Tag: Pedro Ximénez

Here are a few choice wines for you enjoy this Christmas season!

Merry Christmas!

Delightful white wines

Oyster Bay Chardonnay, Marlborough 2022 (New Zealand)

This fine Chardonnay from one of New Zealand’s foremost wine producers, Oyster Bay, will get your Christmas festivities off to a great start! With aromas of peach, lemon and grapefruit on the nose heralding flavours of nectarine and peach on the palate, it’s a very good representation of a cold climate Chardonnay from a region best known for its Sauvignon Blanc wines.

The layers of fruit are well supported by the bright acidity, subtle hints of oak and the creamy texture, creating a delightful wine which is perfect by itself or with a seafood or vegetable dish. Available from Sainsbury’s (£10.75)

Co-op Irresistible Assyrtiko, Macedonia 2023 (Greece)

This Assyrtiko wine from Macedonia is a crisp, dry wine with an appealing freshness on the palate. A blend of Assyrtiko (85%) and Viognier (15%), it has aromas of apple, peach and a hint of smokiness on the nose, and flavours of apple, nectarine and peach on the palate. 

A well-balanced, medium-bodied wine with a hint of white pepper in the finish, this is a wine that can be enjoyed as an apéritif and is also an excellent match for seafood. Available from Co-op (£10)

Cracking red wines

Cru des Côtes du Rhône Vinsobres 2021 (France)

This Vinsobres wine from the northern tip of the southern Rhône region of France is a smooth, rich, full-bodied wine. A blend of Syrah and Grenache grape varieties, it has aromas of cherry, raspberry and vanilla on the nose, leading to blackberry, cassis, liquorice and chocolate on the palate. It is a well-balanced wine with notes of garrigue on the finish.

This is a very appealing wine that pairs well with a roast meat dish, or roasted vegetables. Available from Sainsbury’s (£12)

Altolandon Mil Historias Bobal 2020, Manchuela (Spain)

Though not very well-known internationally, Bobal is Spain’s second most-planted red varietal after Tempranillo and this wine from Manchuela in South East Spain is a fine example of this less familiar grape variety. 

An appealing wine with herbaceous and black fruit aromas on the nose, and flavours of cherry, plum, blackberry, and raisins on the palate. It is a smooth, medium-bodied wine with medium tannins and medium acidity, and will make an ideal match for the complex blend of flavours associated with a traditional Christmas lunch, or a nut roast. Available from Cambridge Wine Merchants (£14.99)

Dessert wines: pure indulgence!

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Pedro Ximénez (Spain)

This Pedro Ximénez (PX) from Sainsbury’s is a perennial favourite. A full-bodied, lusciously sweet wine with a long, velvety finish. With aromas of honey, raisin and toffee, reminiscent of a mince pie, on the nose, and coffee, caramel and toffee flavours on the palate, this is a perfect match for Christmas pudding or other rich dessert, and mature cheese.  Available from Sainsbury’s (£10)

Samos Vin Doux (Greece)

The lusciously sweet Samos Vin Doux is another treat for the palate. Golden in colour, and made from Muscat grapes, it has aromas of honeysuckle, apricots and peaches, and flavours of honey, stone fruits and butterscotch. A smooth, wonderfully balanced wine, this is a perfect match for dessert.  Available from Waitrose (£9.99)

Merry Christmas!

Look out for more wine suggestions from around the world in 2025. Cheers!

Pedro Ximénez: a dessert wine that’s a dessert in its own right!

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Pedro Ximénez

There is so much more to sherry than its image of that rather fusty bottle of Bristol Cream that lives at the back of the drinks cabinet and only makes an appearance when Granny has a glass at Christmas.

Indeed, sherry is an incredibly versatile and varied wine, ranging from dry fino sherry, pale lemon in colour, with aromas of apple and almond, and bready flavours from the yeast used in the ageing process, to the dark, lusciously sweet Pedro Ximénez sherry with its pronounced dried fruit flavours, made from the eponymous Pedro Ximénez grapes that have been concentrated by sun-drying.

And in between, there are the oloroso and amontillado dry sherries, and the pale cream, medium and cream sweet styles. The common denominator is that the wines that are used to make sherry must be matured in the Jerez region of Andalucía, and more specifically in the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa Maria, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Pedro Ximénez (PX for short) sherries are pure indulgence in a bottle. They are intensely sweet wines which are aged oxidatively and are deep brown, almost black, in colour. PX sherries typically have pronounced aromas of dried fruits with honey, coffee, chocolate, and caramel, perhaps liquorice. Treacly on the palate, with dried fruit and caramel flavours, there is sufficient acidity to balance the sweetness and create a velvety, long finish.

This Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Pedro Ximénez is a fine example of a PX sherry which ticks all the boxes. Honey, raisins, and toffee on the nose, almost like a mince pie, with coffee, caramel and toffee on the palate, this is a full-bodied wine that has been aged in a network of oak casks in a solera system.

Perfect as a dessert in its own right, it is also a match made in heaven for a chocolate mousse or a strong blue cheese. Or why not simply drizzle it over vanilla ice cream – delicious!

Available from Sainsbury’s . £8 (half bottle)

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