Château Les Nauds 2017

Oh spare us the "better when it was rough-and-ready" nostalgia. We remember city centres where, once upon a time, it was frankly dangerous to go out if you were a bit of a misfit. At one time, even the south-west of Bordeaux used to have stretches of mean and derelict vineland that might, if they liked the look of you, let you have a tiny amount of rough white wine.

So hats off to the Cardarelli family for their huge and continuing investment in bringing 280 hectares of such land into the 21st century and spinning straw into gold. Now you're more than welcome to enjoy their invitingly accessible fruit-packed red wines, even if you're a punk rocker!

The grandparents of the current owners of Château les Nauds, the Cardarelli family, were sharecroppers who dreamt of owning a vineyard. In 1952, after eighteen years of saving, they bought a dilapidated patch of vineland in the south-eastern reaches of Bordeaux, which produced its first wine - 120 hectolitres of dry white - the following year. On the death of the grandfather, the estate was handed down to his son, whose wife owned inherited vineyards, and restoration work on all of this land got underway in 1961. The first bottled wine became available in 1980, and the Vineyards Carderelli estate now covers 280 hectares.

The region between Castillon la Bataille and Sainte Foy la Grande is at the south-eastern end of Bordeaux, on the border of Bergerac. Vineyards Cardarelli is committed to sustainable and responsible viticulture, and is currently in the process of ISO 14001 certification, a voluntary undertaking to ensure continuous improvement of environmental performance.

All vinification takes place in stainless steel, with maceration lasting one week and temperature-controlled fermentation another four. The wine is stored in concrete and stainless steel tanks for between 18 months and two years.

Alluringly deep red in appearance with an intense red fruit nose and a dark fruit palate tuned up by supple tannins