Middle road Bordeaux(1)
A Bordeaux chateau is in golden as grapes ripen.
AS I've mentioned in the past, the words Bordeaux and bargain continue to seem mutually exclusive. The best Bordeaux are ridiculously expensive while cheap Bordeaux tastes exactly that, cheap. What's a Bordeaux lover to do? Turn to the new world Bordeaux-style blends that can be delicious but never really replicate true Bordeaux? I suggest a middle road that while not easy to navigate is still well worth the search. Based on my most recent Bordeaux tastings, I'm pleased to introduce some of the best Bordeaux red wines that retail for less than 500 yuan (US$77). These wines represent some of the best-quality, fairly priced Bordeaux red wines available in Shanghai.
On several occasions in this column I've explained how bargain-hunting for Bordeaux wines is dangerous to your palate and can be insulting to your guests. As a northern wine region where ripeness is often an issue the best winemakers tend to be very selective in the grapes they use and throw away or sell the unripe or otherwise imperfect grapes to producers of cheap supermarket wines. On the shelves of discount stores here in Shanghai and elsewhere there are always a plethora of cheap and insipid 11-11.5 percent alcohol Bordeaux reds. You should avoid these wines. When purchasing inexpensive Bordeaux wines you should not buy anything below 12 percent alcohol content. But even purchasing reds with 12-13 percent alcohol doesn't guarantee a good drinking experience. Instead you really have to know those quality producers in Bordeaux who still spend the money and take the time to make good wines.
Also helpful in picking the right Bordeaux wine is to understand the different quality levels. The French have always loved, and quite frankly been quite good at, establishing quality levels for wines. Despite EU efforts to start standardizing the quality-level designations across all member states, each wine region in France still features its own system. In Bordeaux the system for red starts at the low-end with table wine and basic AOC wines and tops out with the highest-rated Grand Cru Classe wines, though some regions like Pomerol still don't have classifications.
Basic AOC wines
Table wines may be drinkable in France but they don't travel well and have a short shelf life. Therefore, I suggest starting your quest for inexpensive Bordeaux red wines at the AOC level. Many wines in this category don't make the grade but a few do. Avoid wines with alcohol under 12 percent. One of the best examples is the 2009 Chateau Pasquet, a balanced wine offering robust dark-fruit flavors, good ripeness at 13 percent alcohol and best of all a very un-Bordeaux-like retail price of 165 yuan. Owned by the Beaugency family, this wine has a higher contribution of the Malbec grape. Other good wines at this level include the 2009 Chateau Naudeau, another Beaugency wine and the 2008 Chateau Lamothe Sandeaux.
