Whaddya know?... Bordeaux!

The Bordeaux region may be home to some of the most famous and long-lived wines in the world and play host to any number of celebrated appellations, but, says Jason, you can do it on a budget... But would you really you want to? With six sedulously selected bottles to work through, Jason and David hop from one bank of the Garonne to the other sampling everything from the humble to the most high without even getting their feet wet. After a spicy start with a pocket-friendly 2018 Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux, Chateau La Brande, they segue onto a silky Graves Pessac 2016, that requires a little more attention and twice as much of your wallet. Yes, when it comes to Bordeaux, you absolutely can believe the hype, as long as your credit is good. All credit then, to a text book Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2018 from Château Alverne, which does all the fruit and new oak spice the right way about. Meanwhile, Château Gombaude-Guillot’s perfectly poised, petal-scented Pomerol of 2014 is a garnet-coloured gem of a wine. By the time the Pauillac: Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016 is plashing into his Riedel and running black cherry ripples over his taste buds, David hardly knows his left bank from his right and Jason must be walking on water, surely? But there’s more to come in the divine form of a 2009 Chateau Leoville Poyferré, which scored a legendary 100 out of 100 with Robert Parker, but only because 110 doesn’t make any sense. With wines of this order, it can be only too easy to run out of money, but you’ll run out superlatives even faster.