An Occasional Tipple: Fabulous first wines of Autumn

A sobering thought - a terrifying prospect if you're single and yet how much more devastating may the losses be for a couple or, worse again, a family.

Life, like a terrible prison, has many exits all manned by burly security guards waiting to punish you by gruesome means should you try to slip out unnoticed.

Escape? There is none. So, I pour myself a second glass of today's WINE OF THE WEEK, the rustic, complex and deftly spiced 2022 Calvet Prestige Bordeaux (£8, Tesco).

This vibrant, brilliant ruby claret has a rich, smoky palate, full of forest berry and black cherry flavours alongside backnotes of vanilla and dry tannins.

Should be an ideal match to the chorizo and red pepper pizza that my beautiful Madame is currently rustling up for me.

One advantage of my profession is that I get sent wine from far and wide at no expense to myself. Wine which you will have to order in, pay for and await delivery of but if you're serious about wine you'll understand that it's often worth the effort.

From Naked Wines, today’s second recommendation is the full-bodied, powerfully flavoured yet very approachable 2021 Catoria Cabernet Sauvignon (£13.99, visit www.nakedwines.co.uk).

An impressive bouquet with lots of red fruit and delicate spicing leads to an opulent palate with cherry and blueberry flavours alongside gentle tannins before a lingering finish with hints of oak and vanilla. One to wash down a juicy fillet steak on a Saturday evening or a roast beef dinner on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Today’s final recommendation is perhaps the last of the summer wines I'll enjoy this year. In the garden at Rose Cottage with a mild chicken curry my Madame and I enjoyed the exceptionally fresh, fragrant, zippy and zesty 2023 M&S Classics Pinot Grigio (£8).

A luscious palate full of round, gently spiced fruit flavours with bright citrussy backnotes combines with grassy aromatics and hints of mineral in this racy, refreshing Italian drop.

Seasons pass, age withers and changes us and those we love. Still, it hardly matters now, does it? It's an old tale, common as muck, afflicting all classes, creeds and colours. And sure, isn’t it all just a bit of auld craic anyhow?

That might be the answer. I'm sure if I keep on pouring, I'll find the solution down here somewhere. Perhaps it's right down at the very bottom of the bottle. Is it the last of the Summer or the first of the Autumn wines? Till next week, tipplers, sante!