There’s an argument that Christmas Day dinner is no time to bring out the big guns. Some wines deserve quiet contemplation or at least a setting in which they can shine.
Years or even centuries have gone into crafting firstly the vineyards and vines themselves, and then the winemaking expertise to transmute those grapes into a substance of great beauty. Is it fair to have the resulting wine shouted over literally and metaphorically as crackers are pulled, family politics play out and big ballsy flavours are layered on one another? This, however, is 2020, and we’ve enough rules to be following.