Here are some wines that didn't quite make it into the restricted word allowance of my Surrey Advertiser column on suitable selections for Christmas. Here are a couple of reds, both, incidentally, French, which should help the season go with a swing.
Beaujolais- Villages Chateau de Lacarelle 2010 - £6.95 from The Wine Society
Beaujolais seems to have hit a purple patch in 2010. The wines have lovely refreshing fruit with a light touch but plenty of flavour. This lightest of the light-bodied is fresh and simple - great to have alongside one of those festive buffet-style meals. And it's cracking value.
Fitou Chateau de Montmal 2009 - £12.99 from M&S wine online (available in cases of six only)
I have a soft spot for this wine, having visited the vineyard in question a while back. Fitou may be mostly associated with competently made, slightly rustic red wines. The region, though, is a mosaic of minutely delineated terroirs, some of which are capable of producing much grander stuff. This is one such vineyard and the resulting wine is also made in accordance with sustainable practices, making it green - but in a good way. It's a blend of 40% each of Grenache and Syrah, plus 20% Carignan. A real "cup of the warm south".
I'll add more of these as they occur to me...watch this space.
