What We're Drinking for Christmas
What We're Drinking this Christmas
With a little help from the talented buyers in our Wine & Spirits team, we've assembled a little list of just a few (but certainly not all...) of the exceptional bottles we'll be opening this Christmas.
From reds and whites perfect for sipping with your centrepiece feast, to decadent creations sure to lift your Christmas spirits, discover a handpicked assortment of what we're drinking this festive season.
So without further ado, let's set the first cork a-popping...
Fortnum’s Rioja Reserva, Bodegas Murua 2015
For enjoying alongside your centrepiece beef
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New to the Fortnum’s range but a wonderfully traditional choice for your Christmas feast, this rich but delightfully mature Rioja from the 2015 vintage has benefited from three years ageing in oak, and a further four years in-bottle resting in the cellars of Bodegas Murua. Released this autumn, it promises complex notes of plums, blackberries, vanilla, cloves and liquorice.
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Fortnum's Pauillac, which pairs superbly with lamb
Fortnum’s Old Vine Garnacha, Bodegas Frontonio 2022
Perfect with your feasting table turkey
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Another new addition to the Fortnum’s range for Christmas 2023, Bodegas Frontonio are the producers behind this supple, medium-bodied and dry red with soft notes of baked redcurrant fruit. A brilliant partner to your festive turkey or chicken, the Garnacha grape actually hails from Aragon, the Spanish province from where this wine is made. Wonderfully easy to drink, we suggest serving it lightly chilled.
Fortnum’s Single Vineyard Vidiano 2022
Superb with Smoked Salmon
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A little known indigenous Cretan varietal, hailing from a single vineyard at high altitude, our Vidiano is rich and full-bodied with hints of apricot, fennel, thyme, and honeydew melon. Off the beaten track but distinctively Greek in style on account of its high toned acidity, this is a really good food wine — and a particularly delicious partner to your Christmas Smoked Salmon.
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Fortnum's English Bacchus, a supremely fresh white
Fortnum’s Saint Romain, Vincent Girardin 2018
Delicious with turkey, smoked salmon and more
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A white Burgundy from Vincent Girardin, a producer Fortnum's has been working with for more than 20 years, this fantastic wine pairs wonderfully well with turkey, chicken and smoked salmon. A lesser-known and cooler appellation in the Cote d’Or, Saint Romain is now producing more and more Chardonnay, due to rising temperatures in the region. The wine promises abundane acidity, alongside delicious notes of crisp, honeyed apple fruit, which seem to be growing riper with every vintage.
Fortnum’s Blanc de Noirs Extra Brut, Maison Bonnet NV
An essential aperitif
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This rare 100% Pinot Noir cuvee is sourced from the appellation of Les Riceys in the Cote des Bar, 100 miles south of the traditional vineyards of the Cote de Blancs, Montagne de Reims and Vallee de la Marne. Wonderfully rich, with a distinctive unnami flavour and a delicious saline character thanks to its extended ageing in Bonnet’s cellars, it makes for a perfect festive aperitif.
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Fortnum’s Cremant d’Alsace or English Sparkling Brut
Vintage Port, Niepoort 2011
A cheeseboard must-have
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Rich and silky with sweet flavours of dark damson fruits, liquorice and spices, the vividly fresh and intense nose and deliciously spicy structure of this wonderful port make it an unbeatable cheese course partner. A bottle from the exceptional 2011 vintage, it has been produced for Fortnum’s by Dirk Niepoort — who has just been given the Decanter Hall of Fame award for 2023. A very rare and incredibly prestigious achievement, and one he has more than earned.
Fortnum's X Secret Garden Christmas Gin
A necessity for any G & T drinkers
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Handcrafted at the horticultural treasure trove that is Secret Garden – from the Old Curiosity Distillery in Edinburgh – this exclusive, colour-changing Christmas Gin is the stuff that perfect festive G & Ts are made of. Imbued with ginger, cardamom and cinnamon, the festive tint comes from blending two different flower petals, allowing it to naturally turn blush pink when tonic is added. Free from added chemicals, colourings or flavours, we suggest serving it long, over ice, with full-fat Indian Tonic and a slice of orange.
Fortnum's Mince Pie & Marmalade Gin Liqueur
Perfect with mince pies, Christmas puddings and more
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Created exclusively for Fortnum’s, this yuletide tipple takes inspiration from two of our most glorious festive staples – mince pies and marmalade. Their unmistakable flavours are brought to life in a concoction crafted with cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, cloves and ginger, as well as currants, raisins, sultanas, Amalfi lemons and oranges...and a whole spoonful of our Monarch Marmalade in each bottle. Rich yet perfectly balanced, this surprisingly refreshing liqueur can be poured into your after-dinner coffee or enjoyed on its own alongside a mince pies, a piece of Christmas Pudding, or whatever sumptuous dessert takes your fancy.
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Our rich, spicy Christmas Pudding Madeira or dark-golden 12 Year Old Christmas Cream Sherry
Fortnum's Christmas Ale
Wonderful with savoury festive nibbles
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Made with six Kent-grown hops at the Westerham Brewery, our rich and malty Christmas Ale delivers sleighfuls of sweet caramel and roasted nut notes, and plenty of festive spirit too. Vegan-friendly, gluten-free, and packaged sustainably in 100% recyclable aluminium cans, it pairs perfectly with a variety of savoury delights, including our Cranberry Topped Pork Pie and our Christmas Scotch Eggs.
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Our equally festive Mulled Cider with English Cassis
Fortnum's Winter Sparkling Tea, 5% ABV
A perfect partner to festive desserts
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Created with wintertime celebrations in mind, we've blended Oolong, Darjeeling, Jasmine, Silver Needle, two different organic chai teas, and a merry melange of warming spices to create this complex and moreish brew which, unlike our other Sparkling Teas, also has a slight alcoholic kick. Promising warming notes of homemade apple pie, lebkuchen and stollen, it's a wonderful aperitif and a natural companion to the afore-mentioned pair of sweet festive favourites.
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Our light, refreshing and alcohol-free Sparkling Tea 0% ABV
Fortnum’s Grande Champagne Cognac Hors d’Age
An extraordinary after-dinner drop
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Exclusively hand-harvested, distilled and aged on the esteemed Frapin family-run estate, each sip of our Cognac Hors d’Age is rich with baked apple and orchard fruits, interwoven with complex smoky spices, vanilla, subtle caramel and hints of chocolate. Selected from the Frapin family's cellars, this patiently-crafted cognac is a rare and delicious showstopper to elevate any after-dinner moment. Sip solo or pair it with petit fours, truffles or baked fruit desserts, and enjoy.
