Go into the red

Have you put up your Christmas tree yet? For some it means no more than a rummage in the loft and an afternoon spent assembling last year’s version, but for many households the start of Christmas is when the roof rack goes on the car, an expedition to the local farm, market or roadside seller is planned and then a careful assessment of the size, shape and style of tree is made.

One the year I misjudged the height of my ceiling and ended up chopping 4ft off the bottom of a tree.

It still occupied the front room like a triffid.

Even so, I generally prefer a real tree.

The scent they give off when you brush past adds to the overall roasted meat, spice and alcoholic smells of Christmas.

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So while you are struggling with the tree, the lights and the decorations, here are a few suggestions for red wines to tide you over the Christmas period.

£6 and under

Il Bello 2009 Barbera, Piedmont, Italy, Waitrose £4.79 until January 3: Normally great value at £5.99 this wine should not be missed while it is on offer. It tastes of the misty mornings of Piedmont, with truffles, dark fruit and the merest hint of oak.

La Rectorie 2010 Côtes du Ventoux, Rhône, France, Waitrose £4.99: Fantastic value in this Grenache-spiked blend with easy-drinking red-berry fruit and a good sprinkle of spice. Perfect to quaff while you are wrapping presents.

Côtes du Rhône ‘Les Vignes Rousses’ 2009, Colombo, France, Majestic, down to £5.99 on multibuy until January 31: You need to buy two Rhône wines to get the deal but that is no problem with this wine. It has deep concentrated flavours, with good structure and concentration. Cheese, bread and this wine – what more does anyone need for supper?

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Tesco Finest Côtes Catalanes Carignan, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, 2 bottles for £12 until January 3: A great value wine with bags of sun-ripened bramble fruit. Good enough for suppers, and cheap enough for the returning students.

La Grange St Martin, Côtes du Rhône Réserve 2010, France, Co-op £5.99: Ambitiously priced at £10.99 this easily hits its stride at the offer price. Warm, ripe fruit and a great finish.

Under £8

Ch. Aigues Vive Cuvée d’Exception 2007, Corbières, Majestic, £6.99 on multibuy: A robust and slightly chewy wine that needs a venison sausage to balance the flavours.

Kaiken Malbec 2010, Argentina, Bon Coeur £7.99 (01765 688200): This comes from the Argentinian branch of Aurelio Montes’ empire and is remarkably good with terrific plummy concentration and soft supple tannins. Perfect with red meats such as steak and the crunchy end bit of roast beef.

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Tierra y Hombre Pinot Noir 2010, Casablanca, Chile, Marks and Spencer, £7.99: Fantastic, well-defined Pinot Noir fruit, with real strawberry and cherry flavours, soft, supple tannins and great length. This comes from one of Chile’s most startlingly beautiful wineries in Chile’s cool Casablanca valley.

Cour du Roy Montagne St Emilion 2010, France, Co-op £7.99 until January 3: A well-made, good value claret that is drinking well now, but will happily keep for a year or so. Somewhat challenged at its full price of £12.99.

Under £10

Gran Sasso Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2010 Flourish and Prosper £8.75 (01430 430006): This wine bowled me away at a recent tasting. Fabulous blackberry fruit overlaid with truffle complexity, it will go with game and cheese.

Grenache Willunga 100 McLaren Vale, Australia, Field and Fawcett, £9.95 (01904 489073): Full of lively, juicy, dark berry fruit, this wine scooped a top Gold medal in the Melbourne Show. It would be perfect for Christmas lunch with enough power to balance all the flavours on the plate without dominating proceedings.

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‘Dos Maderas’ 2006 Beronia, Rioja Reserva, Spain, Majestic £9.99 on multibuy: Dos Maderas refers to the special barrels used to age the wine. With American oak staves and French oak ends, these barrels give rounded, elegant flavours, not dominated by wood, but integrated and allowing the fruit to shine out.

Taste the Difference St Emilion 2009, Sainsbury £9.99: St Emilion is always a favourite to go with the turkey, this wine shows the fruit and balance of the great 2009 vintage and while it is ready now it will keep for a couple of years.

Under £15

Tinto Figuero ‘4’ Roble 2008, Decántalo, Ribera del Duero, Spain, £12.99 Flourish and Prosper: Another stunning wine from Flourish and Prosper in Howden. This property used to sell its grapes to other producers but now makes its own wine. This is the bottom of the quality ladder and is fabulous with dense forest fruit flavours and creamy, silky tannins. Climb the ladder to “15” Roble 2004 for even better flavours (£32.95).

Chocolate Box GSM 2008, Barossa Valley, Australia, Chez Vin £12.99 (01943 466143): Tasted at least three times in recent weeks and each time it hits the spot with soft, plush, sweet, black fruits flavours overlaid with chocolate and cherry tones and a long savoury finish. Team this with warming casseroles or cheese.

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Blason des Papes 2010, Châteauneuf du Pape, Rhône, Waitrose down from £20.99 to £13.99 until January 3: This is such a dramatic reduction that you might be suspicious of its full price, but don’t waste your drinking time. This is a fantastic offer, providing glorious ripe, dark, structured fruit, dusted over with liquorice and spice. Drink it now with enormous pleasure or keep it for the rest of this winter and next for even more maturity and complexity.

Dolcetto d’Alba 2010, Giacomo Ascheri, Piedmont, Italy, Roberts and Speight, £13.99, (01482 870717): Bright red cherry fruit jumps out of the glass at first, and then moves into truffles and the kind of wet forest floor flavours that combine wonderfully with winter food.

Splash out

Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Margaret River, Australia, Marks and Spencer, £17: Perfect balance between the ripe red fruits and the cool climate tannins makes this exceptionally food friendly and elegant.

Ventilla 71, 2008, Rioja Martinez Lacuesta, Roberts and Speight £19.89: A Decanter 5-star award-winning wine with bright red fruits and cherry aromas followed by ripe, structuring tannins and a balanced elegant finish. Pour it now to impress your guests at a stylish dinner party, but it will keep and develop over the next couple of years.

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Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré 2007, St Julien, Majestic £19.99: Majestic has a good stock of quality clarets and this one was my favourite from the range. Ripe, elegant and ready to drink with food. If this one has sold out then Ch Grand Faurie Larose 2006 at £16.99 is also terrific.

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