The End Of Suitcase Wine?

Is the end of suitcase-wine nigh?

Of course not!

But my baggage load is about to be lightened a little thanks to the good folks at Le Caveau and Vinostito, who have secured allocations of a couple of rarities that, up until now, I’ve had to sock-swaddle home to Ireland from trips abroad.

Jean-François Ganevat’s wines need no introduction. Despite producing a myriad of cuvées, some are available in such minuscule quantities that demand always seems to outstrip supply. I’ve yet to read a bad word about any of these wines, although I must admit that much of my exposure to them has been courtesy of the hip wine echo chamber that is ‘ganevatagram’. Form an orderly queue outside market yard in Kilkenny now people.

Callejuela are at the forefront of the wine renaissance in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. I’ve never had an opportunity to try their entry level Manzanilla but if their Blanquito Manzanilla Pasada and El Cerro oloroso are reflective of overall quality (and by all accounts they are), Callejuela’s arrival in Ireland should be getting us very very excited indeed.

Check the shelves of 64 Wine, Green Man Wines and The Corkscrew over the coming weeks as these wines start to land.

In the meantime, I’m off to enjoy my last bottle of Blanquito that I managed to pry from the generous hands of Cuatrogatos Wine Club on my last trip to Sanlúcar.