Wines at Christmas!

Charles Steevenson encourages us to be a little adventurous, to treat ourselves and not to forget the pudding wines…

Whilst the Christmas season is amongst other things a time to indulge, or indeed over indulge in all things wine, it has to be said that for many, despite the best efforts of the wine trades movers and shakers, wine is merely a means to an end... happy juice. And yet, I am pleased to note that the endeavours of wine merchants and wine enthusiasts have really paid off. Despite being a modest wine-producing nation, we really are a very well-informed country of imbibers. We expect and demand high standards, and with our new-found knowledge are rightly intolerant when faced with indifferent wines.

Let’s now focus on the pleasures of seasonal wines... wines that will not only complement the typical seasonal fare, but also reflect our preferences for perhaps more robust and autumnally suited styles of wines.

After a very productive year at Steevenson Wines, I have narrowed down our key contenders to a mere handful of options. Indeed, as I pen this editorial my team and I have just tasted a cask sample of a stunning fruit-laden southern French grenache. This 2016 Seigneurie de Peyrat from the Cotes du Thongue, displays heavily perfumed and massive sweet ripe bramble fruit with voluptuous youthful charm. With fingers crossed, this wine will be bottled and delivered to our cellars in time for early December...the estimated price will be in the region of £7.50... a steal!

Many of my customers will recall our hugely popular wines that we sold under the Fincher label. Fincher sauvignon blanc and Fincher syrah are simply outstanding gems from New Zealand. The Fincher sauvignon blanc from Marlborough is alive with herbaceous elderberry, gooseberry and asparagus overtones, yet not too weighty, and well-suited to team up with smoked salmon and spicy dishes. The syrah from Hawkes Bay is so reminiscent of a very smart northern Rhône... a perfect winter warmer.  At £11 and £18 each respectively, these are not the cheapest, but arguably could be the best, now there’s a challenge.

Ask any wine merchant as to what is their favourite grape, and a German riesling will be up there. When made by Germany’s top maker Ernst Loosen you know that you are in for a treat. Such is the case with my next recommendation, the Walt Riesling 2016 made in Pfalz Germany; not only a wacky label but also a truly invigorating racy riesling, with sweet and sour appeal enhanced by wonderful eye-watering acidity... so good, and only £8 a bottle. Enjoy this wine with fish, poultry and good friends... that’s what Christmas is all about.

I have often thought, if I had to sell the wines of only one country, I could easily plump for Italy. So, flying the flag for Italy we seem to have one stand-out contender. A modestly priced but dramatic red from Puglia, the very heel of Italy. The Amanti Primitivo 2015 at £7 really over delivers - dark dried fruits, dates, figs and culinary spice, a must for the eager impetuous red wine drinker.

And one more - if you cannot spoil yourself at Christmas, then when can you?

With that in mind, it is time to savour the combination of elegance, flavour, spectrum and style that are the key attributes of a classic claret. I personally always aim for a cru bourgeois, a quality grading that will often ensure you will not be disappointed. As a rule, these wines will come into their own when they are between five and eight years’ old. My pick of the bunch is Chateau Cissac Haut Medoc Cru Bourgeois 2011. Cabernet sauvignon dominant, ripe and persistent cassis fruit, hints of chocolate and cigar box with subtle well intergraded new French oak - at under £17 this could be your Christmas treat.

Now that I am on a roll, I would like to keep on rolling with other suggestions...and I have many. In short, be adventurous, maybe spend a little more than at other times of the year, and do not forget the pudding wines! - so essential on Christmas Day.

To reflect my enthusiasm and passion for ‘wines at Christmas’ we are offering a case of 12 wines to cover all eventualities of the festive period...the perfect Christmas present...this case can be delivered free of charge locally... So do feel free to phone for the full details.

Happy Christmas to you all, and my handy hint is keep trying new and different wines, there really are some great wines out there.

Charles Steevenson