My best buys for the holidays - aperitifs

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1 Written by Jancis Robinson 19 Nov 2005 My best buys for the holidays - aperitifs To select the 250-odd current best buys for wine lovers in this collection of four articles, I must have tasted literally thousands of wines for I find that on average I taste between 20 and 40 wines for every one that I feel sufficiently enthusiastic about to recommend. I have bent over backwards to nose out the best small importers as well as working my way through what is on offer on the high street and in the supermarkets. These are my suggested wines for this season of celebration, targeted particularly but not exclusively at British wine enthusiasts, divided in to those to be drunk without food, smart dry whites, sweet wines (all colours and strengths), and a particularly vast array of superior reds. (I shall devote a subsequent article to cheaper wines, both red and white, for big parties.) Wines are listed in ascending order of price and where I know about special discounts I have included them. Champagne, the traditional and often most luxurious aperitif, is a popular subject for retailers' special offers announced between now and Christmas so it is worth looking out for any further reductions, although bear in mind that those with the code RM on the label are made by individual growers and are often better value than those from the big producers with the code NM. CM denotes a champagne from a co-operative while MA stands for marque d'acheteur or buyer's own label. The general quality of champagne is pretty good at present but my favourite buys appear below. I have also included in this first section some especially appetising still wines that are suitable for serving without food, usually because they are either low in alcohol or high in refreshing acidity, and some particularly fine dry fortified wines. There is no other time of year more suitable for opening up bottles of sherry, port, madeira, sauternes well, anything really.

2 For even more fine wine recommendations see the tasting notes in my purple pages. For multiple retailers' special offers, especially those that may well emerge between now and Christmas, see See the key to abbreviations below. FIZZ Adnams Selection NV Fizz Rosé Adnams 6.99 It's been years since I tasted anything labelled simply Vin Mousseux but this tank-fizzed southern French blend of Grenache and Carignan and Syrah is really very respectable for the price. It's big and characterful, and I suspect best drunk in the next month or two, but it could be just the thing for a large, mixed gathering. Gotas de Plata Rosada Brut NV La Mancha Adnams 6.99 What is it about Adnams and 6.99 pink fizz? This one lacks the kosher labelling of the French example but it is made by the traditional method, has quite a bit of development on the nose and is quite dry enough. Forgive the pathetic attempt at a Dom P label. Graham Beck Rosé 2003 South Africa 9.29 Wine Buy the Case, Comus Fine Wines, Easy Wine, Very pale, soft and comforting, like a cashmere cardi. Montlouis Pétillant Naturel Non Dosé NV Dom de la Taille aux Loups 10 Justerini & Brooks Justerinis are not famous for bargains but this gently sparkling completely dry fizz from the Loire is surely one. Full of honeyed fruit yet with a bone dry finish, it would be absolutely perfect for entertaining those visitors who drop in at odd times of day. Wonderfully pure expression of Chenin Blanc. Green Point Brut NV Australia 11.99/8.99 Majestic, Cockburns of Leith, Thos Peatling of Bury St Edmunds Very fresh with some evidence of ageing on the lees. Still very slightly astringent but very brisk and competent. Great value if you buy at least two bottles. The 2001, at Waitrose, is slightly more complex. CHAMPAGNE Robert Desbrosse NV Fresh, brisk, direct grower's champagne from Congy. Duval Leroy, Fleur de Champagne Premier Cru NV Waitrose Most Stores Neutral, unobjectionable, slightly lightweight wine that usually costs Albert Etienne NV Morrisons Not at all special but Lanson seem to have put together a decent enough blend for this ownlabel (now yellow, I see I wonder whether Veuve Clicquot have?). Pierre Moncuit Blanc de Blancs, Cuvée Hugues de Coulmont NV

3 14.95 SVS Bone dry, all-chardonnay palate-scrub for purists. Dubois Caron NV Thresher/Wine Rack 14.99/9.99 Do not dream of buying this at the higher price but it is awfully good value at the lower one from the estimable Chanoine and drier than the identically priced Jean de Praisac NV from the ubiquitous P & C Heidsieck. St Gall Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru NV M&S Reduced from its regular price of for the rest of the year, this is densely flavour and impressively persistent from the Union Champagne co-op, which provides so many British supermarkets with great-value blends. Forget-Brimont Premier Cru NV J&B Excellent alternative to the big names - direct, youthful, zesty but friendly. Vauversin Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs NV Wine Discoveries Seriously good value. Dry, toasty, relatively full bodied. Xavier Champagne NV Big Red Wine Company Made on the home farm of one of the Dom Pérignon team and very lively grower's champagne with a good, arresting label. Larmandier-Bernier Premier Cru Tradition NV Vine Trail Based on 2002 and 2001 with lots of personality. Very fine and compact. Egly-Ouriet, Les Vignes de Vrigny NV Lea & Sandeman Characterful all-meunier, single vineyard grower's champagne with good bottle age. Pierre Gimonnet Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru NV Oddb Look out for any special offers on this very fine grower's all-chardonnay champagne. A great aperitif. Pol Roger NV About 23 and widely stocked Oddb until 25 nov Another very dependable wine without too high a price tag. Billecart Salmon NV L&S, Uncorked, London EC2 My favourite wine in a recent blind tasting of 18 of the most famous names. Complex. Charles Heidsieck Mis en Cave Waitrose This continuously over-performing champagne also did brilliantly in this tasting. Rewarding.

4 Chanoine Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs larger Tescos Very superior wine even if already fully evolved. Look out for any special reduction. Laurent Perrier /23.99 Maj Buy two bottles and this becomes interesting. Wonderfully pure, good complexity on the nose but still lots of potential. No hurry to drink this but the excellent 1996s are disappearing off the shelves. Pol Roger /31.99 Maj Much more open than the 1996 Pol was at this stage. Dom Pérignon Nickolls & Perks of Stourbridge and elsewhere This wine is superlative, but usually costs a bomb. Keep visiting for comparative prices. Krug Nickolls & Perks Believe it or not, this is an excellent price for this savoury, meaty wine in the peak of condition. STILL WINES Dry Riesling 2004 Bürklin-Wolf, Pfalz 7.30 Jeroboams Powerful, full-bodied, dry, pure and long. Great value. Dragonstone Riesling 2004 Josef Leitz 7.59 Oddb The most superior Lucozade you could imagine. Off dry. From the magician of the cliffside vineyards above Rüdesheim in the Rheingau. Thoroughly modern Riesling. Leasingham Magnus Riesling 2003 Clare Valley 7.99/5.33 Thresh/WR Now this is serious wine very fine-boned and dry and could be drunk and enjoyed with or without food any time over the next three or for years, which is rare at this price. Chablis 2004 Alain Geoffroy 9.99 Oddb Every retailer and his dog offers Chablis and usually a range of them but this is one of the most classic I have tasted recently for current drinking. Very delicate and pure. Erdner Treppchen Riesling Kabinett 2004 Loosen 9.99 M&S Wonderfully cool and zesty. No hurry to drink this whatsoever but with its mere 7.5 per cent alcohol it, like the wine below, would make a lovely drink for very early evening visitors. Urziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett 2004 Loosen Waitrose Beautifully light and vibrant.

5 OTHERS Tesco Finest Oloroso Sherry 5.06 Tesco A silly price for this super-appetite-whetting dry, tangy wine from Sanchez Romate that smells like treacle toffee. A cheapskate version of the 30 year-old version below. Waitrose Solera Jerezana Dry Amontillado Sherry 6.99 Waitrose Great stuff real ballast and middle but an appetisingly dry finish. Valdespino Solera 1842 Oloroso VOS Sherry Waitrose Buy a bottle of history average age more than 20 years at a silly price. Very tangy. Fortnum's Oloroso VORS 30 year old Sherry, Bodegas Tradicion cl F&M Heady, dry, unctuous wine with lots of character, wood-aged rancio character and very refreshing acidity completely unlike most sherries. From a fascinating new operation dependent on very old soleras. How to find the wines This is by no means an exhaustive list of all retailers mentioned here, merely those for whom an abbreviation was useful. Most retailers offer discounts on bigger orders; many sell online; some of the smaller ones sell a minimum of 12 assorted bottles. For details of more stockists, in the UK and internationally, see BBR Berry Bros & Rudd BRW Big Red Wine Company, Barton Mills, Suffolk F&M Fortnum & Mason, London HN Harvey Nichols, London IFR Irma Fingal Rock, Monmouth J&B Justerini & Brooks, London SW1 and Edinburgh L&S Lea & Sandeman around London M&S Marks & Spencer Maj Majestic (second price denotes a multiple bottle purchase) Oddb - Oddbins Sains Sainsbury's SVS Stone, Vine & Sun, Twyford SO21 1QA Thresh Thresher (second per bottle price applies if three bottles are bought) WotT Wine of the Times, London WR Wine Rack (second per bottle price applies if three bottles are bought) CdP Châteauneuf-du-Pape CDRV Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Ch Château Dom Domaine NV non vintage VDP Vin de Pays VOSR very old sherry

Fizz for the holidays

Written by Jancis Robinson 18 Dec 2004 Fizz for the holidays I cannot remember a time when there were as many drinkable cheap champagnes on the market although with the wines listed below, you do get what