Top Ten Last Minute Christmas Wines
Celebrating Christmas may be getting increasingly difficult but it doesn’t mean we have to abandon all of the table-topping foods and wines. So if you have time for one last shop or home delivery before this Friday the 25th then try and get in a few of these Top Ten Last Minute Christmas Wines. All have been rated using the wineuncorked.co.uk system and all are available now in UK supermarkets and are ready to enjoy this (limited) festive season.
Here are the Top Ten listed in ascending price from £3.99 to £19.99.
1
Aldi Gingerbread Mulled Wine, 8% alc
4 star rated
£3.99 Aldi
This is not actually a wine but a “mixed alcoholic beverage” with its spices and flavourings added to a red wine base. It still tastes rather good though. Warm through slightly before serving to let the lightly spicy aromas come through along with the gingerbread tastiness.
2
Binary Botanical “prosecco-like” table beer, 660ml 4%alc
3 star rated
£3.99 Ocado
Advertised as “the wine lovers beer” with “prosecco-like” flavours, this lightly fizzy beer tastes like beer with its brown bread hoppiness and mandarin orange nuances but is none the less likeable. It is refreshing and its delicate sparkling nature won’t make you burp. But it doesn’t taste like prosecco.
3
Rock and Roots Organic Spanish Tempranillo
4 star rated
£6.25 Co-op
This deep red wine, with cherry and nutty chocolate flavours, will keep its freshness once opened for up to a week without deteriorating. Its organic credentials are another reason for liking this Spanish single variety vino.
4
Domaine Pierre Marchand et Fils Pouilly-Fume 2019
4 star rated
£9.99 Aldi
This is French Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire region underneath the Pouilly-Fume labelling. So expect some gooseberry flavour but nothing like the intenseness of its New Zealand cousin. This wine is a balance of apple, gooseberry and melon flavours. Match to seafood and goats cheese.
5
Vergelegen Octagon Fairtrade South African Sauvignon Blanc 2019
4 star rated
£10 Co-op
This light lime green coloured wine tastes lightly of gooseberry, so it won’t take over your taste buds with mouth-watering acidity. There’s also mixed in some melon and lime plus a hint of fig. A very nice wine.
6
Chateau Brassac 2016 Bordeaux Superieur
5 star rated
£10 Co-op
This Merlot based Bordeaux has depth of aroma with its cherry, dark chocolate and liquorice notes – there’s even a touch of smokiness just to add to the list. The flavour is slightly lighter than the aroma leads you to expect – more milk chocolate fruitiness and a touch of Marmite. If you didn’t know this was a red Bordeaux you might think it was a Spanish red made with the Carmenere grape.
7
Majestic Definition Californian Zinfandel 2018
4 star rated
£10.99 Majestic
This own-label wine from Majestic is just what you’d expect from a Lodi Californian Zinfandel – spicy, fruity and meaty. The aroma starts off all smoky blackberry with a gravyness which turns into a spicy cinnamon kick on the taste. Majestic wanted their revamped Definitions range to be all about provenance and quality. Well they’ve achieved that here.
8
Graham’s 2015 Late Bottle Vintage Port
4 star rating
£13.99 Waitrose
Watch out for the 2012 version of this LBV port which is selling in Morrisons for £9 – this is not a review of that. The 2015 version gets better with opening, so much so that after a couple of days the initial over-cooked blackberry jam flavours mellow into intense blackberry and cherry chocolate. Sweet but intense with a liquorice ending. This is a wine that gets better the longer you wait.
9
Tesco Finest Sancerre 2019
4 star rated
£14 Tesco
Made with the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety, this classic white may be expensive but it has the satisfying sweet-sour flavours that you expect from a well-made wine. Fruity flavours of peach, melon and apricot may be sweet but aren’t cloying and are balanced with the fresh acidity of grapefruit and lime.
10
Albert Lucas Chablis Premier Cru 2018
5 star rated
£19.99 Aldi
This pale yellow loveliness is part of the posh Christmas range at Aldi. And while you may not usually spend twenty quid on a bottle of wine at this discount store then today is good time to try it. The aroma is all baked apples and creamy lemon and almond dessert, while the flavour adds runny honey and more lemon. There’s a whole mass of aromas and flavours going on in this wine.
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© Paula Goddard 2020 www.wineuncorked.co.uk
