There’s something magical about opening a bottle of wine you’ve been maturing for several years. When a wine matures, it adds layers of complexity, transforming into something very special. The anticipation of how it has aged – whether you’ve managed to capture the wine at its peak – is all part of the experience. And what better time to open them than Christmas? Whether you’ll be raiding your cellar, your Members’ Reserves collection or our website, here are the older vintages from around the world drinking beautifully right now.
Bordeaux red wines
‘Laurel and Hardy, Batman and Robin, Christmas and claret – some things are just meant to be together. It’s the perfect time of year to uncork those special bottles that you’ve had your eye on for months, and not only does Bordeaux pair beautifully with all manner of Christmas fare, there’s always a sense of excitement when a good bottle of claret gets popped. Here Bordeaux buyer, Matthew Horsley, has compiled a list of vintages he feels are drinking exceptionally well this Christmas.
- 2017 – A frost hit year yielded lovely fragrant clarets with depth of flavour and class.
- 2016 – an outstanding vintage that provided rich, powerful, and full-bodied wines. Whilst the majority of Cru Classé wines need to slumber a little longer, popular estates in the Haut-Médoc and Listrac are fantastic now. Especially Coufran, Forcas-Borie, and Citran.
- 2015 – now ten years on the majority of these wines are starting to drink nicely. The wines show less flesh and density compared to 2016, with slightly gruffer tannins, but after a bit of decanting and served alongside food these are fantastic.
- 2014 – a vintage with lots of charm and no hard edges so you won’t go too far wrong here. Don’t expect huge power and depth, but plenty of pleasure.
- 2010 & 2009 – two of the great Bordeaux vintages that are starting to unfurl. Whilst the very best deserve longer, the remainder are starting to show development of cigar-smoke, graphite and gamey notes alongside these vintages’ classic structure and power
Burgundy red wines
Welcome to the elegant, refined world of aged Burgundy. Our Burgundy buyer Toby Morrhall has selected the Burgundy vintages ready to drink now. Red Burgundy, with its aged notes of forest floor, mushroom and stewed fruit, and white Burgundy, which becomes honeyed and aromatic with notes of nuts and cooked citrus. These will be a delicious, complex accompaniment to Christmas dinner, if you can save a glass for yourself.
- 2021 – this cooler vintage is fresh with high tannins so it’s already delicious at Bourgogne and lesser village level.
- 2019 – a year of extraordinary concentration and balance. Village-level wines just coming into their drinking window.
- 2018 – a ripe vintage that benefits from sweet tannins. Villages wines are lovely now.
- 2017 – this endures as an open, smiling vintage. Definitely ripe and ready at both village and premier cru level.
- 2016 – these wines are drinking well while the best bottles can be kept a little longer.
- 2015 – keep these for much longer.
- 2014 – a lovely, cooler, lighter vintage that’s drinking beautifully. 2011 and 2010 – Ready for drinking now with 2011s needing drinking up!
Rhône wines
Heading south, we arrive at the Rhône Valley. Buyer Fiona Hayes notes that some vintages are fine to drink young, with the benefit of clear fruit flavours. The guide below is for red Rhône vintages:
- 2022 – Ripe and full-bodied vintage, best to wait for the top wines, but many are coming round.
- 2021 – A lighter, fresher-tasting vintage that is good to drink now.
- 2020 – Still youthful and best to wait for top wines as powerful and structured vintage.
- 2019 – A very good vintage and the tannins from some of the wines are starting to mellow, but best to wait for the top wines.
- 2018 – A lovely, rich vintage, seductive and succulent and give pleasure now.
- 2017 – Has been a little austere up until now, but starting to open up and provide great enjoyment. Cornas and Hermitage and even some Saint-Joseph’s still need keeping.
- 2016 – A great vintage, seductive and very fine, many are starting to drink beautifully with nearly a decade in bottle.
- 2015 – A fine vintage but there is lots of structure and power here, don’t be afraid to keep these wines a little longer.
- 2013 – these somewhat austere wines are delicious now and lovely with food.
- 2012 and 2011 – these wines are anything but austere! Ripe and lush, they are perfect now.
- 2010 – this was a great vintage. Plenty are good now but there’s no hurry, the very best examples will still need time.
Alsace
The white wines of Alsace are among the most celebrated, as well as among the most food-friendly. Riesling is the king of grapes in this part of France, and our Alsace buyer Fiona Hayes has selected a number of older vintages that are in their prime:
- 2024 – Some 2024s are already on the market. Low yields and a challenging vintage but some cool, classic styles with brisk acidity which are approachable now.
- 2023 – is juicy and accessible thanks to a warm summer, but with good freshness.
- 2022 – approachable in style thanks to a warmer vintage, with some round wines. The pinot noir looks exceptional.
- 2021 – a vintage with lovely freshness and purity, the top wines.
- 2020 – the year of heat and drought affected Alsace less than some regions, aided by relatively cool night-time temperatures. Some delicious wines that are drinking now.
- 2019 – like 2016, a vintage with good, fresh acidity.
- 2018 – a ripe and plentiful vintage full of charm and to be enjoyed now and the next few years.
- 2017 – elegant vintage displaying power balanced by freshness; drinking beautifully.
- 2016 – fresh acidity and natural purity characterise this vintage; top wines will keep but many are in their drinking prime right now.
- 2015 – a powerful, sunny vintage which has needed some time to come round. With a decade of age, these wines are showing wonderful development.
- 2014 – a tricky vintage in the vineyard, yet one in which riesling excelled.
- 2013 – a later, slower-ripening vintage contributed to flavour build-up but kept sugar levels in check. Good for riesling and very good for the pinot family, especially pinot gris.
- 2012 – riper and more generous than the great 2010. Shows less marked acidity, but the top wines offer freshness as well as concentration and will continue to cellar well.
Loire wines
Lovers of this picturesque region have plenty of choice of more mature vintages, and this Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to open bottles from different years and create your own vertical tasting to see how your wines are evolving. Buyer Harriet says that if you want to pick one vintage, then go for 2015 – great across the board, but particularly good in Vouvray, Saumur, Chinon and Bourgueil.
- 2022 – this marks a return to a riper vintage, thankfully with a bit more volume available too: friendly and accessible but not without precision.
- 2021 – a classic Loire vintage in the best possible sense, with wonderful, sometimes bracing, acidity. Often low yields. Could be some great sweet wines here, too.
- 2020 – the recent pattern continues with another ripe, healthy vintage. Lower acidity makes the wines accessible to a wider audience, if less suited for longer-term cellaring.
- 2019 – ripe and accessible, generally with a little more freshness than in 2018. Very promising for reds and dessert styles.
- 2018 – a generous, healthy vintage that is ready to drink now. Very good for Muscadet where the natural freshness balances the concentration, and for sweet wines.
- 2017 – power balanced by freshness; many top wines may be cellared further but most are drinking beautifully.
- 2016 – some challenges in the vineyards, the best wines are well made; not looking like a long keeper.
- 2015 – warm, healthy vintage producing concentrated but balanced reds and whites; most top wines are ready to drink.
- 2014 – some good reds made in a more classic style. They’ve needed time in bottle and are coming round now.
Champagne
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without some top-notch fizz, and if you have some vintage Champagne on hand, you’ll be delighted to know that there are several at their best. If you’re lucky enough to have 2002, 2004 or 2005 – enjoy! At their peak, mature Champagnes display opulent notes of toast, nuts, dried fruit and honey. Sarah Knowles MW recommends opening bottles from the following vintages:
- 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, and 2018 all great drinking vintages
- 2008 & 2012 – two stunning vintages which could be drunk, but no rush!
Alfred Gratien Brut 2016
A classic vintage Champagne from a great year, this Brut Millésime reflects A...
Louis Roederer Cristal 2016
A wonderfully harmonious vintage for Cristal, 58% pinot noir and 38% chardonn...
Michel Gonet, Grand Cru Mesnil-sur-Oger 2016
This elegant, extra brut blanc de blancs (100% chardonnay) has great style an...
Italian wines
Sarah Knowles MW has picked out a number of vintages from two of Italy’s most celebrated regions, Piedmont and Tuscany, but also those from the south, which members are increasingly cellaring.
Tuscany and Piedmont
2018, 2017, and now the fabulous 2016s and 2015 reds are coming into their drinking window and will be very rewarding.
Earlier vintages (2013 to 2000) should be perfect; 1990s need now to be from the top producers and should be enjoyed now.
Southern Italy
Generally drinking a little sooner (often the wines were more modest to start with), so 2021s and 2020s are singing (think aglianico, for example) but vintages down to 2015 all worth enjoying now.
Rioja
You’ll be everyone’s favourite person at the dinner table with a bottle of aged Rioja. When kept in the cellar, red Rioja evolves beguiling notes of chocolate, coconut and caramel, on a bed of stewed red fruit. Buyer Harriet Kininmonth Spain, has selected some Rioja vintages that will really shine as part of your festive celebrations.
- 2016 – Reservas and Gran Reservas are stunning
- 2004 – was one of the finest vintages in Rioja’s history!
- 2001 – a perfumed and perfect vintage in Rioja. Drink and enjoy.
Port
Port has a long association with the festive period (though we firmly believe that Port isn’t just for Christmas!). Whether you prefer a Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), single Quinta or Vintage Port, the following are our recommendations for the festivities.
- 2017 – filtered LBVs are ready to go, displaying the freshness and purity of the vintage, and step-up unfiltered wines are starting to drink well, too.
- 2016 – single Quinta and vintage wines starting to open up. Filtered LBVs are already showing more mature nuances.
- 2015 – still a little early for the single Quintas, but for those in half bottle, the generosity of the vintage makes it ready to go.
- 2011 – Top wines will keep for many, many more years but some are starting to drink now, offering the a taste of one of the all-time great Port vintages.
- 2010, 2009 and 2008 – a concentrated vintage when a few vintage wines were declared; single Quinta wines are ready to go, rich and generous.
- 2000 – sought-after vintage still vigorous but looking good.
- 1998 – single Quinta wines still drinking beautifully, showing our initial drinking windows to be conservative.
- 1994 – almost thirty years on, this is a vintage that is drinking well now, and which proves our initial drinking window for the top wines (to 2025) to be very conservative.
- 1985 and 1980 – declared fine vintages, the best vintages of the 80s. Fully mature but will hold its plateau of maturity if well stored.
It’s always fascinating to see the evolution of a wine from its early days to full maturity. Whichever older vintages you decide to open this year, we hope you enjoy them. Merry Christmas!
Beaujolais
If you’ve tucked away some cru Beaujolais (and why not?), buyer Harriet Kininmonth says you’ll be delighted if you have any top wines from the excellent 2018 or 2016 vintages.
Australia
As well as the misconception that vintage doesn’t matter in Australia, there is also the fallacy that Australia doesn’t produce particularly ageworthy wines. If you have any of the following vintages in your Reserves – get them out this Christmas!
- 2018 – this vintage combines richness with freshness making the wines excellent for the long run.
- 2015 – a poised vintage that sits somewhere in between the 2018s in terms of style and can be enjoyed now but still kept a little longer.
- 2012 – a fine year producing several wines of iconic status. Enjoy now.
