SWEET AND FORTIFIED

2016 Hermits Hill Botrytis Semillon, Riverina, Australia (Half bottle, £9.50, Marks & Spencer) THIS is another wine made by the amazing De Bortoli company (see yesterday’s Christmas Day wines) but, this time, it is a sweet Semillon, packed with honey and bitter orange notes. It is one of the most amazing sweeties of the season and it would be a stunning match to the M&S orangetopped Christmas pud seen in its TV advert. NV Taste The Difference Special Reserve Port, Portugal (£10, Sainsbury’s) WOW — this is a brilliant wine that loads so much flavour and depth into the glass it is amazing. It’s made by the Symington family, who own Graham’s, Dow’s and Warre’s, among others. It comes at a snip of a price for this degree of sophistication and distinction. NV Curatolo Marsala Dolce, Sicily, Italy (£11.99, Waitrose) I LOVE top-flight Marsala and, as Sicily brings us more and more whites and reds, it is important to remember that this island was once only famous for this fortified style used principally in cooking. Curatolo is an orange blossom and bitter citrus-spiked sweetie and it is at once sweet and rich, as well as being refreshing and tangy. Clever and rewarding, this is a wine for cakes and puddings — you will be blown away by its class. NV Adnams Rich Dessert Wine ‘Anthemis’, Vin de Liqueur, Samos, Greece (50cl bottle, £11.99, Adnams, 01502 727222 and cellarandkitchen. adnams.co.uk) MATURED for five years in oak casks, this toffee-flavoured wine is like nothing else. With hints of Turkish Delight, caramel, heather and roses, it is a treat for your senses and you can sip away for hours, finding new and amazing tasting notes as every minute passes. Dreamy is not a word I often use about wine, but it sums up this one perfectly.