Christmas is officially here and as usual, our wonderful suppliers have come up with loads of generous offers on some great wines. There’s not a dud wine amongst them and, in these inflationary times, we’re always looking for value for your money. So here’s a list of our favourite festive offers now available across all of our shops…
Sparkling
Laborie Blanc de Blanc. Great value, traditional method (or Cap Classique as they call it in South Africa) 100% Chardonnay fizz. Repeated offender on the award front and Wine Merchant Top 100 list. Normally £17.50 – 10% off (£15.75) in December.
Emeri Pink Moscato (known as an Aussie Mossie) from the ultra-sustainable De Bortoli wines in New South Wales is the perfect light (8%abv) and refreshing aperitif or palate cleanser. Considered a perfect partner for strawberries, it also works well with mild cheeses. For £9.75, you really can’t go wrong.
La Jara Frizzante Bianco is in much the same vein, in both style and price but drier and certified organic (£10.90).
Barone Pizzini Franciacorta ‘Animante’ from Italy’s answer to Champagne – same grapes and a warmer climate gives the wines slightly more body. Classy and delicious. Normally £28.90 – £2 off through December.
Fleury Blanc de Noirs Champagne – a ‘grower’ Champagne of the first order. It’s the only one we sell because we can’t find anything better – quality or pricewise. And at £45, that’s saying something.
We also have excellent local traditional method, English sparklers from Huxbear and Sandridge Barton (née Sharpham).
Reds
First, a couple of great value crowd pleasers from Scheid Family Vineyards in Monterey, California. Odd Lot Pinot Noir and Mina Mesa Zinfandel (both £10.25) are shipped in bulk and bottled in UK for considerable carbon footprint benefits. They’re both surprisingly quaffable but with good varietal characteristics.
Austria might be better known for its whites but the reds are pretty good too. Salzl Seewinkelhof Blaufrankisch (£17) is Wonderfully juicy and meaty on the palate, dense with a lot of ripe fruit while Emil Bauer’s snappy Zweigelt Rubin (down from £25 to £19.40) offers typical sour cherry fruit with delicate blackberry notes. The aging in French oak gives it soft toasted aromas which harmonize very well with the soft Zweigelt tannins.
As mentioned in the brochure, Mas de Longchamp rouge has slipped under the radar – until now. Quaffable, cheerful wine with mellow fruits, soft tannins and refreshing acidity. Not at all complicated, just unadulterated drinking pleasure! (£10.95 – normally £11.85)
If you’re a Rioja fan, our Navardia Crianza even better value. Handpicked grapes (Tempranillo (80%), Graciano, Garnacha) carefully vinified and aged for 12 months in barrel, followed by 12 months in bottle, gives a big wine with plenty of fruit and a touch of liquorice, compote fruit, roasted coffee and a subtle spiciness. All for an unbelievable £13.99.
Next up; two top ‘cru’ class Cotes du Rhône’s from Domaine Boutinot: La Côte Sauvage, AOP Cairanne 2021 (£17.75 – rrp £20.35) and ‘Les Deux Barriques’, AOP Cairanne 2019 (£23.25 – rrp £33.50). Two big reds for Chateauneuf-du-Pape lovers. At 14.5% and 15% abv they’re not for the fainthearted but, as non-Port drinker, just the sort of thing I’d like to have left on the table with the car wreck remains of the cheese board.
In a similar vein, but from the other side of the world, we have Paxton Vineyards organic and biodynamic MV Shiraz (£18.75). A big wine, with many complex nuances that, somehow work together while remaining distinct. We’ve all been put off by the over oaked Chardonnay and Cab/Shiraz blends but maybe it’s time to give Australia a second chance. My benevolence definitely doesn’t extend to the cricket.
Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru Burgundy might be out of our reach but Pinot Noir lovers won’t be disappointed with Domaine Begude’s Cerisier (£14.50) and Esprit (£17.30 / rrp – £19.50). While the light and fresh Cerisier is almost an, extremely generous, party wine the barrel aged Esprit is fuller with a touch of slightly funky gaminess. In fact, made for turkey or goose!
The perfect Barolo has long been my holy grail – and more realistically affordable than Grand Cru red Burgundy. As I mentioned in the Christmas brochure, Barolo can be dreadful. As you move up the scale, they become more balanced and, then, complex before reaching the stratospheric levels vinophiles dream of. Our Tenuta La Volta Cabutto Barolo (£36 – £3 cheaper than Waitrose) and Massolino Barolo (£49 – rrp £59) are both well into the balanced and complex brackets and show why wine lovers the world over find Barolo so enticing.
Chianti. I thought I’d got the Christmas recommendations nailed down when what should turn up but a brilliant, and great value, new, organic Tenuta Cappellina Chianti Classico (£15.50). Despite already stocking three Chiantis (including the outstanding Selvapiana Chianti Rufina (£19.95 – rrp £21.50) and top-end blockbuster Isole e Olena Chianti Classico (£32 – rrp £35). They’re all great wines but, for value for money, the Tenuta Cappellina Chianti Classico takes the cantuccini.
Emiliana Novas Gran Reserva Carmenère (£12.25 – rrp £14.50) is a chunkier, oaked, version of the Adobe Carmenère that we’ve stocked for years. Carmenère is what Chile does best
Chile also brings the imaginatively named Full Bodied Blend (£11.90 – rrp £14.30). It’s, pretty much, what it says on the label – a Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Carmenère, full-bodied, well concentrated, with a soft velvety texture.
Whites
Baron de Badassière Picpoul de Pinet. The bad arsed baron strikes again! It’s an old friend loved by many and it never fails to deliver zesty acidity and saline minerality. £13.25 (rrp – £14.99)
Domaine Begude Chardonnay ‘Terroir’ Lovely, fresh Chardonnay with the 15% aged briefly in old oak giving it added gravitas. As a go-to favourite it goes on giving. It’s a bargain £13.50
Saladini Pilastri DOC Falerio. An old favourite that, after a couple of not so successful vintages, found it’s way back onto the shelves twelve months ago. Mainly Trebbiano with a little, more hefty, Passerina and Pecorino thrown in for good measure, it’s a lovely glass of wine with typical Soave like notes of almond, acacia, lime and pear. All for £12.95
Salzl Seewinkelhof Grüner Veltliner. My white wine of the year – offering the perfect balance of stone fruit and GV’s white pepper and spice with a lovely, long ‘green apple’ finish. £15 (normally £16.20). They also do a, surprisingly good, more age worthy, oaked version – Figaro for £21.
We also have Emil Bauer’s Wagram Riesling on offer (down from £18.75 to £14.90). We tend to look no further than Grüner Veltliner for Austrian whites but some of the Rieslings are equally good. Slightly more alcoholic and less flowery than their German counterparts. Here, typical apricot notes and the fresh acidity and lovely residual sugar harmonize perfectly together. Harry and I shared a bottle watching England beat the All Blacks and it was glorious
Domaine de la Verpaille Viré-Clessé ‘Harmonie’. As a humble Macon, you’re not going to get this confused with a Puligny-Montrachet but it’s still a lovely glass of white Burgundy.
A charming, rich and captivating wine that is packed full of ripe and candied fruits, dried apricots and peach. Ageing on fine lees gives it extra depth and complexity. £20.50 and worth every penny.
Nuestro Rueda Verdejo. Verdejo is becoming more ubiquitous but by far the best come from Rueda, north west of Madrid. All the zing of citrus and a gentle floral hint – absolutely spot, with aging on fine lees adding body and complexity. £11.99 (rrp – £15)
Domaine Gayda ‘En Passant’ blanc – generous Vermentino / Viognier blend showing all the classic ‘Rhone blanc’ white blossom, apricot and pear nose and palate. One of my go-to whites. £13.25
Domaine Gayda Figure Libre Chenin Blanc – big, juicy, Chenin from the Languedoc. Barrel aged for extra texture, despite being bone dry, it has that touch of ‘honeyed’ sweetness that pairs with most white meats, oily fish and cheese -aka; Xmas dinner – £17.50 (rrp – around £20)
Santiago Ruiz, `O Rosal` Rías Baixas – 81% minerally Albarino showing classic granite minerality balanced by a little soft, aromatic Loureiro. A lovely wine – with or without food. £20.50 – rrp £23.00)
Dessert wines
Like many top restaurants, we’ve stocked Sherries from Valdespino in Jerez de la Frontera for years. The range includes Manzanilla ‘Deliciosa’ (£21), Fino ‘Inocente’ (£25), and the jaw-droppingly unctuous PX ‘Candido’ (£29.50), as well as a fantastic negroni friendly, Vermouth (£26.35) and Quina aperitif (£26.50).
We also have organic Piedra Luenga DO Montilla Moriles Amontillado, Oloroso, Pedro Ximenez (all £20) and Fino (£16.50) in 50cl bottles.
Marsala is probably even more Christmas specific than Port – even if most of it tends to end up in the trifle, zabaione, tiramisu or gravy. We have Curatolo Arini’s, Marsala Superiore Dolce. (£21.40).
One of Julian Temperley’s greatest creations are his trio of Kingston Black Aperitif (£17.90), barrel aged Somerset Pomona (£21) and Ice Cider (£22.90) . The first two are an apple version of French Pineau de Charente. I’ve said it every year for ever but there’s nothing that goes better with the Christmas cheese board than Somerset Pomona and a Tarte Tatin without Ice Cider is on a par with poor sock management as grounds for divorce.
We also have a few other interesting local spirits from Cosmo Caddy at Devon Distillery. We have his Dappa, Dark Fire (barrel aged), Sloed Gin and Chocolated (velvety chocolate liqueur) all for £20 per 35cl bottle.
Offers are available in store only and over this festive period. Please ask our team for more details.