Sadly I mislaid my wine tasting notes from that night on the way home (yeh, right, been drinking had we Jane? I’ll tell you some more: I tried a handful of reds at the Co-op that day; but the reason this one stayed with me was because later that night I went along to a malbec wine tasting at Dace, which is just round the corner from me. The very afternoon I’d sizzled with resentment at his comments, I was over in Manchester, talking about some Christmas wine options.

Hereford Tempranillo | Vivino United Kingdom Bodegas la Rosa Hereford Tempranillo | Vivino United Kingdom

It’s really worth the effort if I can get there, not just to sample the new wines that are coming on the market, but also to meet the PRs who generally are my information lifelines; plus I get to chat with other wine journos. The winemaker Gonzalo Abadia has taken these two classic grapes and blended them into a wine with young, fresh dark and red berries with a tumble of spice and ever-so slight hints of violets; all held together by a good acidity and tannins which don’t overpower. Generally lots of the trade shows and press tastings are in London and little ol’ me has to book time off from the day job and jump on trains to get down to them.The grapes: The Hereford is equal parts malbec – now hugely embraced by Argentina – and tempranillo.