Chateau Greteau Bordeaux Superieur

Wine: Chateau Greteau Bordeaux Superieur.

Grapes: Merlot (50 percent), cabernet sauvignon (50 percent)

Region: Bordeaux, France

Vintage: 2008

Price: $7.99

In the glass: Chateau Greteau is a deep crimson-red color with a semi-translucent core going out into a fine violet-red rim definition with medium viscosity.

On the nose: The wine exudes classical elements of a typical Bordeaux wine with concentrated soft extract of black and red berries, dominated by brambleberry, cassis sorbet, creamy loganberries -- just pure fruits of the forest with no discernable oak influences.

On the palate: The wine is soft and rounded with slightly spicy berry fruit, sloe fruit juice, elderberry, mulberry and hints of minerals. The midpalate is firm and softly tannic going into a good, balanced finish that displays yet more black fruit and touches of herbs de Provence. It is an excellent medium-bodied wine to be enjoyed with food.

Odds and ends: The very good 2008 vintage in Bordeaux now stands in the shadow of the much-hyped 2009 vintage, but it will prove to be a much greater value vintage, especially for consumers. As it now stands, the 2009s will be multiple times more expensive than the 2008s, so this is important to remember when shopping for Bordeaux wines. Chateau Greteau, which is classified in the good-value Superieur category comes from producer Jean Medeville, who likes to craft classic style Bordeaux wines without too many bells and whistles. I happened upon this in Costco and stuck it into a blind tasting of 10 similar wines, so at just less than $8, this is definitely a nice little surprise and should provide wonderful drinking pleasure with a meal. It is an uncomplicated and drinkable wine that should be good through 2011. Enjoy it with a variety of foods, but Bordeaux wines do love lamb, so chops are a strong choice.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749 or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.