The Christmas season calls for extra special bottles that your guests and loved ones will remember in years to come. When it comes to finding such bottles, we know it can be hard to know where to start. So, this year, we asked a handful of our experts to share their top recommendations on what to drink. Delve in and listen to their suggestions below.
Vintage Ports can age magnificently for decades, developing almost ethereal layers of nuance from their time in the cellar. This makes them particularly special and rare bottles to enjoy at Christmas. Tom Cave tells us more about the 1970 Graham’s Port, a traditional choice in his family and still drinking beautifully at over 50 years old.
Alexandra Gray de Walden adores the Chardonnay grape – and for her, it reaches its zenith when grown in the celebrated vineyards of Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune. Full of golden, ripe fruits and layered complexity, the 2019 Bourgogne Blanc from Domaine de Montille is a particularly tasty treat for Christmas.
The Côte de Beaune is located to the south of the Côte de Nuits. If you’d like to learn more about Burgundy ahead of our 2022 release in January, visit our hub page here. You can buy the 2019 Bourgogne Blanc from Domaine de Montille here
Few things are more gratifying than a drop of rich, smoky whisky on a winter’s evening. And amid the mayhem of the festive season, our Caol Ila whisky is just the thing to savour during a quiet moment. Spirits Buyer Rob Whitehead tells us more about one of his favourite winter-time treats.
When it comes to red wines, Christmas is often associated with rich, full-bodied expressions. But Sarah Adwalpalkar finds that it’s often lighter, fruity reds she finds herself craving amid all the indulgence. Giovanni Rosso’s Langhe Nebbiolo is perfect for those moments – and a delightful match for the leftover sandwiches.
Christmas and Claret are the perfect partners for one another. And you can’t go far wrong with the 2016 Château Batailley – a beautifully layered wine with notes of cedarwood, cassis and mellow fruits. Victoria Bull from our Buying team tells us more about why she’ll be pouring this wine around the table come Christmas time.
The holiday season is fast approaching, signalling a time for celebration and hearty indulgence. While Champagne and Claret are classic choices, everyone needs a delicious, versatile white to complete the picture. Our Own Selection Sonoma Chardonnay is perfect for the task – a pleasure to drink alongside everything from sizzling potatoes to roast turkey. Katie Merry from our Buying team tells us more about one of her favourite winesfor Christmas.
My family, along with probably many others in the UK, have always looked to France when we reach for a fine wine on a special occasion. The Champagne is popped to approving “oohs” and “aahs”, and agreements of “no better sound to start off a party”. The Claret is decanted and served with the extravagant roasts, generating delighted murmurs around the age of the vintage (“it was a very good year”). The Sauternes is poured between ludicrously delicate dessert glasses, when we’re all too full to truly enjoy the Christmas pudding but determined to luxuriate in the decadence of it all nevertheless.
And, of course, there’s the question of which dry white wine to sip, versatile enough to enjoy with the hors d’oeuvres all the way through to the sizzling roast potatoes. Up until a few years ago, it was merely a question ofwhere in Burgundy we should look to for the chosen bottle. A refreshing, stony Chablis? A rich, buttery Meursault? A floral and mineral Chassagne?
But these days, with a combination of increasing prices, a litany of tiny harvests and the sheer luxury of high-quality options from further afield, our horizons have expanded.
Californian elegance
Happily, there is no need to abandon the Chardonnay grape – unparalleled in its quality potential and stylistic versatility. Historically, the Chardonnays from the “New World” such as Australia and the USA have had a less than stellar reputation, tarred with the brush of all things “too much”: overly oaked, overly ripe, overly alcoholic. Today’s reality, especially among elite fine wine producers, couldn’t be further from the truth, and you can now find some of the world’s most elegant, pure, and precise wines over the pond.
One such Grand Cru of the New World is Sonoma County, located north-west of the Napa Valley and slightly closer to the Pacific Ocean. Cool foggy mornings and sunny afternoons allow the grapes to ripen slowly and evenly, developing complex flavours while retaining good acidity. Sonoma County is also home to some of the most diverse terroir in the country. The various microclimates have allowed innovative and talented winemakers such as David Ramey to experiment and cultivate Chardonnay grapes on a plethora of soils and elevations.
Ramey’s Sonoma Chardonnay
Ramey Wine Cellars was first established in 1996, one of the lucky wineries blessed with owner-winemakers who have been focused on high-quality production from day one. Inspired by European styles, David Ramey is now widely recognised as one of the most influential winemakers in North America, and a beacon of excellence in Chardonnay production.
His wines are certainly top picks for collecting, but where they really thrive is on the dinner table. Christmas dinner is the ideal time to bring out a chilled bottle and really impress family guests (or keep it for yourself!). The Chardonnay he made specially for Berry Bros. & Rudd was sourced just over the border from the Russian River Valley, where low yields and careful selection results in wines of extraordinary elegance. The nose is fine and graceful, with flavours of pale stone fruits, lemon and delicate floral overtones. The palate is where you can really taste the quality, with a beautiful mineral depth and creamy intensity. Full bodied without being heavy, this is an energetic, exquisitely classy addition to the Christmas wine menu.
As the winter chill settles in, there’s something inherently stylish and sophisticated about enjoying this particular glass of Californian Chardonnay. Whether you’re serving a traditional roast turkey, a succulent ham, or even a sumptuous lobster bisque, Sonoma County Chardonnay will complement them all. Burgundy-lovers, you won’t be disappointed.
This November, we’re championing the oft-underrated wines of the Loire Valley. Here, our Buyer Adam Bruntlett reflects on this rising star of a region, and explains what makes it so special
While I may spend most of my time in Burgundy, the Loire Valley is perhaps where my heart lies.
In fact, my first buying trip, back in January 2011, was to the Loire. Many of my most treasured wine memories are of Loire bottles. I’ve been banging this particular drum for some time. But now, it really feels as though there is momentum.
The Loire is France’s longest river, dotted with wine regions. Here, there are varying soil types, and numerous different grape varieties grown. Each region has its own identity and history. Yet for many years, the Loire has been a victim of its own success.
Its proximity and ease of access to Paris ensured many of the wines were consumed domestically in wine bars and brasseries. Often light, crunchy and sold for a modest price, these wines were a steady source of income – which did not encourage innovation or risk-taking. The same applies to the likes of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, both of which have strong export markets in the USA and UK.
The huge shame is that many of these wines are mass-produced on a fairly industrial scale for consumption within a year or so of bottling. The vast majority of Vouvray’s production is simple sparkling wine for consumption in France and Belgium. Yet, things are changing.
The Loire Valley today
Our recent trip to the Loire this summer revealed a region full of energy and dynamism. There is a significant movement towards making wines that put terroir at the heart of everything they do.
In the past many estates would make a couple of cuvées; one easy-drinking for the Paris brasserie market, and the other using old vines – often with rather excessive oak. Now, most quality-focused producers will separate out their best parcels. They adapt the winemaking and ageing to each site, to highlight the diversity of their terroirs.
There is a real melting pot of vignerons pushing things forward. Determined young growers such as Arnaud Lambert, Stéphane Riffault and Simon Chotard have taken over their family domaines and begun taking their wines in a bold new direction.
“Outsiders” such as Anatole de la Brosse at Domaine des Closiers and Luc Briand and Bénédicte Petit at Terra Vita Vinum are bringing a fresh perspective and innovative approach, perhaps less constrained by the past than locals.
Alongside this are established top names such as Vincent Carême, Philippe Alliet and Gauthier Frères who have been making wines of real excellence for many years and continue to reach greater heights.
Sustainable winemaking in the Loire
What is also amazing is the number of vignerons who are now determined to put the environment and sustainability at the heart of everything they do. Almost everyone we work with in the Loire is either organic certified or in conversion. Several are certified as biodynamic. In an area as cool and humid as the Loire, where pressure from mildew can be huge, this is no mean feat.
It is clear that something special is happening in the Loire. It is reminiscent of Burgundy in the 1980s or 1990s, with a huge and as-yet-unrealised potential. What puts the Loire ahead of Burgundy before it exploded is the sheer quality of the work in the vineyards and winery. Young winemakers here have travelled and studied around the world. They are innovative, humble and thoughtful.
It is clear that the quality of wines in the Loire has never been higher, and this is only the beginning.
The grapes of the Loire Valley
For top-quality wines, three grape varieties are king:
Sauvignon Blanc
Many will associate Sauvignon with aromatic, early drinking whites that are most suited to quenching thirst on hot days. However, anyone who has ever tasted the matured wines of François Cotat will appreciate the ageing capacity of this variety. Gone are any notes of gooseberry, replaced by a pleasing aniseed and fennel notes. While the Cotat style is quite esoteric, there is a small band of determined young growers who are making more ambitious, textural and age-worthy wines from single-vineyard plots.
Chenin Blanc
I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy some excellent expressions of Chenin Blanc: a pair of Bonnezeaux from 1916 and 1945, a 1978 Coulée de Serrant and many vintages from Domaine Huet. One of my all-time favourite white wines is Vincent Carême’s 2008 Vouvray, Le Peu Morier. I’ve sadly long since drunk the bottles I had, but I can still remember its wonderful apple and white truffle nose, as well as the rich and almost exotic fruit which was perfectly balanced by a nagging thread of acidity.
Cabernet Franc
My introduction to the ageing potential of Cabernet Franc came with a visit to Lamé Delisle Boucard. Philippe Boucard took us down into his cool cellar, cut deep into the tuffeau. Huddled around a table in a small grotto surrounded by mould-covered bottles, we went back in time through the 20th century, tasting every vintage ending in 9 back to 1919.
On another occasion, we chalked off all of the great vintages: 2009, 2005 (the one he wants to be buried with), 1989, three different 1976s, 1964, 1947, 1911.
What was striking about tasting with Philippe, was that the great vintages were all unusually warm years. The difference between then and now is that we have that kind of vintage seven times a decade, rather than once as in the past.
Final thoughts
Until as recently as the 1990s, only around one or two vintages a decade would achieve real ripeness. Now, you have to go back to 2013 or before to find a vintage that wasn’t at least very good. With a more meticulous approach to viticulture and improved winemaking techniques, even more challenging vintages such as 2021 can now produce pleasant bottles.
We celebrated our 325th anniversary this year. For over one-third of that time, we’ve produced iterations of what’s now known as The King’s Ginger: our famed ginger liqueur. Fiery, warming and spiced, it’s an excellent choice for winter – and, as we find below, it’s also versatile enough to work well in a variety of cocktails
King Edward VII’s Royal Physician first commissioned a “warming, revivifying tonic” from us in 1903. The result was the first iteration of The King’s Ginger: a unique and fiery spirit that the King would drink directly from a saddle flask, likely while driving his beloved Daimler in the winter months.
Its popularity spread amongst aristocratic fishing and hunting parties – and beyond. Today, it remains a much-loved liqueur, although today it’s more likely to be sipped from a tumbler or cocktail glass than from the saddle flasks of old.
The unique combination of warming ginger, fresh lemon zest and honeyed golden syrup flavours brings a distinctive twist to many a classic cocktail. Explore two of our favourites here.
The King’s Fizz
Champagne hardly needs an extra touch of decadence – but at Christmas, why not indulge in a sparkling cocktail or two? Here, we combine the honeyed spice of The King’s Ginger with all the complex fruit and pastry notes of our Brut Champagne, for a deliciously wintery drink.
The King’s Penicillin
When The King’s Ginger was first created, both lemon and honey – key ingredients in our liqueur and this cocktail alike– were viewed as having highly medicinal properties. This is named in tribute; a splash of Sherry Cask Single Malt Scotch is balanced wonderfully by the sweet yet refreshing liqueur.
