Muriel Rioja Reserva 2009 Spain (13%, Co-op, £6.66 down from £9.99 until April 22)
The melting softness of slow-roast lamb has a real friend in rioja. This one is five years old, entirely made from tempranillo, and its brisk red fruit has begun to mellow like old leaves. As it is a reserva it's not shy with the oak, which is mostly American, but that's the style and it's one that works.
Domaine Richeaume: Cuvée Tradition 2011Côtes de Provence, France (13.5%, yapp.co.uk, £18.50)
Too expensive for the recent Bunch case but a wine I look forward to tasting, because when it's good it's fabulous. It's red, and it's a hairy-chest wine — the antithesis of urbane. Made from cabernet sauvignon, syrah and grenache in the rosé-land of Provence, it combines in one bottle the cigars-and-cassis of Bordeaux with the flightier, dried herbs of the south.
Montgravet Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2012 France (13%, Waitrose, £5.99)
Cabernet sauvignon and lamb is one of those matches that just works, which is why claret works so well with a leg or rack of lamb. This is a red bordeaux-blend made using grapes grown in the Languedoc. It's softer, fruitier and more open than a wine you would find in the Médoc but that's no bad thing.
Brilliant with leftover Easter lamb, or a weekday lamb chop dinner.
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