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13 December 2018 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7821 / Categories: Features
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Wine shopping with Scrooge

Dominic Regan returns to round up the best bottles at the most pleasing prices on the shelves this holiday season

Good wine need not be expensive. This Christmas wine column suggests some worthwhile bottles that won’t break the bank. By way of comparison, a columnist in The Sunday Times Style magazine recently recommended champagne by Selosse. Good call; no mention that it is £165 a bottle.

First class fizz

Champagne is an uplifting drink and has propelled your humble writer to keep going after catching that dreadful cold from Seán Jones QC. What is good value? Tesco stocks Delaunay at £14. I would happily drink it at Christmas and buy it as a present. Time it right when the retailer launches a ‘buy six, get 25% off’ promotion (which I think likely before the Big Day) and it comes down to £10.50. Now that is a steal. Both Aldi and Lidl have own-brand champagne at about £11.50. Utterly acceptable but not as fine. These stores have not run ‘buy six’ deals, so you will not get

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Cripps—Radius Law

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NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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