Drink like the A-list from just €8 a bottle!
ANICE bottle of wine with dinner is one of life’s pleasures, but in the Beckham household, any old plonk won’t do. Images on Instagram showed David Beckham in his kitchen, a bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000 perched precariously to one side. The cost of the famous First Growth Claret? Currently a cool €2,800 — and that’s just one bottle.
The Beckhams’ penchant for posh wine is nothing new. When celebrating their wedding anniversary in Paris a few years ago they plumped for Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1990 valued at around €2,850.
And it looks like eldest son Brooklyn has inherited his parents’ love of fine wine, having recently shared images of his own cellar. A quick scan of the wine rack revealed four bottles in particular, including Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2003, Chateau Latour 1989 and two bottles of Chateau Petrus, one from 2015 and the other from 1979 with a combined value of more than €9,350.
The Beckhams aren’t the only ones who like a drop of the good stuff — showing off your top-ofthe range tipples on social media is now a celebrity trend.
The question is, can those of us without A-List budgets still get a taste of what they’re having? Not quite — but it is possible to find wines that are similar in style, made from the same grape varieties and produced in similar places that give you some idea of what you’re missing, which we have rated here — tribute acts to the celebrity stars, if you will . . .
BECKS’ FINE CLARET
CELEBRITY SIP: Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000, €4,850 TRIBUTE ACT: Pierre Jaurant Bordeaux €7.99, Aldi DAVID BECKHAM obviously loves his claret and this socalled First Growth is one of the world’s finest — and most expensive. Every vintage features a different label commissioned by a famous artist, but in 2000 the owners broke with tradition and featured an engraving of a ram instead (the Augsburg Ram from the chateau’s own Museum of Wine in Art).
The budget alternative comes from the same region and is made from similar grapes — Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Expect black fruit flavours but without the ram. 5/10
ED’S FANCY CHATEAU
CELEBRITY SIP: Chateau Palmer 1983, €585 TRIBUTE ACT: Tesco Finest Margaux 2018, €28 ED SHEERAN has been pulling out the big guns when it comes to wine lately. He shared an image of himself holding up a half-empty bottle of Chateau Palmer 1983 while enjoying some downtime on his current Mathematics tour.
Like Becks, Sheeran is clearly a claret fan and this one, from Margaux on the Left Bank in Bordeaux, is a classic. Rich and powerful, it isn’t an easy one to match on a budget, but the Tesco Finest version gives it a run for its considerable money.
Made by the prestigious Chateau Boyd-Cantenac and classified as a Third Growth by the official Bordeaux wine appellation system, this is a similar blend to the Palmer. A relative steal at the price. 9/10
HUGH’S AUSSIE ICON
CELEBRITY SIP: Penfolds Grange 2018, €723
TRIBUTE ACT: Penfolds Bin 389 2021, €75, obrienswine.ie HUGH JACKMAN once cited Penfolds Grange, an iconic wine from South Australia, as one of his favourites. Created by one of the godfathers of Australian winemaking, Max Schubert, in 1951, the multi-vineyard blend is known for its power and longevity.
Penfolds Bin 389, made by the same producer, is known as ‘baby Grange’ as some of the wine is aged in the same barrels the year before the wine destined for Grange is aged in them.
Still not cheap, but a snip at the price compared to the real thing.
8/10
BROOKLYN’S PETRUS
CELEBRITY SIP: Chateau Petrus 2020, €5,850 TRIBUTE ACT: Esprit de Puisseguin 2020, €7.24, vivino. com
BROOKLYN might be partial to a bottle of Petrus from his state-of-the-art, temperaturecontrolled wine cellar but if you can’t stretch to this Right Bank Bordeaux from Pomerol, try another Merlot-based blend from a neighbouring region on the same side of the river.
This bold Saint-Émilion red has a similar plumpness and richness to it but unlike the Petrus, you don’t have to wait another five years until it’s ready to drink without losing your teeth to tannin. 7/10
MICHAEL’S TOP TIPPLE
CELEBRITY SIP: Único, Vega Sicilia 2013, €565
TRIBUTE ACT: Finca Carielio Tempranillo, €15.99, theallotment.ie MICHAEL DOUGLAS reportedly loves Spanish Tempranillo. Given he’s owned an estate in Mallorca for three decades and visits regularly with his actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, that’s hardly surprising.
The wines from Vega Sicilia in Spain’s Ribera del Duero are famously aged for more than ten years in both barrels and bottle before being released. For a budget take, try this red from Spain. 6/10 O HELEN’S book, The Knackered Mother’s Wine Guide, is out now.