It was the second stop in the Ireland Beaujolais tour. After a very successful seminar, we headed over to the Fish Shop, Benburb Street, for a remarkable meal including some stunning wines. This place is incredible: small, informal, but some of the best seafood I’ve eaten in a long time. There were six of us, and we drank well, mostly from the excellent wine list. This is the sort of place I love to eat at: amazing food, a good, eclectic wine list, and a relaxed vibe.
Equipo Navazos La Bota de Manzanilla 55, Spain
This is nutty and tangy with lovely depth, some savoury nutty depth, and bright, complex, expressive flavours of citrus, salt and fine herbs. 93/100
Telmo Rodriguez Branco de Sta Cruz Viñedos de Galicia 2015 Valdeorras, Spain
Fine and expressive with pear and white peach, as well as some melon notes. Lovely fruit and nice texture: a bold, rich style. 91/100
Bodegas Cota 45 UBE Miraflores 2016 Vino de la Tierra de Cadiz, Spain
This is 100% Palomino from the Miarflores Pago (single vineyard) in Sanluca de Barremeda, and it is unfortified, but matured for 8 months under a thin layer of flor. This has a remarkable nose: pithy, lemony and waxy. It’s tangy and bright on the palate with a salty edge to the intense citrus and pear fruit. Spicy and vital. 94/100
Viña Tondonia Rosé 2008 Rioja, Spain
This is an incredibly rare – unicorn – wine. So it’s amazing to find it on a wine list in a fish and chip shop. Aged for four years in barrel, it’s not your typical rosé, and this should be aged for another decade for it to show its best. Bronze/copper/orange in colour, it’s savoury and spicy with a hint of earth, some tangy citrus peel, and notes of marmalade, cedar and saltiness. There are also some mealy, spicy notes. This is complex and spicy with lovely deph. 92/100
Domaine Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly 2013 Pouilly-Fumé, Loire, France
Vividly aromatic with almonds, mint and pear, as well as some pithy density on the palate. Lovely concentration and weight: tangy crystalline pear and grapefruit characters with precision and harmony. Such a beautiful wine. 95/100
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2 Comments on At the Fish Shop, Dublin, with Tondonia Rosé, Dagueneau and UBE
Wow! What great wines, sounds like it’s worth making a special trip to Dublin. Tondonia – so unique, Dagueneau – the best Sauv Blanc I’ve ever had (Silex), a top Sherry and non-Sherry and this from Telmo – I had thought he’d only made a red from that site. Amazing! I don’t always envy your job but this meal sounds special.
yes it was one of my favourites !