Dominik Mueller

For this year’s Christmas, I picked four wines to pair with a down to earth broth fondue. For aperitif, we started with a champagne by Henri Giraud. From there we went to Burgundy, then Bordeaux, and ended up at the Saar in Germany. Originally, I’d chosen a 1996 Sauternes to wrap things up but we decided to keep that bottle for another time. 2026 Christmas, perhaps?

NV Henri Giraud Esprit Nature
Deep lemon yellow colour, fine bubbles. The bouquet is inviting with fresh apples, lemon and well-balanced notes of bread and yeast. In the mouth, the mousse is elegant and the overall mouthfeel is fresh. Slight creaminess. Very good aperitif style champagne.

2019 Mark Haisma Chassagne-Montrachet
Pale lemon yellow. Open, medium-intensity bouquet of ripe yellow fruit: Lemon and apricot, with a herbal touch. There are also notes of butter and nuts. Finally, there’s a slight hint of smoke, but it’s very elegant. The taste and finish are of medium intensity, as well. Acidity is medium to high, very fresh and a good fit with the warmer fruit notes of the vintage. Still a very good village wine with structure and cellaring potential for some more years.

2013 Château Citran
From a perfect bottle with good, clean cork. Medium ruby red with no apparent age notes whatsoever. On the nose, plenty of primary aromas of dark and red berries, blackcurrant, black cherry, red plum. There are also aromas of vanilla and cedarwood. Leather, too, hinting at the time spent in bottle and giving the wine some complexity. In the mouth, alcohol is medium, as are the tannins at this point. Acidity is still high, however, which should provide enough structure for more development in future. The finish is dry and medium in length. Really good Bordeaux red wine with a rather balanced mix of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which is a little more pronounced in this vintage. Still younger than expected, this Citran should easily keep for another five to ten years, depending on cellar conditions.

2021 Felix Weber Wiltinger Braunfels Volz Senior Kabinett lieblich
Pale lemon yellow. Clean bouquet, medium intensity. Mandarins, lemon, peach, green apples, sweet grapes. Very fruity and open in style. On the palate, acidity is high to keep the sweetness in balance. Lean body on low alcohol. Long finish with lasting yellow fruits. Animating and savoury, this classic Riesling style is good both as aperitif and as digestif.