Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA
There was a time in my life when Campo Viejo Tempranillo was as essential as milk or bread; my flatmates and I designated it our “house wine”’. The year was 2011, we wore a lot of elasticated statement belts and lived opposite a corner shop by Brixton prison. Like us, the wine was young, fruity and there for a good time.
Campo Viejo remains one of the more obvious choices for a last-minute bottle of red. Even better is Muriel Tempranillo Rioja at the Co-op, which has all the dark red fruit and vanilla you might expect from young rioja. These days, I’d freshen up either of them with a blast in the fridge, or mix with lemonade for that emblematic Spanish summer cocktail, tinto de verano.
