Top Picks for Christmas 2025

'Tis the season once again. When we of the Mr.Wheeler team put our heads and palates together in the interest of shortlisting those wines which we feel will be particularly appropriate this Christmastime. When first and foremost in our considerations is what will resonate strongest with tradtional festive fare — and which bottles offer especially outstanding value for money. 

Right this way... 

Fizz

NV Domaine d'O, Blanquette de Limoux AOC

Ideal, all-rounder effervescence, especially when your flute-count is as high as its refill rate.  A lovely, persistent mousse releasing aromas of ripe orchard fruit, citrus and a subtle, toasty nuance. A vibrant palate, more ripe orchard fruit, pear and apple, citrus and subtle stone-fruit notes. A slight biscuity character follows for a dry, crisp finish and creamy mouthfeel.

NV Champagne Guilleminot, 'Tradition' Brut

As ever, our go-to festive grower champagne.  Made from 100% pinot noir for a fruit-led, yet elegant aperitif-styled champagne. Look for fresh, fragrant fruit on the nose, then crunchy berry fruit flavours combining with a classic biscuity note, a gentle mousse, and a pure, vibrant, appetising accent.

Serve either as the natural aperitif or, better still, alongside oysters, prawns, any seafood selection, deep-fried hors d'oeuvres and goats' cheese.

Whites

2023 Domaine Talmard, Mâcon-Uchizy

Essential, white burgundy for Christmas which, at under £18 a bottle, offers unbeatable value. Such that pound for pound, we've never come across a better-value white. One which offers such expressiveness, such a degree of delicacy, purity and an intensity of unoaked chardonnay aromatics and flavours. Pour a-plenty for any roast bird or selection of cheeses. 

2024 Domaine Séguinot-Bordet, Chablis

Another Christmas staple for the smoked salmon, seafood platters and cheeseboard. Here is true, Chablisienne elegance that has been vinified in stainless steel to bring out maximum freshness and aroma, then matured on its lees for added richness and texture. Crisp and refined, with a seaspray, mineral freshness, floral notes, intense white fruit, and a long, impressive finish. 

2024 Domaine de Mourchon 'La Source' Côtes du Rhône Blanc

A fantastic alternative for the roast bird — especially chicken — via this classic, Southern Rhône blend of grenache blanc, viognier, marsanne and roussanne: rich, creamy, perfumed, medium-bodied, fleshy, filled with pear and pineapple fruit, and backed by crisp acidity for a long, sumptuous finish. Also superb with creamy cheeses such as brie, camembert and chaource.

2024 Jean Pabiot et Fils, Domaine des Fines Caillottes, Pouilly-Fumé

Indispensable to the festive season. From where sauvignon blanc finds some of its highest expression. Here, in classic, grassy aromas with a marked hint of citrus on the nose where on the palate, a crisp mineral character and green fruit finishing long. A perfect balance of ripe, zesty fruit, and characteristic minerality. Put precisely where you would proper champagne and Chablis. 

2023 Dopff & Irion, 'Cuvée René Dopff', Pinot Gris, Alsace

Pinot gris' natural richness, slightly exotic character and good levels of acidity mean it makes for a delicious marriage with roast pork and duck. With soft cheeses, as well. In the 'Cuvée René Dopff', perfumed and aromatic on the nose, off-dry on the palate with lychee, stone fruit, rose petal and subtle spice on the finish. Opulent, rounded, it's also superb match clove- and aniseed-seasoned gammon.

2023 Raats Family Wines, 'Original' Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch

A wonderfully versatile, unoaked chenin exuding juicy, yellow apple fruit, pineapple fruitiness and a refreshing lime-zest crispness. Lees-ageing gives a touch of creaminess and texture and an almond-nutty hint. And with chenin's naturally high acidity and general appley character, it's the perfect match with any roast pork or gammon recipe.

Rosé

2024 Famille Sumeire, 'Nautic' Rosé, IGP Mediterranée

A simply fabulous all-rounder rosé and very much in the Provençal style. Delightfully pale, light, and crisp; a 50/50 blend of grenache and cinsault for a classic-style rosé that is soft, fruity, and effortlessly drinkable - an easy crowd-pleaser and outstanding value for money. 

2024 Maison Angelvin, Rosé, Côtes de Provence 

Because Provençal rosé's not just for summer... Made in the hills of Saint-Tropez, here is authentic finesse de Provence: a crisp, elegant, beautifully balanced rosé with lively red summer-berry fruit, and a hint of spice leading to a long, invigorating finish. Aperitif, seafood, cheeseboard. 

Reds

2019 Château de Clotte, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

For a mature claret very much in the Saint-Emilion style - for considerably less. A sumptuous blend of 50% cabernet franc, 40% merlot and 10% malbec, with lovely rich berry fruit flavours, a hint of spice, tobacco and vanilla and five years of mellow maturity behind it, De Clotte is where classic, Right Bank expression meets supreme value for money. As gorgeous a match with roast chicken and turkey as it is with beef, lamb or pork. An indispensable Christmas all-rounder.

2017 Marqués de Tosos, Cariñena Gran Reserva

Indisputably one of our best-value finds from Spain - ever. From a far lesser-known Cariñena D.O. in east-central Spain. A Rioja-styled cuvée now offering a full eight years of maturation which, for just under £13 a bottle is value for money almost unheard of. A complex array of aromatic flavours which explode on the palate. Warm, luscious cherry and plum fruit with woodsmoke, exotic spice, and finely polished oak. Uncork this for a roast leg of lamb and prepare to marvel.

2006 Bodegas Urbina, Rioja Reserva Especial

When you find the above appealing, here's how you up the ante. With almost 20 years of mellow complexity, dazzling freshness, flavour and length - and an absolute steal for under £25 a bottle. For here is Rioja as it's meant to be experienced: with a nose of well defined black cherry, ripe plum, leather and tobacco, with seamlessly integrated oak. where the palate is round, silky and smooth, with a sumptuous, sweet mid-section of ripe berry and mature fruits. Refreshing acidity; elegant, complex, utterly classic in style. Any festive lamb dish is thus transformed. 

2024 Maison Jaffelin, Pinot Noir, Vin de France

A serious quaffer and youthful, fruity all-rounder offering hallmark pinot aromas and flavours at a ridiculously good price. Don't let the modest 'Vin de France' AOC fool you: Maison Jaffelin achieve a true authenticity of varietal expression here to provide an impressive prowess for pairing with any festive cheesboard, charcuterie platter or roast fowl dishes. 

2023 Château de Fleurie, Fleurie, Beaujolais

But what fruity, earthy, savoury, vibrantly structured red will well and truly complement the festive gammon, roast chicken, duck or fowl? Top-class cru Beaujolais from Ch. de Fleurie. Whose Fleurie '23 offers bold aromas of blackberry, blackcurrant, liquorice and spice, plus a whisper of orchard fruit. Where a mouth-watering palate bursts with dark cherry and currant, fine-grained tannins and a refreshing lift, finishing long with lingering notes of sweet cherry and spice. That's what.

2022 Bindi Sergardi, 'Achille' IGT Toscana Rosso

Christmas just isn't Natale without a bit of Tuscan goodness. Enter the ancient Bindi Sergardi family, whose lip-smacking 'Achille' sangiovese-led cuvée — its cherry, cranberry, and redcurrant aromas mingling with blackcurrant leaf, spice, and floral notes and fresh vibrant acidity — makes a perfect palate-freshening partner for duck, lamb and pork's natural fattiness. Smooth, soft, medium-bodied, it's also immensely drinkable on its own. 

2022 Penedo Borges, 'Cepas' Single Vineyard Malbec, Mendoza

For when the roast beef sets down. Let there be malbec. Not the overripe, over-extracted, over-blown Mendozan malbec that takes up so much supermarket shelf real estate. Rather, let there be the freshness, elegance and structure of single vineyard malbec from Bodegas Penedo Borges. Let there be: minty blackberry fruit on the nose with notes of roasted coffee and nuances of a sizzling, smoky barbecue in a  particularly pure expression of malbec showing warm, sweetish bramble fruit, savoury spice, and soft, ripe tannins. Mendozan malbec as you may have never known it.

2012 Sumaridge Estate, 'Epitome', Upper Hemel-en-Aarde

For something deliciously different this Christmas, try a 'Cape Blend' from South Africa. Especially one with a dozen years of maturity in it. A sumptuous blend of syrah and pinotage, 'Epitome' offers remarkable poise and complexity, which, after over a decade of graceful ageing, now shows gorgeous layers of ripe blackcurrant, mulberry, pepper, tobacco leaf, spice, and smoky oak, all carried on a long, elegant finish. Utterly gorgeous with lamb, it's a fabulous alternative to a mature Northern Rhône — for considerably less. 

Explore Our Full Festive Selection

Of course, it doesn't end there. (We haven't even mentioned your fine-wine options!) For further inspiration, then — not to mention terrific gift ideas — click through to our full Christmas range here. Peruse, shop, stock up: ensure you're pouring the most deliciously fitting wines throughout this festive season and beyond. 

-- David Adamick, Mr.Wheeler Wine