Festive treats: celebratory standout bottles

A light but racy Champagne, made with 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay. This Grand Cru bottling has a gorgeous soft rose gold colour in the glass and expresses freshness and minerality. Delicate with fine bubbles - it's perfect for parties and aperitifs. Crowd-pleasing, eminently quaffable fizz with finesse.

This own-label Champagne, made for the Wine Society by Alfred Gratien, impresses with its depth, nuttiness and rich toastiness. It's oak fermented over a six-month period and spends five years in bottle before disgorgement. A great choice, with or without food.

This will be the wine I drink with my Christmas Day turkey this year. It's high in alcohol, but perfectly balanced. Made by Jean-Louis Chave in the great 2015 vintage, it glints lemon gold, hinting at the full body to come. Rich, oily and fat, there is complexity on the nose and palate, with white flowers, spice, ripe peach fruit, warm lemon citrus and a nutty savouriness and honeyed generosity. Displays tertiary complexity, with more to come.

The flute-shaped bottle looks incredible in magnum format, a real treat for the festive season, even if it is a nightmare to fit in the fridge. This medium-dry wine (44g/L residual sugar) is from vines grown in iron-rich, red slate soils. It’s gorgeously fleshy with peachy, apple and floral notes, but light-footed at the same time. The low alcohol, touch of sweetness and generosity of fruit would make it the perfect pairing for panettone on Christmas morning.

New Chapter is an exciting joint venture from top Austrian winemakers Lenz Moser and Markus Huber. Marked by electrifying acidity, it's a pure, mineral style with real lift and freshness. Bright citrus notes intertwine with tropical hints, green apple, herbs and a wisp of smoke on the complex palate. So elegant.

Despite vintage variation, there's no denying the consistency (in quality and relative price) of this iconic wine after almost 37 years. Compared to the structured and high-acid 2020, this is a vintage to enjoy now, with a weighty, fleshy palate of gooseberry, freshly cut grass and sweet grapefruit.

Located within Ribeira Sacra, this is a field blend of local varieties grown on terraces at 700m. The aromas are subtle but the palate explodes with bruised apple and orange zest. Grapefruit, orange blossom and honey fill the mouth. With its saline, grippy, savoury finish, pair this with an umani-heavy dish.

40-year-old unirrigated bush vines produce an elegant, moreish wine with classically honeyed aromas and flavours. Ripe pears, bruised apples, quince and yellow plum are uplifted by a flinty backbone. The acidity could be higher but this is still a wine that could age gracefully for a few years yet.

Alma means soul and Cattleya is the national flower of Colombia, birthplace of French-trained winemaker Bibiana González Rave. When on special, this is a great-value Chardonnay, boasting smooth, succulent pear, honeyed peach, vanilla and jasmine notes with caramel popcorn notes from 15 months on lees in French oak barrels.

You shouldn't need an excuse to open Sauternes but Christmas is a great occasion with plenty of opportunitues to enjoy its many styles. Choose this 2010 for a rich treat and savour it's balance, freshness and depth, full of succulent tropical fruit, exotic spice flavours and honeyed brioche. Enjoy before, during or after a meal!

Smokey mushroom and pineapple, dried preserved yellow peach, plus savoury notes of boiled herbs. Extremely intense and concentrated on the palate; the dried apricot and figs are balanced by great acidity (9 g/l) and ginger-spiced citrus. Cleansing bitter orange peel and dried apricot to finish.