2010 Chateau Gaudin: great value - to drink now or keep

Chateau Gaudin is one of only four independent chateaux left in Pauillac. Madame Linette Capdeville took over the seven hectares of vineyard from her grandfather and says she's been making wine since she was nine. Nobody dares ask when that was.

Her husband is the grower. He's highly regarded in the area for his farming skills, and doesn't use sprays unless absolutely necessary. This isn't just because of a philosophical desire to be organic, but highly pragmatic: they're very expensive. The use of sulphur is also kept to a minimum and the average age of the vines is 35 years. There's an ancient hydraulic basket press (with the Gustav Eiffel foundry name on it) for extracting the juice from the grapes, as it is much more controllable and predictable in use than some modern fancy-pant presses (Chateau Gazin had a huge lift in quality when they bought a new one of these a few years ago).

So why are we and you buying it? It's amazing value with no PR machine and buildings that look like a Bulgarian farmyard so it's easily overlooked by price-inflating critics. And it's subtle and it's from the amazing 2010 vintage, which suits its Cabernet-dominated grape mix. Madame Capdeville wants wines that express Pauillac, so Gaudin's not over-extracted and not a 'body-building' wine. The most important thing is the fruit, which is sweet and ripe, and is supported by oak (only 30% new), but not overshadowed by it. Small independents doing great work. We like it. /CW

Available end October 2013