Spotlight on Bushmills: The Causeway Collection 1991 Madeira Cask Whiskey

My grandfather and generations of his family were born and raised in Northern Ireland, a stone’s throw from the Giant’s Causeway on the North Antrim coast, the river Bush and its namesake distillery, Bushmills. Bushmills Irish Whiskey was therefore a mainstay in my grandparent’s house. ‘Poppa’ George would always have his evening glass or ‘taoscán’ and when we came up to visit, he’d share one with my dad. The aroma is an early memory of the two of them that I will carry happily forever. 

This year, I am toasting them both with a very special whiskey from Bushmills: The Causeway Collection 1991 Madeira Cask. 

Bushmills & The Causeway Collection 

Bushmills is the world’s oldest licensed distillery with an incredible 400 year history of producing single malt, Irish whiskies with expertise passed down through many generations. It won the only gold medal for whiskey at the famous Paris Expo in 1889 and survived Prohibition, the barley taxes of the 1850’s and even a devastating fire around the same time. Today, it is still a world class distillery with a range of whiskies sought out all over the globe.

The Causeway Collection represents an exceptional range, where whiskeys are left to finish in special casks for a particularly long length of time. The result  is an assortment of concentrated and complex whiskies, each offering multiple layers of delicious flavour as dramatic, they say, as their beloved Giant’s Causeway and the County Antrim coastline on their doorstep.

The Causeway Collection 1991 Madeira Cask

Initially launched in November 2021, only 738 bottles of this limited-edition, thirty year old Madeira cask whiskey are available in Great Britain. It has seen more than thirteen years of maturation in oloroso sherry butts and ex-bourbon casks before enjoying an unrivalled maturation period of fifteen years in first-fill Madeira casks. The result is a deeply flavoured, silky smooth single malt whiskey with a sweet and saline character, notes of stone fruit and moch with a touch of creamy praline.

Find it exclusively at The Whisky Shop

Don’t forget, you can see the Giant’s Causeway in all its glory at the start of episode one of The Three Drinkers in Ireland, now streaming in Amazon Prime!

English sparkling wine to celebrate the Jubilee

With the Platinum Jubilee around the corner, it feels ridiculous to reach for Champagne when we have properly world class fizz on our doorsteps. English sparkling wine has come of age with even the most ‘basic’ bottles now really packing a punch in terms of flavour and complexity. This is thanks partly to more and more stocks of ‘reserve’ wines, which is wine from previous vintages held back deliberately to add to more recent, non-vintage blends. These older, reserve wines tend to add the toasty, brioche and apple pie crust notes to sparkling wine that we have come to love in the traditional method of sparkling wine. Here are some top English sparkling wine picks that should be on your radar.

Hampshire

Hattingley Valley, Classic Reserve

Hattingley Valley winery is found in rural Hampshire where the first vines were planted in 2008 and the first wines released in 2013. Made by multiple award-winning female winemaker Emma Rice with 53% Chardonnay, 31% Pinot Noir and 16% Pinot Meunier grapes, the Classic Reserve is Hattingley’s most widely available and most loved wine. A non-vintage sparkler based on the somewhat challenging 2015 vintage, this is the wine that gives you a true flavour of the Hattingley house style: Golden with fine bubbles, elegant notes of brioche, nougat and a touch of oak with a characteristic hedgerow note on the finish.

Find it at Waitrose for £30 a bottle.

Hambledon Classic Cuvée

Established in 1952 by Major-General Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones, Hambledon is England’s oldest vineyard and can be found nestled in the home of Cricket at Hambledon in Hampshire. Their Classic Cuvée is again, a blend of all three traditional grapes, (56% Chardonnay, 27% Pinot Noir, 17% Pinot Meunier). Grapes are handpicked on the estate and this cuvée uses the 2017 harvest as a base with 20% reserve wines added, giving it the characteristic toasty richness that Hambledon has become famous for. Hambledon also does fantastic tours, tastings and events. 

Find it at Majestic for £34.99 (or £23.99 as part of a mixed 6 case)

Sussex

Rathfinny Estate Blanc de Noirs 2018

Rathfinny has an enviable position on the sunny, south-facing slopes of England’s South Downs in Alfriston, Sussex. It has quickly made a name for itself as one of England’s finest wine producers. Blanc de Noirs is a sparkling wine made only from black /red grapes which in this case are Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and these wine grapes came from just one single harvest in 2018, which has been dubbed the vintage of the decade. Rathfinny has a style that is rich but precise with a fantastic, lean, mineral character. Seriously elegant and will keep for a while. Rathfinny is another great place for a vineyard picnic too!

Find it at Lea & Sandeman for £38.95 (or £36.95 when in a case of six) 

Kent

Balfour Brut Rosé 2018

A renowned winery located on the Hush Heath Estate in Kent, the Balfour sparkling brut rosé was the first ever English wine to win a gold medal and the Trophy at the International Wine Challenge. This 2018 vintage wine is only ever made in tiny quantities from a single vineyard and it has a special story. The estate has belonged to the Balfour-Lynn family for three generations, but it was Richard and Leslie’s idea to plant vines at Hush Heath in 2002, with a view to making a pink sparkling wine like their favourite ever Champagne: Billecart Salmon Rosé. Their thinking was “If we can’t sell it, we’ll drink it”. But they did sell it and the rest is history. It’s a great place for lunch and a tasting with a lovely walk around the vines and the apple trees too. 

Find it at Waitrose for £39.99

See what else Helena has been tasting with talkTV here.

Classic Champagne styles for Spring

To celebrate the official launch of talkTV, we’re going all out with a Champagne tasting! I’ve had the tough job of tasting through many different styles recently and have chosen a trio of tipples that each show something different about the Champagne region and the key styles to be found there. Here are four things to know and some bottles to try:

What does Brut NV mean with Champagne?

NV stands for Non-Vintage; a wine made with grapes harvested from multiple years instead of one ‘vintage’ year. These wines are often a blend of wine from the current vintage year with some ‘reserve’ wines. These reserve wines have been held back over multiple years and kept separately so they can be blended with the current vintage to create a house style that is consistent, year after year. This bit of aged wine is also what gives Champagne its famously complex, brioche, toasty notes. 

Brut refers to style and means ‘dry’ as opposed to something like demi-sec which literally means, ‘half sweet’. Brut NV wines are often a blend of the key Champagne grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. 

What does Blanc de Blancs mean with Champagne?

Translated as ‘white from whites’, this style of Champagne is a white wine made from white grapes only, which in Champagne can only mean Chardonnay. Blanc de blancs Champagne will therefore mean 100% Chardonnay, 99.9% of the time! (There is some Albane and Pinot Blanc technically permitted but it is rarely used in practice).

Blanc de blancs Champagnes tend to have a more ethereal, mineral style in youth and age with notes of cool white peach and melon and often, a chalkiness and salinity thanks to the soil. They fill out and become richer and nutty with age. 

What does Blanc de Noirs mean with Champagne?

As you may have guessed from the above, a blanc de noirs Champagne will be a white wine made from the black grapes of the region, namely Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The red skin of the grape often adds not just a hint of colour, making the wine a touch darker, but will mean there are more red fruit notes in the wine too, like red apple or redcurrant and often noticeable richness.

What is vintage Champagne? 

Vintage Champagne means it is a wine made from grapes grown in one growing season only and in the region of Champagne, these single vintage wines are made only in the very best years when conditions are perfect. This means the grapes will have exact;y what they need to create perfectly balanced wines with fruit. Acidity, tension and structure that can age for a long time. They are often very expensive because only a finite amount of them can be made and once they are gone, they are gone. 

TRY THESE

The Brut Non Vintage

Try: Champagne Collet, Brut NV

A blend of over 100 different wines from across the whole Champagne region, this wine sees  35% of reserve wines featuring 50% Meunier, 30 % Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. Think of citrus, apple and dried flowers. A classic aperitif champagne, that loves puffed pastry and patés.

Find it for £28 - £32 from Strictly Wine, Amazon and others.

The Blanc de Blancs (Chardonnay-led)

Try: Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs, NV

A stunning Chardonnay only Champagne that the cellar master describes as a white Freesia for its vibrant, aromatic personality, its structure and elegance. Ripe, melon and peach notes here are complemented by a classic, mineral salinity and a floral nose that the maison has become famous for. Perrier-Jouët is a house that loves Chardonnay.

Find it for £62-69 from The Champagne Company, Hedonism and others. 

The Blanc de Noirs (Pinot Noir-led)

Try: Drappier Carte d'Or Brut Champagne NV

Ok, so this is not 100% red grapes but it is mostly that and the style is exactly what you’re looking for with a blanc de noirs. A fabulous melange of brioche notes with great aromatics, mineral notes and red fruit. A lovely, foodie champers!

Find it for £40 - 43 from Strictly Wine and others. 

The Vintage Champagne

Try: Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque 2013

This is an Icon wine. The most beautiful bottle you will ever see. Majestic, so much going on but not in your face, all dancing around white flowers and fleshy white fruits, a touch of spice and a real creaminess. It’s almost  50% Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from an exceptional weather year.

The Belle Epoque is an icon bottling a with an iconic bottle, adorned with a spray of Japanese white anemones. Created in 1902 by Emile Gallé, one of the pioneers of the Art Nouveau movement, the inspiration for this was the hothouses that existed in the Perrier-Jouët gardens in Epernay with a collection of orchids, palm trees, pineapple and orange trees. It used to be regarded as one of the most impressive gardens in France.

Find it for £140-£150 from Harrods and Amazon as well as others.

What are the key styles of Malbec?

It’s World Malbec Day on the 17th April! As if we needed an excuse to open a bottle of this chocolatey, velvety wine. To celebrate, let’s get up close and personal with some of the keys styles of Malbec, from France to Argentina. 

While Malbec may be the flagship red wine grape of Argentina these days, its heritage is actually French. It hails from the small French appellation of Cahors in France, which lies inland from Bordeaux on the river Lot. Malbec here is better known as Côt or even Auxerrois in some places and will be found in bottles labelled ‘Cahors’ (remember, in France, wines are very often named after place rather than grapes). When from Cahors, Malbec is darker; more inky, tannic and intense than in its fruitier, Argentinian guise. 

It was only in the 1780s that the grape was planted in Bordeaux by a Monsieur Malbeck and the name for this ‘new’ Bordelais blending grape stuck. It flourished here for a while but gradually got replaced with Merlot as it was a hardier grape for the weather. Its real moment came in the 1880s when French immigrants arrived in Argentina, bringing with them vine cuttings from Bordeaux. Malbec, who had not exactly shone in Bordeaux with the cool weather, flourished here in the sunny dry conditions and the rest is history!

Here’s a Cahors and three Malbec wines from Argentina’s three key provinces: Patagonia, Mendoza and Salta.

Cahors, France

Malbec from its homeland in Cahors is full-bodied and inky black with notes of dark, mulberry spice and a flash of baked red fruit. This is an approachable starter Cahors. The more you go up the price scale, the more intense and heavy they become. Try with hard nutty cheese and braised meats!

Cahors, M&S

Find this one for £8 at M&S

Patagonia, Argentina

Cooler than the more famous region of Mendoza, Patagonian Malbec from the south of the country tends to have a little more elegance, silkiness and freshness with crunchy raspberry and black cherry notes. Think of frozen raspberries dipped in dark chocolate! This one has a bit of age on it too so enjoy those secondary aromas of spice and leather. 

Vinalba Patagonia Malbec

Find it for £10 at Morrisons

Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza is the best known wine region in Argentina and for good reason. Its warm, dry climate and fabulous light give Malbecs that are ripe and velvety, packed with baked blueberry and milk chocolate notes. Seek out higher altitudes such as this one and you’ll be rewarded with more concentration and complexity. It’s a Fairtrade Malbec made sustainably from grapes grown in the Finca Altamira vineyard in the premium sub region of Uco Valley, 1,100 metres above sea level. It’s aromatic and vibrant red wine with notes of red fruits, herbs, and a great mineral character.

Argento Altamira Single Vineyard Organic Malbec

Find it for £13.50-£13.99 from urbangrapes.co.uk and allaboutwine.com.

Salta, Argentina

Way up in the north of Argentina with extraordinarily high altitude vineyards (think 1700 ml ASL and above!) and exquisitely pure sunlight, is the province of Salta. Within Salta, sits the town and region of Cafayate, which is surrounded by the dramatic, red rock and desert Calchaquí Valleys. Wines from Salta have their own personality. As the light is so strong here and the attitudes bring huge diurnal temperature swings, the malbec grapes develop a thicker skin here (like their own sun protection), which gives the wines a darker colour and more tannic structure together with a cool elegance. Think sea salted dark chocolate with mint at that’s the style. Yum!

Cafayate Estate Malbec

Find this one for £11 at Sainsbury’s 

See more of what we have tasting on the Thursday Club with Mike Graham on talkRADIO TV here!

talkRADIO: Hot Cross Bun flavoured booze for Easter

Easter is coming! Cue a load of Easter-themed boozes on your shelves. Here are some I rather like and all with a Hot Cross Bun theme.

Hot Cross Bun Cream Liqueur (35cl, 15%)

Super indulgent, this lusciously rich, spiced cream liqueur is  made with fresh cream from the Ballyrashane Creamery; Northern Ireland's oldest dairy. Like a creamier Baileys but with that unmistakable currant bun spice note, it’s properly naughty. Serve neat over ice or pour over ice cream. 

Find it in store at M&S for £5 

‘One a Penny’ Beer (44cl, 5%)

They say: “Inspired by the classic Easter Hot Cross Bun, this is a smooth, full, hazy body, like a New England IPA, but without the hops. There is sweetness from vanilla, a distinct fruitiness from raisins and citrus peel, and the slightest hint of complimentary spice.”

Find it at wildbeerco.com for £2.75 a can

Rum: Sweet Little Hot Cross Rum Liqueur (50cl, 18%)

Sweet Little Hot Cross Rum is a unique blend of golden, spiced rum with orange, cinnamon and vanilla with a little sugar to go. It’s sweet but not cloying and has a lovely aroma of spiced dough. Sip cool over ice alone or add it to your Easter cocktails!

Find it at Master of Malt for £24.95

Premium Cocktail: Hot Cross Bun-Hatten (50cl, 24%)

Another delicious creation from Pritish Mody at World of Zing, this is a fabulously balanced cocktail with lots of flavour and a decent enough nod to those currant bun spices. Made using Mount Gay rum and rich vermouth, simply pour over ice, garnish with orange and serve. YOu can add a gift message too when ordering online.

Find it at Worldofzing.com for £25 

Find what else we’ve been tasting on talkRADIO here.

talkRADIO: Alternative White Wines for Spring

Whoohoo! It’s getting warmer! What better time then to try some alternative white wine grapes? Come on, you’ve had enough Sauvignon and Picpoul. Here are three grapes that deserve your attention and some lovely examples to seek out. Happy Thursday Club!

If you like Albarino, try… Assyrtiko

Assyrtiko is THE key white wine grape from Greece and it makes one of those super refreshing white wines that are slick and saline with zesty lemon and citrus notes but a riper, peachy fruitiness with it. The most famous region for it in Greece is Santorini and this one comes  from winery Artemis Karamolegos and is made with fifty year old vines. 

Find it for £14.95 at The Wine Society

If you like Viognier, try… Roussanne

Roussanne  is a white grape hailing from the Rhône Valley that produces powerful, nutty white wines with intense aromas and flavours of flowers, peach, pear and apricot, with baking spice. Exotic, oily and textural, this grape is the opposite of zesty, zippy Sauvignon. Traditionally used in blends like white Chateauneuf du pape, we’re now seeing more of it as a single grape wine. 

Find it for £6.79 at ALDI

If you like Gavi, try… Verdicchio 

Verdicchio is one of the finest white native grapes of Italy and the most important area for them in the the Marche region around Castelli di Jesi. This is an area with many medieval fortresses on many hilltop villages surrounding the central town of Jesi. This complex and crisp dry white is often called the White Barolo thanks to its fabulous ability to age. When young, it has lovely floral aromas and subtle notes of tropical fruit and a yeasty finish. 

Find it for £6 at Tesco

Want to know what else we’ve tasted on talkRADIO with Mike Graham for the Thursday Club? Click here!

Thursday Club with Talk Radio: Accessible Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a word that is capable of striking fear into many people who want to get to know wine. We know it's good. We don’t necessarily know why. We know that it can be super expensive but we’ve also seen bottles for about six quid. It’s fair to say it’s all a bit confusing. 

In a nutshell, Bordeaux is a wine region in France down on the central west coast and it’s mostly famous for making expensive red wines using a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and a few others. While this is true, there are some world class white wines that come from this region, which are usually a blend of Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon as well as more entry level whites, pinks, reds and sparkling ‘crémant’ wines. In recent years, the revolution really has been with the quality of these more price accessible bottles. 

Here are some to try:

Maison de la Rougerie Brut Crémant de Bordeaux

Bone dry with a whiff of floral aromatics, think crunchy green apple and white fruit. Made in the traditional method just like Champagne, this is an exceptional value fizz. A gret one for Bucks fizz or Kir Royales. 

Find it at Iceland for £8.75 

L’émigre Blanc 2020, Graves

Fine white Bordeaux will be a blend of zesty, citrusy sauvignon, with the more axy, weight Sémillom and the result is rich and intense yet elegant . This white Bordeaux is organic with great intensity offering well defined flavours of elderflower, lime and blackcurrant leaf. 

Find it at Virgin Wines for £14.99

Château Barreyres Haut-Médoc 

This is a typical ‘left-bank’ Claret, based on Cabernet Sauvignon with a whack of Merlot. Hailing from the posher part of the left bank, this is an old school style of red with cedar and blackcurrant notes with a lean, mineral core. Fab value for a lovely Cru Bourgeois.

Find it at Sainsbury’s for £13

Thursday Club with talk RADIO: The famous grapes from Piedmont, Italy

This week on the Thursday Club, we start to feel a little more Autumnal and head to Piedmont in Italy, which always comes into it’s own at this time of year. Think truffle hunting, wild boar stews, foggy mornings… it’s just beautiful. Piedmont is also home to some of the most famous wines in Italy. It’s the home of Barolo, Barbaresco, Gavi, Barbera and Dolcetto to name but a few and all are fantastic food wines. Today we are looking at three grapes that deserve your attention: Arneis, Barbera and Nebbiolo. Huge thanks to Corney & Barrow who supplied al l the wines for this tasting.

Roero Arneis, Cascina Ghercina, Italy, 2019

Keep your eye out for this white grape as it becomes more popular. If you’re looking for an alternative to Gavi, this elegant little white is for you. Arneis is the grape and here it comes from it’s spiritual home in the hills of the Roero, northwest of Alba in Piedmont. It’s a tricky grape to grow, which is why it’s often called the little rascal, but when treated properly, it flourishes to give a crisp, white wine with delicate floral aromas, notes of ripe pear, apricot and a touch of sweet spice. 

Find it here for £12.95 

Barbera d'Alba, Fratelli Antonio e Raimondo, Italy, 2019

The pretty, foggy hills of Piedmont’s Alba is the perfect place for classic Barbera (that’s the grape) like this one. Silky smooth and perfumed with notes of red cherry and fruits of the forest, this is a red for those who like less tannic reds like Pinot Noir without the bombastic fruit and oak of the New World. Quietly elegant and seductive, this is cracking with charcuterie too.

Find it here for £12.75.

Langhe Nebbiolo, Pian delle Mole, Giulia Negri, Italy, 2019

Nebbiolo is the most famous grape of Piedmont and one of the most notable in Italy, being responsible for the wines of Barolo, Barbaresco and Gattinara. It’s a paradox, looking quite pale and elegant in the glass but packing real power on the palate. Think Dita Von Tease and what she can do with a pole... The elegance but oh, the power! Tar and roses is the classic tasting note for Nebbiolo as well as a touch of marzipan, violet and truffle when it has a bit of age. They can keep for years thanks to the tannin and often need time to age. When from the Langhe region however like this one, they can be much more fruit forward and ready to drink earlier. 

Find it here for £18.50