Spending precious time with Spanish wine

"Tempus fugit!" an old friend cried as we greeted one another with a passionate, manly hug.

I knew what he meant. It had indeed been many years since our paths had last crossed and the time had flown. Such can be the fleeting nature of life, love, friendship and time.

What bothers me much more than that or indeed the unrelenting march of time itself, dear tipplers, is how quickly it speeds up during the wee small hours.

Only last night in bed, bleary-eyed, I checked my timepiece to find it was 3:17 am. Great, four more hours. I yawned, rolled over, closed my eyes and two minutes later the alarm clock loudly declared that it was 7:15. Time to rise. The tempus had fugited. Not fair.

I grow old, I grow old, I shall wear my trousers rolled... Naturally, after such a chance meeting with an old comrade from my student days at the Sorbonne, numbers were exchanged. In just about no time at all he was sitting at the table in my lovely home, Rose Cottage.

My beloved wife, the illustrious Madame G., served us a sumptuous Saturday night supper of tortillas, a fiery chilli and soothing guacamole. This proved an ideal match to today's Wine of the Week, the smooth, supple and superbly balanced 2018 El Duque de Miralta Crianza (M&S, £8). An intensely fruity Rioja with plenty of black and red berry aromas which lead to a complex palate wherein plum and blackberry flavours mingle pleasantly with earthy spices and luxurious strands of vanilla before a lingering, deeply satisfying finish.

If you're happy to wait a few days for your delivery of Rioja (trust me, the time will fly and it's well worth the wait), today's second recommendation is the rustic, robust and vibrantly aromatic 2020 Hacienda Don Hernan Rioja Reserva (reduced to £12.99 from £16.99 at Naked Wines, www.nakedwines.com for members aka Angels). One to enjoy with delicious lamb chops, champ and good thick gravy on a cold dark winters night. Lots of ripe, concentrated blackcurrant and bramble fruit flavours on a rich palate before a magnificently lengthy, peppery finish, lip smackingly good.

Lovers of white, neither flights of fancy nor of time could cause me to forget about you – oh no, that wouldn’t be right.

Today's final selection is the fresh, fragrant and fabulously racy 2021 Pavia Pinot Grigio (£10, M&S). This upbeat, elegant and gloriously refreshing Italian white has a grassy, herbaceous bouquet and a lively palate full of bright citrus and orchard fruit flavours. One to enjoy with lots of lovely seafood or even a warm, wintry chicken and coriander salad dish, delightful.

And that's about it for this weekend. Oh no I hear you shout, it can’t be over already! Well, hasn't the time just flown? We must have been having so much fun, hey? We keep cool and under control...

Till next week, tipplers, should the Good Lord see fit to spare us, sante!