David Newton Johnson Southend Chardonnay, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, South Africa 2020 (£15.99, laithwaites.co.uk) Christmas Dinner is effectively a buffet, so many and so varied are the competing elements on the plate. That makes the kind of precise wine matching that fusspots like me go in for somewhat redundant: a wine you might pick for the way it dovetails with turkey and a rich gravy is unlikely to be the same one you’d pick for bread sauce or sprouts (although, come to think of it, and much as I love them, I can’t think of a wine that would go really well with the maximum brassic bitterness of sprouts). In effect, then, you’re looking for all-rounders, and when it comes to whites that means something with a bit of weight and fullness, but also enough cleansing acidity to cut through the general richness. White burgundy is the classic choice, although that region’s recipe of subtly oaked chardonnay is as international as a croissant these days, with the likes of Newton Johnson’s Southend Chardonnay from the far southern, ocean-cooled Hemel-en-Aarde, a shimmering, gently savoury, and, for the quality, superb value alternative.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/dec/19/great-wines-for-a-festive-feast
