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Schaeffer for $1.59. It wasn't good, but it was tolerable, and there were 6 of them. Compare that to Scorpio wine, which went for $1.69 a bottle and was utterly wretched. Penny for penny, beer was the choice.

These to factors- the image of fanciness and cost, flow together and bare directly on the subject of Bordeaux. The other day I was tooling about New Jersey with a friend of mine, an erudite chap with a blossoming interest in wine. He scoffed at the whole Bordeaux frenzy- millions spent on buying Bordeaux futures, investment in grapes, auctions where bottles go for thousands each. "That's not wine love," he barked, "it's just fetishizing and collecting and commodification. Kinda like the people who bought up tons of Dale Earnhardt stuff just after he died."

Now a Lafite is no NASCAR license plate holder, but he did have a point. Do we buy wine to drink it or do we buy wine to possess it? Consumer vs. Collector. With Bordeaux all too often it seems that the whole point is to land a lot of some super vintage. It's a mad chase, the climax of which is forking over oodles of cash, putting one's stash away, and chortling to others that you have it but "won't dare touch it for at least twenty years."

Humbug to all that. Let's talk Bordeaux for the rest of us, those who want a good red table wine that we can enjoy, remember, and afford.  Below are some of the Bordeaux I quaffed recently, listed in alphabetical order.

Barton & Guestier Medoc-Leoburg Medoc 1998 ($15)
A fruity nose but tastes of black pepper and tobacco. The body is a little lean, but an otherwise satisfying wine. Imported by Seagram Chateau & Estate Wines Co., New York, NY. (Rating ***1/4)

Chateau Greysac Medoc 1998 ($16)
What a name. This one had me giggling for the better part of the night. But the wine itself is nothing to laugh at. Utterly different from the B&G above. Blueberry, vanilla and musk and meat aromas. Nice body and VERY pleasing. Imported by Seagram Chateau & Estate Wines Co., New York, NY. (Rating ***3/4)

Chateau Les Cedres Premieres Cotes De Blaye 1998 ($9)
A dry, lean table wine that nearly sucks the saliva from your mouth. Fruity nose, edgy and almost smoky taste. Pair with hearty foods and cheese. Imported by MetroWine, Mineola, NY. (Rating **3/4)

Chateau Le Puy Joubet 1996 ($8)
A most peculiar wine. It is too lean in body and has a whacky mix of flavors- leather, mint, and berry. Amusing, but not more than a food wine. Imported by Wine Markets International of Woodbury, New York. (Rating **3/4)

Chateau Meyney St. Estephe 1998 ($28)
The best of the bunch. A thick, delicious wine that is rich with berry, vanilla, and meat. Order a case or two and treat yourself. Bravo. Imported by Seagram Chateau & Estate Wines Co., New York, NY. (Rating ****)

Chateau Puy-Blanquet St. Emilion Grand Cru 1998 ($20)
A very substle, soft wine, not for the ham-fisted (ham-mouthed?) wine drinker. Generous fruit on the nose and in the mouth. Tastes of blueberry, strawberry, plum. Imported by Seagram Chateau & Estate Wines Co., New York, NY. (Rating ***3/4)

Chateau Roc De Bigone Cotes de Castillon 1998 ($11)
Less dry than Chateau Les Cedres, and more flavorful- blackberries, spice. Pleasing, but a hint of heat going down. Imported by MetroWine, Mineola, NY. (Rating ***1/4)

Reviewed 09/01