Heard it through the grapevine
Above: Peter Richards and Susie Barrie
As festive parties and family gatherings loom, it’s time to check out the far reaches of the cellar, badger the local wine merchant or dash through the supermarket aisles in an attempt to find the right drink for the right occasion. Matching refreshment to guests to budget can be rather traumatic if not logistically impossible.
Someone who should have a little more insight and knowledge about what to drink and when, is a wine critic. Handily the streets of south west London are almost paved with these knowledgeable creatures, with the likes of Anthony Rose who writes for The Independent, Tim Atkin of The Observer, Susie and Peter Richards (husband and wife team) who regularly appear on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen, as well as being journalists and authors of a number of wine books, and finally Robert Joseph formerly of the Sunday Telegraph, Wine International and founder of the International Wine Challenge, and now editor at large for Wine Business International.
Anthony Rose
"You may hate me for this, but I head off to the sunny side of the sphere this year to spend Christmas in Oz with the rellies. I’m getting used to the Christmas lights down under and the sight of kangaroo-drawn, red-nosed Santas on sleighs, although there’s not much chance of Santa coming down the chimney as they don’t have one. It still seems a bit odd to be eating roast turkey and all the trimmings and Christmas pud sitting outdoors on a sweltering day, but then it probably seems odd to you that we drink red bubbles a lot before the meal. Anyhow, we’re doing our best to persuade the in-laws to throw some rather nice fresh shellfish on the barbie which we’ll then wash down with a chilled dry Clare Valley Riesling or fancy New Zealand Pinot Noir. "Speaking of Aussie Riesling, I do recommend the aromatic refreshingly zesty dry style of the tongue-tingling Tesco Finest Tingleup Riesling, £6.99, with a prawny or ceviche-style first course on Christmas day, or any day. If you’re prepared to push the boat out a bit, try the intensely full-flavoured, bone-dry and minerally Chablis Premier Cru Montmain, £13.99, Marks & Spencer.
"A fancy claret always goes down well with the bird and the sweet-scented, nicely evolved 2001 Château Rauzan Gassies is hard to better at £19.99 in Majestic, while for a more robust red, I always think the spicy cinnamon and nutmeg and juicy blackberry fruit of the 2005 Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Shiraz, (£11.95 Jeroboams shops) punches above its weight. For fizz I recommend the creamy delights of the magnificent Waitrose Blanc de Blancs NV Brut, £18.99, in fact I’ll almost be jealous. And for the pud? Australian of course, and the hedonistically fig and date-rich De Bortoli Show Reserve Liqueur Muscat, £8.49, Majestic. Cheers, mate!"
Peter Richards and Susie Barrie
Susie and Peter both work from home, so as Susie says, "Since the birth of our daughter in July ‘going out for dinner’ invokes a level of excitement that only other new parents could possibly imagine, so our ‘office Christmas party’ is already being planned and will be held at the wonderful Enoteca Turi on Putney High Street." They say they’ll probably open some Champagne as: "Being huge Champagne lovers we’re always keen to pop the cork on a bottle of fizz however feeble the excuse for celebration. Fortunately, we ordered so much for our wedding that we’re still drinking it up, and it gets better with every passing bottle – 250th Anniversary Cuvée Champagne, NV (£15.50 Justerini and Brooks; www.justerinis.com). So that will be the first thing that passes our lips on Christmas Day, shortly followed by a bottle of Le Ciste 2004 (www.swig.co.uk), a fantastic white from Roussillon which is one of our favourite areas for white wines. Matassa Cuvée Marguerite 2006 (£16.00 Waitrose) is a good alternative if, like us, you’re a regular of Wandsworth Waitrose. Our tastes in red wine are quite different but come together in France’s Rhône Valley, so a bottle of Crozes-Hermitage ‘Papillon’ Domaine Gilles Robin 2005 (£9.50 The Wine Society) will certainly make it to the festive table this year. And to finish (us!) off, some delicious Madeira, Henriques & Henriques Five Year Old Rich Malmsey (£8.99 Waitrose), which is superb with both Christmas pudding and with cheese."
Robert Joseph
"I am planning to drink a pretty eclectic set of wines this year, starting with a bottle of Nyetimber 2000 Premieres Cuvée Blanc de Blancs fizz. At £20 (from Waitrose Direct), this is not a bargain, I’ll admit. You can find good Champagne for less than that - but this is a deliciously distinctive, dry, yet peachy wine that will make a great aperitif. And I don’t mind paying a little extra for the fun of drinking a world class wine from Sussex.
"Following the same theme, I’d also have a bottle of 2006 Gerovassiliou Estate White from Macedonia (£9.49 from Vickbar, 020 7490 1000) which should change many a wine drinker’s opinion of Greek wine. A great, refreshing drink, it’s made from a blend of two traditional local grapes - the fragrant, herby Malagousia and the minerally Assyrtiko - without a hint of pine resin or new oak. For a different red, I’d then move on to 2004 Les Clos Perdus l’Extreme (£15 from Green & Blue, 0208 693 9250). This is an extraordinary intense, perfumed, minerally wine made in the Corbières region (but sold as a Vin de Pays) from the peppery Lladoner Pelut (also known as the "hairy Grenache") and the spicy, smoky Syrah by a pair of former Kiwi dancer and former farmer from Wiltshire."
If celebrations are called for beyond his cellar, Joseph says he’d be torn between Enoteca Turi on Putney High St (0208 875 4449) which offers "great Italian food and a mind-blowing, principally Italian wine list, and every wine professional’s favourite, Ransome’s Dock (SW11, 020 7223-1611)."
Tim Atkin
Last month Atkin recommended five wines to help rise readers see through the winter months, and here he gives a more intimate picture of his own Christmas celebrations. When it comes to Christmas Eve, however, there’s little wine in sight, as Atkin says he’d prefer a pint of London Pride at the pub. Champagne is called for on Christmas day, with Bollinger Atkin’s first choice, though it will be "Billecart-Salmon if I want something a little more subtle". French wine tends to dominate on Christmas day, with this year likely to be a 2004 Domaine Leroy Bourgogne rouge. But this is no ordinary Bourgogne rouge. "Bourgoune Rouge doesn’t sound that special, but Lalou Bize-Leroy declassified most of her vineyards that year," says Atkin. So much of her premier cru and grand cru vineyards went into her 2004 basic rouge. With desert, Atkin will be opting for Hungary’s famously sweet wine, Tokaji, at its richest quality, known as ‘five puttonyos’.