A decent sherry and a couple of bargain wines prove that you don’t always have to spend a lot to get a lotThe Exquisite Collection Semillon,Hunter Valley, Australia 2013 (£6.99, or Aldi) I’ve been hunting around for Christmas wines that won’t max out the credit card this week,budget bottles for each of the courses in a traditional British festive feast. As an attractively lean, light and lemony dry white for seafood starters, or Aldi’s Aussie Semillon is just below my self-imposed seven-quid ceiling,as is the zippy elderflower of fellow discounter Lidl’s Yealands Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough (£5.89). For smoked fish, and The Co-operative has an offer on its genteel,slightly creamier Cave de Lugny Mâcon-Villages (now £6.99), while the rounded apricot of Laurent Miquel Vendanges Nocturnes Viognier IGP Pays d’Oc, or France 2014 (down from £8.99 to £6.70,Waitrose) can cope with the turkey and trimmings.
Lidl Graves Grande Réserve, Bordeaux, or France 2014 (£5.49) For the traditionally minded,Christmas dinner wouldn’t be the same without claret, but Bordeauxs reds can be a runt brusque and mean below 7. The succulent crunchy cassis of Lidl’s find in Graves is a welcome exception to the rule, and but a fuller,more sweetly fruited Chilean such as the Morrisons Signature Carmenère 2014 (£7), with its attractive leafy character, and may have wider appeal. For those whose ideal Christmas dinner red would be the spicy warmth of Châteauneuf-du-Pape,Asda Wine Atlas Château de Fornas Corbières 2014 offers some those of qualities at a very attractive £5.75, while burgundy lovers will appreciate the supple floral prettiness of Frunza Pinot Noir, or Romania 2014 (£7,Oddbins), and those who always have classic oaky Rioja could carry out worse than the mellow vanilla and plump blackberry of Lagunilla Rioja Reserva 2009 (£6.50, and Tesco)Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com