Finish your festive feast with a drop of Christmas port … it would be rude not to

Not long to go! I’ve pulled together a selection of Christmas port, a couple of sweet wines and last-minute buys for you to enjoy over the festive break. Enjoy.

Some peeps of Christmas port:

Maynard’s Pink Port (£7.99, Aldi, 50cl) Aldi’s port range has won gold in the new International Wine Challenge with Maynard’s 1992 Late Bottled Vintage Port (£19.99) but the pink port is a little bit different. It has sweet aromas of raspberries and cherries and is pleasant enough; but alongside a strong cheddar cheese it reaches the high notes like a Christmas Eve carols’ singer.  

Special Reserve Port Decanter (£8, down from £16, 50cl, Marks & Spencer) I sipped this in an M&S tasting and said out loud to no-one  “yowser, this is great”! It is now half-price and is a tasty, plummy, rich bargain made by the team behind Taylor’s port. I enjoy it on its own.

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Tesco finest* 10 Year Old Tawny Port  (£12, 75cl) This award-winner delivers notes of cinnamon and vanilla, with nuts and a dash of citrus. It’s another port made by a famous producer, this time Symington Family Estates. Try it with a chocolate dessert or creme caramel.

Kopke Colheita Port 2003 (£16.99 or £14.99 in a buy six deal at Majestic, 37.5cl) Kopke is the oldest port house founded in 1638; its wines have seen many a celebration! It is the colour of caramel, with aromas of dried fruit and sweet spice. It tastes a little of quince jelly, speckled with a flash of spice and a lift of vanilla.

Sandeman 20 Year-Old Tawny Port (£28.49 at Waitrose until December 24, then back to £37.99, 75cl) Bring the iconic drinks’ logo to your table – the cloaked Sandeman Don. The port has honey and hazelnuts on the nose, a swish of vanilla in the mouth and a long, soft finish. I’d say a platter of hard cheeses and walnuts.

A couple of sweeties
Martini Asti
Martini Asti Spumante

Martini Asti Spumante (£7, until January 1, Tesco, 7.5% abv) When an Asti sparkler is made, the fermentation is stopped early so it is low alcohol and there’s lots of sugar remaining in the grapes. Can you have a sweet fizz with puddings or cheese? Yes!! It’s great. Go for a cheesecake or blue cheese and you’ll enjoy the wine’s notes of pear and peach.

Lidl Pillitteri Vidal Canadian Icewine 2016
Lidl Pillitteri Vidal Canadian Icewine 2016

Vidal Pilliteri Icewine 2016 (£14.99, Lidl, 11% abv) Ice wines are created in the most extraordinary way. The grapes (in this case from Canada) freeze on the vines, then the frozen water is crushed out, leaving behind the intensity of the fruit from which the wine is made. I love the seductive lusciousness of fresh stone fruit, lychee and pears.  

Last-minute WINE buys:

 

A classy white: Clos Floridene Graves Blanc (£18.99, The Co-op, 13% abv) This white Bordeaux is a complex blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon and is bright with citrus notes and a hint of tropical fruits. Enjoy with turkey or Boxing Day ham.

A special red: Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2015 (£10.99, Lidl, 13.5% abv) This is a plummy, full-bodied Bordeaux red which scooped the 2017 International Wine Challenge’s Great Value Red between £8 and £12. Savour it.  

A bargain fizz: Fillipo Sansovino Prosecco (£6.50, Asda, 11.5% abv) This extra dry fizz is lovely with a strong taste, not insipid at all, with hints of apple. It has lots of bubbles and would make a great budget alternative to champagne.

Have an amazing Christmas. Jane xx
FIRST PUBLISHED IN OVER 30 TRINITY MIRROR REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS INCLUDING:

Hull Daily Mail – Leicester Mercury – Cambridge News –
Liverpool Echo – South Wales Echo – Daily Post Wales
–  Huddersfield Examiner – The Chronicle, Newcastle 
– Teesside Gazette – Birmingham Mail –
Coventry Telegraph  – Paisley Daily Express 

 

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