Olly Smith’s top 30 winter warmers

1. Tim Wildman, Astro Bunny Pét-Nat Brut, South Australia 2021 90

£26-£27.50 Bottle Apostle, Cave Bristol, Clapton Craft, Highbury Vintners, Juiced Wines, Love Wine, Shop Cuvée

The only fizz I am including as a ‘Winter warmer’ for its moreish gingery spice, this wine may give the impression of carefree joy, but it’s actually an immaculately considered and creative blend of 30% old-vine Zibibbo (with 24 hours’ skin contact), 26% Fiano, 24% Arneis, 17% Nero d’Avola and 3% Mataro. Aside from wearing the most striking label ever (I’m a fan), this handsome froth delivers a world of apricot, peach and mango magic. It was bottled at 12g/L residual sugar and then fermented to dry, with zero sulphur additions. Gently tip the bottle to allow the sediment to roll into the mix for maximum deliciousness and then pop the crown cap carefully – it’s a foaming flashback to instant summer and a liquid festival of a wine. Drink 2022-2023 Alcohol 12%

2. Domaine du Père Caboche, Blanc, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône, France 2021 92

£27 Yapp Bros

If ever you needed a reminder of summer’s full flush to cheer you through the teeth of winter, this should be top of your list. With beautifully exotic aromas, from peach to hints of pineapple and dried mango, the fruit soars thanks to zero oak and no malolactic fermentation in a bid to preserve tension, vitality and freshness. 40% Clairette, 30% Bourboulenc and 15% each of Roussanne and Grenache Blanc. Voluptuous texture with acres of apricot flavour and flourishing gingery spice trailing through the finish.

Pair it with a mountain cheese such as Beaufort or Comté, or try it with coronation chicken. Take it out of the fridge and decant for at least half an hour before serving in order to allow its full complexity to unfurl. Drink 2022-2024 Alc 13.5%

3. Pegasus Bay, Chardonnay, Waipara Valley, Canterbury, New Zealand 2018 92

£29.75 Field & Fawcett, KWM, Must Wines, Raffles, St Andrews Wine Co, Vinvm, Wine Direct Beautifully integrated struck match and toasted pine nut aromas, pumice too. Minerally as well as oaky, a wine crafted from a large proportion of ungrafted vines, praise to the impeccably judged barrel treatment with the faintest scent of sweet coffee as an extra background echo. It’s rich and has lots of tamed citrus verve wrapped in a rich cocoon of oaky softness. The non-clarified juice is fermented in oak puncheons, 70% of them old to limit transference of oaky flavour. A dreamy pairing for creamy recipes or even a simple quiche. With warmth coming from oak spice and ripe fruit, this is a very classy wine with enduring freshness on the finish. Vitality! Drink 2022-2023 Alc 14%

4. Yalumba, Y Series Viognier, South Australia 2021 90

£8.50-£11.95 Co-op, Majestic, Mumbles Fine Wines, Sainsbury’s, Vinvm, Wine Direct

I’m impressed by this wine: it is a belter for the cash, from the masters of Viognier Down Under. It’s got all the peach-skin and honeysuckle fragrance required and much more. Silkiness gives it a real sense of harking back to summer days, and in the teeth of winter it’s exactly what I want in my glass to sip with a gentle, spicy Thai recipe. It’s also fantastic with seasonal roasted veg. A wild-ferment wine with a certain apricot vitality, it’s by no means warming in the sense of feeling like you’ve just embraced a radiator, but as the harbinger of heady summer scents, it’ll give your mind a welcome reminder of fruit in sunbeams. Drink 2022-2023 Alc 13.5%

5. Cramele Recas, The Wine Atlas Fetească Regală, Banat, Romania NV 89

£5 Asda

I’m including this Romanian white for several reasons. First, it is astonishingly good value for a crowd-pleasing party white. Without doubt its exotic tropical bloom is a cue for sunnier days to spill around the fountain of memory. And it shows the potential for Romania and its local grapes. It’s one to keep in the fridge for when the Christmas carol singers swing by – pour in liberal quantities with snacks. And if you’ve any coronation chicken knocking around, this bargain scented white makes a delightful pairing. Drink 2022-2022 Alc 11.5%

6. Domaine Tariquet, Imprévu, Southwest France 2021 89

£9.50 The Wine Society

A 9.5% wine as a ‘Winter warmer’?

Really? Well, yes. Mainly because it is a 9.5% wine and such a fruity turbo-charged zinger: it’s like switching the headlights on full beam through a citrus frost. There is simply nothing else like it in the whole of France: 66% Riesling with 34% Ugni

Blanc, and the Grassa brothers at

Domaine Tariquet in Gascony deserve high praise for creating something so deftly impressive, as well as being the perfect aperitif to brighten up the dreariest of days. Good value, and slips down all too easily. Drink 2022-2023 Alc 9.5%

7. Domaine d’Arbousset, Arbousset Rosé, Tavel, Rhône, France 2021 90

£12 Tesco

You may not immediately think of winter as the season for rosé, but this blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 20% Cinsault is just the ticket for a bit of spicy refreshment. The bold colour is as seasonal as a holly berry and it’s packed with flavour, rich and tangy as a cranberry-grapefruit fusion with long-lasting, powerful fruit and plenty of character. Tavel in the southern Rhône specialises in dry rosés that will evolve and improve if you have the patience to age them in the bottle. Otherwise, if you’re serving hot sausage rolls this winter, chill this bottle and dish it out alongside them for wine’s answer to tangy relish. Drink 2022-2025 Alc 13.5%

8. Trinity Hill, Homage Syrah, Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2018 96

£98.99-£113 Alexander Hadleigh, Liberty Wines, Seckford Wines, Specialist Cellars, The Wine Reserve A hundred pounds would be a splurge in anyone’s book, but I understand why this wine carries such a hefty price tag, especially as it’s in such short supply – catnip for collectors. Outrageously enticing, this is everything anyone could want from Syrah and proof that New Zealand can rival the world’s best. The aromas of sweet cocoa, cola, white pepper, black pepper, olives, juniper and very deep liquorice are striking. Structured and tense, with gorgeous depth, the focused fruit seems to drive it even further on the length. You can taste a full fanning out of flavours beneath the tannin and they are absolutely mesmeric, evolving in the glass through to a little bit of lavender and rose over the meaty spiciness that lurks throughout. I loved it. Drink 2022-2032 Alc 13%

9. Viñalba, Diane, Mendoza, Argentina 2017 94

£39.99 Majestic

The eye is drawn to a cinematic purple intensity in the glass. Hervé J Fabre’s cuvée Diane delivers the apex of his signature style – silkiness and power with minimal intervention. High-altitude Mendoza vines with low yields of 30hl/ha produce this blend (85% Malbec, 15% Cabernet Franc) of immense fruit-laden presence. A flurry of enticing truffle leads to deep black cherry, spice, dried herbs, black olive and a whisker of liquorice. On the palate, the steady oak impact and sheer density of fruit crammed into the liquid deliver a wonderfully warming duet with an appropriately opulent degree of alcohol. A highly expressive gem. Drink 2022-2028 Alc 15%

10. Vignobles Reboul Salze, Château Belle Coline, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, France 2015 93

£17.75 Haynes Hanson & Clark

Northwest of Pomerol, Belle Coline’s clay-limestone vineyards (planted with more than 90% Merlot and the rest Malbec) harness the magic of the 2015 Bordeaux vintage, delivering a classical red of instant allure. This is just beginning to evolve and is magnificently poised to open and enjoy this winter, with lavish truffle aromas and a beautifully balanced palate, tipping from the realm of fruit into divine savoury richness. It may be heresy, but I enjoyed a glass of this with a grilled cheese sandwich and I warmly recommend the same – if you can smuggle a bit of truffle into your toastie, so much the better. What a treat for under £20. Drink 2022-2024 Alc 13.5%

11. Emiliana, Coyam, Colchagua Valley, Chile 2019 92

£19.95-£26 D Byrne & Co, Hattersley Wines, WoodWinters

This seamless blend of 38% Syrah, 33% Carmenère, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Carignan, 4% Malbec, 4% Garnacha, 3% Tempranillo, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Mourvèdre offers complexity way in excess of its price point. Rich, deep, spicy, brooding, fulsome, layered, sleek, firm – a compelling, savoury, balanced style which works highly successfully. There’s a marked smokiness to the aroma. It’s on the beefy side, but also a candidate for ageing thanks to its structure and vitality. Total winter warmth. Steak and kidney pie for me. Drink 2022-2029 Alc 14%

12. Smith & Sheth, Cru Heretaunga Syrah, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2019 92

£26.99-£30 Cadman, The Whalley Wine Shop,

The Whisky Exchange

Pleasantly restrained Syrah, think black olive meets peppercorn. Nice meatiness, depth; lets the fruit do the talking without slapping special-effects oak all over it. The winter warming effect here is a tale of perfectly ripe grapes that have been judged to the minute for harvest. Right at the edge of a European style but quintessentially New Zealand with compelling richness, there’s generous peppery vim to this Syrah. If you’re a fan of Côte-Rôtie and feel like spreading your wings, land on this – it’s a lovely bottle of wine and priced very fairly for what’s on offer. Drink 2022-2028 Alc 13.5%