{"id":231807,"date":"2025-12-14T02:49:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T02:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/231807\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T02:49:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T02:49:15","slug":"john-wilson-picks-the-best-wines-for-christmas-day-from-all-the-main-retailers-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/231807\/","title":{"rendered":"John Wilson picks the best wines for Christmas Day from all the main retailers \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am fortunate enough to celebrate Christmas<\/a> twice each year, enjoying a Danish feast featuring pork and duck on Christmas Eve and the traditional Irish turkey dinner the following day. In the past, I did not open up my finest wines<\/a>, but now the children have grown older so I am happy to serve some very nice wine. Usually, we enjoy a good mature Bordeaux on Christmas Eve, and a nice pinot noir or cool climate syrah on Christmas Day. I will cover sparkling wine next week, but a glass of something fizzy is a great way to get proceedings started and can be drunk throughout the meal. <\/p>\n

This is the time to open some of the fortified traditional Christmas wines. I also make room for a dessert wine of some sort. This year it will be the Ch\u00e2teau des Arroucats (\u20ac18.95, Mitchell & Son). I will certainly open a bottle of Amontillado sherry as well as a bottle of Port. I will then alternate between an after-dinner glass of sherry with cheese and walnuts one evening, and a glass of Port the next, either with cheese or a generous slice of Christmas cake. My sherry will be a bottle of Lustau Tabanco Amontillado (\u20ac23.95, Mitchell & Son) and the Port a late bottled vintage, Niepoort LBV (\u20ac28-30, independents). If that is outside your budget, try the Armilar LBV Port (Lidl \u20ac14.99).<\/p>\n

O\u2019Briens<\/p>\n

O\u2019Briens has a big range of wines on offer, including those in its fine wine sale which started on December 1st. I have featured the refreshing Picpoul de Pinet (\u20ac12.99) before, as well as the classic Brocard Chablis (\u20ac22.99). I am a big fan of the Begude wines and would also be tempted by the very well-priced Etoile Chardonnay (\u20ac18.99). From the reds, the Ch\u00e2teau des L\u00e9otins (\u20ac11.99) offers good value, and would go with red meats or goose. The classic Cru Bourgeois Chateau Saint Bonnet M\u00e9doc 2018 (\u20ac17.99) is a step up in price and quality. The Seguin Manuel Bourgogne Pinot Noir (\u20ac27.49) would be a good choice for turkey and trimmings. Lastly, a small glass of the honeyed Les Carmes de Rieussec (\u20ac18.99 per half-bottle) would be a nice end to the meal. <\/p>\n

Aldi<\/p>\n

For fans of sauvignon, Aldi has the fruit-filled Touraine Sauvignon Blanc \u2013 very good value at \u20ac9.99. If you fancy trying something different, its Austrian Orange Wine (\u20ac11.99) is full of exotic (and orange) fruits with a light tannic bite on the finish. For your Christmas dinner you could either go for the light, fruit filled Specially Selected Fleurie (\u20ac13.99) or the more powerful rounded Specially Selected Cairanne (\u20ac11.99). <\/p>\n

Lidl<\/p>\n

From Lidl, I would recommend three white wines; the lemon-scented R\u00edas Baixas Albari\u00f1o Salne Val (\u20ac11.99), the crisp dry Fiano Salento (\u20ac10.99) and the luscious Origen Roussanne Reserva from Chile (\u20ac8.99). My pick of the Lidl reds for Christmas dinner includes the ripe and full-bodied Pure Grenache (\u20ac11.99), and the ever-popular Valpolicella Ripasso (\u20ac10.99) Traditionalists might prefer the Ermita Rioja Crianza (\u20ac13.99).<\/p>\n

Dunnes<\/p>\n

Regular readers will know I am also a big fan of the Laurent Miquel wines from Dunnes Stores, including the Laurent Miquel C\u00f4te 128 Viognier and the C\u00f4te 128 Albari\u00f1o, both bargains at \u20ac12. Dunnes also has the Guigal C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne Blanc (\u20ac15) a rich viognier-dominated white that would go well with fish and turkey. I also enjoyed its smooth spicy 409 Ribera del Duero (\u20ac15), possibly best with roast beef or goose.<\/p>\n

Tesco<\/p>\n

Light and zesty, the Tesco Finest Pecorino (\u20ac12\/\u20ac9) would go nicely with shellfish starters, and so too would its crisp dry Tesco Finest Chablis (\u20ac26). For a red wine, the Alegro Rioja (\u20ac15\/\u20ac10) offers good value at the Clubcard price, as does the Chapoutier C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne Villages (\u20ac15\/\u20ac12). To finish off, the Tesco Finest Sauternes (\u20ac18\/\u20ac17 per half-bottle) is rich and honeyed with apricots and barley sugar.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Favourite picks from Dublin\u2019s longstanding independent wine shopsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

SuperValu<\/p>\n

From SuperValu, the Goichot Pouilly-Fuiss\u00e9 looks well-priced at \u20ac15. Fresh and lightly textured, it could be drunk throughout the dinner. I have covered the Vacqueyras R\u00e9my Ferbras before; smooth and rounded it offers good value at \u20ac10 and would go nicely with chicken and red meats. Also on offer are two perennial favourites, the Goichot Fleurie (\u20ac10) and the Ch\u00e2teau Lacombe-Cadiot from Bordeaux (\u20ac12). <\/p>\n

Unlimited budget<\/p>\n

Can any wine be worth \u20ac140? I am not sure, but if somebody else is paying, I would very happily drink the Meursault Genevri\u00e8res Premier Cru Latour-Giraud 2023 (\u20ac139, Whelehan\u2019s), a superb complex white Burgundy, textured, ripe and rich with a wonderful lingering finish. <\/p>\n

Four wines perfect for Christmas\"Albariño,Albari\u00f1o, R\u00edas Baixas Lagar de Costa 2024 Albari\u00f1o, R\u00edas Baixas Lagar de Costa 202413.5%, \u20ac18.99<\/p>\n

Floral with broad textured mouthwatering green fruits and a distinctive saline finish. This is one of my favourite white wines and a great choice for Christmas dinner. <\/p>\n

From O\u2019Briens<\/p>\n

\"ClosClos Lojen 2023, Manchuela, Bodegas Ponce Clos Lojen 2023, Manchuela, Bodegas Ponce 12.5%, \u20ac17<\/p>\n

An instantly drinkable wine with very supple savoury ripe plums and light tannins. One of my red wines of the year.<\/p>\n

From Lilith, Dublin 7; Pinto, Dublin 9; Green Man Wines, Dublin 6; Lennox Street Grocer, Dublin 8; Grapevine, Dalkey, Co Dublin; 64 Wine, Glasthule, Co Dublin; MacCurtain Wine, Cork; Baggot Street Wines, Dublin 2; BaRossa, Sandymount, Dublin 4 <\/p>\n

\"WineSparkWineSpark Bourgogne Blanc Domaine Nicolas Bourgogne Blanc Bourgogne Blanc Domaine Nicolas Bourgogne Blanc 13%, \u20ac24.66<\/p>\n

A delicious pure chardonnay with concentrated pear and apple fruits, toasted hazelnuts and a lingering finish. <\/p>\n

From WineSpark.com <\/p>\n

\"BurnBurn Cottage Moonlight Race Pinot Noir 2020, Central Otago, New Zealand Burn Cottage Moonlight Race Pinot Noir 2020, Central Otago, New Zealand13%, \u20ac61.99<\/p>\n

Elegant smooth and sophisticated, with supple savoury dark cherries and blackcurrants, fine tannins and a long finish. Try it with turkey, beef or goose. <\/p>\n

From Blackrock Cellar, Co Dublin; Bradley\u2019s, Cork; Delgany Wine Cottage, Co Wicklow; Pinto, Dublin 9; The Corkscrew, Dublin 2; Wineonline.ie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I am fortunate enough to celebrate Christmas twice each year, enjoying a Danish feast featuring pork and duck…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,16838,18,19,17,361,8297],"class_list":{"0":"post-231807","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-christmas","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-magazine","14":"tag-wine"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115715648222656641","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}