4 Very Giftable Bottles to Wrap Up This Christmas

Bottles of spirits and wine are simultaneously the easiest and hardest gift in the world. They’re easy because everyone likes getting a bottle, but if you want to rise above the level of “that’s so nice,” well, that’s where the hard work comes in. You need an angle: Are you forecasting the next big thing? Finding a niche that few have noticed? Or are you perhaps willing to choose a mountain and go straight to the top? Here are four bottles that shine greatly in a sea of goodness.

1. Torabhaig Allt Gleann, $125

There’s been a raft of new distilleries to open in Scotland in the last decade and most are high on branding, middling on whisky. But Torabhaig, the first new distillery to open on the Isle of Skye in 194 years, has produced one of the finest young malts (there’s no age statement, but it’s well under eight) I can recall trying. It’s a lovely melange—a little smoke, a little salt, some fresh berries—that seems wise and tasty beyond its years.

There’s been a raft of new distilleries to open in Scotland in the last decade and most are high on branding, middling on whisky. But Torabhaig, the first new distillery to open on the Isle of Skye in 194 years, has produced one of the finest young malts (there’s no age statement, but it’s well under eight) I can recall trying. It’s a lovely melange—a little smoke, a little salt, some fresh berries—that seems wise and tasty beyond its years.

2. Villa Bucci Verdicchio Classico Riserva, $130

If you want to buy the white Burgundy at the BCL, prepare to shell out $1,965 for a bottle of Montrachet. But the finest verdicchio—perhaps the most iconic of the Italian whites—is a relative steal at $130. Expect the juxtaposition of Granny Smith crunch and a sea salt dusting with softening marzipan richness and a lingering light floral finish. And if your giftee isn’t thirsty now, this bottle will happily age for the next decade and a half.

3. Culmina Le Chant du Cygne, $100

It’s tough to beat giving the very last of something, and this bottle represents blue-chip winemaker Culmina’s last foray with syrah (a grape that works wonderfully in B.C.’s climate but is very prone to frost damage). They’re going out with a bang: clove and pepper spice working with brooding dark fruit and some significant structure holding it all together and making it an excellent candidate for the cellar.

4. Amulet White 2022, $32

Sometimes the trick is to find a jewel hiding in plain sight. Dwight Sick’s Rhône- inspired Amulet wines are some of the best handcrafted gems in the Okanagan, but because they are such low-production, they can be readily found only by those who know. The white is the most restrained viognier in the Valley, allowing some of the floral notes to thrive without getting bogged down in any cloying sweetness. Full bodied and ageable.