A rookie’s guide to top-shelf bottles that get the table talking.
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1. The French fail-safe
Simonnet-Febvre Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons is a très magnifique drop from an esteemed winemaker with just the right amount of eccentricities that make a good travel story. Fresh with just the right amount of pep, it is the ideal bottle to bring when you know oysters are starting the feast, or if your host is ultra keen on a cheeseboard.
Bring it to: Your in-laws who are missing their annual European holiday.
2. The sarcastic Aussie shiraz
Tongue-in-cheek by name, determined by make, Kaesler Bogan Shiraz is the result of a visionary winemaker revolutionalising a century-old vineyard. It’s one for those dinner parties where the conversation far outlasts the food, but in 10 years time. That’s right, it’s one to gift your host and tell them to cellar. Additional extra instructions: to be drunk in a decade, when we’re all together again, older, wiser, and with much better taste.
Bring it to: An anniversary get-together with your oldest, dearest, most smart-alek friends.
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3. The bright purple wine that’s all things nice
Family dinners might be regular, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t special. They’re the most important people in your life, and there’s no one better with whom to drink the good wine. With Oakridge 864 Syrah, the menu doesn’t have to be fancy; in fact, it pairs best with a barbecue. Bright and ripe with red and purple berries and subtle anise, this wine brings sophistication, even if your brother is average on the grill and you’re using paper napkins.
Bring it to: Fancy-up your fortnightly family dinner.
The crowd-pleasing pinot
Sometimes you’re the plus one at a dinner party, the add on, the extra, think Notting Hill: you’re Julia Roberts going in blind to meeting Hugh Grant’s adoring friends, but you’re not a world-famous actress, so how do you make a good impression? Savaterre Pinot Noir, that’s how. It goes with absolutely everything and is the exact style of wine everyone enjoys. So, if you don’t know what’s on the menu, or what the host likes to drink, it doesn’t matter, because this pinot is a fancy failsafe crowd-pleaser.
Bring it to: Dinner with people you’ve never met.
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5. The unexpected showstopper
If you don’t think a white wine can be the highlight of your night, you haven’t tried Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay. The five-star reviews sum it up as perfection because it absolutely is. Full-bodied but elegant, subtly complex, it’s precisely balanced, and will impress even the strongest of red-wine zealots. They’ll be really impressed with your obvious wine knowledge (even if that only really extends to finishing this article).
Bring it to: Anywhere you want to win the dinner party.
