Picking the Christmas wines is a joy, but I have a tendency to spend too long deliberating. I’ve realised I get on much better if, instead of prioritising the 25th December, I begin with the other choice bottles that build the tastes and atmosphere of this season. So, first, let’s think about a Port to sip while decorating the tree. I prefer to open the best Port in early December, when it can be the star of the moment, not an indigestive footnote, and The Society’s Exhibition Port 2011 is superb. 2011 was an outstanding vintage, and this still gleams with youth and vibrancy, with richer notes of prunes and figs unfurling in the glass. If the price is too toppy, how about another Port made by the Symington family, the excellent The Society’s Exhibition Crusted Port, bottled 2013?
December must not be allowed to pass without a bottle of Tawny
December must not be allowed to pass without a bottle of Tawny. I’ve loved the sleek, very expressive, contemporary Quinta da Pedra Alta ‘Alta No. 10’ 10 Year Old Tawny since first tasting it a few years ago and am delighted to see it is now offered by The Wine Society. All molten raisins, cinder toffee and orange oil, this is for serving chilled on dark winter evenings and lingering over with friends and a piece of Manchego cheese. Also good for: Santa and present-wrapping.
The type of wine I’m most often asked about right now is sparkling. The Society’s Exhibition Cap Classique 2023 is a new and very, very good value addition to The Society’s range, made by Simonsig in the Cape from chardonnay and pinot noir with a smidgeon of pinot meunier. It’s rich and toasty with notes of honeycomb and flashes of lemony acidity: I think I’ve met my new winter house fizz.
Think of the glow of white light through opaque glass
I like to have a limpid, still white in my Christmas arsenal and top of the list here is Domaine Albert de Conti La Cuvée des Conti 2024 from the Bergerac region of southwest France. While it’s made from equal amounts of sauvignon blanc and semillon with a dash of perfumed muscadelle, here the grape-specific tasting notes (which can be noisy with these grapes) are dialled right down to give a white with a waxy feel and notes of white peach, galangal and lemon blossom. Think of the glow of white light through opaque glass. This would be wonderful with smoked salmon on wholemeal bread with good butter. Or, as my friend and fellow taster, Joe Wadsack, said, ‘I’d like to drink that with a prawn cocktail. On a doily. With silver cutlery.’ Yes please.
For a white that is equally refreshing but has a more fruity tang of quince and prickly pears, and a dusting of white pepper, look to Austria’s Christine & Rainer Wess Tochter & Vater Grüner Veltliner 2024. This is a good festive fridge-raid white because it will go well with hard (and some soft) cheese and smoked ham. You could even pour it with roast ham, especially if you’ve got, say, leeks in a béchamel sauce on the side.
The wines to go with roast ham
Speaking of roast ham, we never have one but, if we did, I’d want a good Beaujolais or grenache with it. From the former, Elisa Guerin La Vigne de Mon Père Moulin-à-Vent 2023 is very special, edgy and fine with notes of rosewater, redcurrant and pomegranate. If you have the budget for a big ticket red, there’s the grenache-based Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2018, a benchmark of the style, though some wine lovers will feel it is still too young (I like young, but it’s a valid point). Up for a fine Australian grenache? Cirillo 1850 Ancestor Vine Grenache 2018 from the Barossa Valley is from the same vintage as the Vieux Télégraphe and a sensational, fragrant ride of dried thyme and wild raspberry. Looking for something less loftily priced? Château Courac Côtes-du-Rhône 2022 is on form again. It is actually syrah (rather than grenache)-dominant but this will play well with rich Cumberland sauce.
Loving the leftovers
Boxing Day for us is all about turkey leftovers: the nutmeggy creaminess of bread sauce and the coriander perfume of spicy sausage balls. For this, I always buy a Piedmont nebbiolo or a white southern Rhône. Now I’ve tasted Domaine La Réméjeanne Les Chèvrefeuilles Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc 2023 it will be the latter this year. This white is a beauty: a cloud of peachy, herbal, almond blossom, floral fragrance, soft and enticing (the grapes are clairette, roussanne and grenache blanc).
And what about Christmas Day itself?
Look, I’ve done everything save for Christmas Day itself. But don’t you find that what you want to open depends so much on the crowd, the budget and the trimmings it’s hard to generalise? Some of you will go with a favourite claret. We will probably opt for the Courac as it’s robust and very good and everyone is too busy with presents and food and crackers to give a more expensive bottle much appreciation. Another option is Cillar de Silos Crianza Ribera Duero 2021, a Spanish red that feels incredibly festive, like a big, red-costumed, jolly Santa. Think: flavours at full-saturation, lots of raspberry and bramble jelly and a dusting of baking spice. This wouldn’t just work with all the Christmas turkey trimmings (it will love all the porky bits), it would also be good with roast ham, rib of beef, whatever you like.
Before I sign off, two more bottles. First, Cahors Grand Coutale 2020 is a lovely, polished proper Cahors, to be honest, not especially Christmassy, but I loved it so much I’ll be finding an excuse to drink it. And, second, The Society’s Sicilian White 2024 is a useful fridge-door white, softly juicy with notes of yellow peach and pear (it’s made mostly from grillo) and a clean, lemony freshness (there’s 20% carricante in the blend). I think that’s it!
