Wine

After another year behind the mask, we all need a break and some comfort drinking to ease us into the festive season, writes Neville Smith

It’s nearly that time of year again. No I don’t mean Chinese New Year, though if you have any last minute present requests, best make them now. Hopefully by now those of us who celebrate Christmas will have all safely gathered in, including the editor’s festive pallet of wine.

There is an air of celebration about the season underway, though depending on what happens in the next few weeks, it could be that many of us will be spending it with our nearest and dearest rather than the extended mob.

This column assumes there is a party going on somewhere and given the bumper year for containership operators, gas and bulk carrier owners, we can expect a fair degree of excess. Sorry tanker people, maybe next year.

While it might be true that you don’t want to overcomplicate things at Christmas I would always advocate for something different. You have all year to drink the everyday, so for festive drinking, alone or in company you need something slightly unusual or an old favourite that deserves a fresh outing.

As always I will be erecting a cordon sanitaire around the majority of Cava and Prosecco, in favour of plenty of Crémant, English Sparkling and Champagne for the high days.

Don’t think of offering me that Sauvignon Blanc you bought on the corner, I will take Chardonnay for preference but look at where it comes from (and the alcohol level) please. Be very wary of cheap varietal Merlot, prefer Syrah over Shiraz for value and if you are feeling generous a reliable Cabernet or Pinot Noir can be sourced from the New World without too much effort.

For old fashioned class given a modern polish, look no further than Chianti Classico Badia a Coltibuono, 2018 (£16:50 Berry Bros. & Rudd - www.bbr.com). It’s a properly generous drop, classically proportioned with a grown up cherry sourness and fine tannins.

Equally reliable but sometimes overlooked is Chenin Blanc and Old Vines Cellars 2019, Stellenbosch (£12.25 Corney & Barrow - www. corneyandbarrow.com) demonstrates perfectly how to produce an intensely fruity white with a delicate touch of acidity. ●

VINCONOCLASTS WILL ALREADY be familiar with the reds and whites of Le Soula and its Trigone Blanc N18, (£POA, Berry Bros & Rudd) is a rustic blend that delivers complex citrus and nuts with a slightly sherried undertone. Not everyone’s taste perhaps, but it’s your party.

If varietals are more your thing, Licanten Cabernet Franc, Idahue Estate La Ronciere 2018, (13.95, Corney & Barrow) from

Chile’s Central Valley has all the elegance of the

Loire’s finest but with a maritime influence that delivers a balanced, super smooth and very comforting glassful. ●