini perhaps? The gin disappeared for a time and passed through a number of hands before thankfully being re-born a few years ago. What makes Boodles unusual in the that it does not contain any citrus botanicals, the assumption being that one will serve it with a citrus garnish of your choosing. As such it tastes mellow, herby and spicy making it the perfect base for your preferred G&T. And at a perfect price at €28.95 down form €34.95. Enjoy.

Please note prices are correct at time of publishing, please check our website or stores for the most up to date pricing.

O’Briens wine are thrilled to announce their collaboration with TV3’s ‘The Restaurant’ as official wine partner for the new season. Wine director for O’Briens and Master of Wine, Lynne Coyle worked closely with the team to pair each exciting dish on the celebrity’s menus with a unique and delicious wine from the O’Briens portfolio of over 800 exclusive wines.

During service, the celebrities get instant feedback in the kitchen to their menu from remote cameras and microphones covering the dining room. So the pressure was on for Lynne to choose wines that would not only match the food but also delight the diners by enhancing their overall experience.

Delheim Pinotage Rosé | Stellenbosch, South Africa

“The hint of ripe fruit sweetness on this wine will work well with the soused fish and the picked cucumber, it’s refreshing acidity should balance the oiliness of the mackerel and the weight of potatoes.” - Director of Wine, Lynne Coyle MW

Château Fontaine Audon Sancerre | Loire Valley, France

“This is an elegant, dry, mineral-driven Sauvignon Blanc which will be the perfect partner for the Feta, it also has enough depth of flavour to pair with the aubergine and other trimmings. - Director of Wine, Lynne Coyle MW

Gavi La Battistina | Piedmont, Italy

“Italian inspired food calls for this classic white from Italy, weight of fruit on the palate to cope with the rich ingredients and crisp refreshing acidity will match the creamy risotto and squash puree.” - Director of Wine, Lynne Coyle MW

Castelnau Picpoul de Pinet | Languedoc, France

“Currently a very fashionable white, it is versatile, and its purity is an ideal match for the spice of this dish with its accompaniment of couscous and it won’t cause a clash with the pomegranate.” - Director of Wine, Lynne Coyle MW

In its deliciously tender spring-Lamb, the traditional Easter Sunday lunch brings to the table one of my favourite food & wine matching opportunities, and in my opinion, this calls for a structured, flavoursome red wine.

You should aim for a red wine with a decent tannin structure, good depth of fruit and a finish that can endure as long as the lamb itself. The goal is to have a wine with enough fruit and acidity to handle the robust flavours of the lamb, but not overpower it in the process.

Taking all of this into account it should come as no surprise that the classic roast leg of lamb, bristling with garlic and rosemary has a natural affinity with red wines from some of the most renowned wine regions of Europe.

The first of these regions I want to highlight today is Bordeaux, and for this occasion, I personally would look to the softer, plumper wines of Bordeaux’s right bank

From Blaye, on the right bank of the Gironde, just across the river from Pauillac, Château la Raz-Caman (€15.95 down from €19.95) is an ambitious and charming wine made with 30% new oak barrels from four varieties that has plenty of black fruits, vanilla, spice and supple tannins. All in all, this is a wonderfully approachable Bordeaux, perfectly suited for early drinking

La Raz Caman's vineyards are planted on 'clayey limestone, stony' soils perfectly suited for producing Merlot-dominant reds.

The second classic lamb-friendly wine is Rioja. The perceived sweetness of most Riojas brought about by extended ageing in American oak is a lovely foil to roast lamb, especially when this includes rosemary and garlic. Monte Real Rioja Reserva (€13.95 down from €20.95) easily fits the bill, it has the lovely “vanilla meets berried fruit” character of traditional styles but there is extra richness and indeed more of a dark berry finish than any of its contemporaries.

For my final red recommendation, I could of course recommend a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, however the inclusion of a personal favourite of mine, Château Belles Eaux les Coteaux (€12.95 down from €22.95) will more than make up for this omission. Made with a similar blend of grapes to Châteauneuf and from vineyards just a little further south, moving from the Rhône to the Languedoc, this super smooth red is bursting with deliciously ripe bramble fruit, chocolate undertones and rich spices, yet retaining a degree of elegance to the finish not often seen from this region.

But of course, it’s not all about the reds, one of the great pleasures of this time of year is the return of fresher flavours and lighter fish-based dishes to the table and with them comes the opportunity to pair crisp, zesty and aromatic whites.

With simply grilled white fish & shellfish, for me the only wine is an Albariño such as Contrapunto (€12.95 down from €18.45) which has attractive pear, peach and lemon fruit but more as there's a chalky mineral streak and a zesty almost saline tangy finish.

However, if the dish calls for something a little more aromatic, why not try one of our all-time favourite Sauvignon Blancs, Astrolabe (€14.95 down from €19.95) is a wonderfully aromatic Marlborough Sauvignon, bursting with Lemon grass, gooseberry and citrus flavours, which lead into a deliciously-dry mineral finish.

Sticking with Sauvignon, but returning to the classics, my final selection is from Sancerre, Domaine des Grandes Perrières (€14.95 down from €19.95) is a classic Sancerre with a great depth of gooseberry and lemon fruit, and tongue-tingling minerality evident on the long crisp finish.

Best of all, with our loyalty promotion starting on Wednesday, March 28th and  running right through the weekend you will receive 15% back onto to your loyalty card for any purchase of six bottles of these wines or indeed of any of the more than 90 wines on promotion (6 for €50 wine promotion excluded from this offer). So why not drop in to your local O’Briens store this weekend and avail of this amazing offer.

*Please note, prices are correct at time of publishing, please check our website or stores for the most up to date pricing. 

With Easter looming large on the Horizon, many of us will be thinking of serving the traditional roast leg of spring Lamb, and the classic partner of red Bordeaux to serve alongside it.

So, it is very apt, that we have our spring Bordeaux parcels promotion running, of course buying Bordeaux can seem daunting for some, so to help de-mystify the region, I have laid out a few simple tips below.

The first point of note is that all Bordeaux wines from entry-level right up to some most of the world’s most expensive wines are made from a blend of two or more varieties, primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Cabernet Franc.

Also, the region is bisected by the Gironde River, and indeed you may have heard Bordeaux wines referred to as right or left bank.

On the left bank, Cabernet Sauvignon is king, these wines have more structure and tannin, with dark blackcurrant and blackberry fruit and can possess tremendous ageing potential.

On the right bank, the Merlot-dominant blends are generally softer and more approachable in their youth with layers of chocolate, spice, plum and red berry fruit.

As you can see from the map below, with the ten wines chosen, we have covered a wide geographic spread with our Bordeaux line-up, so we also have a wide range of wine styles represented.

This map highlights the broad geographic spread covered in the promotion

To give you a sense of the promotion, I have picked out a few of my favourites below.

If you really learn more about Bordeaux though, in my opinion tasting is far more enjoyable than reading, so why not start out by trying one of the wines below, all of which have 20% off this March & April, and for this weekend, all O’Briens stores will have Bordeaux on their tasting tables.

From the Left Bank:

The incredibly picturesque Château Lynch Moussas

My first choice is from Pauillac-based Château Lynch-Moussas, the excellent 2^nd wine Les Hauts de Lynch Moussas (€28.95 down to €23.15) has benefited from the meteoric upwards rise of the whole estate. It shows all the hallmarks of Pauillac with intense cassis and a graphite like spice and a touch of oak.

The vat-room, where the wine-making magic happens at Château Poujeaux

Moving to the south of the Medoc and the Moulis commune, Château Poujeaux (€48.00 down to €38.40) is a wine with intense sweet black fruits with aromas of violets and tobacco while the palate with enough youthful tannin to suggest it will age.

From the Right Bank:

I have chosen two wines to highlight the shift towards organic and biodynamic

Wonderfully ripe Cabernet grapes in Château Haut Brisson's organic vineyard just before harvest.

Château Haut Brisson was certified organic in 2010. They are now farming more of their estate using biodynamic farming techniques. Their 2^nd wine, La Grave (€26.95 down to €21.95) is a classic Saint-Émilion Grand Cru; plummy, rounded in texture with plenty of ripe black and red berried fruit all topped off with well-integrated oak.

The Meslin family at home in the grounds of Châeau Laroze

Another Saint-Émilion Grand Cru and my final selection Château Laroze has been in the hands of the Meslin family since 1882. Today it is home to a thoroughly modern winery and although not certified, organic farming is practised at the estate. The Château’s 1^st wine (€50.00 down to €40.00)   has wonderfully ripe plum and blueberry fruit which is accented by notes of dark chocolate and cedar on the smooth yet well-structured palate.

*Please note, prices are correct at time of publishing, please check our website or stores for the most up to date pricing.