The greeting cards were mailed weeks ago. You've battled grocery lineups and stocked the fridge. Presents are wrapped and the tree is up. The butcher called to say your goose is in. Nice going, holiday elf. You've grabbed the holidays by the ball ornaments.
There's just one more thing. You peek inside the wine cellar, or the broom closet that passes for one, and it's a sorry sight: a dusty prosecco from New Year's 2016, a half-empty bottle of Baileys, some peppermint schnapps and two bottles of Girls' Night Out merlot. (Hey, it's your guilty-pleasure Game of Thrones wine – no judgment.) Conclusion: If you don't burn rubber to the liquor store pronto, your goose will be cooked in more ways than one.
Of course, many of you are in better shape than that, refreshments-wise. But there's no such thing as having too much crowd-pleasing holiday cheer on hand, is there? (Including perhaps a digestif or two to follow the goose.) If you don't get around to opening all the wine you buy this week, it should keep well, if it's of decent quality, till the next festive occasion. Preferably in a cool basement rather than next to the Swiffer in the hall broom closet.
Nicolas Feuillatte Millésime 2008, France
SCORE: 92 PRICE: $56.95
Much more interesting than some of the more expensive, entry-level, big-brand Champagnes that come with no vintage statement. Even at nine years old, this is a relatively fresh, cellar-worthy bubbly, though with the toasty, nutty depth that comes from extended time in bottle. Good autolytic character, showing baked apple, dough and honey-lemon characters. Perfect sweet-tart tension. Available in Ontario.
Trivento Golden Reserve Malbec 2014, Argentina
SCORE: 91 PRICE: $19.95
Chunky and smooth, with dark-berry, plum and cedar notes. And what's this? Satisfyingly chewy tannins and Bordeaux-style minerality? Those qualities are hardly exceedingly common to Argentine malbecs at this price. Solidly structured and well worth the money. Available in Ontario at the above price, $22.49 in British Columbia (on sale for $20.99 until Dec. 30), various prices in Alberta, $26.98 in Saskatchewan, $20.01 in Manitoba, $24.99 in New Brunswick, $24.99 in Nova Scotia (on sale for $22.99).
Peter Lehmann The Barossan 2015, Australia
SCORE: 91 PRICE: $21.95
They don't get much smoother. An edible, dense, crowd-friendly, mocha bomb of a Barossa Valley red. If the price is in your party-wine snack bracket, let the party begin. Just ask the die-hard European wine aficionados to check their snobbery at the door. Available in Ontario at the above price, $21.99 in British Columbia (on sale for $19.99 until Dec. 30), various prices in Alberta.
Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha 2015, Spain
SCORE: 90 PRICE: $19.95
Full and round, almost sweet. Imagine cherries and herbs sitting on dry topsoil, with a note of smoked meat blowing in the breeze. Available at the above price in Ontario, $24.49 in British Columbia (on sale for $22.49 until Dec. 30), various prices in Alberta, $20 in Quebec, $28.50 in Nova Scotia.
Enterizo Brut Nature Cava, Spain
SCORE: 89 PRICE: $14.95
Bone-dry and serious bubbly for the money. Lovely thyme-like herbal quality along with apple and lemon pastry. A properly chalky, zero-dosage sparkling wine with formidable but integrated acidity. Available in Ontario.
Le Contesse Brut Prosecco, Italy
SCORE: 89 PRICE: $17.95
Seductively creamy. Dry but with a note of sweetness to underscore the pear-apple fruit, finishing lemon-zest bright. Harmonious, well-made, chic Italian froth. Available in Ontario at the above price, various prices in Alberta.
Silk & Spice Red Blend 2016, Portugal
SCORE: 89 PRICE: $12.95
This is what in Portuguese is known as um roubo. Or in English: a steal. A red blend of touriga nacional, syrah, baga and alicante bouschet, it's full, round and smooth. Ripe and rich with blackberry jam, baking spices, creamy dark chocolate, vanilla and damp forest underbrush. Because the grapes were sourced from three regions – Dao, Bairrada and Lisbon – it must bear the lowly "country wine" designation rather than boasting a more specific, hoity-toity appellation. That's a win for you and me; quality without the higher cost. On sale in Ontario for the crazy price of $10.95 until Dec. 31.
Famille Perrin Côte du Rhône Réserve 2015, France
SCORE: 88 PRICE: $16.95
Good concentration and polished texture for a well-priced red exhibiting textbook southern Rhône flavours at a great price. A classic grenache-syrah-mourvèdre blend, it shows a supple, cherry-like centre joined by a thyme-licorice herbal essence and whispers of cracked pepper and smoked meat. Superior value and a fine candidate for your next premium house red (and not just because of the convenient screw cap). Available in Ontario at the above price, $16.99 in British Columbia, various prices in Alberta, $18.99 in Saskatchewan, $15.45 in Quebec, $17.29 in Prince Edward Island, $16.99 in Nova Scotia, $19.29 in Newfoundland.
Glen Grant 18 Year Old Rare Edition, Scotland
SCORE: 94 PRICE: $189.95
This was named 2017 Scotch Whisky of the Year by the esteemed Jim Murray, author of the annual, gift-worthy Whisky Bible handbook. It was an inspired choice by Murray because this is no shout-out-loud spirit; it's more of an elegant whisperer, like many of Glen Grant's far more expensive and coveted vintage-dated spirits. Even the relatively pale colour, for a liquid that spent 18 years in contact with oak, telegraphs class over sass. Round, juicy and remarkably fresh for its advanced age, it's a harmonious Speyside single malt, bottled at 43-per-cent alcohol, with a gently oily but light texture, primary flavours of caramel and vanilla and uplifting aromatics that suggest honeycomb, roasted nuts, citrus, stone fruits and meadow flowers on toasted cereal. Available at the above price in Ontario, various prices in Alberta.
The Dalmore Aged 12 Years, Scotland
SCORE: 92 PRICE: $99.95
Okay, it has the crest of a 12-pointed stag stickered to the bottle. At this time of year, though, you're welcome to think of those antlers as belonging to a festive reindeer (to heck with unromantic zoology). What a rich and holiday-friendly Highland dram this is, too. A chewy-thick, buttery texture carries essences of orange, vanilla, toasted nuts and grains on a scorched plank of oak. On sale in Ontario at $89.95 (a $10 discount off the above price) until Dec. 31, $94.99 in British Columbia (on sale for $79.99 until Dec. 30), various prices in Alberta, $104.99 in Manitoba, $85 in Quebec, $104.99 in New Brunswick, $99.99 in Nova Scotia.
Marolo Milla Liquore Grappa and Chamomile, Italy
SCORE: 92 PRICE: $69.95
Digestif, anyone? Or, rather, that should be digestivo, as the Italians would have it. This intriguingly chartreuse-green liqueur is made by infusing grappa – specifically distilled from Piedmontese nebbiolo grape pomace – with chamomile blossoms. There's considerable sweetness here, too, but the balance is spot-on. Think of peach-apricot syrup mixed with chamomile tea and punched up with the heady spice and bite of 35-per-cent alcohol. Available in Ontario at the above price, various prices in Alberta.
J.P. Wiser's 15 Years Old, Canada
SCORE: 92 PRICE: $49.95
Creamy-rich yet spicy-dry – what a fine balance. This is serious Canadian whisky, as the heavy, cubic, decanter-style bottle might suggest. If one could distill vanilla ice cream into a more concentrated form, then add toffee, green apples, nut butter and cloves, it might taste like this. And by "vanilla," we're not talking vanilla-flavoured (and sugar-sweetened) "spiced" whisky designed for cola-mixing by people too busy dancing to Chance the Rapper music in nightclubs to read wine-and-spirits columns. Available in Ontario at the above price, $41.99 in British Columbia (not including taxes, of course), various prices in Alberta.
Evan Williams Original Southern Egg Nog, United States
SCORE: 89 PRICE: $14.95
I've made eggnog from scratch using fancy recipes. It's arduous and expensive and the return on investment is pitiful – unless you're an eggnog nut. Try this product, seriously. It's made from actual cream and actual Evans Williams Kentucky bourbon and gets the balance right, with 15-per-cent alcohol. Vanilla ice cream with nutmeg and a crème brûlée, caramelized note. Don't forget to shake well. Available in Ontario at the above price, $19.99 in British Columbia, various prices in Alberta, $24.99 in New Brunswick.