As a regular Wine Society member, you might not be aware that many of the journalists and influencers who attend The Society’s annual autumn tasting aren’t just there to work. What most of them are up to, as they move from bottle to spittoon, ostensibly recceing wines for their esteemed publications or followers on the Insta grid, is planning their personal Christmas shopping list.
Hell, I’ve even seen people in there who’ve changed careers altogether but inveigle their way in and go round taking diligent notes so they can decide what to order. I am as guilty of this as anyone, so although I was asked to ‘select some highlights’ to share with members, what I’m actually doing is sharing my own longlist, plus a few that might be beyond my Christmas budget (or the tastes of the people I’ll be drinking with) but perhaps within yours.
Champagne and sparkling wines
In cold and frosty weather, I hanker for the spice and savour of Champagne that is pinot-dominated. Champagne Jeaunaux-Robin Talus-Saint-Prix Brut NV is a beauty, unusually elegant and fine for a wine made from 60% pinot meunier and one that would be great to drink with Coquilles St Jacques. If you want to try something English then consider Langham Blanc de Blancs NV Dorset. This is more of a connoisseur than a crowd’s wine: energetic and complex, with some oak ageing, it's filled with notes of brown bread and apple pie.
The Society’s Saumur Brut NV is a long-standing favourite in the Moore household
For a sumptuous showstopper, look to Champagne Gosset Grand Millésime 2015, a Champagne that envelopes you in notes of warm brioche, yellow plums and peach tart all expressed through the classic Gosset style which combines generosity with finesse. If you’re in need of a house fizz, then The Society's Saumur Brut NV has a satisfying combination of freshness and depth and is a long-standing favourite in the Moore household.
White wines
A lot of the wine crew have been swapping out of chardonnay (and especially out of white Burgundy) and into South African chenin blanc. Cape winemaker Chris Alheit famously has a devoted following for his highly detailed chenins, layered like archaeological sites. It’s good to see a parcel of Alheit Hereafter Here Chenin Blanc Western Cape 2022 – waxy and smoky, with a soft perfume of peach and musk – on The Society’s Christmas List.
A dry white Bordeaux that would sing alongside a juicy prawn cocktail
If seafood is on the cards over Christmas, consider A de Château d'Arche, Bordeaux Blanc 2022, a dry white Bordeaux made with an unusually high proportion of semillon. With part of the wine aged in oak, it has notes of baked grapefruit, hay and mimosa that would sing alongside a juicy prawn cocktail or with hot-smoked trout. For chardonnay, if you already know and like the wines of Kumeu River in New Zealand then check out Hunter's Offshoot Marlborough Chardonnay 2021; a dazzling wine with smoky, struck-match flavours that pair well with fish pie.
Red wines
For casual kitchen drinking with friends, possibly out of beakers or at least those brilliant cheap IKEA stemless glasses, Ferdinand Mayr Exclusiv Blaufränkisch 2022 is a great option: very appealing to contemporary tastes, vividly but also softly fruity with notes of red cherry, bramble and hawthorn underpinned with subtle allspice. Château de Hauterive 2020 Cahors is more old-school: fully dry and gruff, a blend of 70% malbec with merlot that is full of notes of dark fruit and black pepper but is now also beginning to show some mature secondary notes. It’s also incredibly good value.
Absolutely knockout; lithe and silky
If you’re of the school that likes to drink Beaujolais with Christmas Day turkey, Domaine de la Boisselière 2023 Chiroubles is absolutely knockout; lithe and silky. ‘Smells of life itself,’ I have written. But whose life? You might reasonably ask. I think I mean it’s a wine whose smell reminds you its fruit was grown outdoors, in the earth, while so many taste as if they’ve come off a factory production line.
Beaujolais is a wine I prefer to drink, cold, in January with a hot winter casserole so will be saving that for the New Year. We go more for the plushness of a grenache-syrah blend with turkey and trimmings. Forage Supply Co ‘The Breaker' Barossa Valley Shiraz-Grenache 2023, made with just slightly more shiraz than grenache, will keep everyone happy.
Finally on reds, I also have my eye on Château Lanessan Haut-Médoc 2012, which has some of the luxuriant truffley smell you sometimes find in maturing claret. And on Blauer Spätburgunder, Pfalz, Weingut Knipser 2019, a fragrant and weightless pinot that hovers, as if made of air.
Fortified wines
Just a couple of fortified wines to round off the Christmas box. First, I am back into sweet sherry in a big way and The Society’s Exhibition Mature Medium Sweet Oloroso Blend is a classic, all molten raisins and Brazil nuts. Finally, the mellow vibe of tawny Port is incredibly good with a cheeseboard.
Madeira is so refreshing it practically vibrates
Second, the wine I am always more pleased to have in my glass than I expect is Madeira. This year I am trying to remember not to miss out. This fortified wine is both nuanced and so refreshing it practically vibrates. It can last so long it seems almost to be immortal. And it delivers many of the flavours that define this time of year: depending on what style you opt for, dried apple, candied peel, toasted hazelnut, raisin, baked orange, plum sauce, walnut, allspice and so on. A small, chilled glass of Madeira, drunk as you begin on those nicer Christmas chores, such as wrapping or tree-decorating, is a taste of the spirit of Christmas itself.
>> Discover The Wine Society’s special selection of Christmas Gifts
