What I drank this Christmas

I'm currently having a dry January, so I thought I would reminisce about some of the fabulous wine I drank this Christmas. 

I always find that everyone tends to splash out a bit more over the Festive Period (including me!) and this one was no exception. So I thought I'd make a little note of all the ones I enjoyed the most.

At the beginning of December, I wrote about how I'd ordered the Christmas mixed case from Naked Wines. Without a doubt, my standout bottle from the hamper was the Hacienda Don Hernan Rioja Crianza 2012. Smooth, fruity and full of vanilla. We all absolutely loved it and I loved having something so rich and dark coloured in my glass. And, not too expensive at £13.99 a bottle.

Many of you may have read that I got married in Italy. My brother, who has fabulous taste in wine, bought all of the wine for after the meal. And, as usual it was all delicious. He'd originally been to Greve in the Chianti region to buy the wine, but on New Year's eve he produced two bottles of the red as a surprise for my husband and I. What a treat. The Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico Riserva was as yummy as I remembered, all fruity and rich and brought back wonderful memories of our wedding day. Available from Berry Bros for £24.99. 

It wasn't just red wine that I particularly enjoyed. I had quite a few delicious bottles of white wine too. My favourite was almost certainly this bottle of Saint Clair Pioneer Block Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Marlborough which is £19.99 from Majestic. It just tastes expensive and I can assure you it is worth the extra pennies (and you get it a bit cheaper if you buy six bottles or "mix six" as they like to call it). Dry, elegant and packed with gooseberry fruits. Seriously slurpable. 

I can't talk about Christmas wines without mentioning a fizz. I drank a lot of very poor sparkling wine over Christmas, I really don't know why people buy cheap Champagne, because IMHO, it is nearly always rubbish. You're much better off buying a Prosecco or English Sparkling wine. As an example, I was sent a bottle of Valdobbiadene Prosecco Spumante DOCG as part of my membership of the Aldi Wine Club. At £7.49 a bottle, it is an absolute steal. Light, fresh and creamy - you honestly wouldn't guess this was so reasonably priced nor from a no frills supermarket. I also really enjoyed the Sacchetto Prosecco Col de L’Utia Brut 2015 from Naked wines at £14.49 a bottle.

Finally, a sticky! On New Year's Eve, we enjoyed the William Pickering, 20-Year-Old, Tawny Port from Berry Bros (£26.95). A fairly sweet and nutty port, with notes of caramel. Dangerously drinkable. We had a lot of fun drinking it with our Port Sippers from Hintons Home. I'll review these in a later post, but they are fab! 

Anyway, these were just a snapshot of the wines I drank over Christmas. And, as my birthday was just before, I can assure you, there were many, many more! My liver hurts! Hence why I am now having a dry January! Did you have any wines over Christmas you'd like to share? Just let me know.

Oh My Gin. A Spanish Gin?

I'm a bit of a creature of habit when it comes to gin. I nearly always buy Bombay Sapphire as I like the clean, crisp taste and there is also a distillery near where I live so I feel like I am buying local. If there isn't any Bombay, then I'll always try to choose a London Dry Gin like Tanqueray. 

So, when the Naked Wines Christmas case included a bottle of gin from Spain, I was intrigued. Had I ever tried a gin from Spain? I don't think so.

The Rambla 41 Mediterranean Dry Gin is made in a small, artisan distillery in Spain by Stefan Lismond and Philippe Geeraert and is made just for Naked Wines. 

According to the blurb, all the ingredients come from the Catalan region near Barcelona. The base spirit is made from Grenache and Carignan wine lees (the left overs from the bottom of red wine tanks). It is then infused with botanicals like Almonds, Juniper and Angelica which are apparently gathered by hand from the hills around Priorat. They then add orange and lemon peel and some special water from the gin makers' well. All impressive stuff.

I've never really looked at the ingredients of gin before, but much of the base ingredients seem similar to others I've tried. For example, Bombay Sapphire is made with Juniper, Angelica, Almonds and lemon peel. So although the method of production is more artisan, it shares many of the common ingredients to gins I've tried before.

However, the biggest difference in production seems to be the filtering method. Rambla 41 is non-chill filtered whereas most big brands chill-filter their gins as a cosmetic procedure in order to make the spirit clear.

Because Rambla 41 is non-chill filtered, it is slightly cloudy as the botanicals have not been stripped out. 

Ok, so enough about the ingredients. What was it like?

Well, the bits floating around in the gin didn't bother me at all. I mean, once you've squished some lime in your gin, it always ends up slightly foggy anyway.

If you look carefully, you'll see
the botanicals floating about

But I have to say, it does have a unique taste. It is very aromatic and fruity and quite unlike any gin I've ever tried. It is also very smooth and not at all harsh. 

But at £34.99 (£24.99 Angel Prices), it's not cheap. So is it worth it? Oh My Gin, I loved it. A really delicious treat that I will definitely buy again. On the Naked website, Angels can review things they've bought. And 98% of the 224 people who have reviewed this gin say they will buy it again. Which is a pretty strong accolade IMHO.

The gin makers recommend serving it with Fever Tree tonic, lime, a grape cut in two (presumably because a whole one would be a choking hazard - jokes) and some orange zest. I'll give that a go next time I buy some.

The bottle is also very beautiful (label below) if you like that sort of thing.

What I'll be drinking this Christmas

If it lasts that long! 

Every year, I order a case of wine at the start of December, with the intention of it seeing me though until the New Year. It never does and I doubt my purchase this year will be any different!

In the past, I've bought cases from different companies. I like to buy a mixed case as it gives me the opportunity to try different wines that I otherwise might not have bought. And, Christmas mixed cases often come with some little freebies. Win win! 

Without a doubt, the best value Christmas mixed case I've found has been from Naked Wines. I've bought it for the last three years and have been delighted. 

My 2015 Naked Wines Christmas case

In 2013, I bought the case which should have been £296 and I got it for the Angel price of £164. I received a free wine aerator that I still use today and a pair of Schott wine glasses (which my husband smashed!). Plus 20 bottles which included two bottles of fizz and a port.

In 2014, the Naked Wines Christmas case brought me 18 bottles (including a port and two bottles of fizz), a Schott wine decanter, some Naked coffee and some olive oil. All for the Angel price of £159 rather than £306.

I've just received my 2015 Naked Wines Christmas Case. It went on sale last week and has already sold out, which shows you what great value it is! 

I tried to take a photo of the package and I'm not sure it does it justice! It contains 18 bottles (again, a port and two fizz), a bottle of the new Naked Wines gin, some Naked coffee, two Schott wine glasses and some quality olive oil. All for the Angel price of £169 rather than £326.

As usual, I've already tucked into my case, so it won't last until Christmas, let alone New Year! So far, my favourite wine is the Carlos Rodriguez Seleccion de Barrica 2011 (pictured). Full of ripe fruits and oaky tobacco and a bargain at £14.99 a bottle.

My favourrite wine to date. With my 2014
free decanter and one of my 2015 glasses

I'm also really looking forward to trying the bottle of gin that came with the case. The Rambla 41 Mediterranean Dry Gin is the first Naked Wines funded gin. The read-up says it is non chilled filtered which apparently leaves it slightly cloudy but leaves a better taste. I'll let you know what I think.

If you're thinking about getting the Naked Wine Christmas case in 2016, then get in early as it always disappears.

** If you're wondering what Angel prices are, then read my earlier article on Naked Wines. Happy drinking. Do it sensibly and all that.