Chateau Grand Jour 2007

One of my first experiences of Bordeaux was back in the late eighties when I bought a £5 bottle of Chateau de Passedieu 1996 from Oddbins, and a terrific bottle of wine it was. Anyway, I digress....

Yet another bargain-basement Bordeaux from Cotes de Bourg.

Dark almost inky colour is promising, actually a very good nose (for a £6 Bordeaux) with real freshness, dark fruits and cedar, but the palate is too light and a bit too far inclined towards the oak-juice end of the spectrum (especially on the finish) as cheap Bordeaux so often is. The dark cherry fruit is there, fighting its way through though...

After a few hours open, it's still a 'crying game' style of wine. You fancy it at first, until you realise what's happening. Allowing the wine to breathe allows the nose, flavour and purity to be very seductive on entry, but that impression is quickly destroyed once the finish kicks in and you realise what you've actually got.

I hear it's on offer in some Tesco stores 'reduced from £12 or so.' Don't get taken in, this is not a fucking £12 wine. For me personally, there are other wines I would prefer to buy for the £6

If you must have a £6-something Bordeaux it's OK based on this bottle, as £6 Bordeaux goes these days. If Bordeaux is not your thing, then I probably wouldn't bother. The quality of the finish requires food to mask it, this is not for solo contemplation.

Some real interest here in a fundamentally faulty wine. Whilst disappointing in some ways, still beats yet another glass of Jacob's Creek I reckon.

Chateau Grand Jour 2007 Cotes de Bourg 6-7/10 Tesco £6.79