With this year’s party season understandably being more focussed on entertaining at home than the usual boozy nights on the town, we’ve searched high and low for some of the best bottles on the market with which to impress friends and family who rate a quality drop of vino. Here’s our little guide for the discerning drinkers amongst you, filled with rich reds and wondrous whites and even one slight cheat of a choice that’s not even wine at all. Cheers everyone!
La Fiorita Brunello di Montalcino 2015, AVB: 15% – RRP £56.70 via Hedonism Wine, Mayfair
Coming in as the weightiest wine in terms of impact on the wallet, this delightful number from Tuscany is easily worth ever penny of its price tag. This Brunello di Montalcino from La Fiorita is a fine example of the perfection of the region’s famous Sangiovese grape. It’s a smooth, balanced, dare we say quaffable drink with subtle spices and notes of sour cherry gracing each mouthful. Sure to be a huge hit around the Christmas dinner table.
Buy it here: https://hedonism.co.uk/product/brunello-di-montalcino-la-fiorita-201
Loss Gruner Veltliner, Schlosskellerei Gobelsburg (2019), AVB: 12% – RRP £13.90 via fieldandfawcett.co.uk
If you’re on the hunt for a dry white, this versatile young number from the Danube area of Austria delivers some serious value for money. In the winery, the ripe Schlosskellerei Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner Löss grape is selected, de-stemmed and then pressed. After which it ferments with selected yeasts. All of which births a refreshing white with its scents of fresh ripe apples. A perfect accompaniment to the turkey and all trimmings that come with it.
Buy it here: https://www.fieldandfawcett.co.uk/wine/white/loss-gruner-veltliner-schlosskellerei-gobelsburg-/
Vintage, Monofloral and Single Origin Mead – RRP £55 – £75 via Gosnells
Ok, so this one isn’t strictly wine, but it comes in a wine bottle and is recommended for wine lovers, so we’re including it. And once you’ve tried it you’ll understand why. We’ve previously championed the delights of the mead produced by Gosnells of Peckham, here they’ve created some rather lovely tasting bundles especially for Xmas.
There’s the Vintage Selection Meads made from raw London honey from the same source each year (2018, 2019 & 2020 Vintages, all 12% abv), the Monofloral Meads which come with mini pots of each flower honey (Borage 6%, Acacia 7,5% and Eucalyptus 7%), perfect for lovers of perfume, aromatic wines or flowers and finally the Single Origin Meads (Hackney 9%, Yorkshire 10.5%, Lea Bridge Road 7.5%), which again come with their own honey. We honestly can’t fault any of them, filled with flavour and genuinely unique, these meads are un-bee-lievably good.
Buy it here: https://www.gosnells.co.uk
La Centenaire (2015), AVB: 14% – RRP £17.50 via Greenham Wines
As bottles priced under twenty pounds go, this rather gorgeous drop of multi-award winning red is about as good as you’ll get. This silky-smooth red hails from the family owned Chateau Nadal vineyard in the Languedoc/Rousillon region of France, the former site of a Cistercian monastery where the monks made their own wine 800 years ago.
Steeped in history and flavour, this wine also boasts 100% organic status, which means higher concentrations of all important antioxidants and also less banging hangover headaches after overindulging. La Centenaire can be laid down for up to 20 years. But with vino tasting this good you won’t likely store it long past the day you buy it.
Buy it here: https://greenhamwines.co.uk/product/1900-la-centenaire/
Disznókó Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos (37.5cl), AVB: 11.5% – RRP £19.99 via Waitrose
This intensely sweet desert wine with a somewhat unpronounceable name hails from the Tokaj-Hegyalja region of Hungary. This half bottle is packed with citrus and apricot aromas developed from the ripe fruit used in its making and the minimum of 24 months it spends maturing in a barrel. Pair this well balanced drop with a nice post-dinner cheeseboard or a sweet desert and you’re onto a winner.
Buy it here: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/disznoko-tokaji-aszu-5-puttonyos/801592-689610-689611
Waterstone In Studio Red (2014) AVB: 14.9% – RRP £30.71 via James Hocking Wine (nationwide delivery)
Another choice red for you right here, this one coming out of Napa Valley in California. Waterstone In Studio Red is a great Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petite Sirah grapes which help to give this wine an elegant finish. It’s a spicy number with a taste of blackberries and dark chocolate, also packing not inconsiderable bite when it comes to acidity. A rip-roaring red when it comes to pairing with a roast dinner.
Buy it here: https://www.jameshockingwine.com/new-products/2014-waterstone-in-studio-red
Moorooduc Estate Chardonnay (2016), AVB: % – RRP £22.50 via twistedcellar
Last but not least in our list comes this crisp Chardonnay from the cooler climbs of Australia’s Mornington Peninsula. Pale lemon in colour, this vino boasts a rich, expressive nose of white flowers and cedar notes. On the palate the wine is textural with a refreshing bitterness to it. All in all a joy to drink, so well worth investing in a few bottles of this before someone else does.
Buy it here: https://twistedcellar.co.uk/product/moorooduc-moorooduc-chardonnay-2016/
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