Wine: Top reds for the festive season

OLD WORLD

Budget choice: Valdepenas, Spain: Gran Reserva 2002 Bodegas Los Llanos

(£8.95, Peter Green, Edinburgh, www.petergreenwines.com)

This mellow vanilla-toned red offers much better value than you can find in famous Rioja. Valdepenas has the same red grape as rioja, the tempranillo, known locally as cenibel on this arid plateau in southern Castilla-La Mancha.

Languedoc, Southern France: Chateau d’anfles classique rouge 2008

(£11.49, Peckham’s, www.peckhams.co.uk)

Very classy, elegant new wine made by Eric Fabre, ex-technical director at Chateau Lafite. Deliciously spicy, minty syrah/grenache/mourvedre blend with dense fruits and smooth fine grained tannins.

Douro, Portugal: Cedro do noval 2007

(£15.50, The Wine Society, www.thewinesociety.com; £15 each for 12, £17.99 single bt, Edinburgh Wine Merchants, www.edinburghwine.com)

Contender for my favourite red wine of the year: highly individual, smoky, cedary, fabulously damsony with superb length of flavour. Serve with roast game or turkey and its trimmings. STAR BUY

Burgundy, France: Beaune 1er cru cuvee Brunet 2007 Hospices de Beaune

(£35, Berry Bros & Rudd, www.bbr.com)

I enjoy pinot noir with my turkey – and you cannot find much better than this elegant red burgundy from Benjamin Leroux. Rich red fruit builds to a wonderful crescendo. Very fine.

Pomerol, Bordeaux, France: L’Hopistalet de Gazin 2004

(£23, Corney & Barrow Scotland, Pathhead & Ayr, www.corneyandbarrow.com)

Star buy at our recent claret tasting: it may be a second wine of Chateau Gazin, but this mature, succulent, lush merlot-based pomerol is drinking so well right now.

NEW WORLD

Budget choice: Clare Valley, S Australia: Wakefield Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

(£8.79, Majestic Wine Scotland)

Bags of blackcurrant fruit, spice and mint for your money here. It might overshadow the turkey, but for those who opt for roast beef or venison, this intensely fruity, cedary, sweetly tannic cabernet offers great value.

Mendoza, Argentina: Close de la siete malbec 2008

(£9.99, Majestic Wine Scotland)

Huge heady opulent; this malbec offers incredible depth and dense weight of fruit for under a tenner.

Stellenbosch, South Africa: Rudi Schultz Syrah 2008

(£13.29, Justerini & Brooks, www.justerinis.com)

From an emerging young talent, Rudi Schultz worked at Rustenberg and Jordan wineries – and now works alongside guru Gyles Webb at Thelema. Deep spicy, very impressive Cape syrah to match with roast turkey. STAR BUY

Willamette Valley, Oregon: Runaway Pinot Noir 2009

(£16.50, www.stonevine.co.uk)

Light in style, but surprisingly individual, vibrantly fruity with a savoury edge, this is more of a turkey match. I was impressed by the quality/price ratio as pinot noirs from this cool corner in the USA can be astronomically over-priced.

Central Otago, New Zealand: Peregrine Pinot Noir 2009

(£20, Majestic Wine Scotland)

Contender for the best Kiwi pinot with its dense ripeness, sweet cherry mocha flavours, complexity and length of flavour. A match for the festive bird.