April Bin End Sale

Ok - it's Spring Sale time!

A bit later than in previous years.... but an early Easter and a very busy period on the road with restaurant and hotel customers has kept us very busy. We have also been off tasting with Producers and finding some exciting new stuff that will appear in the coming weeks. But in the meantime we need to say goodbye to a few old friends.

To me, a Sale should be an opportunity to try and few excellent things at a knockdown price. Maybe some wines that, for whatever reason, didn't get the attention they deserved at the time. Maybe there are some bottles we squirreled away thinking we'd get around to drinking them ourselves, and we never did. Maybe there are some that just need a little nudge and a few words of encouragement to get you to try them. But there are no duds - no wines that we wouldn't happily drink ourselves. We could have done an across-the-board discount on everything, but we prefer to offer a bigger discount on those wines that we think should be enjoyed.

What did surprise me when I went to compile the List is that we still had the odd bottle from last year's Sale! Why? These wines are good!

So what's worthy of particular attention - you can download the List here: April 2013 Bin End Sale

Bordeaux:
There are so many options for Bind Ends with Bordeaux. Cases open here and there as we are often asked to supply individual bottles.But you'll notice that we have stuck to outstanding vintages from highly regarded producers. With the exception of the VCC 2000, all are approachable now and are priced to be consumed and enjoyed.

Burgundy:
Again, a toss-up between finding some big guns and some everyday drinking bargains. The Guillot-Broux Macon Cruzille at just €12.00 is a lovely crunchy Gamay from the Macon - perfect for a medium-bodied red on a warm day. There's some Mugneret Bourgogne at a knock-down price, and even a 2005 vintage 1er Cru from Jadot in there at €35.

Rhone Valley:
Last time we had a good few Rhônes, many of which have now gone, but we found a few bottles of the Bressy Gourt de Mautens in the cellar - well worth a try.

Loire Valley:
These surprised me - we still have some Baudry Chinons from the Sale last year. What do we need to do to convince people about the merits of mature Cabernet Franc from one of France's leading producers? Maybe line it up against a Bordeaux at 10 times the price and see which comes out favourite?

Italy:
Italy is all about diversity, and no matter what we put into the Sale, there will always be something else that someone wanted us to include! North to South, there should hopefully be something of interest to you.

Australia:
Again, slimmed down a bit, but if you want one of the most ethereal wines in the world, the Hill of Grace 1990 is your bottle. One of my epiphany wines.

Austria:
Roland Velich of Moric (stunning Blaufrankisch) also makes a bit of white - well, probably one of the best Gruner Veltliners around (many compare it to a rich Chablis Grand Cru), but as we have discovered to our frustration, not many are willing to pay €49 for a Gruner Veltliner. Ok, we should have seen that coming, but maybe at €25 the temptation will be more difficult to resist.

Germany:
We love Germany at the moment. So much so that we have all sorts of different cuvees from different producers in the warehouse. Classic kids in a sweet shop stuff. But we have to focus... and consequently there are some great bargains, but limited volumes. The Becker Pinot is the bigger brother/sister of the award-winning regular cuvee and the two Kunstler dry Rieslings really are stunning - and even more so at the Sale price.

New Zealand:
I have a bit of a problem with NZ Sauvignon Blanc at the moment. A lot of it has gone all tropical and sweet. That's why I was really surprised the Greenhough didn't sell better - it's a classic dry, citrus Sauvignon - much closer to a lovely Loire Sauvignon with ripe acidity. Thirst-quenching would be an appropriate descriptor. At €12 it's one to buy in volume and stash away for a BBQ or picnic, or tomorrow night....!

There are very few terms and conditions, but we'd better get them out of the way anyway:
- Everything is offered subject to availability. When it's gone, it's gone.
- All prices include Vat
- The Sales ends on Friday 19th April
- Orders over €200 will be delivered anywhere in Ireland for free. Under that value, delivery is €10.50 per case of 12 bottles
- If you can reply with your requests by email if possible it would be great.

That's it - Happy Hunting.