Dourthe Cour du Roy Montagne St Emilion 2010 (£12.99 selected Co-operative stores)
Rich round style of Bordeaux, juicy, full and fleshy, with gutsy plummy and baked berry flavour backed up by smoky bacon oak, just let down by overextraction, which accentuates that baked edge, and highlights slightly clunky tannins. B(+)

Averys Pioneer Range Bordeaux Rouge 2009 (£8.99 Averys)
Not as concentrated/extracted as the previous wine, nor as ripe, and all the better for it, with more leafy blackcurrant flavours, and a bite of tannin and acidity alongside the gentle plummy fruit. B+

Château Grand Jean Bordeaux Rouge 2009 (£9.49 Laithwaites)
Soft, simple, slightly dusty and with a touch of brett, ultimately lacking class. C

Le Grand Chai Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2009 (£10.99 Laithwaites)
Another one where, despite the decent plummy flavours, unsympathetic use of oak and overextraction has highlighted the slightly green edges (and doesn’t improve if you leave the bottle open for a couple of days). C+

Dourthe Réserve Montagne Saint Emilion 2009 (£9.99 Waitrose)
Stuck record syndrome, but again, a wine that’s trying too hard to impress. Ripe and oaky, but the extraction  buts the emphasis on that baked berry flavour, nearly grown up, but doesn’t quite deliver. B(-)

The Society’s St Emilion 2008 (£10.95 The Wine Society)
Supple, less forceful and more confident style, not afraid to show both a slightly leafy edge to the plum and blackcurrant flesh, and a backbone of tannin and acidity. B(+)

Château Bourjaud Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux 2007 (was £6.50 @ The Wine Society)
Gentle, juicy style, soft plummy blackberry fruit with a touch of leafiness, but now looking a little jaded. B(-)

Château Saint Paul Haut-Médoc 2005 (£14.99 selected Co-operative stores)
Initially smells OK, but then the mature fruit edges start to go raisinny, and the dried out palate speaks too much of brett – much as when I last tasted it here. C+