Château la Rivière: An worthy experiment under £20

Château la Rivière is a corker of a drinking merlot. It's not my favoured grape, but sometimes it can be really quite good, as long as one does not over pay.

Adnams, a UK retailers with impressive ethical credentials to boot, has some excellent offers on Château la Rivière right now.

At £18 a bottle, it's not the bargain of the year, but if you are looking to experiment with a fine drinking merlot at under £20, it's worth trying a bottle for sure.

Claret Les Sources Fronsac 2005: An £8 gem of a wine

I'm not sure where you find this wine online, but Claret Les Sources Fronsac 2005 is worth noting.

Here's the 'closest' web link.

At just £8 a bottle in the UK it's a delicious, powerful tangy right bank bargain.

Being right bank merlot is clearly dominant.

At the price it's clearly a gem. The long, nearly-tannic-but-not finish follows a deceptively mellow and aromatic nose and some big smooth raspberry fruit in the middle.

I tried what you might call the big brother of this wine on Monday, Château la Rivière. I'll post separately on that.