Wine for Christmas

As we gallop towards Christmas, all sorts of panic and excitement coming at us fast; buying the Christmas pressies, trying to get hold of an elusive turkey and of course, most important of all, getting the wine sorted.  So, we’ve done a bit of scouring for you and chosen some top picks from the supermarkets, and good old Majestic of course, that’ll make the great day really go with a bang …

The fizz…

To start with, the fizz. No celebration is a celebration without a glass or two.  Of course there’s Prosecco but with some of the bargains we’ve dug up, you might want to go up a notch and chose a Champagne or perhaps a wonderful English sparkler?:

Our top value Champagne is from Lidl and it’s a perennial award winner. At just £13.99 this is ‘something else’ at this price and a great way to kick off the celebrations:

Comte de Senneval Champagne Brut

… if you’re after real quality at a silly price then head to Majestic who have some superb offers on now.  Our top pick here is a much under rated label, Canard Duchene which is a Pinot Noir and Meunier dominated blend with 20% reserve wines included in the blend. It’s rich, exotic, and beautifully balanced Champagne and on at Majestic at just £19.99 a bottle.

Canard-Duchêne Brut Champagne

or, if maybe go English and we’d highly recommend Chapel Down’s NV Brut from Kent.  It’s a wonderful wine made in the Champagne method with the classic trio of Champagne grape varieties and a steal at £21.99.  Possibly the best English Sparking wine out there for the price we feel …

Chapel Down Brut, Kent

The whites…

Many of us will be enjoying all sorts of different dishes this Christmas and most of these are a notoriously difficult match for wine. There is often a host of flavour concoctions on the plate and generally the battle is to make sure that our wine can still shine.  We’d recommend going for a white with a bit of substance and body. It’s celebration time so the Oyster Bay can perhaps skip a day and we could be looking at some wonderful white wines from Burgundy perhaps or some aromatics such as Viognier, Roussane & Gewürztraminer:

Here’s a cracker from Waitrose, their Rustenberg Chardonnay from Stellenbosch. Ripe & fleshy with tasty notes of peach and stone fruit, a perfect match for turkey or goose and weighty enough to cope with all the trimmings:

Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chardonnay

Heading ‘off piste’ slightly & taking your celebrations into the very special category, try this ‘taste the difference’ Gewurztraminer from Sainsburys. Made by the Cave de Turkheim in Alsace, this is very good quality indeed. Completely delicious with tones of lychee, rose petal and Turkish delight – everything that we love about this wonderful grape variety:

Sainsbury’s Alsace Gewurztraminer, Taste the Difference

For something a bit more traditional, perhaps slightly safer and still completely delicious, Tesco’s have a fantastic Premier Cru Chablis at just £18.00 a bottle (… which is btw, very good value with the way prices for white burgundy have gone recently).  It’s pure, fleshy and a match made in heaven for smoked salmon:

Tesco Finest Chablis Premier Cru

All of these wines above will quite happily marry with some of the foods that we might get served this Christmas – smoked salmon, chicken, fish, turkey … and maybe even the red cabbage

The reds…

We like to look for wines with vitality and energy. Wine that lifts the spirits and sings with the food that we’ll be enjoying.  I love a Pinot Noir at this time of year, or Gamay and Syrah too.  These are all wonderful grape varieties with acidity, fruit and flesh in plenty when they’re made well. Here are a few below that we think are well worth a look at.

This organic Syrah from Chateau Maris sold at Waitrose is completely sublime from this much underrated region of Minervois:

Château Maris Organic Les Planels

…. as is Sainsburys Cru Beaujolais, Moulin a Vent, which has tangy fruit wrapped up in a beautifully elegant envelope that’ll compliment any Turkey, red cabbage and cranberry sauce combo beautifully.

Moulin-à-vent, Chateau Des Jacques

… if you wanted to step it up a gear then head to Waitrose again for their super delicious Santenay Premier Cru from Burgundy.  It’s exceptional value for a wine of this quality.  Bursting with ripe, plum and red fruit with freshness and balance in spades.

Lucien Muzard et Fils Santenay, Premier Cru Burgundy, France

The treat to end all treats

That should be plenty for a good start this Christmas and if it’s left you still wanting more, we have one final recommendation. The treat to end all treats and it’s a Pedro Ximenez from Sainsbury’s. This with the Christmas pudding or try poured over good vanilla ice cream, there is little more delicious in the world ….. and it’s only £7.00!!

Sainsbury’s 12 Year Old Sweet Pedro Ximenez, Taste the Difference

Enjoy your festive break, Happy Christmas all.