Wine critic recommends five bottles with flavour, flair and value for holiday season

As the holiday season approaches, a wine critic has recommended five bottles that offer flavour and flair while providing good value for their price.

The Aveleda Solos de Xisto from Portugal and Blue Mountain Estate Cuvée Pinot Blanc from Canada stand out as exceptional values considering their impressive quality versus price ratios.

Since these wines aren't readily available at liquor stores, it's worth picking up multiple bottles when you find or order them.

READ MORE: Sangiovese grape key to Cecchi family's Italian wine success

READ MORE: Four Canadian wines recommended for fall celebrations

"I'd also recommend buying a couple bottles of the red wines featured this week," the critic said. "These are exceptional wines with the potential to develop beautifully with age, so setting a bottle aside, even just until later this year, will give you another chance to enjoy its profound flavour."

The Aveleda Solos de Xisto 2024 is made from alvarinho grapes grown on schist soils in northern Portugal, resulting in a wine with fresher, more stony and citrus flavours compared to wines from granite soils. As it opens, it reveals white pepper and nutty notes. It has 12 percent alcohol by volume and 2 grams of residual sugar per litre. It costs $24.95 in Ontario and $25.15 in Quebec for the 2023 vintage.

The Blue Mountain Estate Cuvée Pinot Blanc 2025 is made from 40-year-old vines at the Mavety family estate winery in Okanagan Falls. Fermented in a mix of stainless steel tanks and oak barrels and aged on lees for five months, it is a fuller-bodied white with a layered profile suggesting floral, pear and apricot notes. It has 13.5 percent ABV and 0.9 g/litre residual sugar. It costs $25 directly from the winery.

Castello di Ama Montebuoni Riserva Chianti Classico 2022 from Italy is a blend of sangiovese with 5 percent merlot, producing a polished and ripe red with dark fruit and spice notes, supple style, soft tannins and vibrant acidity. It has 14 percent ABV and 3 g/litre residual sugar. It costs $59.95 in Ontario.

Château L’Hospitalet Grand Vin La Clape Rouge 2023 from France is a biodynamically farmed blend of syrah, grenache and mourvèdre from a sun-soaked spot in Narbonne. It offers intense berry, cherry and roasted red pepper flavours with spice and floral accents. It has 15.5 percent ABV and 3 g/litre residual sugar. It costs $45.95 in Ontario.

Martin’s Lane The Oregon Project Hyland Vineyard Riesling 2024 was made with riesling grapes from Oregon's Hyland Vineyard after Okanagan crops were lost to frost in January 2024. It includes 40 percent botrytis-affected fruit, contributing pronounced ginger spice and honey notes and a mix of dried and fresh citrus and apricot flavours.

Winemaker Shane Munn explained the approach. "We embraced the botrytis, something we never see in the Okanagan," Munn said.

The wine has 14 percent ABV and 6.5 g/litre residual sugar. It costs $65 directly from the winery. Martin’s Lane was one of 90 wineries in B.C. that produced replacement wines to maintain inventory while waiting for their vineyards to recover.

With files from The Globe and Mail