Fine Wine & Port: Top Tipples for The Festive Season

Christmas is coming, and the goose is getting fat …  If you are eating goose, it needs to be accompanied by a hefty wine.  The wines from the Southern Rhône really are very much favourites of mine to meet this requirement.  Châteauneuf-du-Pape is an ideal partner and we have some fifteen lots in the auction on Thursday 6 December, all of very good quality.  I would particularly recommend vintages from the first decade – 2000-2009 – but earlier vintages can be just as charming.  I would also like to point out the four lots of Gigondas, Les Hauts de Montmirail 2000, which cannot fail to give pleasure!

_{Lot 272 - Clos des Papes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2004, nine bottles. Estimate £160-220}

Most people will be eating turkey.  Good old-fashioned claret is an excellent accompaniment.  We have some two hundred and fifty Lots of Red Bordeaux for you to consider and I hesitate to suggest a particular one.  Preferably it should have a minimum of ten years of age, and please make sure you open it, at room temperature, at least one hour beforehand!

_{Lot 608 - Assorted 1982 Red Bordeaux to include one bottle each: Château d’Angludet, Margaux Cru Bourgeois Supérieur; Château Boyd-Cantenac, Margaux 3rd growth, two bottles in total. Estimate £90-130}

Christmas pudding and mince pies cry out for a good sweet wine.  You would, I am sure, love a good quality German wine of good age.  We have some eight Lots in this category.  Of course, a Sauternes or Barsac is always a delight, and I’ve noticed a Vouvray from Domaine Huet which I happen to rave about!

 ^{Lot 111 - Vouvray, Moelleux, Le Haut Lieu, Domaine Huet, 2015, six bottles. Estimate £80-120}

Sparkling wines are a must for greeting ones family and friends and we have over thirty Champagnes on offer, mostly from well-known names, but it is often a good idea to consider lesser known growers.  We have six Lots of Georges Vesselle’s wine, which I think will give superb value as they are high quality products.

_{Lot 139 - Assorted Georges Vesselle, Grand Cru. 10 bottles in total. Estimate £150-180}

Boxing Day … and the cold meats (should there be any!) call for a fine dry white wine.  Burgundy makes some of the finest white wines in the world, but it can be rather expensive!  Chablis (technically Burgundy) should offer particularly good alternatives, among the ten offerings at the sale.

 _{Lot 6 - Chablis, Daniel Dampt, 2008, twelve bottles (boxed). Estimate £150-250}

Finally, what to drink with the cheese?  Port is the obvious answer and we have a plethora of these on offer.  We also have a great selection of Armagnacs and Cognacs to round up the festivity.

_{Lot 223 - Vieil Armagnac, Paluel Marmont, one 2.5 litre bottle (owc). Estimate £150-250}

For more information about the forthcoming auction, please contact:

finewine@sworder.co.uk

or call

01279 817778

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