Joe Breen on 10 years of a novel Irish wine company
Billy Forrester was sitting in his honeymoon bed in France drinking Champagne when it occurred to him what a good life it would be if, instead of drinking the stuff, he set up a business to sell it. That was 10 years ago. And this year Bubble Brothers celebrates its 10th anniversary.
As Forrester tells it, the years have not all been sparkling ones, but Bubble Brothers is now an established wine company with exclusive distribution rights to about 250 wines, many of them quirky little finds. From its Wine Depot in Marina Commercial Park in Cork, Bubble Brothers services an ever-wider range of clients, including its own retail outlets at the depot and in Cork's English Market.
The key, says Forrester, is sourcing the right wines from the right people at the right prices. At a recent Dublin tasting of the 2006 portfolio there were many interesting wines, including the intense and captivating Mitiffiot 2003, the top wine from Château de Rozier in Costières de Nîmes (€23.90), and the seductive earthy aromas of Château Jouclary, Rouge Fût, Cabardès AOC (€13.90) from Cabardes, just north of Carcassonne.
Also of interest was a pair from Bubble's new Kiwi winery, Brightwater Vineyards, in Nelson - the soft, earthy textures and light strawberry aromas of Young Vine Pinot Noir 2004 (€18.90) and the more predictable, but no less enjoyable Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2005 (€17.90), see bottles of the week.
WINE OUT WEST
The origins of Paul Fogarty's company, Probus Wines, are a little less colourful, but Probus is notable for two other reasons - it is based in Oughterard, Co Galway, and its main man has a habit of turning up obscure and intriguing wines.
Fogarty explains that the Oughterard connection was simple enough. He wanted to live there and it was convenient to operate a wholesale business from the town along with a retail outlet. (Fogarty runs two other sister shops in Moycullen and Barna with his new partner Mike Webb, under the tradename, The Wine Cluster.) Judging by the wines he showed in Dublin recently, the people of these Galway towns should be very happy to have him and his shops in their main streets.
One of his finds is Domaine Saint Jean de L'Arbousier in the Languedoc. Winemaker Catherine Viguier was on hand to guide us through a selection of these vivid, rustic wines, such as her 100 per cent Mouvedre 2004, a real mouthful with dense fruit (€13.50).
Equally impressive but somewhat more sophisticated, was an exceptional premier cru Rully 2003 (see Bottles of the Week) and a range of notable Chablis from Domaine Bernard Defaix.
• Bubble Brothers: 021-4845198; www.bubblebrothers.com. Probus Wines: 091-552084; www.probuswines.ie