A few years ago, a friend gave me a bottle from his cellar, merely pointing out that he had bought a large number in the past, and saying he would be interested to hear what I thought about it.

The tasting experience was a revelation. My youngest son watched me pour him a modest glassful in rather cynical silence. #

After a first sip, he stared at me in astonishment - his immediate reaction, not particularly well articulated for an English graduate, being a hoarse but heartfelt 'bloody hell.'

Subsequent internet investigation revealed that at that time the wine, a Chateau Lynch Bages, whose year I forget, was retailing for more than £120.

However, I'm not suggesting a high price is a surefire guarantee of superb quality. I have sampled wines at tastings for which I wouldn't dream of forking out what was being asked for them.

Splendid though the Lynch Bages was, it is perfectly possible to acquire a good, sound bottle of Bordeaux for around a tenner, and often two or three pounds less, although I wouldn't risk laying out under about £6 without a prior tasting.

Just a whisker under the tenner mark comes a lovely claret from a Bordeaux vineyard I have mentioned before because of a tenuous historic link with Chichester.

Chateau Reysson 2005 Cru Bourgeois Superieur, Haut Medoc (12.5 per cent, £9.99, Tesco) hails from an area with the same Roman name - Noviomagus - as Chichester.

The 2005 vintage has been widely publicised as one of the best for many years in the region. This fine, deep red, rich wine is soft and velvety, with dark fruit flavours, spice and a whiff of old cigar-boxes.

The blend is 50 per cent merlot and 50 per cent cabernet sauvignon, and it would admirably complement any Sunday roast, or a good cheeseboard.

Another superior offering from 2005 is a stylish and powerful example. Chateau Grand Barrail Lamarzelle Figeac 2005 (14 per cent, £17.99, Sainsburys) is full-bodied and fascinatingly complex.

Merlot smoothness predominates, making up 70 per cent of the wine, with 30 per cent cabernet franc.

This elegant red wine, from St Emilion, has an almost impenetrably dark colour, and rounded tannins, and I particularly recommend it.

The 12th century Chateau d'Argadens was acquired by Maison Sichel in 2002, and a large-scale renovation programme has been carried out since then.

The fruits of these labours, and investment, can be sampled in Chateau d'Argardens 2004 Bordeaux Superior (13.5 per cent, from £8.99 to £9.49, at retailers including Booths, Tanners Wines, R and R Wine Merchants and www.fromvineyardsdirect.com).

Fulsome, concentrated blackcurrant and blackberry tastes, and a velvety character. Composed of 55 per cent merlot and 45 per cent cabernet sauvignon.

I said earlier that a decent Bordeaux can still be obtained for under a tenner, and one worth a try is Chateau Cantegrive 2006 Cotes de Castillon (13.5 per cent, £6.92, Waitrose).

This is from a small appellation about seven miles from St Emilion, on the highest plateau in the Gironde.

Its blend of 60 per cent merlot, 25 per cent cabernet sauvignon and 15 per cent cabernet franc dishes up an attractive mixture of bramble fruit and light spices.

Chateau Pey la Tour is a name that has certainly made a hit in recent years, reported to sell well both here in the UK and in other countries.

Chateau Pey la Tour Reserve 2006 Bordeaux Superiur 2006 (13.5 per cent, £9.99 Booths) has deep, vibrant, warm, layered flavours, with blackberries and spice.

It comprises 95 per cent merlot, four per cent cabernet sauvignon and one per cent petit verdot.

I sipped a glass with a particularly tender, thick steak, grilled quickly with butter and olive oil, and served with a plain baked potato and a dollop of curly kale.

A second small glass accompanied a slice of delicious blue cheese, from the Neal's Yard Dairy, Covent Garden, transported back to Chichester by my daughter.