Wine:Superquinn's new wine manager is revamping the supermarket chain's entire stock, and introducing more than 100 exclusive new wines
With wine, as with other aspects of life, it can be fatal to rest on your laurels. Take Superquinn. It was in the vanguard of wine awareness in the 1980s and early 1990s when Fergal Quinn made it the place for the middle classes to shop. Many people honed their palate on the Irish multiple's innovative approach before the supermarket changed tack and began to rely on established brands. Fast-forward a decade or so and Superquinn, now under new management, is striving to regain a place in that niche.
Time has moved on and the supermarket wine business in Ireland is more complex and competitive. Apart from Superquinn, Dunnes Stores, Tesco, M&S, SuperValu, Spar and Centra now vie for your wine euros. When you add in O'Briens and other specialist multiples such as The Wine Buff and Oddbins, the competition gets even hotter.
David Orr, who recently moved from Dunnes Stores to head up the Superquinn wine operation, is keen to make up for lost time. He says that a Chilean wine promotion which kicks off on May 23rd is the first of many that will focus on more than 100 new wines they have sourced from every wine region. "We see this as a way of encouraging the customer to experiment and try out new wines."
He says that over the coming 18 months Superquinn will revamp its entire wine offering. "The producers we select from around the world must have a belief, a passion for what they are producing; this should then translate through to the consumer. Wine should have personality, an angle that follows through from the vineyard." Superquinn wanted to be a "bridge between the traditional specialist wine shop and the larger multiples", he said, and will concentrate its efforts on better quality wines. "Inevitably they will cost more, but we believe that our customers will be happy, provided they end up with a better bottle of wine in their hand."
In the Chilean promotion, Superquinn is offering more than 40 wines at a 25 per cent discount. They range from the Casa Rivas range at €6.74 to elite wines such as Errazuriz Don Maximiano at €42.79.
At the budget end, the Vina Mar range from Casablanca is strong, particularly the well-balanced 2006 Reserva Pinot Noir at €7.49, but the star of the show is the organic EQ range from the relatively new, cool-climate region of San Antonio. And while the leading light is the Syrah (see wine of the week) the other three wines, especially the smoky, fleshy Sauvignon Blanc (€13.49), are well worth investigation, especially at the offer price. However, be warned: the EQ wines are not available in all branches and are in short supply.
Bordeaux en primeur
The en primeur campaign has been underway for a
couple of weeks with the tastings followed by the usual staggered
release of prices. There was no great expectation for the 2006
vintage but some wines, particularly reds from Pomerol and whites
from Graves, outperformed the vintage, as did the usual
hand-nurtured elite at the top. But, in general, a cool gloomy
August and a wet September put paid to any hopes of a repeat of
2005's celebrated harvest.
Leading critic Jancis Robinson didn't mince her words when she wrote that "with a handful of exceptions, this is a vintage to be bought by wine lovers only if they have an empty cellar that they are dying to fill."
That said, the general consensus is more generous. Prices have fallen somewhat from the dizzy heights of last year to the level the 2004s are fetching today - which is still very expensive. This may be the year to invest elsewhere.