Good Bordeaux wines for under ten pounds (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Good Bordeaux wines for under ten pounds

4:41pm Tuesday 22nd March 2011 in Tipping's Tipples By Mike Tipping

I was going to start this week’s wine ramblings with an exclamation of surprise. However, house style doesn’t permit the particular interjection I had in mind.

So why am I so amazed? It’s because I’ve been forced to abandon one of my wine rules of thumb. The rule states that Bordeaux, at less than £10 a bottle, is not worth bothering with.

I ought to set the record straight in the first instance, though. I have been privileged enough to drink some great Bordeaux. Wines that rank among some of the finest I have ever tasted, but the prices are way beyond most of our budgets.

Once you drop to the £15 to £20 region, my experience suggests that Bordeaux is hit and miss, to say the least. So much so that I have come to hold out virtually no hope for a sub-£10 wine from the region.

In case you haven’t guessed what all this is leading to, I’ve found three exceptions to my rule of thumb, a white, red and a rosé . Three exceptions which don’t prove my rule, they make me think I just have it plain wrong.

Waitrose has Dourthe La Grande Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2009. This bears little relation to the Kiwi style of sauvignon, it is more subtle and elegant. Fresh and crisp, it has flavours of lemon, lime, a touch of tropical fruit, a lick of honey and mineral notes on the finish. Serve it as an aperitif, or use it to wash down shellfish.

With hope of some warmer weather on the way, it’s nice to have a bottle of pink chilling in the fridge. Try, the strawberry-scented Château Meaume Bordeaux Rosé 2009. A blend of merlot and cabernet franc, it would be just the ticket with or without food. Bone dry and full flavoured, it suggests raspberry and blackcurrant on the palate, with spicy notes and a sprinkling of herbs.

Finally a great value claret, available from online merchant From Vineyards Direct. Ronan 2009 is from the Pomerol property Château Clinet and named after managing director Ronan Laborde.

It is made entirely from merlot and is modern in style, yet true to its roots, with enough structure to suggest it could become even better with age. Smooth, rich, balanced, elegant and earthy, it delivers seamless flavours of spiced plum, raspberry and dark chocolate.

• Emma Borg of Painted Wolf Wines in South Africa, will be at Field & Fawcett next Wednesday, for a wine tasting evening. She will also give a presentation about her work with the African wildlife charity, TUSK. Tickets cost £7.50 and are available from the shop or by phone, on 01904 489073.

• Dourthe La Grande Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2009 £7.99 at Waitrose 17/20 • Château Meaume Bordeaux Rosé 2009, £6.99 at Majestic 17/20 • Ronan 2009, £9.95 from From Vineyards Direct fromvineyardsdirect.com 18/20