 Wines for Christmas…  2013 Digby Vintage Reserve Brut Hands down the best sparkling wine we have enjoyed during 2023 and 2024. Baby NV Krug – so luxurious and the only partner to pigs in blankets or West Coast Langoustine.. Glassware recommendation: Zalto Balance which is a modern take of the classic ‘coupe’ stem… Very beautiful to drink from (and to hold)… Great for cocktails too.  Stuart McCloskey "The flavour spectrum is outstanding. Butter-poached orchard fruits, fresh white toast, honey, sweet spice, buttery pastry (mum’s apple pie) – confit lemon provides lift without detracting from the luxurious flow… Perfectly balanced. Flawless. Gastronomic. Remarkable breadth and depth. Prodigious, in fact." £40.00 per bottle  2020 Warre’s Vinhas Velhas Vintage Port with wooden presentation case Classically, Port and cheese creates a harmonious blend of flavours. Try dropping the temperature slightly and serve with dark chocolate ganache torte… Glassware recommendation: Zalto Universal works very well…  100 Points - Decanter “Deep and opaque with glorious minty-ripe aromas, this already sings from the glass. Concentrated and multi-layered berry fruit backed by the super fine-grained tannins and finishes with a flourish – a ‘wow’ of a wine.” £150.00 per bottle  McHenry Hohnen Burnside A perfect partner to crab, pan-fried scallops, a platter of huge prawns or wild mushroom and taleggio risotto cake. Glassware recommendation: Zalto Burgundy. Ensure not to overchill the wine (it will subdue the flavours)  2022 - 99 Points – Angus Hughson (Vinous.com) 2021 - 98 Points - Ray Jordan £75.00 per duo (2x75cl)  Aylesbury Estate Q05 Arneis 2023 A glorious partner to smoked fish or a spicy prawn cocktail (don’t forget to add a splash of brandy to your homemade sauce)… Glassware recommendation: Zalto Universal however, and to ramp-up the palate feel, opt for the Burgundy stem Stuart McCloskey “Super-fleshy / textually rich, expansive, succulent, and delectably unctuous. That said, this remains decidedly fresh and packed with buckets of acidity. Unquestionably, a striking wine to drink. All-in-all, an outstanding Arneis that will gain more weight over the coming years.” £19.95 per bottle  M Chapoutier Alchemy La Combe Serve as an apéritif alongside some homemade hors d'oeuvre. Try Ricotta and roasted grape crostini, spicy devilled eggs or smoked trout croquettes. Glassware recommendation: Zalto Universal Stuart McCloskey “A fantastic wine from the get-go and shows Viognier in the very best light… There’s richness, palate filling viscosity - quintessentially Rhône and a very good example too… This feels so sexy whilst providing ample freshness.” £16.50 per bottle  Domaine Naturaliste Floris Chardonnay 2021 Try matching with shallot tarte tatin or sage butter-basted roast cauliflower… Glassware recommendation: Zalto Burgundy. Ensure not to overchill the wine (it will subdue the flavours) Stuart McCloskey “She’s tender but does deliver lots of flavour, along with creamy texture, and a thrill of acidity. Stone fruits meld to citrus – there’s spice and flint too. Super length. There’s no getting away from the maritime, salty climate which adds another level of sophistication. She’s interesting, she will get people talking and she’s just outright delicious.” £20.95 per bottle  Topper's Mountain Petit Manseng 2017 A wonderful partner to cheese fondue. Glassware recommendation: Zalto Universal Stuart McCloskey "This is exceptional and a wine that forces you to stop, to consider and to discover the cornucopia of fragrances, favours and textures. Absolutely singing its heart out but has bags of life left in it. Superb and it’s so refreshing to sample a wine with ‘real’ individuality…" £23.95 per bottle  Aylesbury Estate Q05 Gamay 2022 Works a treat with cold cuts and smoked meats… Equally, a lovely partner to a vegetarian Moroccan spiced pie. Don’t be afraid to adjust the temperature as this drinks beautifully at room temperature and on the cool side. Glassware recommendation: Zalto Burgundy. Stuart McCloskey "Two-years later, this has transformed and knitted together beautifully. The bouquet is a dreamy infusion of black cherry, cinnamon, Campari, blood orange, bags of red fruits, anise, rose petal, along with sweet spice and toasty warmth. The palate is silky, seamless, and perfectly combines fruit richness, sweet spice with a sense of weightlessness – very impressive indeed." £19.95 per bottle  Jackson Estate Gum Emperor Pinot Noir 2013 Game birds for Christmas…. A delicious accompaniment to French, or red-legged partridge with bread sauce and game chips. Alternatively, wild mushroom and polenta. Glassware recommendation: Zalto Burgundy. Stuart McCloskey "It’s haunting in its perfume and provides the most welcoming of autumnal hugs… This is the kind of Pinot Noir that makes sceptics fall in love with this wonderful varietal. Choose the right day (and mood) and sit back and marvel at its righteousness… Beguiling and simply wonderful to drink..." Was £33.00 per bottle  Chateau des Jacques Moulin A Vent 2019 Lovely with oven roasted wild mallard duck and roasties drenched in all the delicious fat. For a bit of table fanfare – try a spiced cauliflower wellington… Glassware recommendation: Zalto Burgundy. William Kelley, Robert Parker.com “The 2019 Moulin-à-Vent Clos du Grand Carquelin has turned out especially well this year, wafting from the glass with notes of dark berry fruit, cherry preserve, warm spices and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, with melting tannins and an ample core of succulent fruit, it's seamless and sensual, deriving from parcels located near Champ de Cour this year” Jancis Robinson MW “Even more burgundian than the Rochegrès. Heady and dense. Rich and racy and sui generis. Neither one thing nor the other. But good vibrant wine. Very long." Drink 2022–2030 £28.50 per bottle  S.C. Pannell Old McDonald Grenache 2021 Sublime with Porchetta, sautéed mushrooms and risotto. Glassware recommendation: Zalto Bordeaux. Ensure to decant for 1-2 hours...  99 Points - James Suckling "A gloriously detailed, focused and concentrated rendition of grenache, this has a punchy and energetically youthful stance. The nose has such fresh and vivid raspberries and boysenberries, together with some red plums, floral bursts and a gently sappy edge. Such pure fruit here. The palate has a smooth outer layer that glazes compact, fine and layered tannins seamlessly. Super-fresh finish with bright acidity. The fruit power here is supercharge." £42.75 per bottle  Nocturne Wines Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Serve with a saddle of venison, onions sautéed with butter, a little rosemary and juniper berries… Alternatively, enjoy with a rich and hearty lentil Bolognese. Glassware recommendation: Zalto Bordeaux. Ensure to decant for 2-3 hours... Julian Langworthy "Ladies and gentlemen, drum roll if you please. Cabernet is back, you know it, you can’t deny it… Suggesting Cabernet is tannic and unyielding while sculling three-year-old Nebbiolo always left me a little bemused. The long and the short of it is that Cabernet, AKA the greatest grape, is a vinous dream and makes some of the world’s best, most accessible wines.” £33.95 per bottle  Chateau Doisy Vedrines (Half) 2015 Based on this week’s tastings – I would wholeheartedly recommend the following pairings: Panettone, crema Catalana or orange and ginger treacle pudding. Dark chocolate would equally pair beautiful… Glassware recommendation: Possessing sweet wine stemware is often a glass too far. Instead, opt for Zalto Universal, which we used. Keep the quantity small and keep swirling – the heady aromas gain volume and complexity with more airtime.  Stuart McCloskey "I’m a huge fan of Sauternes / Barsac, which I normally enjoy on a hot summer’s evening – I prefer it as a cooling apéritif rather than the prerequisite of serving with pudding, cheese or foie gras… That said, this is Christmas in a glass and will bring much joy. The bouquet is simply magical and unfurls to clementine rind, quince, raw honey, poached pear, beeswax, apricot, panfried (in oodles of butter) pineapple, confit lemon and lime, along with a mineral lift. The palate is beautifully balanced and provides mouthcoating weight – utterly seamless and flows with an unctuous river of Seville orange marmalade, raw honey, poached apricot, mango, lemony botrytis. I love the touch of warming, fresh ginger in the background along with the spiced gingerbread finish which goes on for minutes. Sensational… Drink now to 2035++. Served using Zalto’s Universal stem." £16.80 per bottle  Update to our Christmas Opening & Delivery Schedule Last orders leave our HQ warehouse at 12:00 noon Friday 20 December. However, we strongly recommend placing your orders no later than Wednesday 18 / Thursday 19 December as this provides Friday to fix any issues. Last collection from our HQ: 12:00 noon 23 December Deliveries from our bonded warehouse LCB: Check online or contact the team Team Vinorium Christmas Opening Hours Keeping to tradition, we are closed, and rightly so as it’s time for friends, family and lots of wine. We sign off at 10:00am 24 December, returning 8:00am Thursday 2 January. Last chance to buy... Our bestselling white wine of the summer will no longer be imported into the UK. Under £10.00 per bottle for this, "overwhelmingly underpriced" Albariño.  Villa Maria Reserve Albariño 2022 Special 6 pack price - £9.94 per bottle Stuart McCloskey “Albariño and skin-contact Malvasia are my guilty, wine pleasures. I seek-out both varietals (with some bottle age) during the winter months and gorge on them over the summer. Nothing beats a long, hard day’s work in the garden followed by a grippy, textural wine that puts the tingles back into my tired bones… Salty sea spray is a classic characteristic of Albariño however, at the other end of the spectrum comes an exoticism of fruit and texture which is what I look for. The bouquet is fabulously inviting (I opted for the Zalto Bordeaux glass) with orange peel, ripe peach, mango, lychee, orchard fruits, alpine herbs and sea spray. Tick, tick, tick – thank you very much. The palate provides a voluminous profile whilst retaining the varietal’s tautness. The fattiness of the fruit is immediately put in line with a smack of salty freshness. Super long and addictive. Good God – I could easily decant a bottle and take it out on my bike for a 50-miler. I would come back slightly inebriated, but my palate would be refreshed! A flavourful continental Albariño – the old world varietal with the new world style. There’s much to like and there’s nothing to criticise. Of course, you cannot drink a price-tag, but this is overwhelmingly underpriced… “I would happily pay double and perhaps a little more” he says with a hand on his vinous heart. Drink now to 2028…"  New Arrival: House of Cards are back, Launching 4:00pm Wednesday 11 December…  |
