Wines of the week: Five autumnal reds

‘’Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
'Neath the cover of October skies
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow…’’

....as the great Van Morrison sings in “Moondance”. And so what red wines to drink on such October nights, when the moon is out, the leaves are falling and the breezes are blowing? And perhaps there is an open fire and some good food on the way….And these are wines that need to be pitched just right: with plenty of body, that are both warming and succulent without being the big, rich winter blockbusters that we should save for the colder months….

The plummy, smokey, rounded flavours of grenache or garnacha, depending on which country you are in, is a perfect grape for these kind of wines. The Andre Brunel Cotes du Rhone 2014 (£9.49, reduced from £10.99 virginwines.co.uk) is pure grenache and something of a bargain from a celebrated Rhone wine maker whose main wines retail for considerably more…. Lots of typical juicy fruit flavours balanced with a darker, spicy backbone and some serious structure. Over in Spain, the Tandem Inmune Garnacha 2016

( £11.5 www.strictlywine.co.uk; £11.99 www.corkingwines.co.uk ) is made from grapes grown at high altitudes in Navarra, which give an underlying freshness, although the flavours of black fruits and herbs are deeper and more intense than the Rhone wine, with a longer finish. Both wines are ideal for midweek steaks – lamb, venison or beef – and most Mediterranean foods: try an arroz con pollo with the Tandem. Another fine choice for a steak is of course malbec, which strikes the right pitch between weight and freshness for this time of year. The Tanners own label Argentinian Malbec (£7.95 tanners-wines.co.uk) is gloriously, juicily drinkable and simply fantastic value at the price – and it is a very versatile wine to stock up on for the coming festive season.

Handled carefully, the Italian native barbera grape is another which retains that delighfultly appealing balance between restrained power, weight and juicy fruitiness. The Barbara d’Alba Bricco Airoli 2013 (£14.85 thevintner.com) is perhaps more dinner table than fireside supper and somehow embodies misty autumn evenings, brimming over with ripe autumnal fruits and a touch of spice. As The Vinter says on its website, it would be ideal with wild boar ragu, but also with any mushroom based dishes and lighter roasts.

Finally and definitely one for the cooler, moonlight nights when there are red meats or a fine casserole on the dinner table is the Esporao Alentajo Reserva 2014 (£18.00 greatwesternwine.co.uk) made from a blend of the traditional Portuguese grape varieties such as aragonez and trincadeira and given a little oak ageing – full bodied but with lots of elegantly restrained power, of which makes for a richly satisfying mouthful. How fantabulously romantic that all may be is up to you…