Ch La Coste Première Cuvée Blanc 2014, Coteaux-d’Aix-en-Provence
One day I hope to pay a visit to the remarkable Ch La Coste in Provence. This large property was bought by Irish businessman Patrick McKillen in 2002, and is now run by his sister Mara. It is certainly very different to most wine estates, with an amazing collection of sculpture and installations from many of the world’s greatest exponents, including Seán Scully, Tracey Emin, Andy Goldsworthy, Tadao Ando and Hiroshi Sugimoto. Each was asked to choose a site on the Château grounds for their work. There are buildings designed by architects Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel, the latter being responsible for the stunning winery.
As for the wine, McKillen hired Matthieu Cosse as winemaker and he is producing some seriously good wine. I tasted three: a red, white and rosé, all priced at €15.95, and all available from Terroirs in Donnybrook. The entire range was very good, and I was tempted to feature the rosé, as this is the flagship wine of Provence. However, the white, an unusual blend of Vermentino and Sauvignon Blanc, intrigued me. Vermentino is the local grape, and Sauvignon the fashionable variety at the moment.
It is the sort of blend that shouldn't really work, but it does. This is a delicious lightly fruity dry wine with lifted refreshing aromas and citrus peel. Perfect for drinking al fresco with salads and fish dishes or simply as an aperitif. So if you are heading down to Provence this summer, why not drop in? The estate is open to visitors and has a café where you can enjoy the produce in situ, including the above wine. See ch-la-coste.com.
Road Trip American Style IPA, Kinnegar
€3.99 for a 500ml bottle 6.2%
Cathal McHugh was one of the first retailers to champion real beer. His two off-licences on the north side of Dublin had a great selection of craft beers from around the world years before most of his rivals. So when it came to marking their 20th anniversary, it made sense to brew their own celebration beer.
McHugh’s hooked up with Kinnegar in Rathmullan, Co Donegal, to create Road Trip. "We’ve been working with Rick since he started out with a tiny piece of kit," says Cathal McHugh, "sending us down six bottles of this and six of that; we were his first customer in Dublin. He was one of our best and most consistent suppliers so he was our first port of call."
They agreed a recipe and a team of three from McHugh’s headed up to Donegal. Road Trip was made using three malts and five hops, before being dry-hopped with a further three. I haven’t the space to include all of them here so you’ll just have to buy a bottle, read the label and then drink the beer. You won’t be disappointed. It is slightly hazy, bursting with lively hop character, some malt in the background and a crisp bitter finish.
McHugh is delighted with the result: "the liquid you taste at the end of the brew day is soupy and sweet, but it turned out just the way we wanted. We were looking for a classic American IPA, authentic and true. You need a strong malt backbone, high alcohol and a matching hop character. Some people don’t like its uncompromising style – but plenty do. It has been very successful, so maybe we’ll try again with a different beer brewed elsewhere in a few months."
