A winter's tale

This year is different. Come December 25 I will be - literally - on the other side of the world with not a turkey or a snowflake in sight.

For that reason I am selfishly ignoring the standard practice of writing about wines I think you ought to be drinking over the festivities. Instead, I am looking back at a thrilling 2007 and picking out some of my top wine experiences.

In January I was in France's Languedoc region. The areas success at putting French wines back firmly on the wine-drinking map is well documented and my annual visits are as rewarding as they are fun.

This year I was bowled over by the magnificent wines of Les Clos Perdus. The estate is run by Englishman, Hugo Stewart, and Australian, Paul Old. For me, it is the quartet of red Corbières that make this outfit so exciting. Each is a rich, textured expression of the local wine-growing area. UK connections mean you can buy the wines direct from the estate at www.lesclosperdus.com The smart-thinkers at Clos Perdus have put together a great selection of pre-selected cases and I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

Come February it was an opportunity for Spain's sparkling Cavas to strut their stuff. A woefully disorganised tasting at the Vintner's Hall in London left many of us wine-writers irritable and itching to leave. I'm glad though that I stuck it out. Had I not, I would not have discovered the quite exceptional Lar de Barros Brut Lar de Plata (www.lardebarros.com). It is elegant; rich in flavour and with a fine but persistent mousse.

In March, I headed to VinItaly, which is by far the biggest wine fair I have ever been to in my entire life. It was four days of the year's most intense wine (and espresso) drinking. Happily I got to do some of it in the company of Oxfordshire's very own Master of Wine, Michael Palij. His Witney-based company, Wine Traders, remains one of the UK's leading Italian wine specialists and I can vouch for nearly every wine on the list. My faith in the wines of Mascarello is unwavering and the tasting of their wines at the fair was one of the highlights of 2007. You can contact Wine Traders at sales@winetraders.org.uk or call 01993 848777 I fell in love in April. Strangely for someone who is such an ardent fan of the independents, my spring affair was with the Co-op. Their wine tastings are fantastic; the people are delightful and the wines are pretty impressive too. I've always liked the French red, La Cuvée Mythique which is reduced from £6.99 to £4.66 for the Christmas period.

The UK's largest wine event of the year comes in May and hosts an impressive 1,200 exhibitors. I didn't come close to tasting them all, but having stumbled across the Austrian wines from Tegernseerhof I felt that I'd pretty much arrived at the top of the wine-tasting tree. All the wines were exemplary but if you're on the look out for a sublimely classy white do not miss the Kellerberg Riesling 2004 (£14.95) from The Wine Keller www.thewinekeller.co.uk My abiding memory of June was sitting in the most uncomfortable seats in the world at the Artois Tennis Championships in London. Happily I'd come direct from the Chianti Classico tasting and was feeling a little more amenable to the rock hard seating than I might otherwise have been. All afternoon I could still taste the utterly delicious Castello di Ama Chianti Classico 2004 (£19.95) which was a master class in balance and elegance. Available from John Armit Wine www.armit.co.uk or 020 7908 0600.

I was travelling again in July and this time to the very beautiful region of Alsace. I've had colleagues say to me that come the end of a trip to this part of France you can't wait to get stuck into a glass of hearty red. I disagree. Long live these stunning whites. I could have spent the best part of another week indulging in their racy rieslings, refreshing pinot blancs and gutsy gewürtztraminers.

We didn't live on white fish alone and, even when faced with a dinner of goose and lamb, we still had no trouble finding a wine to suit.

The wine trade comes to a crashing halt in August. Everyone is on holiday and the tastings, quite literally, dry up. Still, there is always something to brighten up the dullest day.

I laughed when I was told that the winner of a free wine tasting I donated to a local charity had been won by a teetotaler. Not surprisingly, they have not yet come forward to collect their prize!

A flamboyant Argentinian kick-started September in wonderful style and I have been raving about the delights of the country's wines ever since. Quite coincidentally I found myself tucking into a bottle of one of my favourites just last night.

Jean Bousquet is a French winemaker who travelled 1,200 metres up into the Andes to find his ideal vine-growing spot, and the journey was certainly worth it.

His red Malbec is just wonderful. Rich, soft damson and blueberry fruits dominate the palate which is as smooth as silk. It's available from Vintage Roots www.vintageroots.co.uk at just £6.95.

Wines from Spain hosted a wonderful trip to the wine-making regions of Jumilla, Yecla and Alicnate in October, and it was a real eye-opener. The wines we are currently seeing in the UK from these parts tend to be of the high-volume, lower-cost ilk. Not that there's anything wrong with that, except that it can lead us to forget that wine-making geniuses don't just live in Bordeaux and Burgundy. Jumilla, I'm happy to report has its very own wine-making superstar.

Casa Castillo is a family owned domaine in the heart of Jumilla and here you get a sense of the quality that can be procured from local grape, monastrell. The wines were all vibrant, expressive and deliciously different. The wines are not made in vast volumes but I am happy to report that C&D Wines - primarily a supplier to the trade - can be persuaded to sell you a few bottles. Call them on 020 8778 1711.

The 2005 Bordeaux vintage was on show at the Union des Grand Crus tasting in November, and I had a wonderful time. Whatever gripes we have about Bordeaux let it not be disputed that they can produce sublime wines - both white and red.

I adored Château Bouscaut's white, which was invigorating, expressive in flavour and perfectly balanced. You can buy it online at www.frw.co.uk where you can secure six bottles for £85. That should see you through Christmas Day lunch!

When it comes to the reds, there were several lovely wines but two stood head and shoulders above all the others.

Both Château Lynch-Bages and Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande have produced delicious wines. Both are wonderful to drink today but they will certainly reward longer-term cellaring. If I had to choose between the two, I would have to go with the Pichon Comtesse. It was - to all intents and purposes - perfect. To secure either I need to direct you to Berry Brothers & Rudd (www.bbr.com) who are still selling both en-primeur.

All in all, it hasn't been too bad a year! Can't wait to see what 2008 has in store.