Tasting Cap Negre 2009

This red crianza from Roussillon is made from Carignan (or Samsò), Grenache (or Garnatxa) and Syrah. Roussillon is located in the French region also known as French Catalonia, where most of the population also speaks Catalan.

Cap Negre has a vivid cherry colour with purple trim. Its aromas of ripe fruit, mainly strawberries and blackberries, with notes of menthol, fine spices and a subtle dairy, very intense and well balanced. On the palate it has fruitiness, herbs and smoked notes, with a good and persistent length.

It was aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, which can be noticed on the aromas and the flavours.

Food recommendations are soft meat, spaghetti carbonara, and cheeses.

Be Aware of Wine Prices in Dublin's Supermarkets

I don't buy my wines in supermarkets anymore, nor in off-licenses, nor in wine shops... It's been some time already that I only buy my wines online, from off-shore shops around Europe, wherever I can get a good deal in the shipment. This does not prevent me from being a market observer, and I'm constantly out there checking wine prices, and you don't have to be a sophisticated wine shopper to notice that wine prices tend to zigzag up and down like youngers making their way back home from a good craic. And then, we end up buying the nearest bottle that is on offer...
.
Supermarkets understand this, and most of the wine sold in Ireland is sold on some sort of offer, just for the use of the words "sales", "half price", "offer", etc. Some people are triggered by those words, but in reality they're telling us that we don't have a clue on how much they are actually worth!

Recently I've checked prices mostly in SuperQuinn, because is my local store, and to take an example, El Circulo, a red crianza Spanish Rioja, was retailed at €20, normal price, but was on sales for €10 the most of the year, but now SQ its normal price is €21,99! Other example is Farnese Lava Greco Di Tufo, a white Italian now retailed at €16.49 (on sale for €13,00), but I well remember not long ago its full price was €13,99, on sales for €7!

This is clearly not a SuperQuinn's phenomenon... Neither a Dublin's one! I checked Tesco's half-price offers online for the week (hurry up... it ends today!!) and they include a "Special Offer" were you save €11.29 (!) when buying Oceans Edge Pinot Grigio, which allegedly was €19.29 but now is only €8.00! Guess what? The actual price was €9.99 for the most of this year, with some offers on €8, but now they want you to believe it's a super special sale! If you pay €19.29 for it and then find that out later, would you feel like you've been conned?