NOT that long ago, I went to a tasting of affordable red Bordeaux wines at Somerset House in London.

There were more than 70 wines to taste, priced between £4 and £15, which had all picked up medals in the Decanter World Wine Awards last year.

You might think that this was something I would have enjoyed. Sadly, it wasn't to be. Apart from the pleasures of Somerset House, it turned out to be one of the most dismal and depressing tastings I have been to in ages. Indeed, looking back at my notes the recurring comments which peppered my tasting sheets were thin, under-fruited, charmless and dull. A minority excelled, but they were few and far between.

Yet these were all award-winning wines. At which point I checked out exactly what medals they had collected. Not one had won Gold. Instead, most had picked up bronze; the rest were a smattering of silvers. In wine competitions these days, bronze and silvers are virtually worthless. More often than not they are merely badges of mediocrity.

So if this is the best that Bordeaux can muster, it is a pretty sorry tale from arguably the world's greatest wine region. Not least because it means that most of Bordeaux is now no longer able to make palatable, affordable wines from its signature grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

But there is a silver lining for consumers. For more than three decades now, the New World wine countries have been on a holy grail to try and reproduce the magic of great red Cru Classe claret, which remains the benchmark of quality that every winemaker aspires to. So far though, few of the New World pretenders have come anywhere close to the great First Growths and Super Seconds in terms of quality; though one or two of the Cult Californian Cabernets have come very close in terms of price. (But that's another story.) Ironically, many of the top New World Bordeaux blends come from a series of French-inspired joint ventures with local winemakers. The first was forged back in the early seventies in the Napa Valley with the creation of Opus One. It was a collaboration between Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi. Since then, this working arrangement has been replicated the world over as the likes of Chateaux Lafite, Cheval Blanc and Pichon Longueville have set up shop in Chile, Argentina, South Africa.

Yet even with French investment and know-how, these icon Bordeaux blends have yet to hit the heights of their elder siblings in Pauillac and St Emilion. It may yet happen. But at the very top end, Bordeaux still rules the roost. Further down the food chain though, it is a very different story.

Here, I would argue that many New World Cabernet blends are actually offering much more drinking pleasure and much better value than their Bordeaux counterparts.

So why has Bordeaux lost the plot at the bottom end of the market? Much of it is to do with poor marketing, thin, over-cropped wines, lacklustre terroirs and a marginal climate.Then when you factor in that so much of it is ridiculously over-priced, one almost wonders why they continue to bother. In contrast, many New World Bordeaux blends are the exact opposite. Frequently, they are planted on more suitable soils, which are blessed by warmer, more consistent weather. What's more they are well-made with rich ripe, fruit. And above all, they tend to taste good and provide terrific value for money.

As a result, you have a situation where Bordeaux still rules the roost at the apex of the Fine Wine Market. But at the value end, the New World definitely takes pride of place. In other words, if you gave me £87 to go out and buy a mixed case of Cabernet blends from Bordeaux or the New World, I very much doubt that Bordeaux would get much of a look in.

Instead, I think the case would resemble the one featured in this week's offer.

However, all is not necessarily lost for Bordeaux and there are some good value wines coming out of the region. Just not enough of them. But latest sales UK retail figures, show that sales of Bordeaux wines actually grew last year by a surprising six per cent last year. Let's hope that it can at last get its act together and begin to offer the New World some serious competition for a change at the cheaper end of the market.

Click here to order this week's offer of a New World Bordeaux-style case.