If Christmas is the last hurrah before the dismal prospect of diets and dry January, you might as well go for broke. Sure, there are probably more than enough sweet things on offer already, but why not gild the lily with a glass of something luscious, too. Besides, they make brilliant bottles to give as gifts.
They’re also often ridiculously cheap, at least compared with other wines, and not always from the places you’d expect. There are a couple of great buys from Majestic on its regular “mix six” deal, including a classy 2013 sauternes from the Definition range (13%) at £19.99 for a full-size bottle (or £9.99 for a half, which is less than Aldi is charging for the one in its Specially Selected range). And the Greek muscat in today’s pick – from Waitrose, no less – is an absolute steal.
Port, too, can be incredibly good value, especially since it’s served in smaller portions and you can get 10 glasses from a bottle, rather than the usual six. It’s more a question of which style to go for: a nutty tawny or a brambly ruby/late-bottled vintage. I prefer the former with cheese and the latter – Morrisons Special Reserve Port (20%) at a wallet-friendly £8.50 is a good example – with a mince pie.
Even tawnies made from ports that have spent an average 10 years in cask can be found for about £12 if you go for own-label rather than big brands. Try Aldi’s seductively soft 10-Year-Old Tawny (20%) at £11.49, which tastes almost like a salted caramel liqueur; Morrisons’ The Best 10-Year-Old Tawny at £12.50 is also good.
Fortified muscat, Australia’s answer to tawny port, is another good Christmas buy and particularly delicious with anything nutty or treacly. I recommended Aldi’s eight-year-old muscat (18%) a couple of weeks ago, to serve with Ravneet Gill’s chocolate-and-caramel mousse, but the Campbells Rutherglen Muscat (£11.16 a half-bottle, £13 Booths, 17.5%) would also hit the spot with most festive baking, especially a Christmas cake.
Hungary’s famous sweet wine tokaji is another option. Again, it’s excellent with Christmas pudding, as you’d expect from a wine that is redolent of apricots and marmalade, but it’s also surprisingly good with stilton. Majestic has a bottle for £12.99 (the same as Lidl charges for its 9.5% 2014 Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos), and it’s cheaper still if you buy it on the mix-six deal, which brings it down to £9.99 and which is rather a turn up for the books.
Finally, if you want a bit of a showstopper, try the festive-looking L’Occhiolino Sparkling Red 2021 (£12 Averys and Laithwaites, or £9 if you buy a mixed case of 12, 7.5%). It’s maybe not to everyone’s taste, but it would make a deliciously indulgent partner for a chocolate pavlova. Or the inevitable tin of Cadbury Roses, come to that.
Six sweet treats for Christmas
Morrisons The Best Botrytis Semillon 2018 £7.25 a half-bottle, 11.5%. Australia’s answer to sauternes, with an extra dimension of roast pineapple.
Samos Vin Doux 2020 £8.99 Waitrose and Waitrose Cellar, 15%. This Greek wine tastes of dried apricots and orange, so is perfect with Christmas pud. Great value for a full-sized bottle, too.
Specially Selected Pedro Ximénez £5.49 a half-bottle Aldi, 17%. Outrageously sweet sherry that tastes of liquid raisins. Pour over ice-cream (maybe with a slab of fried Christmas pudding underneath).
Pillitteri Estates Vidal Icewine 2020 £13.99 Lidl, 10.5%. Intensely sweet, so drink it intensely cold. A brilliant gift.
Marks & Spencer Solera Cream Sherry £8 (on offer), 17.5%. Never mind Santa, the mince pie-makers and present-wrappers deserve a glass of this.
Royal Tokaji Late Harvest 2017/18 £12.99 for 50cl (or £9.99 on mix six) Majestic, 12%. I actually prefer Hungary’s acclaimed dessert wine to sauternes at this time of year.
For more by Fiona Beckett, go to fionabeckett.substack.com
