I've written before about the bizarre nature of Ireland's continuing obsession with Christmas claret. Even though it's now a well established fact that red Bordeaux does turkey no favours. Even though the price of most top-notch red Bordeaux is ridiculously high. Even though it's harder to pick a winner for a wine-besotted friend than it is to pick your way through the maelstrom of Grafton Street on Christmas Eve. This year I give up. A few weeks ago, Sylvie Cazes was in Dublin to remind us (in her perfect English, learnt in Cork) of our historic links with Chateau Lynch-Bages. A few wine shop enquiries soon confirmed that this is still Ireland's favourite Bordeaux classed growth by a mile, and even I - wary of the blinkered Lynch-Bages one upmanship of a certain type of Irish drinker - was forced to admit that the 1995 and 1996 tasted with Ms Cazes were pretty damned good. The 1995 is already round and opulent; the 1996 (my favourite) dense and powerful with astonishing length. If you've £70 or so to spend, look quickly and you'll find these Lynch-Bages beauties in leading wine shops around the country. If not, here are nine much humbler alternatives which should still go down a treat. Many are available in a scattering of good wine shops as well as the outlet listed:
Chateau de Pez, Saint-Estephe, 1995 (Searsons, £23.95);
Chateau Poujeaux, Moulis, 1996 (Oddbins, £21.49);
Chateau Landat, HautMedoc, 1995 (Kellys Wine Vault Clontarf, £15.95);
Chateau de la Cour, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, 1996 (Mitchells Kildare St & Glasthule, £15.50);
Chateau Verdignan, HautMedoc, 1996 (Superquinn, £15.46);
Chateau Tour du Haut Moulin, HautMedoc, 1996 (Wines Direct, £13.50; minimum order six bottles which may be mixed);
Chateau Beaumont, HautMedoc, 1996 (O'Briens Fine Wines, £10.95);
Chateau Patache d'Aux, Medoc, 1996 (Tesco, £10.49);
Chateau Respide, Graves, 1995 (Berry Bros, Harry St, £9.75).