CO-OP

People seem to have rather low expectations of the Co-op’s wine range but actually it is excellent. The Co-op’s own-label champagne is one of the best out there, while the retailer also excels at that other winter staple, red bordeaux.

Claret stars include, at the budget end, the bright and very drinkable Château Vieux Manoir 2020, Bordeaux (14.5%, Co-op, £7.25) and, at the finer end, the polished, dark-fruited, cigar-boxy flavoured Château Beau-Site 2014/2015, Saint-Estèphe, Bordeaux (13.5%, Co-op, £23).

Other clarets to look out for include the lovely, juicy Château Jouanin Organic Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2019, France (13.5%, Co-op, £9), which is made in an appellation neighbouring St Emilion, and the Château Sénéjac Cru Bourgeois 2018, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux (14%, Co-op, £17.50) – a classic that is still young, so give it 45 minutes in a jug or decanter to open up.

Some wines are only stocked in a fraction of Co-op branches, so save yourself a wasted trip to the wrong shop by using the website – coop.co.uk/products/wine – to search for the wine, then input your postcode to get a list of local stores that stock it.

BEST-VALUE WHITE:

Co-op Irresistible Viognier 2021, France

(13.5%, Co-op, £8)

Notes of melon and white peach mingle with honeysuckle. A good one for turkey leftovers.

BEST-VALUE RED:

Les Hauts de Saint Martin 2020, Saint Chinian, France

(13%, Co-op, £9)

A generous Mediterranean blend of syrah, grenache, carignan and mourvèdre which smells of roasted chestnuts, mulberries, figs and fig leaves and dried thyme, and oozes with a sense of ripeness and sun.

CHOICE CHRISTMAS FIZZ:

Les Pionniers Vintage Champagne 2013, France (12%, Co-op, £27)

A step up from the excellent value NV.