Wines in the Press, December 20-21

Jancis gets busy with the fizzy, Jane finds unsold bargains, Anthony highlights independents in the Independent and Joanna experiments with a magic wand

Jancis Robinson MW, Financial Times, Saturday 20 December 2008
Jancis Robinson rounds off her seasonal recommendations with some advice on Champagne and sparkling wine. "All too often it is the less exciting wines that attract the discounts," she notes.


Yet she unearths some lower-priced wines deserving of a place at the festive table, including the "lemony and light" Cuvée Royale Brut NV Crémant de Limoux (£7.99, Waitrose) and Asda Extra Special Vintage 2002 Champagne (£17.98), which offers "real precision and freshness for the money".

Further up the scale, Pol Roger 1999 Champagne (£40, The Wine Society) is "complete without being aggressive" and P Lancelot-Royer, Cuvée des Chevaliers Blanc de Blancs Tirage 1984 Champagne (£54.99, The Sampler) is a blend of 1981, 1982 and 1983 vintages and declared "very grown-up and intellectual".

Jane MacQuitty, The Times, Saturday 20 December 2008
The trade, notes Jane MacQuitty, "had a thoroughly miserable third quarter, with wine sales in particular down by 10 per cent, and so far Christmas looks like going the same way". This is good news for wine lovers on a budget, she argues, as there is plenty of keenly-priced unsold stock to choose from.

For Christmas Day MacQuitty recommends the "brilliant" Catena Chardonnay and Malbec (£8.79 each, Waitrose) - the red in particular is a good match for turkey. Those happy to forgo Burgundy and claret are also steered towards "a juicy, fruit-driven New World Cabernet" such as Fetzer 2006 Valley Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon (£7.63, Co-op) or d'Arenberg Feathered Dinosaur 2004 (£17.99, Tesco).

Anthony Rose, The Independent, Saturday 20 December 2008
Anthony Rose cites the Chancellor's move to reduce the tax on wines priced above £8.80 as the perfect excuse to seek out interesting wines from independent merchants. "The high-street chains can lack wines of greater interest and personality," he writes.

In London, Lea & Sandeman, Jeroboams and Berry Bros & Rudd are highlighted; Great Western Wines, Tanners and Adnams are also recommended.

Among Rose's wine picks are Rossi di Montalcino 2006, Fuligni Ginestreto, (£15.95, Lea & Sandeman) which "delivers the succulent cherry fruitiness of Sangiovese with a cleansingly savoury, sour cherry bite to it"; Quinta de la Rosa Reserve 2005 Red (£22.95, Berry Bros) is "a stylish yet robust red that will stand up to turkey and all the trimmings".

Joanna Simon, The Sunday Times, Sunday 21 December 2008
Joanna Simon road-tests a Philip Stein Wine Wand which claims to "let red wine breathe in minutes instead of hours". She reports: "I put the wand in a glass of good, but young, red and waited, sceptically, for three minutes. Guess what? The wine did seem to have developed."


Simon observes that much the same results can be achieved by "simply taking your time" over wine, swirling it in the glass or decanting. This is also the cheaper option: the wand costs £325 for the full-sized model. Simon's recommendations include Tesco Finest Gigondas 2005 (£7.99) which is "full-bodied, ripe and spicy; a great alternative to Châteauneuf" and the supple, cedary, mature Château Sénéjac 2002, Haut-Médoc (£14.99, Majestic).

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