The Sparkling Wines
For aperitifs, toasts, celebration and luxurious drinking
Nyetimber Cuvée Chérie
You all probably know Nyetimber, but the Cuvee Cherie is one that many people have not had the good fortune of tasting, as Demi Sec is a little out of fashion. This is one I enjoy kicking off Christmas morning with. It hits that morning-holiday-early-drinking spot perfectly. Light, soft and with a touch of sweetness, enjoy lemon curd, orchard fruit and a creamy lees character with gentle spice. It will also make a great companion to your dessert if the usual dessert wines are too much.
Was £42, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £31.50!
Renishaw Hall Vintage Sparkling Cuvée
A good alternative if you want to toast the day with a classic Brut style, and are feeling patriotic over the usual Champagne lure. I’m slightly biased having visited the Renishaw Hall tearoom several times, but their wines are genuinely good. And surprisingly, based in Derbyshire – you’d have thought it might be a little too cold for grapes!
Expect lemon zest, elderflower, creamy brioche, biscuit and apple, much in the style of Champagne. This is meant to be drunk with canapes and starters - whether it’s a prawn cocktail, salmon blini or Scotch egg.
Was £26, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £19.50!
Glyndwr Sparkling Rose
Hard to pronounce, easy to drink. Sticking with British winemaking we move to Wales’ oldest family-run vineyard for Rose territory. It’s a blend of Rondo and Seyval Blanc, two hybrid varieties created in Germany that have an affinity with cold weather.
This is a deliciously light aperitif style fizz with wild strawberry, raspberry and cranberry wrapped in a citrus core. It has just noticeable amounts of lees contact bringing pastry notes into the fray and shoring up its complexity. Another perfect match for your hors d'oeuvres.
Was £25, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £18.75!
La Gioiosa Asolo Prosecco Superiore
It would be remiss to avoid Prosecco in this day and age, particularly from such a respected Prosecco name as La Gioiosa. However, Waitrose Cellar, being the fabulous wine merchants they are, have got an extra special one from Asolo – the “grand cru” of Prosecco.
It’s also vintage which isn’t all that common in Prosecco, suggesting that this is a real banger. And that it is. If you love Prosecco you can only adore this. It basically takes that pear drop, apple, acacia profile and turns it up considerably, so each flavour is more intense and defined. Lively, approachable and elegant, a great fizz!
Was £14, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £10.50!
L'Atzar Cava Reserva
Capping the toasting selection off with a great vintage Cava. Cava has fallen out of favour in recent years to make way for Prosecco, but that has been to its advantage in terms of quality. In order to begin fighting for their place in the market again, Cava has had to lean away from the mass production that partly brought about its downfall and look at how they can be better than Prosecco for the same price.
The L'Atzar is a small-batch gem. Extended lees ageing brings biscuit, richness and balance, whilst the fruit sings with pear and green-apple to help bring further equilibrium. The finish has a neat saline tang, creating a crisp yet rounded feel that make the second glass very popular for those who have tried it.
Was £13, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £9.75!
The Festive Reds
For feeling warm, pairing with roasts and drinking well
Amarone Riserva Tenuta Musella
There’s not much that can beat the luxury feeling of quaffing a beefy Amarone Riserva that’s fresh from the decanter in the middle of the Christmas table. Tenuta Musella are a producer that focus on biodynamic principles, so you’ll be kind to the planet whilst drinking this too.
Using the traditional appassimento method, whereby the grapes are dried to concentrate pretty much everything inside them, and undergoing a long ageing process, this wine is seriously top stuff. Decant and reveal aged notes of dried fig, cooked cherry and dark chocolate, laying upon a bed of spice, tobacco. It is very well structured with firm, ripe tannin. If it’s red meat for food, this is a game changer. If classic turkey, save it for fireside sipping in the evening instead.
Was £49, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £36.75!
Calmel & Joseph Terrasses du Larzac
Terrasses du Larzac is a fantastic appellation in the Languedoc that is carving out a name for quality amongst a couple of other more, shall we say, table wine-esque appellations in the region.
This captures the sunny climate with intent. A balance of concentrated dark fruits and herbaceous violet bring out a heady wine that is well structured with a mineral finish. There’s a little oak bringing roundness, but it is mainly the grapes that do the talking. This will certainly sit better with turkey than the Amarone, but I’d still tend this one towards a pairing with darker meat.
Was £15.50, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £11.62!
Louis Latour Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Burgundian Pinot Noir is the ultimate style of red to have with turkey at Christmas. Supple tannin, bright red fruit and ample acidity make it an ideal partner. It doesn’t overpower the fairly delicate meat, which is a trap people often fall into at Christmas, but rather enhances it.
Louis Latour is of course a famous Burgundian name and with good reason. This is one of the more affordable ones in the range and looks as fancy as it tastes. Fresh red fruit in the form of cherries and raspberries are given some bodily lift by savoury undertones and soft spices. Its got plenty of depth yet remains approachable making it a very good turkey wine indeed.
Was £20.60, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £15.45!
The Winter Whites
Creamy, fresh and invigorating – your matches with seafood and turkey
Rohe Rapaura Sauvignon Blanc
I’m thinking more about the marine side of Christmas with this choice – whether that’s your traditional starter or main course – but it will also be a great match with turkey and bread sauce.
Rapaura are a phenomenal Marlborough producer with well-deserved prestige. This Sauvignon made for Waitrose Cellar is a prime example. Tropical passion fruit and guava combine with blackcurrant, citrus and a herbaceous whisper on the end. It is clean, expressive and vibrant offering you a taste of Marlborough beyond the stale and samey big brand names.
Was £19.50, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £14.62!
Paul Cluver Village Chardonnay
Paul Cluver is one who can showcase South African winemaking at its best. Hailing from the cool Elgin hills, this Chardonnay is reminiscent of Chablis without the price tag.
A light oaking brings a rounded character but keeps it appropriate for pairing with Christmas food. Lemon, apple and white peach meet a soft oak spice bringing a warming sensation and some complexity beyond fruit purity. It is fresh, clean and has a lovely long finish.
Was £15, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £11.25!
Les Vins de Vienne Saint-Peray
Saint Peray is one of the Northern Rhone’s lesser-known regions devoted to white wines. Marsanne and Rousanne are kings here making super wines that aren’t all that expensive thanks to the relative lack of public knowledge about Saint Peray.
This is my white suggestion with the most body, somewhere between medium and full, but importantly not so much that your food flavours are lost in the process. It is gently creamy, showcasing a honeyed core surrounded by ripe apple and pear with a warming oak finish. It’s subtly rich that gives it a classy premium tone.
Was £20, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £15!
The Dessert Wines!
Sweet, sticky and decadent tipples
Helmut Lang Eiswein
Christmas is a time of year that I easily get carried away with buying dessert wines because there are simply so many styles to choose from. Let’s start with one of the sweetest, and most impressively crafted, of all.
Eiswein is where the grapes are left on the vine to literally freeze, so that when it comes to pressing the water is already frozen and easily removed. This means that what’s left are the sugars and flavours, creating intense, sweet wines. This one from Austria reveals ripe apricot, mango, candied fruit and orange blossom wrapped in a whirl of honey. High acidity brings superb balance. Pour small glasses and savour - I’d probably skip the solid dessert just to fit more of this in me.
Was £28, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £21!
No.1 Reserve Tawny Port
If you buy port this year, I’d strongly suggest buying one that says tawny on the label. Tawnys are made with oxidative winemaking, which brings all sorts of delicious flavours in that you don’t get from the usual ruby ports such as walnut, caramel, toffee and almond.
Waitrose’s own is the perfect entry level for this style. Enjoy flavours of figs, raisins, butterscotch, toasted nuts and oak alongside a smooth, mellow character with a luxuriously sugary body. It’s a no brainer with the cheese board.
Was £16, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £12!
Lustau Pedro Ximenez Murillo
The final choice for dessert wines is sherry (although there are VDNs from Southern France, Madeiras, Marsala, fortified muscats and more to find!). Specifically, the sweet dessert sherry which are known after the grape Pedro Ximenez.
The grapes are sundried to concentrate the sugar and then spend 15 years in oak to allow seriously complex flavours to develop. It’s got a similar texture to calpol, albeit more full bodied, with flavours of fig, caramel, raisin, molasses and coffee. Very decadent, yet very refined. Pair with the cheese board, the Christmas pudding or just pour on top of an ice cream as an alcoholic sauce!
Was £19.50, Now with their buy 6, save 25% offer only £14.62!
