CHRISTMAS CRACKERS 🎄

What’s up winos,

All geared up for the festive season? Assuming so, since we can barely move in the warehouse for the stacks and stacks of orders. If you’ve already got your booze for the big day, good on u. We love organisation in this house. If not, don’t worry, we love you too. And this one’s for you. Read on for all the Christmas must haves that you need to add to cart, like, immediately.

Trying to buy wine to please a bunch of different people with a bunch of different tastes is no mean feat. Luckily Parched provides. We’ve got something for everyone, and first up in that category are the new arrivals from Maison des Hauts-Baigneux. We had the pleasure of tasting with Philippe a few weeks ago and it was a riot. We breezed through the tasting in about 20 minutes and then spent an hour smashing VBs together. My kind of winemaker. Luckily this kind of king energy translates directly to the wines he produces - they’re all stonking, and ludicrously good value to boot. My personal pick is Le Sauvignon, mostly because I’ve been on the Sauvignon hater train for many years now, and though I know it’s hard to believe, even I’m wrong sometimes. This is everything that supermarket Sauvignon is not - rounded, textured, spicy and smoky. His reds don’t disappoint either. Another one which defies my preconceived notions is the ‘Sanguine’ Cabernet Franc - the overtly green notes you often get with this grape are pushed aside in favour of rich, juicy fruit and a strong backbone. This one was made for a roast, which, as luck would have it, is what most people on this rock are going to be eating on the 25th. If you’re after something in the light n bright arena, have a go at the Pineau d’Aunis, or the Grolleau if you want something lifted, refined and elegant. While you’re at it, why not push the boat out and grab his top Chenin - warming, powerful and mouthwateringly saline. What I love most about these wines is that they’re crowd-pleasers - so much so that I shipped a bunch of them up to Scotland where I’ll be celebrating my own silly season with my pretty hard-to-impress family. Be more like me!

If you’ve got some more classic drinkers on your hands, try out these bad boys from Circe. Cheap they are not, but worth it they most certainly are. New world vibes with an old world persona, there’s a lot to like here. Blind taste your fam with them and they’ll swear they’re in Burgundy.

If there’s someone in your life you’re trying to impress, don’t do that thing that dude in Love Actually does with all those signs and the boombox (did NOT age well, that movie). Just get them this Paola Bea. Pretty much unbeatable in the arena of elite Italian wine, which is an arena you want to be in, trust me. If this doesn’t get you a peck under the mistletoe then I don’t know what to tell you.

Got a Christmas party that needs a little spicing up? Just restocked Savart’s l’Ouverture, Champagne par excellence. Or if that’s over budget, the fizzers from Camillo Donati are always a go-to in the festive season, whether you’re after white, rose or red.

Overwhelmed by choice? Chuck your mate a gift card and let them do all the hard work. Or sign them up for one of our new year’s tastings, always a guaranteed good time.

Pretty sure I covered all the bases there! If I didn’t, ping me an email and I’ll send you some tailored recs. All I want for Christmas is for u to drink well.

One more reminder - our delivery cut off dates can be found here.

Alright, back to the boxes!

Love u!

xoxo

Megan