Best of 2024

Ribolla Gialla is a really cool variety, loads of aromatics and complexity, but great freshness too. This wine turned up in our Super Discount pack and we had to get it in - a really good alternative white variety.

New Zealand Sauv has long since become a commodity, and standards have suffered accordingly. Sophisticated and refreshing wine from Nelson, we are seeing a lot of great wines come out of this area as an alternative to Marlborough. 

Tough pressed to pick a favourite release from our favourite Austrian wine maker, we limited ourselves to one. A lively Veltliner with a scent of green pome and Grapefruit, sharp acidity on the palate and a medium to long finish. High end.

We wanted to get some good, classic old school wines and then tasted this. Really, whats more classic and old school than Rhone? Great concentration and depth for this old school entry level Cotes-du-Rhone, stunning value to be had here.

“People are going to love this” was all I could say when I tasted this. Bordeaux ain't really my cup of tea to be honest but it was clear that this would be a winner. Salt of the earth, Left Bank Cabernet-led Haut-Medoc red Bordeaux - one of our biggest sellers of the year.

We loved this simple, gluggable Tuscan Montepulciano (Montepulciano being the grape as opposed to the town - often confusing). It is the ultimate pizza wine, good old Italian rusticity mixed with bright fruit and fresh acidity. 

Nebbiolo is the King of Italian grapes, responsible for Barolo and Barbaresco, each of which require serious ageing before release. Nebbiolo is, like Pinot, very light in colour and high in fragrance, unlike Pinot it is robust and structured. A great into to this famous variety.

Irishman Ray O’Connor has done everything. Wine judge, award winning wine writer and wine school tutor, he is one of Ireland’s few Masters of Wine, now he has made his own wine. Bota Bota Old vine Organic Garnacha. The goal here is let Garnacha be Garnacha! Won the night at WS launch event.

Arrocal Roble was in the Electric 6 last year, and now we are putting in this new release! They’ve made this using a little bit of Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon and even some of the white grape Abillo - yes that is rather wacky for the region. This is sooooo gluggable. Dangerous even.

Made by the impish Nicolas Potel, a winemaker that was actually born in the famous Burgundian winery Pousse d’Or. Tasted on ground at Paris wine show, deadly little white Burg. High density planting, 50 year old vines - a very Nicolas Chardy - rich and stylish.

Rajat Parr is the patron saint of Sommeliers, a renowned sommelier that turned his hand to wine making with aplomb. His wheelhouse is so vast it could necessitate an independent portfolio. Sandhi was the original label, this was one of his first cuvees and it’s as good as ever.

Scythian Wine Co is an exciting new project from Rajat Parr that highlights the nearly lost viticultural heritage of Los Angeles. Palomino is the white grape used in Sherry, usually quite challenging, but this is delicious to the last drop - a huge hit at the launch party.

Stunning Chenin Blanc, which is referred to as Steen in South Africa. Real depth of flavour on show here. This really showcases Mick Craven’s talents as a wine maker - hands off approach, all organic, gleaming fresh acidity, good texture.

Well this is a new one on me - barrel aged Albarino for extra depth and complexity - like a Chardonnay, it knocked my socks off. It helps that the winemaker Pablo Martinez Gago is a bona fide genius, but still, Albarino - is there anything you can't do?

Drink more Riesling! We brought the wines of Carl Kock into Ireland late ’22, this is a new release of the Riesling and it is drop dead GAWgeous. Not as highly structured as last time, its really drinkable and I dont understand why everyone doesn't love Riesling.

Casa Labei looks set to become Ribera Royalty. All single vineyard, estate grown fruit, the vineyards are all at high altitude with heavy limestone content. The wines are made in the most traditional sense in their beautifully restored winery. Matadiables is their flagship Ribera, it's big, plush, showy, regal.

Northern Rhone, where the reds are generally 100% Syrah and scarce compared to the South are generally really expensive. This is a bargain. Deeply pitched blue and black Syrah fruit, peppery, savoury but juicy and gluggable, what a treat this is.

An old estate bought by a famous Italian avant garde artist Sandro Chia, it has come to prominence over the last 10 years due to the original artwork on the labels, the increasingly impressive wine making from Sandro’s son Brio is their utterly delicious Rosso from Montalcino.

Just when you think you couldn’t love Spatburgunder (German Pinot Noir) any more. Carl Koch’s basic Spat made the list last year, now this single vineyard offering with a good twist of oak shows what else the variety is capable of, more density and complexity.

From our man in Cali Kenny Likitprakong, this was a huge hit at the launch party. Charbano is also known as Bonarda in South America. Very dark in colour and heavy in the nose, but actually drinks very pretty, almost light. The tannin level is moderate given the way it looks and smells.

Scythian Wine Co is an exciting new project from Rajat Parr that highlights the nearly lost viticultural heritage of Los Angeles. Palomino is the white grape used in Sherry, Zinfandel, Grenache complete the package for a super interesting and delicious drop. Length and complexity.

WINE STATION IN 2024

Well - we launched! The Winelab and Station to Station Wine sites joined together to form Wine Station. The product of a lot of research and a lot of hard work, our intention was to bring you a clear shopping experience, with great variety and content to assist in finding the wines you love.

We launched with a great event at Bootleg Drury Street: SOME YOUNG PUNKS. This was the first of a series of wine riot events that we will be doing, mixing great wine, great food, great fun and great company so stay tuned to get your place at the next one. We have had a great reception and great support from the press but more importantly from you, our customers - we will keep striving to improve your experience in 2025.

WEATHER IN 2024

2024 in wine was dominated again by the spectre of climate change. You can’t be a wine lover and climate change denier - the data is just to stark. it Is now 10 years since the amazing, global vintage of 2015. Since then, vintages have gotten hotter and hotter and the face of wine has completely changed. Chablis is regularly losing most of its crop to frost, Tasmania is no longer marginal, California is constantly beset by wildfires. We are now at the mercy of extreme weather conditions. Heat resistant varieties are being introduced in Bordeaux to cope. The wet and dreary 2014 vintage in Tuscany, once seen as a complete disaster is now being sought for it’s restraint. 

Worse news is that it puts most pressure on people trying to farm organically or bio-dynamically (non-believers will continue to spray the sh$t out of their vineyards). The news is not all bad though. Old vines are coping much better with all this, so moves are afoot to clearly define legally what an old vine is - good news for the consumer.

PRODUCTION IN 2024

In France, we've seen a serious decline in production to combat the ‘wine glut’ (the over production of wine) as growers are offered financial incentive to grub up their vines in a vine pull scheme. Bordeaux, the ultimate boom time wine is suffering badly after expanding, Burgundy went up but is likely on the back of the 2022 vintage release. Production decreased 22% as part of a 3% EU zone drop. 

Spain and Italy continue to tussle behind France, with Italy enjoying a good year and moving above Italy for production. Behind the top 3 little has changed, Australia has suffered due to Chinese (and it must be said a leap forward it Chinese domestic production) but these are set to expire.

CONSUMPTION IN 2024

The big news story is that European wine consumption hit a 70 year low. Inflation and the cost of living crisis is obviously a factor, as are shifting drinking patterns. Champagne is down while things like Bag in Box are up. A lot of the decline in my opinion is due to that most prolific bogeyman - covid! We drank a lot of wine during that period because lets face it, there was little else to do! Collectors bought a lot of wine as the prices had dropped, no prices have gone up and cellars are full! 

The generational question of how do we sell wine to [insert generation] continues to rage. Perhaps we are lucky at Wine Station to have a great cross section of demographics buying wine but quite frankly some of our younger customers are astonishingly knowledgable with extremely sophisticated palates. It is not the domain of the tweed jacket wearing elitist anymore. Wine belongs to all of us, share it and enjoy it. 

Throwing in some good news to go with that though, new studies led by the University of Barcelona have suggested that moderate wine consumption may be good for cardiovascular health! “there is no doubt that excessive alcohol consumption has serious health consequences. However, the effects of moderate and responsible wine consumption are still the subject of debate in the scientific community. The results of this study and others should help to place moderate wine consumption in its rightful place as an element of the Mediterranean diet, considered to be the healthiest in the world”. It may not seem like news that the Med diet is healthy, but hey! This is a wine I reckon!

Happy New Year All!
Drink Well!
Rory, Wine Station