11 best mulled wines for Christmas, taste-tested by a drinks expert

Asda's creation is the closest on the list to what I'd expect a classic mulled wine to be. It's nicely spiced with warming Christmas aromas, relying heavily on cinnamon and nutmeg, along with dark berries and a healthy dash of citrus.

It’s also one of the booziest on the list at 11 per cent, which is high, even for a normal wine ABV, while many other mulled wines are around the 5 per cent mark.

I was really impressed with how balanced it was, without being sickly sweet, or smelling like a bowl of potpourri, and it was one I kept going back to. It's certainly set to be a crowd-pleasing bottle, and one people will think has a bigger price tag than the very affordable sub £5 that it actually costs.

It might sound like a silly observation, but this mulled wine tasted the most like red wine out of all of the ones I tasted. It feels like it's made using a decent quality base wine to start with.

It's another one that's quite alcoholic, with an ABV of 11 per cent, but there's plenty of dark red fruit flavours and orange peel notes in there, so that it doesn't smell or taste overly alcoholic. It will make a great option to pop open for the main event, with your Christmas Day pre-lunch canapés.

Just like all the rosé producers and lovers say every single year - rosé isn't just for summer. And here, that sentiment has never rung truer. Admittedly, I was quite sceptical of this classic southern French pale number, thinking it was just another novelty marketing ploy to get shoppers buying, but after tasting I was pleasantly surprised.

It's a delicious wine that tastes more of summery berries, like strawberry, but it's not overly sweet at all. It's much more drinkable than I thought, and is certainly one of the best mulled wine bottles that’ll have wide appeal.

For those looking for something a little more fun, or different from the traditional mulled wine, this is it. Fortnum & Mason always has something exciting up its sleeve, and this year it's reacting to the growing interest in low-and-no drinking. This is 0 per cent ABV, and celebrates the of-the-moment festive flavour, clementine, which is everywhere this year.

A dash can be added to apple juice for a total zero drink. You can also add it to cider, white or red wine to create a sophisticated festive tipple, without the added alcohol of heavy ABV spirits.

It's a fun grown-up drink that can be really customised. I tried it with white still wine, which created a delicious drink, and added blanched almonds and raisins as stated in the instructions. A little goes a long way, so it will last quite a while. Fortnum & Mason also says it can be used as a salmon cure or even in baked deserts.

Another welcome alternative to traditional red mulled wine is this white mulled wine from M&S. Though it doesn't look quite right heating it in a pan, once poured into a glass that feeling dissipates, and it's a warming and lightly spiced tipple.

It's very heavy on the pear, with notes of honeysuckle, gooseberry and vanilla too, and is quite sweet, but not sickly. Though it is a little syrupy and does feel like I've just heated up an old-style German riesling wine, but thankfully doesn't taste like that. This will make a great alternative mulled wine for those who aren't fans of a red.

As usual, Selfridges knows how to make something look eye-catching and stand out from the crowd. And this bottle certainly does, omitting the usual traditional festive looking label with snowflakes of Christmas trees. Instead, it kept the red and created this fun swirling pattern, plus it is the only bottle to have an on-trend crown cap lid too, instead of a screwcap, immediately making it look more expensive and appealing.

It wins points as it's produced on the north Cornish coast, and has a decent 8.4 per cent ABV, making it feel more like a proper wine. It's very aromatic, with notes of dark cherries and notes of liquorice too.

Norfolk winery Three Mills has a wide range of mulled wines this year. With big flavours of sweet citrus clementine and notes of sour cherry, this packs more of a punch than many of the other wines on this list.

As soon as I heated it, it instantly reminded me of making Christingle oranges as a child at school, owing to that sweet smell of an orange pierced with cloves. It has cinnamon heavy aromas initially, but it doesn't taste that cinnamony, so don't let that put you off if it's not a flavour you like.

With an increase in people not wanting to drink alcohol, or drinks that have very high ABVs, comes better and more varied non-alcoholic options. This bottle from Belvoir, an excellent independent drinks producer from Leicestershire, is exactly the tonic for those types of drinkers. It's 0 per cent ABV, but what it's missing in alcohol is made up for in its great flavour.

It has a jammy flavour, with hints of strawberry and cinnamon and cloves, but feels much more juice like as it’s thinner than most wines. This makes it a great way for kids to feel involved in a festive tradition too. Plus, it can be served both warm or cold.

This is a very smooth red wine that tastes like it's made with a quality base wine initially. The spices are more rounded and balanced than in some others in the list. I liked that it's very orangey and it's slightly boozier than some of the others too, owing to its 10 per cent ABV.

It's made in Germany, and the instructions say to add a slice of orange, which I did before drinking, for even more citrus notes.

With a classic red and golden label, which looks like it's come straight off the shelf from a traditional German Christmas market, this mulled wine is pretty classic in taste too.

Its spices aren't too overpowering, but it's quite heavy on the citrus notes that balance it. It's another one with a decent base wine and again, coming in at less than £5, is one to bulk buy for your Christmas parties.

Surprisingly, this wine doesn't taste that, er, winey. It's quite mellow on the spices, which makes it a good option for drinkers who prefer just a hint of that festive flavour.

It's also a low ABV wine, at just 5 per cent, which makes it a great choice for those who don't often drink or prefer low alcohol options. There's quite a pleasing vanilla creaminess to it, too.

Right now it’s not available to buy online, so head to your local Aldi to pick this up.