Sitting late last night, glass of Zinfandel in hand and a copy of Decanter magazine from the not so distant past, I stumbled across an article by TV’s Oz Clarke, asking why there are no good, mid-range wines from California available in the UK. I think this is also a fair question to ask as an Irish consumer when questioning Californian wine available here.

When Oz and James May were galivanting around California for BBC’s “Big Wine Adventure”, it came to light very quickly that that key mid-range price bracket was not being catered for in terms of quality, like it would be from other countries, such as France or Australia. Oz expected that $15 (perhaps equivalent to a €12 bottle available in Ireland) would be a safe place to start, giving him the best value for money, but he struggled to find anything that would have him going back for more.

Varietal character, a sense of terroir and the personality of the producer lacked in this category that should be hitting such a large market of wine enthusiasts. His notes consistently read ‘remarkably little flavour’, with ‘clean’ and ‘inoffensive’ simply not being ambitious enough for this kind of money. As with all wine critics that are taken seriously, OZ would be scoring against retail price - thus judging a wine based on value for money.

California is certainly producing some amazing wines. The same could be said of Oregon. Although my time in California and experience in the market here would lead me along the same line of thought as Oz Clarke. While the U.S. has cracked it when it comes to world class wines (which you might have to pay an arm and a leg for) and inexpensive, mass produced grape juice that isn’t aimed at the wine enthusiast, there is a massive gap - where affordable wines at exceptional quality are more readily found elsewhere.

At the beginning of 2008, the head sommelier from Gordon Ramsay’s three Michelin star restaurant selected two of Château Bauduc’s red wines for the list at the group’s flagship restaurant. The winery’s Clos des Quinze from their Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux vineyard and Les Trois Hectares from three hectares of Merlot vines right next to the Château, were chosen for one of the most prestigious wine lists in the country.

Regular Bauduc customers have long known that the company’s Bordeaux Blanc, made from Sauvignon Blanc, has had the accolade of being the house white in all of Ramsay’s restaurants for no less than nine consecutive vintages. It has also made it as a special selection at Rick Stein’s. The wine itself is light, ripe, fruity and nettley, with a citrus twist and get this - it’s even beaten Mouton Rothchild’s white wine in a blind tasting!

A recent article in the Irish Examiner had Blake Creedon salivating during a recent Curious Wines tasting:

‘Sauvignon’ it says on the label, an epiphany in conservative Bordeaux. Here the grassy zest of the Sauvignon is beautifully complemented by a very assertive rich round Semillon. My favourite.

Now it’s the turn of the reds to impress. In fact, the top selling red wine last year at restaurant Gordon Ramsay, still the only restaurant in London with three Michelin stars, was the 2003 forerunner to Les Trois Hectares - a limited cuvee made specially for the restaurant.

You may have seen Oz Clarke and James May at Château Bauduc in BBC’s Big Wine Adventure. After visiting, Oz commented, “Bauduc’s new Merlot-based flagship red, Les Trois Hectares 2005, is showing the delicious core of fruit typical of this vintage, plus classy oak”. Regarding Château Bauduc, he continued, “More than a match for quite a few much more expensive wines from top appellations”.

Yet more French wines from Curious that are drinking well above their appellation.