Yes! You Can Afford Bordeaux Region Red Wine!

There is a lot of talk about Bordeaux wines.  Why?  There are many reasons.  Some people believe that Bordeaux region wines are much less fruity than California wines, other people buy into the status that Bordeaux has lent itself for higher quality wines that earn 90 -100 (out of 100) points.  The grapes most commonly grown are Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, but other grapes grow there are well.  In the Bordeaux region, there are wines that are extremely expensive and rate something like 95 out of 100 points, but most of us can be just as happy with the affordable (less than $20) wines from the area.

Mademoiselle L, Haut-Medoc France, 2009 - As promised, the wine packs a punch!  Beginning with dark fruit flavors such as cassis, the finish goes into lighter fruits like cherry.  The wine is remarkably smooth in the mouth and medium bodied.  As usual, the wine label doesn't indicate the grapes.  If you're a Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot drinker with a longing for Syrah, this wine is for you.

Clement Saint-Jean, Medoc France, 2010 -  Less fruity and more deep than the last wine, I really like this wine and drink it faster than the last.  I can taste the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but the Syrah much more.  All the great flavors of Bordeaux wines are more subtle in this wine than the last.  I recommend this wine with chocolate cake or brownie!

Chateau Couronneau, Bordeaux France, 2010 -  It smells like Cabernet Sauvignon but definitely has the spices of Syrah.  It is in fact 100% Merlot, as most (if not all) wines from "Bordeaux Superieure" are.  Full-bodied and fruity with tannin giving it an edge, I liked this wine with meat.  Will it scream "Bordeaux" when you taste it?  Probably not, but its still delicious!

Chateau Greysac, Medoc France, 2008 - I found this wine when I was reorganizing my wine cabinet.  I had been looking for it when I first wrote this blog!   This wine sells quicker than any other Bordeaux region wine in the store, so I was curious to taste it.  It has aged more than any other I have tasted, and the fruit flavor is tempered with more flavor of the "terroir" -- it is a better wine for food than probably the rest.  It is made with mostly Cabernet Sauvignon.

Addendum:
In discussing these wines with a mentor, I mentioned that I don't like Cabernet Sauvignon.  He talked me into buying Chateau Fonbadet, Pauillac France, 2009.  I buyed it, and tried it.  It is good, full of dark red fruit flavor that I have come to associate with Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is also more than $20.  I did taste less fruit in it than, or rather less blunt fruit, but it still didn't impress upon me the need to spend so much on the wine in the future.