Best wines for Christmas
Best wines for Christmas
Wine expert Michael Denton picks out his favourites
For this year’s Christmas wine selection, I visited Jeroboams in Wimbledon Village. First was a sparkling wine from New Zealand’s Marlborough region, called Hunter’s MiruMiru (meaning “bubbles” in Te Reo Mäori) Non Vintage at £21.75, which is remarkable value for this quality. The wine shows fresh lemony and peach fruit, with a lovely clean, creamy, toasty finish. Spending 18 months on lees before dégorgement, this is a stunning sparkling wine.
For just £11 more I spotted the Ayala Champagne, Brut Majeur, which was on offer that day at £31.95. Crafted with a unique diversity of crus from Champagne’s vineyards, this cuvée is a multi-cru, and multi-vintage blend with Chardonnay as the main grape variety. A minimum ageing of three years on the lees enhances the harmony of flavours while the low dosage of 6g/l preserves the wine’s natural balance and purity. It shows a good citrus fruit with delicate floral tones. It will match well with white fish, shellfish, poultry and will be a great apéritif for the festivities.
Next, a white Burgundy, Château de Fuissé, Tête de Cuvée, Pouilly Fuissé 2023, at £39.95, from Mâconnais in Southern Burgundy, where the Vincent family have owned it since 1862. This flagship wine has a wonderful concentrated fruity aroma and lovely lemony flavour, showing subtle oak and minerals with a long full creamy finish.
The red wine was the Moss Wood, Ribbon Vale Western Australia Merlot 2020, at £32.95, from Margaret River in the northern sub-region of Wyliabrup. With the added 6% of Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc to the blend it has a deep purple colour, with concentrated aromas of dark cherry and plum fruits, with a long lingering finish.
For the Bordeaux lovers I can recommend La Réserve de Léoville Barton 2019, good value at £39.95, which is made from 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. It shows a powerful aroma of red fruits, cherry, and plums, full flavoured and with a beautiful long smooth finish of soft tannins.
The sweet wine selected was Château Romer du Hayot, from Barsac in Sauternes Le 2 de Romer du Hayot 2022, at £15.95 – a blend of 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon grapes. They are hand picked in successive selections to produce this exquisite exotic fruit of passion fruit, peach, and quince with long finish on the palate. Catherine Boyer du Hayot is now holding the reins and producing this wonderful jewel.
My next stop was at Friarwood where Franck Mussaud is the knowledgeable retail manager. The first wine I tasted was Petit Chablis from Jean-Pierre and Alexandre Ellevin, 2023, at a reasonable price of £25.30. It shows a clean lemony, and pear full flavour with a crisp minerality, and biscuity finish. It would be a perfect match with seafood appetisers, white fish, and poultry.
The red was a Rioja Vega Caledonia Reserva 2016, at £23.45, which comes from High Rioja in the Bajo Nejerilla Valley where some of the vines are over 50 years old. It shows an excellent concentrated plum and cherry fruit with lots of elegance and long lingering finish. Could match well with tapas including chorizo, and red meats, like venison or beef stew.
The sweet wine was a Sauternes Carmes de Rieussec 2019, at £14.50 half bottle. Made by the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) and the second wine of Château Rieussec, it shows an exotic full fruit of apricot, white peach, quince and honey with slight floral tones, with a lovely long finish.
Another great red wine at a reasonable price is Château Veyry, Bordeaux Côtes de Castillon 2016 at £25.50, from Brompton Wine, made by a star winemaker Christian Veyry. His attention to detail is impressive and ensures that the grapes have a rich phenolic structure in order to produce these complex flavours from a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes. Richard Household, owner of Brompton, is also the founder of the Wimbledon Wine School and they organise wine dinners and WSET courses at the Black Lamb in the Village.
For Burgundy wine lovers, this Jaffelin, Santenay 1er Cru, Les Gravières 2020, at £30.95 from the Saint-Aubin Valley, shows a lovely deep purple colour with fruity cherry and blackcurrant flavours.
Another favourite of mine is a Cru Bourgeois from Listrac region of Bordeaux, Château Lafon red 2019, great value at £18.25 from Corney and Barrow showing a lovely concentrated plum and red berry fruit with a long smooth finish.
