After dinner drinks you’ll love this Christmas
What makes Christmas dinner one to remember? Sometimes it’s the little wonders, such as a golden elixir, soaked fruitcake flavours of a sweet port, or delicate dry sherry to leave a lasting impression.
Indeed, rounding off the festive feast with a glass of something special is just as important as the first flight of fancy, especially with so many sweet and savoury somethings vying for our attention.
Here’s how to top your turkey…
Cream liqueurs come into their own this time of year – especially this luxurious almond libation, so velvety smooth and as slick as its more expensive competitor. Sip beside a box of Christmas amaretti biscuits or slice of French almond cake.
Another creamy affair, when you want to sip dessert rather than spoon it, the interplay of Irish whiskey, Belgian white chocolate and cream in this lush liqueur would please the palate of an angel. Beautifully balanced, add a couple of ice cubes and wait for smiles all round. Could even be drizzled over ice-cream.
A terrific tawny and International Wine Challenge Gold medal winner, enjoy this amber beauty chilled, to lift the flavours of nutty, dried fruit, raisins, caramel and touch of butterscotch on the tail. Moreish and mellow, it’s the kind of glass to sink into a cosy armchair with, while tucking into a wedge of Manchego cheese.
When you want to cheer the chocolate mousse, think an easy drinking LBV with a wonderfully fruity profile, vibrant core of blackcurrants, raspberries, cherries and plummy note weaving through the finish. Marrying sweetness with spectacular depth of flavour, it’s a natural bedfellow with blue cheeses too, and will make your crumbly Stilton soar.
A decadent dessert wine, this Bordeaux blonde hails from a stunning vintage. Heaven in a glass, the thrilling combination of sweetness with concentrated notes of apricot, orange blossom and candied fruits, lifted by excellent acidity, makes you wonder why we don’t drink more of these golden nuggets. Divine with fruity desserts, trifle and a smooth, rich pâté.
Capturing the essence of Hungary’s most famous export, this fabulously sweet wine has sumptuous flavours of honeyed fruits, kissed with heady aromas of orange peel, figs, dates and pears. Showing a richness, purity and shimmer of silky acidity, enjoy with strong, salty blue cheese, tarte tatin and Christmas pudding.
Move over mulled wine, this is a remarkably drinkable and delicious contender for Christmas pud, mince pies and brandy butter. Serve this deep red warm to savour the classic aromas of sultanas, raisins, sweet spice, candied peel and cinnamon, with similar elements on the smooth palate, shaded by a touch of brown sugar.
Had your fill of the sweet stuff? Impress family or friends with an ice-cold manzanilla for the final flourish. Another IWC Gold medal winner, this dry sherry has a wonderfully complex saline character, yeasty aromas and hints of toasted hazelnuts, to make it the perfect match with a bowl of salted almonds, olives and charcuterie – for when you’ve saved a little room for those sneaky after-dinner snacks.