The weather is chilly, the leaves are turning, and I’m ready for roast lamb again.

I was leaving the Vinorama wine centre in Lavaux after a ribbon-cutting event for a new hiking trail, in late April. On the spur of the moment I said to the staff that my husband was home preparing lamb, potatoes and fresh broccoli, and I wanted a nice big red to go with it. “Surprise me”.

This is in Lavaux, next to Dézaley, famous for its Chasselas, and I’d just sampled a fine Pinot Noir. Big and red aren’t the first thing that comes to mind for most Lavaux visitors.

“Le Virtuose” was a beauty. A surprisingly complex note and velvety smooth. Gamaret, Garanoir and Diolinoir are now a classic blend of three grapes created in Switzerland in the 1970s, partly to help Swiss wineries make better blends. Each grape has a job: one for structure, one for roundness and smoothness and the other for deep colour and tannins. They can fall a bit flat or be very good and this is one of the best examples I’ve found.

At CHF38 it’s not an everyday wine, but it turned our lamb into a celebration. Time for another bottle, I think.