WineMason has been appointed the exclusive Irish agent for Gusbourne Estate. We have followed with great interest the remarkable evolution of English wine over the past two decades. Gusbourne Estate stands among the world’s leading sparkling wine producers, and we are delighted to represent them in Ireland. Considered to be one of the very best … Read More
WineMason is delighted to introduce Vignoble du Château de Bousval, the very first Belgian winery available in Ireland. Belgium is fast emerging as an exciting wine country, with producers like Château de Bousval leading the way in quality and innovation. Their vibrant, terroir-driven wines are earning international acclaim and bringing attention to Belgium as a … Read More
We are very grateful to our producers and customers who made their way to Dublin. We hope you all enjoyed the day and our wines as much as we did.
At a lunch for celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships, arguably the toughest trade competition dedicated to quality sparkling wines, Gramona Imperial 2017 Magnum was awarded, not one but three awards: Best Corpinnat, Best Sparkling Wine from Spain and Best Biodynamic Sparkling Wine in the World. 2017 is the … Read More
Spanish wine specialist, ex-sommelier at El Bulli and international wine judge, Ferran Centelles recently wrote an article on Salnés producers and their wines on jancisrobinson.com. He says he “had a chance to visit with Rodrigo Méndez of Forjas del Salnés. Méndez, working with Raúl Pérez, was instrumental in protecting the DO’s red wines, releasing the … Read More
June 2023 saw a successful visit from Michael Moosbrugger of Schloss Gobelsburg to Dublin which included a masterclass, a day in the trade and an Austrian dinner in Greenman Wines. It was clear that there is an insatiable thirst for Austrian wine, in both on and off trade. So we made the, not so difficult, … Read More
Domaine Rijckaert produce wines of exceptional quality from small plots of vines in the Jura and Burgundy. Florent Rouve, who runs the estate today, studied forestry and agricultural engineering before going on to study oenology in Dijon. His Burgundian wines are from 4 hectares of land in the Maconnais, and his Jura wines are situated … Read More
Mallorca is undergoing a defiant and welcome wine revolution. As the island has become synonymous with great gastronomy wine production has followed suit, with a small handful of winemakers at the helm, making wines they are proud to call Majorcan. Fighting the good fight, sixth generation winemaker, Tomeau Llabrés opened the doors of his garagiste … Read More
Having joined Winemason in April, I have the joyful task of tasting my way through the portfolio, one wine (sometimes more) at a time! A standout for me, so far, has been La Justice which sent me on a deep dive of Domaine de Bellevue and Muscadet. Jérôme Bretaudau, a maverick winemaker from Domaine de … Read More
Etna Bianco 2022 has just arrived as well as Etna Rosato 2022. We are selling through the last few cases of Etna Rosso 2020 and will have to wait until late September before Etna Rosso 2022 is in stock. Enjoy the whites and rose in the meantime or consider some of the Cru vineyards where we have stocks of 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The wines of Etna have been in short supply due to climatic challenges and especially due to the recent lows yields in 2021.
In 2021 production plummeted and the yields were the lowest of the last 20 vintages. April freezes, coulure, difficulties at flowering, followed by a four month drought resulted in very small berries with tough skins and little juice, with roughly a 30% loss in production, only partly compensated by several hectares of new vines of Nerello coming into production. On the positive side, the prolonged drought yielded all grapes in the healthiest sanitary condition ever seen. The harvest was long and deliberate, lasting over one month, and allowed slow but sure ripening.
2022 also produced climatic challenges. Winter was long and warm but with no significant snowfalls. In Spring rainfall was concentrated in the last weeks inducing a later budding. Stable Spring weather and above average temperatures were followed by a drought starting in early June and an unusual heat wave. July temperatures were lower though it was dry. The only advantage to the drought is the absence of disease pressure from either mildew or oidium. Good rainfalls in August preceded delightfully warm September and October months though the diurnal range was less than usual. Ultimately yields were good and the red wines are expected to be elegant and silky with rich volume and tannins having an opulent grip. The whites are lofty and more lavish in nature. Enjoy!
