This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Slideshow
Top 10 wines in the UK press
Wolf Blass Silver Label Chardonnay 2013, South Australia
This “complex Chardonnay” and a “spice-infused Shiraz”, both from Australia’s Treasury Wine Estates, featured in David Williams’ wine column in The Guardian this week.
He said: “”Troubled” is the adjective favoured by the business press when writing about Treasury Wine Estates. And with falling profits, a huge $100m loss in its last fiscal year and the announcement that it is to close a much-loved 130-year-old winery as part of a wave of cost-cutting, 2014 has certainly not been a vintage year for Australia’s largest wine company. This would not bother me if it weren’t for the fact that Treasury owns some of Australia’s greatest producers. A recent tasting at Wolf Blass suggested its Chardonnays, such as the complex, oatmealy Silver Label, are so far untouched by any trouble at the top.”
Price: £12.99, Tesco
Penfolds Bin 2 Shiraz Mourvèdre 2012, South Australia
Often considered the jewel in Treasury’s crown, Williams described the producer’s Penfolds brand as occupying a “similar cultural position in Australia to Château Lafite or Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in France.”
Recommending its Bin 2 Shiraz Mouvèdre he said: “The good news is that the fabulously silky, deep and exotically scented 2010 is one of the best I’ve tasted. The bad news is that a case of six bottles will set you back £1,770 (bbr.com). Better value is the polished St Henri Shiraz 2011 (£65, hedonism.co.uk), or, for my pocket, the purring, spice-infused Bin 2.”
Price: £19.99, or £13.22 if you buy two, Majestic
Champagne Ruinart Brut Rosé NV, France
“Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without bubbles bouncing around in our glasses”, writes Susy Atkins in The Independent.
Of Ruinart’s Brut Rosé, she said: “From one of the oldest Champagne houses, a delectable rosé with 15% Pinot Noir in the blend. The top note is red cherry, with rosehip syrup and a hint of spiced peach beneath, ending sublimely soft and dry.”
Price: Majestic, £60 or £44.98 when you buy two, until 2 February; Berry Bros & Rudd, £55
Finest Bisol Prosecco NV, Italy
For those on a lower budget, Atkins recommended this Bisol Prosecco which she said was “dancing with lemon”.
She said: “Not the most complex, but properly refreshing, light (11.5%) and dancing with lemon, lime and a touch of apricot. Hold off until the offer kicks in, if you can.”
Price: Tesco, £8.99, down to £6.99 between 17 December and 6 January
Trius Showcase Canadian Icewine 2013, Niagara, Canada
For those with a sweet tooth, Jamie Goode, writing in The Express, recommended the best pudding wines for celebrating this Christmas.
He said: “In a world obsessed with calories, sweet wines have fallen out of fashion. If they’re served at all it’s with pudding, by which time they aren’t always appreciated. That’s a shame because they have so much to offer as apéritifs, as wines to be enjoyed on their own, or as a dessert course in themselves.”
Of this Canadian Icewine, he said: “This is expensive, but for ice wine it’s a bargain. For this style, the grapes must be harvested in winter at exactly the right time, when they are frozen on the vine, and that’s a costly business. The result is sweet, grapey and delicious, with spicy, lemony notes.”
Price: £24.99, Aldi
Domaine de Pellehaut ‘L’Escoubasso’ 2012, France
Goode also recommended this “distinctive and delicious” sweet French wine made from the Peitit Manseng grape.
He said: “This is a distinctive sweet wine made from the Petit Manseng grape, with lovely flavours of lemons, marmalade and grapefruit pith. It’s distinctive and delicious.”
Price: £11.99, Harrods, Cambridge
San Pietro Alto Adige Schiava 2013, Italy
Terry Kirby picked out a number of “unusual wines from Italy’s northernmost area”, including this red from the Alto Adige, writing in The Independent this week.
He said: “Made with the Schiava grape – called Trollinger over the border in Germany – it is light and floral, with masses of brightly refreshing, red-berry fruit flavours and a spicy finish. Different and beguiling. Serve with pasta with cream sauces, veal escalope or roast chicken.”
Price: £10.70, hhandc.co.uk; £13.49, ocado.com
Simonnet-Febvre Saint-Bris Sauvignon Blanc 2012, France
Kirby also recommended this “terrific” Sauvignon from Burgundy, a region normally reserved only for Chardonnay.
He said: ” While this is typically crisply mineral, there are some unexpected floral notes. Try with soft goat’s cheese or seafood risotto.”
Price: £9.99, waitrose; £9.99, ocado.com
NV Marks & Spencer Prosecco, Veneto, Italy
Nothing signals a Christmas celebration like a magnum of fizz. Matthew Jukes, writing in the Daily Mail, recommended this 1.5 litre bottle of Prosecco to really get the party started.
He said: “This double-sized beast is a beauty with brilliant creaminess and a touch of apple and pear nuance for good measure. You may have to buy some ice cubes and dunk this in a bucket because you might have trouble getting it in the fridge!”
Price: £19.99, magnum 150cl, Marks & Spencer
2013 Les Tannes, Marsanne Tradition, Pays d’Oc, France
Finally, Jukes recommended a this “perfect party white” from the Pays d’Oc in France that he said would “amaze all palates and go with every dish.”
He said: “This is a very unassuming looking bottle, but the liquid inside is anything but! The smooth, lemon balm and honeysuckle-kissed fruit is so attractive and the finish is long and calming.”
Price: £7.95, Jeroboams