A real big red winter cockles warmer to get stuck into this week. This should be the cue to get snuggling around the fire after a cold afternoon at the park, sipping away at a warming glass of something spicy and strong. But alas, the London winters just never seem to get anywhere near proper cold anymore. Not the kind of chilblain cold that you remember as a kid, where it took you an hour with your feet up on the radiator to thaw out after an afternoon on a concrete-like frozen football pitch. Ah, happy memories… (probably!)

So a good #newwinethisweek choice to go with the ever more hearty meals that you start craving once the nights draw in-nothing like a big bowl of stodgy stew and dumplings when its pitch black outside at 4.30pm! The hot and heavy reds from Barossa Valley are a perfect complement to this, particularly the rich Grenache, Syrah & Mourvèdre blends.

I went for the Marks & Spencer 2012 Marananga Dam GSM for £15.

M & S really seem to have their wine buying sussed out, it’s difficult not to choose a bottle that hasn’t won some kind of IWC award or another. This particular bottle won a bronze itself recently.

I’d normally go for single varietal Rhônes given the choice, so another fine opportunity to stretch the learning. The interesting comment on the label notes is that this wine is aged for 18 months in oak so I would be hoping for something slightly more polished than a standard Barossa GSM.

The nose is overwhelmingly Syrah for me, it’s all dark cherries and raw meat and very difficult to detect the expected red fruits from the Grenache. It’s like déjà vu from a few weeks ago when I was luxuriating in the delights of Côte Rôtie! Not necessarily a bad thing…

The palate is also very predominantly Syrah based with black fruits and bacon aplenty. I was hoping for a Mourvèdre type tannin kick to emerge but it never happens. That’s not to say the balance isn’t spot on though, as the acidity matches up well, but the blend just doesn’t delineate enough to let you know there’s other grapes involved other than the all-conquering Shiraz.

A strange one this. Very pleasing wine but disappointing at the same time. Everything I love in a deep, spicy meaty red but not quite what I was hoping to experience with a well-priced GSM blend.

That being said, it was a spot on match for the M & S pigs in blankets I was scoffing in loving memory of the British Christmas dinner I’ll be missing once we move to the land of the meatloaf in 2 weeks time!

A Northern Rhône-clone 7/10.