Probably the best known wine area on the planet, Bordeaux have been producing top quality wines for centuries, and despite very high prices at the top end, more affordable cuvees are now being made that one can enjoy immediately without having to wait for years for the wines to mature.
Try this selection of sensibly priced and delicious wines.
Includes three bottles of each of the following four wines:
Château Haut-Gaudin, 1eres Côtes de Bordeaux 2001
This up and coming sub-region produces some great value wines and this is undoubtedly one of them. Flavours of blackcurrants and plums are overlaid by classic sandlewood and cigar box backed up by clean bright fruit - superb.
Château Nardou, Côtes de Francs 2004
The Cote de Francs lies to the east of Saint Emilion and is one of the highest vineyard locations in Bordeaux, benefiting from low rainfall and a soil rich in clay and limestone. This wine has delightful flavours of plums from the merlot grape variety and a subtle touch of minerals, which adds complexity to this juicy wine.
Château le Pey, Cru Bourgeois 2003
A classic Bordeaux, this has a lovely cedar and cigar box nose with blackcurrants and minerals on the palate, which is followed up with a long aromatic finish well deserving of the wine's Cru Bourgeois classification. Top class.
Château la Claymore, Lussac St Emilion 2002
Situated to the east of Bordeaux, this estate has 32 hectares of vineyards planted on soils ideal for the merlot grape variety. The result is an intensely rich wine with flavours of ripe plum, lead pencil minerality and hints of spice - just superb with beef or game.
The Oxford Times Wine Club is run in association with The Oxford Wine Company. Free delivery of your wine is available within 30 miles of Oxford. Please allow up to ten working days for delivery of your wine. If you have any questions about your order, contact The Oxford Wine Company on 01865 301144 quoting The Oxford Times Wine Club or email: info@oxfordwine.co.uk
If you would like to buy unmixed or mixed cases of wines that you have particularly liked from The Oxford Times Wine Club at the same special discounted prices, please contact Theo Sloot at The Oxford Wine Company on 01865 301144 or email theo@oxfordwine.co.uk
Click here to read Sarah McCleery on how producers in Bordeaux are adopting advanced techniques.
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