What We're Drinking - The Festive Edition

Domaine Christophe Vaudoisey Bourgogne Rouge 2020

was £28.00 NOW £22.40

Pinot Noir is never far from hand on Christmas Day in the de Burgh household, as it transforms Christmas turkey, bread sauce, stuffing, and all the trimmings into something awesome. This year, I am pulling the cork on this delicious version from Christophe Vaudoisey.  It has a little bottle age too, which means the fruit is still deep and shining through, but luring you in, in the background, there are wonderful macerated strawberry and cherry notes, with swipes of mocha, mushroom, and allspice, and all these delicious components are elegantly wrapped up in succulent, velvety tannins.

If you’re seeking both youthful brightness and mature complexity this Christmas—but surgery isn’t an option—this is a far more affordable elixir. Sadly, its magic is only temporary, as we only have 130 bottles left…

Tarquin de Burgh

Managing Director

Buy Bourgogne Pinot Noir

Gruner Veltliner ‘Pankraz’ Ingrid Groiss 2023

was £29.99 NOW £23.99

I don’t take risks at Christmas and always go for better quality versions of the wines I love from my favourite producers. Ingrid Groiss’s Gruner Veltliner ‘Ried Pankraz’ fits that brief perfectly. From a single vineyard, it’s a supercharged version of Gruner Veltliner with a little oak and lees aging which gives the wine a richer texture along with intense fruit and floral notes. The extra weight of the wine makes it delicious with smoked salmon or even turkey, but because the wine retains amazing freshness, mineral notes and spice, it’s perfect on its own or as an aperitif. It’s a Christmas treat!

Will Nicolson

Director

Buy Pankraz

Rivesaltes Ambre Domaine Fontanel 2015

was £26.00 NOW £19.99

Rivesaltes has been a particular favourite of mine since I first tried it on a wine tasting trip to the South of France, somewhere around 2009… it was my first time exploring a wine-making country, and I was no doubt surprised to taste something so unique!

Made in a similar way to port, Rivesaltes is partly fermented and then has grape brandy added to stop this process, which preserves the natural sweetness of the wine while still increasing the alcohol. It is then aged in oak barrels, usually for a minimum of 4 years, which imparts the wonderful amber colour and an array of flavours such as baked cherries, vanilla, raisined fruits, nuts, smoke, chocolate and caramel. In fact, one major association that I always have with this wine is Christmas cake…(even though I don’t usually like Christmas cake!), so I thought it was a good pick for my Festive selection!

Ross McKenzie

Director

Buy Rivesaltes

Brunello di Montalcino Castello Romitorio 2018

was £49.99 NOW £44.99

Brunello di Montalcino translates as Sangiovese (100% this grape) of Montalcino (a Tuscan hill town).  It’s a luxurious treat and tastes that way too, with a perfect balance of everything I love in red wine:  deeply juicy cherries and berries; delicate violets; vegetal tomato leaf; earthy leather; and inky dark chocolaty spices.  It sounds like a lot, but sipping a glass of this takes you on an aromatic journey through Italy’s flavours.

It is a dream on its own, and with generous, fine tannins, it’s an even better match for food, especially red meat, mushrooms, and mature cheese.  I know it’s called ‘What we’re drinking’, but this is actually ‘What I would gift the red wine drinking special person in my life’.

Fiona Holt

Accounts