With all of the effort  that goes into creating that perfect festive feast, it seems a terrible waste not to put a bit of thought into what you’re drinking with it! Why go and ruin the day - the right wines can lift the festive dinner to new heights, whilst the wrong choice of wines could go down like cold sprouts…

We’ve selected a few of our fine wines that we believe compliment the festive feast ..and you can buy them all online now in time for Christmas Day.

 Roast Turkey: As always we have to ponder the question, Red or White wine with the turkey …?

Well, that’s sometimes the big question around the table, so why not keep everyone happy with a choice of both….we’ve chosen a light white burgundy and a pinot noir, both of which won’t overpower the delicate flavours of the turkey, but will stand up to the trimmings.

2007 Petit Chablis Saint Roche, France

Silvery green colour with dazzling brilliance and appealing bouquet. Reminiscent of pineapple and green lemon, long in the palate with good vivacity.

£9.60 per bottle – click here to buy online

 2008 Pinot Noir -Te Kauwhata,  Quarry Road, New Zealand

A most popular new comer to Vin Vino.

A light red colour with a capsicum peppery bouquet, softly dry with good flavour of damson and dates.

 £9.90 per bottle – click here to buy online

Roast Goose: We’d reccomend a relatively rich white to complement the texture of goose. This stunning Côte de Beaune Chardonnay also has the mineral edge to cut through the fattiness of the bird.

2001 Montagny 1er Cru ‘Vieilles Vignes’

Montagny is the southernmost appellation of the Côte Chalonnaise and is a pure chardonnay varietal. Light golden with a nose of smoky gunflint and a firm fruit palate with a touch of vanilla on a soft, rich texture.

£13.20 per bottle – click here to buy online 

Taste the difference with Vin Vino Direct… exclusive online wine merchants with a huge selection of specialist, fine and rare wines from around the world – we have wines from boutique growers that you cannot find from any other online wine merchant.

We have one of the largest collections of French claret wines in the UK…plus, an amazing range of Italian fine wines and French fine wines. We carry wines covering over 66 grape varieties, including the favourites of Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Pinot Grigio – all available to buy online for your wine cellar today. We are internationally accredited as Bordeaux specialists and renowned for our exclusive and unique fine wines online at all prices.
For those special wine gifts we have a large range of champagne, wine gift vouchers and mixed cases of wine
With an original portfolio of boutique wine making growers, we are the only online wine merchant in the UK offering these exclusive wines to you. Buy wine online with Vin Vino Direct and tantalise your taste buds today…

Fine Wines - Vin Vino Direct

'94 Croizet Bages

…so here we have the 1994 Château Croizet Bages – 5′me Cru Classé from the Pauillac region.  Some would argue this may be the finest Croizer-Bages made in over 20 years – well, why not taste for yourself!  At only £25.50, this is an affordable introduction into our Fine Wine selections….

Tasting Notes : An attractive nose of cassis, fruit, herbs and vanilla. Good ripeness, a pure clean taste of fruit and oak with slight tannins and a pleasing finish.

The Croizet family acquired this property in the 18th century, planted his vineyard on the Bages ‘plateaux’ and called it appropriately Château Croizet-Bages. Today the 22 hectares of this classed growth vineyard is owned and managed by Lucienne and Jean-Michel Quié producing an annual average of 110,000 bottles with the quintessential flavour of a typical Pauillac wine with fresh soft fruit and oak flavours, vigour and dryness, cigar box aroma with a hint of sweetness making this wine the best loved in the world.

Croizet Bages

Area History and Terrior:  Looking full onto the river from the earliest days, with an important port activity, traces of which go back to ancient times (shipment of bronze as long ago as 2000 B.C.), Pauillac’s life has always been intimately linked to the history of wine. Although port activities were at the root of its prosperity, Pauillac had to wait until the eighteenth century when Bordeaux ceased to hold its privileged position to become a wine port. The town then became the natural outlet for the wine production of neighbouring cantons before reaching its zenith in a period when the vineyards were exceptionally prosperous.

The characteristic of the Pauillac terroir is its exceptional relief: the many undulating ridges make it unique morphologically speaking. Highly favourable conditions facilitate the dissection of the layer of gravel. This thin, Garonne gravel from whose very poverty springs great richness, has an extremely effective natural drainage.

With their velvet red colour with a hint of amber, the wines from the Pauillac appellation, full-bodied and rich in tannin, are vigorous. Powerful when young, their aromas of red fruits (black-currant, raspberry) or flowers (violets, roses, irises) melt with the passing of time into a bouquet which is long in the mouth. Rich and complex, the wines of Pauillac deserve to be laid down for a little longer.

In order to have the right to the Pauillac appellation of controlled origin, red wines must: – come from the commune of Pauillac and from precisely defined parcels in the communes of Cissac, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Sauveur, “excluding the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils”, – satisfy precise production conditions : grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes – 6.27 oz. – per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) and base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare).

Fine Wine Online

Château Gaillard

The vineyards of Château Gaillard are situated on the hills that dominate the northern side of the river Loire between Amboise and Blois in the very heart of the appelation ‘Touraine-Mesland AOC’. Since 1978 Vincent Girault has sought to produce wines true to the character of their ‘terroir’ – from 1989, the Château adapted its production to establish true biodynamic methods. With 17 hectares of red grape varieties grown on sandy soil and 13 hectares of white grape varieties on flinty clay, the vines benefit from a southern exposure to the sun in the rich and fertile Loire valley.

This wine is the quite rare, Gold Medal winning, Mesland Blanc, made from the delicate Chenin grape, which the locals call ‘Pineau de Loire’. It is a clean silvery colour, with a  soft dry body expressing a bouquet of exotic lychee and quinces, melting in the mouth with considerable length – ideal with chicken and pork dishes.

 Vin Vino Direct are proud to have Vincent’s Chenin for sale at only £8.50 – click here to order …but we only have some 40 bottles left, so be quick!

A few words from Vincent Girault;  “To me the world of wine producing can be compared to a pyramid: a pyramid with four distinct levels with each interacting with each other: Firstly the basic level: the land, the soil, the Mother Earth and the terror, as without a good soil you can never produce a good wine.
Next level up the climate, here in the Loire Valley we are very fortunate in having an excellent microclimate very much suited to our type of wine production. Followed by the ideal range of grape types: one or more for each soil type, each variety suiting different circumstances: Gamay, Cabernet, Chenin etc.Finally the wine producer himself, the creator, the architect of his or her own wine. Each of these four factors are important in themselves but cannot act on their own; it is the combination of all four which leads to the magic of a great wine!”

Grower Profile

Jean Michel and Laurent, two brothers own a sumptuous well established Domaine in the Loire – Atlantique, 15kms south of Nantes. Their 60 hectares on the undulating hillsides provide 3 hectares dedicated to Pinot Gris Rosé. The privileged silex and granitic rocky soil, overlooking the Maine Valley gives their Pinot Gris Blanc complexity and expressive exotic fruit of melon and mature pears, with a sensual smoothness on the tip of the tongue.

We are one of the UK’s largest stockists of fine wine so you’ll find we have a selection that is second to none – in fact one of the best selection of Clarets in the UK. And whats’ more, our easy-to-use search facility makes finding the wine you’re looking for a doddle – (click the picture above to go straight to the wines).

The fine wines are categorsied from the prestige regions of Graves, Haut-Medoc, Margaux, Pauillac, Pomerol, Saint-Emilion, Saint-Estephe and Saint-Julien …and they are all here, in stock, in the climatically-controlled warehouse.

Founded in 1818 the Billecart family has lived in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ since the mid-sixteenth century. The House was established when Nicolas-François Billecart married Elisabeth Salmon. The Grande Marque quickly established an international reputation with a US subsidiary being set up in the early 1840′s. Russia became the company’s major export market but this trade collapsed after the 1917 revolution. Eight years later the decision was made to sell off the firm’s vineyards and the money raised was invested in the winery and cellars.

The fifth generation of the family still own and run the company today. The style of House – less ‘dosage’ and quality fruit ageing for longer on the lees….the wines; light, fragrant and full flavoured with great complexity and longevity…..

This featured Champagne is the Billecart Rose….a truly romantic Champagne. A pale pink colour adorned with glints of gold – fine notes of red strawberries with a biscuity and creamy finish.

 Grape Variety: 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. To start off the Christmas festivities…click here to order.

 We also have 3 more great Champagnes from Billecart Salmon to entice you;

1. Billecart Brut Reserve - Tasting Notes: 41% Pinot Meunier, 34% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay 40% of Reserve Wines are used, aged for a minimum of 4 years – reflections of bright yellow, floral freshness, lemony, mouth filling taste of ripe pears.   Click here to order

2. Billecart-Salmon Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc - Tasting Notes: Issued from five Grand Cru of Côte des Blancs, Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger, and a blend of two different years. Light gold – aromas of white greengages. Well evolved finishing with a citrus minerally freshness.  Click here to order

3. 1998 Grand Cru Vintage Billecart-Salmon - Tasting Notes: The quest for “finesse, balance and elegance” has always guided the making of the Billecart-Salmon Champagnes. Made from 100% Chardonnay with a 9/10 rating for the 1998 vintage. Luminous gold colour, revealing citrus, fresh almonds, gingerbread and white chocolate on a palate of rich fruits with apple and lychee -  a true masterpiece.   Click here to order.

We don’t pretend to stock the mundane Moet Chandon champagne or Lanson champagne – we specialise in Louis Roederer champagne, Veuve Clicquot vintage champagne, Laurent Perrier Rosé champagne, Bollinger champagne, Vintage Dom Perignon champagne, Krug champagne, Louis Roederer Cristal and Krug Clos du Mesnil …for all your champagne gifts and to buy champagne online, please visit our website.

Taste the difference with Vin Vino Direct… exclusive online wine merchants with a huge selection of specialist, fine and rare wines from around the world – we have wines from boutique growers that you cannot find from any other online wine merchant.

We have one of the largest collections of French claret wines in the UK…plus, an amazing range of Italian fine wines and French fine wines. We carry wines covering over 66 grape varieties, including the favourites of Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Pinot Grigio – all available to buy online for your wine cellar today. We are internationally accredited as Bordeaux specialists and renowned for our exclusive and unique fine wines online at all prices.
For those special wine gifts we have a large range of champagne, wine gift vouchers and mixed cases of wine
With an original portfolio of boutique wine making growers, we are the only online wine merchant in the UK offering these exclusive wines to you. Buy wine online with Vin Vino Direct and tantalise your taste buds today…

Fine Wine Online

Another classic French red wine from a little known Domaine, Bruno Clair.

Bruno Clair founded the domaine which bears his name in 1979. The domaine at that time included plots in Marsannay and Fixin, the Dominode vineyard in Savigny-les-Beaune, and a large plot lying fallow in Morey-St.-Denis – “En la Rue de Vergy.

He is the son of Bernard Clair (1920-2005) and the grandson of Joseph Clair (1889-1971), originator of the famous Domaine Clair-Daü which was founded in Marsannay in 1919. In 1986, Bruno was entrusted with the vineyards of his parents, brothers and sisters which included those of Clos de Bèze, Cazetiers, Clos St-Jacques, Vosne-Romanée, Clos du Fonteny and Chambolle-Musigny. More vineyards were purchased by the estate in 1993, inlcuding Corton-Charlemagne, Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton, and in 1996 Gevrey-Chambertin Petite Chapelle was added to bring the size of the domaine to more than 23 hectares.

Viticulture.
Bruno Clair maintains a rigorous selection of the best vines of pinot noir and chardonnay, identifying those that produce small grapes with perfect ripeness. This selection also concentrates on finding vines that have a good resistance to diseases and are free from viruses. This work requires much patience and is absolutely essential to obtain a healty vineyard of great quality.

With regard to viticulture, Domaine Bruno Clair believes in the total absence of chemical fertilizers, the exclusive use of compost, and in plowings and harrowing the soil throughout the year. The grapes are hand-harvested, and the selection of the best grapes is carried out primarily in the vineyards.

The Wine:  This time we’re featuring the classic 1996 Savigny-les-Beaunes 1er Cru - the pride and joy of Clair’s vineyards is his splendid Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru issued from old Pinot Noir vines requiring nearly a decade to mature. It carries the signature of Bruno Clair’s style well structured, not too heavy perfumed with plenty of sophistication. Without doubt the Chambolle retains all the finesse of Clair’s style with plenty of penetrating aromas of raspberries, strawberry preserve and violet bouquet. A master of the most natural wine.

Tasting Notes:  Gleaming red, wild aromas of truffles, berries and morello cherries, perfume relaying a senscetion of dark fruit pastilles on the palate.

The wine has achieved a Parker **** ‘Excellent’ rating …to buy this wine online just click here

 The grand vin here is Chateau Lynch-Bages, of which there are typically 25000 cases per annum. The nearby Chateau Haut Bages Averous has, since 1978, been used as the second label for Lynch-Bages (10000 cases per annum). There is also a 4.5 ha plot of white vines, comprising 40% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Muscadelle which is used for the AC Bordeaux Blanc Blanc de Lynch-Bages (3000 cases per annum).

Undoubtedly the lead appellation of the Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf du Pape is named for the papal palace that was once situated in the centre of the town. This was essentially a summer home for the Pope, who in the 14th century was based in nearby Avignon. The palace survived until the 1940′s, when it was destroyed in the Second World War. The imposing ruins exist to this day, standing tall over the rest of the town. Châteauneuf du Pape is also famous for being the home of Baron Le Roy, owner of Château Fortia, and founder of the appellation contrôlée system which defines much of the vineyard areas in France. The red wine itself may be a blend of up to thirteen different grape varieties, although in practice many of the top wines use only three or four.

Todays featured grower is Domaine Cristia – created by Etienne Grangeon 70 years ago, the property originally comprised 2 hectares of Grenache. It was developed further by the driving force of his son Alain, who joined the domaine in 1963. Passionate about viticulture, he notably contributed to the expansion of the domaine and planted improved grape varieties such as Syrah and Mourvèdre and created the identity of Cristia, based on the knowledge and respect of his soils.

Then, in 1999, Baptiste, Dominique and more recently Florent joined their father. Their priorities were to concentrate on selecting the best parcels in order to produce a wine of a great quality, with a good ageing potential, to commercialise in France as well as for export.

“Me and my brother, Baptiste, are the third generation of our family working at Domaine de Cristia. We started working here back in 1999, taking over from my father. The soils were in excellent condition thanks to Dad’s biodynamic conception of agriculture. But trying to change old mentalities was a challenge! After our first few vintages, we really found our own style in 2003. That vintage produced some wonderful wine, and The Wine Advocate called us the ‘New Superstars from Chateaueuf-du-Pape’. Winemaking is something I’m truly passionate about. And I love working with my brother Baptiste, who is an engine of energy, ideas, positivity and reassurance. But if I wasn’t making wine, I’d be a professor of history, or an intrepid explorer a la Indiana Jones…”  Dominique Grangeon

The featured wine is the much acclaimed 2004 Cuvée Renaissance

Grape varieties: 60 % Grenache vieilles vignes (100 years), 40 % Mourvèdre

Soil: Sandy clay soil facing East which ensures freshness.

Age of vines: Grenache vine is 100 years old, Mourvèdre vines are 50 years old

Ageing: Blend aged for 18 months in barrels of 2 and 3 wines. 25% new oak.

Tasting: Dark intense violet coulouring denoting a rich and generous body. Complex bouquet of roasted coffee, liquorice, cherry and hints of leather. Powerful straightforward taste in the mouth with dark fruit (blackcurrant), spicy (black pepper) and zan aromas.

Awards: Silver Medal – Decanter World Wine Awards 2004-May 2006

You can buy this classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape red wine today at only £43.40 …click here for more

We also have some more fantastic wines from this exclusive Domaine;

2006 Châteauneuf du Pape …at only £26.40 – click here for more

2004 Châteauneuf du Pape -’Vielle Vignes’ …at only £32.00 – click here for more

This distinguished Margaux property takes its name from Baron Hector de Brane, nicknamed Napoleon des Vignes, who bought it it 1833, having sold Brane-Mouton in 1830. The property, at 222 acres is now the largest of the five second growths in Margaux, but it is almost certainly the original parcels of vines to the front of the château, on the magnificent Cantenac croupe (terrace), that contribute most to the wine’s breed, charm, delicacy and finesse.

The property has been in the Lurton family, one of Bordeaux’s most important land-owning dynasties, since 1925. Henri Lurton was born at the château, and since taking over from his father in the 1990s has been determined to prove that it is fully worthy of its second-growth status.

This particular fine wine we have available is the 1996 Château Brane-Cantenac - a magnificent blended Bordeaux wine;

Tasting: Red purple colour, oak and fresh redcurrants. Juicy ripeness oozing with new oak intermingled with liquorice, blackcurrant with a hint of smokiness. Very substantial and elegant in the mouth with excellent length.

Grapes: Merlot 55%, Cabernet Sauvignon 42%, Cabernet Franc 3%

Priced at only £110.00, buy Château Brane-Cantenac from Vin Vino Direct …click here