...is Chateau Barreyres, 2010. Cru Bourgeois red wine, from the Haut-Médoc region of Bordeaux. 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot. Sainsbury's - about £8 (I think) on offer - full price is £13.
A quick google search will tell you that 2010 was a good year for Bordeaux. There's some debate about whether 2009 or 2010 was better. I haven't got a clue, frankly. Apparently 2010 wines should develop better over the next few years (and people who buy the expensive stuff wouldn't dream of opening a 2010 now - maybe in 15 years or something), but 2009 is drinking beautifully now. That's what I've read, and I've had some belting 2009s and a few 2010s that were a bit less so. Anyway, I've sniffed out some bargain 2010s, and won't be opening those for a while, but I wanted to try this one, as I can pick up more from my local supermarket.
I bought this a little while ago on offer. On the shelf, they mainly had the 2011 vintage (not a good year), but in amongst them were a few 2010s. For £8, this is cracking stuff. The bottle said I should open and leave it for a couple of hours before drinking, but I didn't. Didn't decant it either, which means I might not have had it at its best. I tend to only decant wine if it's going to be finished that day - I opened this on a Sunday evening, and had no plans to drink it all. It was good straight away though. Strong and full flavoured like Bordeaux always is, but with lots of blackberry coming through. A very smooth wine. Recommended! It went very nicely with the Gruyère I was eating, and the label says it would go well with game. I reckon it would go well with anything, personally. I finished it off this evening with some chilli. Still good.
Sadly, the lovely Chateau Barreyres is currently back at its full price of £13. Would I pay that? No, I wouldn't. It's not that £13 isn't a fair price - it probably is. It's just that supermarkets will tend to reduce the price again if they've done it once, and if they can afford to drop the price to £8 then that's probably closer to what it's actually worth. Sainsbury's are reliably like clockwork, tending to change their offers at the start of the month. I'll be back in at the start of April to see if they've dropped the price a bit, and if it's back at £8 I'll probably grab as many of the 2010 vintage as I can find, and stash them for a few years...
A quick google search will tell you that 2010 was a good year for Bordeaux. There's some debate about whether 2009 or 2010 was better. I haven't got a clue, frankly. Apparently 2010 wines should develop better over the next few years (and people who buy the expensive stuff wouldn't dream of opening a 2010 now - maybe in 15 years or something), but 2009 is drinking beautifully now. That's what I've read, and I've had some belting 2009s and a few 2010s that were a bit less so. Anyway, I've sniffed out some bargain 2010s, and won't be opening those for a while, but I wanted to try this one, as I can pick up more from my local supermarket.
I bought this a little while ago on offer. On the shelf, they mainly had the 2011 vintage (not a good year), but in amongst them were a few 2010s. For £8, this is cracking stuff. The bottle said I should open and leave it for a couple of hours before drinking, but I didn't. Didn't decant it either, which means I might not have had it at its best. I tend to only decant wine if it's going to be finished that day - I opened this on a Sunday evening, and had no plans to drink it all. It was good straight away though. Strong and full flavoured like Bordeaux always is, but with lots of blackberry coming through. A very smooth wine. Recommended! It went very nicely with the Gruyère I was eating, and the label says it would go well with game. I reckon it would go well with anything, personally. I finished it off this evening with some chilli. Still good.
Sadly, the lovely Chateau Barreyres is currently back at its full price of £13. Would I pay that? No, I wouldn't. It's not that £13 isn't a fair price - it probably is. It's just that supermarkets will tend to reduce the price again if they've done it once, and if they can afford to drop the price to £8 then that's probably closer to what it's actually worth. Sainsbury's are reliably like clockwork, tending to change their offers at the start of the month. I'll be back in at the start of April to see if they've dropped the price a bit, and if it's back at £8 I'll probably grab as many of the 2010 vintage as I can find, and stash them for a few years...