The best strong and sweet wines for Christmas (and they’re a bargain)

Below is evidence of just how lamentably difficult it is to sell Sauternes today. These are such special wines and all of those I recommend are bargains. Some merchants virtually ignore sweet wines of any sort.

I make no apology for recommending so many wines from Waitrose. Of all UK supermarkets, it is the only one that takes such an interest in fortified wines, and its range of own-label bottlings of ports and sherries is unrivalled.

Wines are listed in ascending order of price per cl.

KEY

House wine candidate
For the adventurous drinker
For the classicist
Environmentally friendly/worth supporting
Eye-catching label
To cellar for a future Christmas
Has a story to tell
Suitable for drinking without food

SWEET

Royal Tokaji Late Harvest 2021 Tokaji (11%)
Beautifully tangy, and ready. Not as intense or complex as Aszu Tokaj but the bruised-apricot flavour is there, as well as sweetness counterbalanced by razor-sharp acidity.
£12 for 50cl Sainsbury’s 

Ulysse Cazabonne NV Sauternes (14.5%)
From an unnamed but “brilliant” producer. Quite extraordinary value. Buy, buy! 
£11.50 a half The Wine Society

Lions de Suduiraut 2001 Sauternes (14%)
2001 was a glorious Sauternes vintage. Ch Suduiraut is a star of the appellation. This is from younger (20 year-old) vines. 
£13.59 a half reduced from £16.99 De Burgh Wine

Joostenberg, Noble Late Harvest Chenin Blanc 2022 Paarl (13.5%)

Tense ginger and lemongrass flavours. Great sugar/acid balance. Exciting, racy and persistent. 
£15.95 a half Corney & Barrow

Feiler-Artinger Traminer Beerenauslese 2022 Burgenland (12%)
From biodynamically farmed vineyards in Rust, Austria’s sweet wine heartland. Luscious, with noble rot in abundance.  
£15.99 a half Waitrose

Ch Raymond Lafon 2015 Sauternes (13.5%)
Quite ridiculously inexpensive for a nine-year-old, top-quality wine. Creamy barley-sugar essence. Gorgeous!
£33.21 from a Lay & Wheeler client

Ch Rieussec 2017 Sauternes (14%)
Creamy butterscotch. Very fine and pure, like elixir of pear juice.
£52.20 Justerini & Brooks

STRONG AND DRY

Blueprint Fino (15%)
Three years old, from Lustau. Intense, feather-light, pale, dry — the essence of Andalucia.
£9.99 Waitrose

Torre del Oro Palo Cortado (19%)
Mid orange-tawny shading to a greenish rim. Fresh, treacly, nutty nose then a bone-dry finish. 
£11.49 reduced from £13.99 in December Waitrose

Emilio Lustau Dry Oloroso (20%)
Pure, bright greenish tawny suggesting quite a long time in cask! Rich and layered — really nuanced with good body and gentle subtlety.
£11.49 reduced from £13.99 in December Waitrose

Sanchez Romate, Maribel A Blend of Amontillado Medium Dry (19%)
Pale orange-tawny. Dryish, layered and rich, and what only Jerez can deliver. Quite ridiculously inexpensive for a wine with such structure and nutty delivery. 
£11.50 The Wine Society

Don Gaspar Dry Amontillado (18.5%)
Very pale amber with a slight green tinge that suggests age. Delightfully nutty. Bone dry, super-tangy.
£13.49 Waitrose

González Byass, Viña AB 12 Year Old Amontillado (16.5%)

Pale gold. Gorgeous for sherry fans and not that expensive. Bring on the salted nuts and tapas!
£18.99 Majestic

Barbadillo, Pastora Pasada En Rama Manzanilla (15%)
Manzanilla is typically even lighter and fresher than Fino but this is an unusually mature example, eight years old. There is so much flavour here.
£19.95 Corks and Cru, from £11.99 a half from good independents

STRONG AND SWEET

Blueprint Medium Dry Amontillado (18.5%)
From the ancient Sánchez Romate bodega, source of many a fine wine. Real excitement for the money.
£9.99 Waitrose

Waitrose Reserve Tawny Port (20%)
From the Symington family. Quite an intense, nutty nose. Exciting dry finish with some walnut and sultana character on the way there. Impressive structure for the money.
£15.99 Waitrose

Martinez, Garibaldi Dolce Superiore Marsala (18%)

From western Sicily. Bright orange. Seems overwhelmingly sweet at first, but then the freshness kicks in.
£9.99 a half Majestic 

Domaine Fontanel, Ambré 2015 Rivesaltes  (16%)
Pale-skinned Grenache grapes aged so long in old casks in the Roussillon sunshine that it has taken on a lovely almondy tang and a glorious reddish amber colour.
£19.99 reduced from £24.99 De Burgh Wine, £23.95 Stone Vine & Sun

AA Badenhorst, Caperitif Kaapse Dief Vermouth NV South Africa (16.5%)
Gorgeously floral, fun, lightly sweet and bitter at the same time. Who needs a cocktail?
£20 Lay & Wheeler

Waitrose Symington Crusted Port (20%)
Blend of different vintages aged in cask then bottle so needs decanting. A bargain alternative to vintage port. Lots of rich, prune flavour. 
£21.49 Waitrose, limited quantities

Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas 2015 Port (20%)
Youthful, complex port for ageing that curls up over the palate like a cat on your knees. Not the sweetest but very fine. 
£26.99 reduced from £33.99 in December Waitrose

Croft, Quinta da Roeda 2004 Port (20.5%)
Heady, luscious, with herbal notes and a firm finish. Quite a bargain for a 20-year-old wine.
£29.99 Majestic

Cockburn, Quinta do Canais 2014 Port (20%)
Tastes of liquefied nuts and raisins. Lots of tannin as well as sweetness.
£30 Tesco

Kopke, 10 Year Old White Port (20%)
Pale, lively orange blend. Smooth and fresh with a hint of mahogany. 
£32.99 reduced from £37.99 in December Waitrose

Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos 2012 Port (20%)
A little simpler than the Vargellas 2015 above but still a bargain.
£33.99 Waitrose

Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha 2006 Port (20%)
Complex, gorgeous, affordable fully mature port — and still has a slightly treacly way to go! Freshness, too. 
£36.99 Waitrose

Kopke, Colheita 2010 White Port (20%)
All grapes in this utterly gorgeous, heady pale amber wine were grown exactly 14 years ago. A floral note. Quite sweet but with just the right amount of acidity and light bitterness to counterbalance this. Peach liqueur of the highest order. 
£42.99 Waitrose

Barbeito, Reserva Velha Sercial 10 Year Old Madeira (20%)
Pale glowing orange. Powerful wood-aged nose, medium-sweet palate that ends so ethereally crisp and dry. Strong whiff of cordite. Orange peel and, despite the alcohol, it tastes dangerously feather-light.
£44.95 Lea & Sandeman

Chambers Rosewood, Old Vine Muscat Rutherglen (19%)
Australia’s unique, pale ruby gift to the world of strong, (very) sweet wines. Long aged in cask. Unique and worth exploring. Really exciting. 
£25.99 a half Cambridge Wine Merchants 

HM Borges, Malvasia 20 Year Old Madeira (20%)
Super-rich, tangy and smoky and gorgeous with great revivifying acidity. Just the job!
£70.50 Lay & Wheeler

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