Haynes Hanson & Clark
Chosen by Siobhán Gillespie
Good
Château La Madronière, Haut-Médoc 2008 (£11.35)
Château La Madronière 2008 displays classic Haut-Médoc character from the first sip to the last. Fine, open and spicy, this is a medium-weight wine with a supple mouth-feel. Here is a refreshing, stylish red Bordeaux that you simply won’t tire of over the Christmas period.
Extraordinary
Château L’Arrosée, Grand Cru Classé Saint-Emilion 2004 (£37)
If you’re after an exceptional St Emilion for Christmas dinner parties, look no further than this. Château L’Arrosée is a beautiful property, whose vineyards climb all the way up the clay-limestone hillside of one of Saint-Emilion’s finest southern flanks. The 2004 is mature, elegantly perfumed, ripe and fleshy, all elements being wonderfully integrated. It really comes into its own with the rarest of roast beef. (020-7584 7927; www.hhandc.co.uk)
Waitrose
Chosen by Pierpaolo Petrassi MW
Good
Réserve des Hospitaliers 2008 Cairanne, Côtes du Rhône-Villages (£9.49) This is a great-value red from the excellent 2008 vintage, with plenty of round and supple Grenache in the blend. Brilliant quality for under £10.
Extraordinary
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Perrin & Fils, Le Chemin des Mulets 2009 (£18.99)
Made in partnership with Perrin et Fils in the southern Rhône valley, close to their own world-famous vineyard at Château de Beaucastel, this is a complex and powerful red, with a rich texture and notes of red fruits, pepper and spices. (0800 188881; www.waitrosewine.com)
Berry Bros & Rudd
Chosen by Alun Griffiths MW and Stuart Rae
Good
Berrys’ St Emilion, Château Simard 2008 (£18.75)
A good St Emilion should have an enticing nose of ripe plums with hints of berry fruit, a silky softness on the palate and a complex finish with moderate tannins and fresh acidity. This one is delicious-drink now and over the next four to five years.
Extraordinary
Château Léoville-Poyferré, St Julien 2001(£77)
This has a ripe, creamy bouquet with a lot of well-subsumed new oak matched by clean, plum- and blackberry-scented fruit interlaced with cedar. The palate is mediumbodied with fine tannins, and there’s good structure, with notes of blackberry and cedar. (0800 280 2440;www.bbr.com)
Fortnum and Mason
Chosen by Tim French
Good
Fortnum & Mason Côtes-Du-Rhône, Andre Brunel 2009 (£7.90) Best known for his highly sought-after Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Les Cailloux, Andre Brunel has also produced this superb-value red. Rich, fruity and peppery.
Extraordinary
Fortnum & Mason Chambolle Musigny, Joseph Drouhin, 2008 (£32.50) An outstanding Chambolle Musigny-delicate and refined, with generous raspberry fruit. Our choice for the Christmas turkey. (www.fortnumandmason.com; 0845 300 1707)
Justerini & Brooks
Chosen by David Brown
Good
Justerini & Brooks, 61 Reserve Claret, NV (£7.67) Predominantly Merlot, this is brimming with plummy, soft, ripe-fruit flavours. Produced by J-P Moueix, of Pétrus and La Fleur Pétrus fame, it’s a really well-made claret.
Extraordinary
Clos des Quatres Vents, Cru Bourgeois, Margaux, 2007 (£27.17)
Here is power and finesse, and despite being a more forward vintage, there’s no lack of richness in the fruit. There’s lots of fresh berry fruit on the nose, and a pure core of red berries, which develops to show a smoky, meaty character. (020-7484 6400; www.justerinis.com)
Jeroboams
Chosen by Nick Cran-Crombie
Good
2008 Viñas de Gain, Rioja, Artadi (£15.95)
Full, deep colour; big, bold and emphatic, with a rush of autumnal blackberry fruit leaping from the glass. A lovely sweet sheen of seductive oak. Lush, deep and modern in style, with real pizzazz.
Extraordinary
1998 Château Langoa-Barton, St Julien (£55)
The opaque, purple-coloured 1998 offers a concentrated, liquorice- and blackcurrantscented nose, medium body, moderately high tannin, and a rich, authoritative, muscular finish. Drink now and until 2015 (020- 7235 1612; www.jeroboams.co.uk)
