Sancerre Latuiliere 2007 from France / Oak aged Claret 2005 from France

3:17pm Thursday 12th June 2008

Two French wines from the opposite ends of the price range this week.

The Sancerre is a particularly good example, priced at Aldi at £8.99. It's part of the fine wine range that's available in most of their stores. The wine itself has a pleasant straw colour with green tints and a slightly herbaceous aroma - crisp and fragrant, giving away that it's made from sauvignon blanc.

It's an ideal 12 per cent alcohol to balance the fruit and crisp acidity. It's recommended with shellfish and seafood dishes but also suits poultry well.

Coming in at £ 3.49 is an oak-aged claret of 2005 from Calvets of Bordeaux. They've used merlot and cabernet sauvignon in their blend to give classic tasting claret with vanilla and oak in the background of the taste due to 70 per cent of the wine being subjected to oak aging. It's 12 per cent alcohol and has benefited from three years of aging. Accompanies red meat dishes well.