Family, Friends & Favourites For Festivities

[November 13th, 2025]

"Don’t mess with Christmas!" That’s the Tony Laithwaite rallying cry you’ll hear in the tasting rooms of Laithwaites HQ at the moment,” say Wine Director Liz Smith.

“We take our responsibility of delivering customers’ Christmas wines very seriously. This is the big show after all - and people want something guaranteed to delight them and their guests, that delivers a sense of indulgence and all while wallets are feeling the pinch more than ever. That’s why we’re making sure our Christmas wine selection once again overdelivers on character and flavour for the price. Thankfully we have close relationships with some amazing producers around the world and a pro team of buyers with really strong relationships in their regions.    

The wine we're most excited about? It has to be the Brûlée Buttery Chardonnay 2025 - as the name suggests it’s unashamedly creamy and delicious. Try it and let us know what you think."

Fabulous Festive Fizz

Wyfold Vineyard English Sparkling Brut 2018 - RRP £38

Barbara Laithwaite CBE’s English fizz from her two-hectare Oxfordshire estate which she set up in 2003.  Six years’ maturity for this blend of 56% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir and 11% Pinot Meunier.  Winemaking is at her son Henry’s Marlow winery - a real family affair.     

Roche Lacour Crémant de Limoux 2022 - RRP £15.99

This is the new vintage of Laithwaites’ “best-loved vintage fizz of all time”!  Made by Laurent Mingaud in the South of France, this release is in a lighter, more sustainable bottle.  A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with 50% fermented in oak to give this French fizz its signature depth and toasty complexity.   

Château de l’Aulée Crémant de Loire NV - RRP £17.99 

Moving north, this is a Chenin Blanc sparkler made by Marielle Henron who was once on the winemaking teams at Bollinger and Pommery!  Now she is behind another Laithwaites long-term favourite which is aged on its lees for 24 months.  A wine with a nutty complexity helped by a dosage from older vintage, oak-matured wine.    

Wintry Wonderland Whites

NEW Brûlée Buttery Chardonnay 2025 - RRP £13.99 

A stonking new addition to the Laithwaites range is this big, buttery and - as they say - “unashamedly rich” Chardonnay made by Journeys End in South Africa.  Buyer Becca Reeves describes it as “luscious and butterscotchy, like a crème brûlée in your glass but with a lightning bolt of freshness on every sip”.  Deliciously drinkable this Christmas… and probably spring and summer, too.     

Kalkstein Organic Riesling Pfalz 2024 - RRP £15.99 

A Laithwaites label from one of Germany’s top producers, Weingut Gabel, and named in honour of the Kalkstein (limestone) soils in the Pfalz, home to the Riesling vines for this wine.  Fermentation is in traditional wooden casks to give extra depth and texture to this crisp, dry white with a refreshing mineral edge.   

Passionada Alvarinho 2024, Vinho Verde - RRP £13.99 

From Northern Portugal with Christmas love!  This zippy white is made by Anselmo Mendes from vineyards just across the border from Spain’s Albariño heartland, Rias Baixas.  Fermentation and ageing is in stainless steel tanks on the fine lees with regular battonage.  With its lemony freshness and stony zip, this has to be your go-to for seasonal seafood... in the snow?  [Sorry!]   

Royal Tokaji Dry Furmint Special Reserve 2023 - RRP 13.99 

If you want to show off just a little bit this Christmas, then this wine is the way to do it.  It hails from one of Europe’s most historic vineyards from Hungary’s shining star, the white Furmint grape.  Aged in new oak it’s aromatic and rich, with mineral notes and spicy stone fruit - completely worthy of a place at the festive table.   

Ravishing Reds

Les Armes des Princes 2024 - RRP £ sold out 

From a 100-year-old Rhône winery, Cellier des Princes, this is the stuff that Christmas red wine dreams are made of.  A dark, richly spiced blend of Grenache and Syrah with a soupçon of Caladoc and Carignan grapes grown in Orange, right next door to Chateauneuf-du-Pape - a red to impress in looks and taste.   

Baron de Barbon Oak Aged Rioja 2022 - RRP £12.99 

This wine has been Laithwaites’ best-selling Roja for over two decades and for good reason - it’s silky smooth at a brilliant price!  Made by family friend Javier Murúa in Rioja Alavesa from 100% Tempranillo, this is a perfect wine for the turkey but will also be totally delicious purely on its own.   

Redheads Wilson Gunn Bellum Cabernet Shiraz 2023 - RRP £18.99 

A blend of Coonawarra Cabernet and Barossa Shiraz by the team at Redheads.  The story goes that Tom Laithwaite and team had legitimately snaffled this parcel from, well, let’s just say ‘someone else’ many years ago and are now allotted it every year!  Good thing too as this has made a powerful, well-balanced red with dense, ripe fruit and lots of flavour.   

Fun family fact: this wine was first made by Henry Laithwaite during his Aussie stint nearly 20 years ago and before he went full time in Marlow!   

Something(s) A Bit Different!   

Britpop Elderflower Spritz by Alex James NV 

Cheesemaker, Blur bassist, festival organiser, English fizz producer…  and Elderflower Spritz maker!  Alex James doesn’t sit still and this hand-foraged 6% ABV sparkler is refreshingly delicious during days of, shall we say, indulgence.  Elderflower heads are picked in Wales, and Champagne yeast is used for the secondary fermentation - totally dry, totally drinkable.   

Cimaio 2017, Marche IGT - RRP £15.99 (50cl) 

A late harvest, botrytised Verdicchio from the beautiful hills of Italy’s Marche.  Honeyed, candied fruit and actually only medium sweet - the rest is all fresh lusciousness.   

Baronesa de Vilar White Port NV RRP - £12.99 

If you enjoyed the rosé Port & Tonica of the summer, now’s the time to go white!  Serve straight to take advantage of the sweet toffee, candied orange notes with a lemon lift from the Van Zellers - or make your own festive spritz.

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Note to Editors – About Laithwaites Wine

Laithwaites Wine was founded in 1969, when Tony Laithwaite drove a van of Bordeaux wine to England to share with family and friends.  Laithwaites has since grown to become one of the UK’s largest wine merchants, yet remains family-owned and still gives pride of place to smaller producers. 

The Laithwaites wine team tastes over 40,000 wines a year before selecting the best buys for customers. Laithwaites offers 1,800 wines from 26 countries, ranging in price from £4.99 up to £1,200 a bottle and all covered by a 100% guarantee of enjoyment.  

They also offer an extensive gifts range, complimentary Wine Advisor service, and host a range of events.  Laithwaites Wine is the only UK wine merchant to win the Service Mark accreditation from the Institute of Customer Service and has twice been awarded Online Retailer of the Year. 

Laithwaites is delighted to be one of ten leading retailers which have signed up to the 'SWR Bottle Weight Accord'.  Founded in 2021, the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) is the only global independent multistakeholder roundtable in wine.  Jancis Robinson is a founding member and with now more than 100 members from around the world, the SWR has become the centre for collaborative action across the wine supply chain.