Home Life Style Drink like the A-list from just £5.29 a bottle! How to emulate the wine tastes of the Beckhams, Ed Sheeran and Michael Douglas with reasonably-priced versions of their favourite bottles

Drink like the A-list from just £5.29 a bottle! How to emulate the wine tastes of the Beckhams, Ed Sheeran and Michael Douglas with reasonably-priced versions of their favourite bottles

by Merry
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A good bottle of wine with dinner is one of life's pleasures, but in the Beckham household, just any old drink won't do.

A good bottle of wine with dinner is one of life’s pleasures, but in the Beckham household, just any old drink won’t do.

Images on Instagram showed David Beckham in his kitchen, with a bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000 perched precariously to one side. The cost of the famous First Growth Claret? It currently costs £2,400, and that’s just one bottle.

The Beckhams’ penchant for elegant wine is nothing new. A few years ago, when they celebrated their wedding anniversary in Paris, they opted for Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1990, valued at around £1,500.

And it looks like eldest son Brooklyn has inherited his parents’ love of good wine, and recently shared pictures of his own wine cellar.

A quick scan of the wine rack revealed four bottles in particular, including Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2003, Chateau Latour 1989 and two bottles of Chateau Petrus, one from 2015 and the other from 1979 with a combined value of over £8,000.

A good bottle of wine with dinner is one of life’s pleasures, but in the Beckham household, just any old drink won’t do.

The Beckhams aren’t the only ones who like a little bit of the good stuff – showing off their premium drinks on social media is now a celebrity trend.

The question is: can those of us who don’t have top-tier budgets still try what we have?

Not entirely, but it is possible to find wines similar in style, made from the same grape varieties, and produced in similar places that give you an idea of ​​what you’re missing, which we’ve rated here: celebrity tribute acts. stars, so to speak…

EXPENSIVE: Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000, £2,400

EXPENSIVE: Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000, £2,400

BECKS FINE CLARET: 5/10

celebrity sip: Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2000, £2,400

Tribute Act: Pierre Jaurant Bordeaux £5.29, Aldi

David Beckham obviously loves his claret and this one called First Growth is one of the best and most expensive in the world. Each vintage features a different label commissioned by a famous artist, but in 2000 the owners broke with tradition and instead presented an engraving of a ram (the Augsburg ram from the castle’s own Museum of Wine in Art).

The affordable alternative comes from the same region and is made with similar grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Expect dark fruit flavors but no mutton.

ED’S ELEGANT CASTLE: 9/10

celebrity sip: Palmer Castle 1983, £500

CHEAP: Tesco Finest Margaux 2018, £24

CHEAP: Tesco Finest Margaux 2018, £24

Tribute Act: Tesco Finest Margaux 2018, £24

Ed Sheeran has been bringing out the big guns when it comes to wine lately. He shared an image of himself holding a half-empty bottle of Chateau Palmer 1983 while enjoying some downtime on his current Mathematics tour.

Like Becks, Sheeran is clearly a fan of claret and this one, from Margaux on the Left Bank of Bordeaux, is a classic. Rich and powerful, it’s not easy to match on a budget, but the Tesco Finest version lets it compete for its considerable money.

Made by the prestigious Chateau Boyd-Cantenac and classified as Third Growth by the official Bordeaux wine naming system, this is a blend similar to the Palmer. A relative bargain for the price.

EXPENSIVE: Penfolds Grange 2018, £500

EXPENSIVE: Penfolds Grange 2018, £500

HUGH’S AUSSIE ICON: 8/10

celebrity sip: Penfolds Grange 2018, £500

Tribute Act: Penfolds Bin 389 2021, £60, Ocado

Hugh Jackman once cited Penfolds Grange, an iconic South Australian wine, as one of his favourites. Created by one of the godfathers of Australian winemaking, Max Schubert, in 1951, the multi-vineyard blend is known for its potency and longevity.

Penfolds Bin 389, made by the same producer, is known as ‘baby Grange’ as some of the wine is aged in the same barrels the year before the wine destined for the Grange is aged in them.

It’s still not cheap, but it’s a price cut compared to the real thing.

PETRUS OF BROOKLYN: 7/10

celebrity sip: Petrus Castle 2020, £5,000

Tribute Act: Spirit of Puisseguin 2020, £13.99, Waitrose

Brooklyn may love a bottle of Petrus from its state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled wine cellar, but if you can’t enjoy this Right Bank Bordeaux from Pomerol, try another Merlot-based blend from a neighboring region in the same side of the river.

This bold red from Saint-Émilion has a similar fattiness and richness, but unlike the Petrus, there’s no need to wait another five years until it’s ready to drink without losing your teeth to the tannins.

MICHAEL’S BEST ADVICE: 6/10

celebrity sip: Unique, Vega Sicilia 2013, £340

EXPENSIVE: Unique, Vega Sicilia 2013, £340

EXPENSIVE: Unique, Vega Sicilia 2013, £340

Tribute Act: Finca Carielio Tempranillo, £7.99, Majestic

Michael Douglas reportedly loves Spanish Tempranillo. Given that he has owned an estate in Mallorca for three decades and regularly visits his wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, this is not surprising.

Wines from Vega Sicilia in Spain’s Ribera del Duero are famous for being aged for over ten years in both barrels and bottles before being released to the market. For a budget-friendly version of Vega, try this red from Spain made from a blend of Tempranillo, part of the same Ribera del Duero region. 6/10

  • Helen’s book, The Knackered Mother’s Wine Guide, is now available.

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