In my eyes, £5.50 for a bottle of wine is a brucey bargain. This was a dad buy, it’s one of his ‘go-to’ favourites and I shared a glass with him last night along with some very tasty duck.

Carta Roja Gran Reserva 2009

Jumilla, Spain, 13.5%

First impressions: very fruity

If you like your wines to taste a lot like an alcoholic version of Ribena then you’ll really like this Gran Reserva from Sainsbury’s. I enjoyed drinking it but it lacked the depth and flavour that I usually go for in reds. It’s strange to have had two Gran Reserva’s over consecutive days and for them to taste so different. What mainly stood out for me was that Waitrose’s Tempranillo actually tasted like it had been in the oak barrels forever whereas this Carta Roja doesn’t. It’s still a very tasty wine, the vanilla notes linger as you’d expect but it’s just not that interesting in my opinion. A good wine for it’s price.