I tried 22 supermarket mulled wines and this ‘weird’ flavour was the best

There’s nothing quite like a steaming glass of mulled wine clasped between your palms at Christmas time.

Whipping up the perfect vat of mulled wine🧸 is an art, and the key is in the balance of flavours — you don’t want it to be too spicy, too clovey, or too sweet, but you also don’t want it to be lacking in these things either.

Incidentally, when you’re serving a mulled wine, you need to heat it gently in a saucepan as boiling will stew the flavours and burn off the alcohol, and who wants that?

To avoid this stress, you could always let the supermarket𓂃 do the mulling for you, as they already do it rather well. I will warn you though, there’s an obscenely large selection available, with some weird and wonderful flavours available.

From cranberry and clementine, to gingerbread, caramel biscuit, and even spiced white chocolate, it can be hard to work out which to buy.

Luckily, I’ve tried 22 different ones so you don’t have to and I’m officially declaring 2024 as the Christmas of white mulled wine, thanks to M&S.

🃏This is possibly because it was one of the last bottles I tasted and it gave me that kick of freshness I was clearly gasping for after multiple mouthfuls of rich, warm, sweet, spicy reds. White wine already has those appley, pear-like notes that position it, flavour-wise, between a mulled wine and a cider.

♔Here’s a look at my top 10 best bottles of mulled wine for Christmas 2024. Scroll to the end to discover those to avoid…

Cranberry and Clementine Mulled Wine, £3.79, Aldi

Score: 8.4/10

🔯Very good, with both headlining flavours coming through, though not overpoweringly. Not overly sweet with layers of warming spice.

Shop Cuvée Mulled Wine, £16.99, shopcuvee.com

Score: 8.5/10

༒Although the spice is so pronounced it’s almost potpourri-like on the nose, the complex notes of sandalwood, pepper and citrus fruit on the palate more than make up for it. A very good, grown-up mulled wine.

Gluhwein Felix Solis, £6.25, Tesco

Score: 8.5/10

𓆉The Tesco website says, ‘Spanish wine blended with festive dove’, by which I hope they mean clove. This one has a velvety texture which, again, I hope has nothing to do with birds. There’s also a balanced sweetness and subtle spices.

Mull it Over 1.5L, £5.50, Sainsbury’s

Score: 8.6/10

🍃Subtle spice notes on the nose, though a good balance of sugar on the palate (one of the least sweet of the group). Lovely notes of dried cranberry, very good.

Winter Warmer Mulled Wine 5%, £4, Morrisons

Score: 8.7/10

🥃Juicy fruit character and a good balance of spice. A very good option for those watching their booze intake.

Winter Warmer Gingerbread Mulled 5%, £3.99, Morrisons

Score: 8.8/10

🌸Pleasant flavours of scorched gingerbread, toasty, plummy, fruity and jammy.

Warming Spiced Mulled Wine, £4, Co-op

Score: 8.9/10

🎉Mellow spices along with notes of orange and cranberry on the palate.

Christmas Pudding Mulled Wine, £3 (save £1), Morrisons

Score: 9/10

♎Beautiful nose of spiced mincemeat, with a palate of dried citrus fruits, raisins, plums with a measured sweetness level.

Caramel Biscuit Mulled Wine, £3.79, Aldi

Score: 9.4/10

꧒Toffee notes on the nose, very buttery on the palate with subtly spices and not overly sweet.

M&S White Mulled Wine, £6.50, Ocado

Score: 9.4/10

𝓀Expressive pear and blossom notes on the nose with a delicate palate of elderflower, lemon and vanilla. Very, very good.

While I was a big fan, Metro’s specialist food writer, Courtney, wasn’t quite as keen on the drink. She gave it a rather scathing review 🃏when trying out the retailer’s Christmas range. Clearly, this drink is going to be a divisive one. Will you be trying it?

📖Which mulled wine will you be sipping this festive season?Comment Now

A few other mulled drinks that didn’t quite make it into my top 10, but definitely deserve an honourable mention, include the Deluxe Non-Alcoholic Mulled Punch from Lidl🦋 (£1.89), which features a decent amount of fruit blended with warming spices.

For the mead fans, Lime Bay Spiced Mead ♔(£12.79) from Lymebaywinery.co.uk is an ‘uber-sweet’ option, flavoured with spiced honey and vanilla.

And while not technically a mulled wine, the Extra Special White Chocolate Flavour Cream Liqueuer from Asda♛ (£8) has some of the mulled flavours, with notes of nutmeg and clove. Dare I say, this is better than Baileys…

🐽Then there are the ones at the bottom of the scale that I’d avoid buying again at Christmas.

Mulled Amaretto, £6, Morrisons

Score: 3.5/10

ꩵI wanted to like this (as it’s a UK first) but there were too many bittersweet, artificial cherry flavours to unpack. Not good, sadly.

Gingerbread Mulled Wine, £3.99, Aldi

Score: 5.6/10

🉐Fairly confected in flavour with some artificial-tasting ginger notes coming through

Baywood Mulled Wine 5%, £2.39, Lidl

Score: 5.8/10

ꦇLightweight consistency, good spice-to-sugar balance though just not quite rich enough to be satisfying.

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