Take It Home: an aromatic French Malbec and a strong beer from Eight Degrees Brewing

H de l'Hospitalet Malbec 2014 Gerard Bertrand
IGP Pays d'Oc
13%

This is not really a wine for lovers of Argentine Malbec. French Malbec tends to be very different in style – drier, firmer and savoury. Some even say austere.  Not everybody likes them, but I am a big fan. Cahors is the centre of all things Malbec in France; this version comes from the sunnier south of France, but it still has a lovely cool spicy edge.

This is a classic French-style red, aromatic and elegant with juicy dark cherry and blackcurrant fruits and a decent dry finish. It isn’t the greatest Malbec I have ever tasted, but at under €10, it offers excellent value. It would go down very nicely with all kinds of grilled red and white meats and slow-cooked lamb or beef too.

Available from O’Briens at €9.99 down from €13.99

Millennium Imperial IPA, Eight Degrees Brewing
10%

I met Scott from Eight Degrees in the basement corridor of a Dublin hotel this week. He was gently bemoaning the massive delays they have encountered in expanding their brewery down in Mitchelstown. Lack of space puts a huge pressure on everything and everyone in a brewery, but he seems to be handling it well. However, lack of space hasn’t stopped them releasing a series of interesting seasonal beers. I tried the spicy malty Ochtoberfest Bock, sadly now all gone, and the Millennium amongst others at the Craft Beer Fest.

For their thousandth brew, the team decided to make the most alcoholic, most highly hopped beer yet, coming in at a warming 10% alcohol. It is complex on nose and palate, full-bodied with masses of resin and masses of peach and pineapple fruits, finishing very long and dry. Remarkably well-balanced and very enjoyable. Definitely not a session beer; this is one to sit down and slowly savour while watching Mike Ross sprint in for his fourth try against the French… in the Millennium stadium.