La Dauphine, Bordeaux
Cellar room at Chateau de La Dauphine
(Image credit: Cellar room at Chateau de La Dauphine)

Step beyond the big names with Steven Spurrier and discover six chateaux producing some of the best value Bordeaux wine.

There are many unsung heroes of Bordeaux, but in choosing the best value Bordeaux wine châteaux I opted for estates with a long history that have produced consistent quality through thick and thin, often via many changes of ownership. Today, they fully deserve plaudits.

The wines of the six estates profiled below represent unquestionably good value Bordeaux. They are not all cheap – such is the level of financial investment needed to make the best of even the worst vintages – but nor are they expensive when compared to some of their higher flying neighbours.

Click on the links below to see full profiles of the chateaux listed.

Steven Spurrier’s six best value Bordeaux wine estates

Chateau Laroque

Chateau Laroque, St Emilion
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Producer profile: Château Laroque

Chateau La Pointe, Pomerol

The new bat room at Chateau La Pointe
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Producer profile: Château La Pointe

Chateau de La Dauphine, Fronsac

Chateau de La Dauphine, Fronsac
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Producer profile: Château de La Dauphine

Chateau de Lamarque

Chateau de Lamarque
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Producer profile: Château de Lamarque

Chateau Biac

Chateau Biac
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Producer profile: Château Biac

Chateau Cerons

Chateau Cerons
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Producer profile: Château de Cérons

When I owned a wine shop in Paris, I peddled the phrase rapport prix-plaisir or value-for-pleasure, which suits these wines perfectly.

When calling in samples for tasting, I requested just the 2010, a great vintage that these fine châteaux express so admirably – and at great value. But since their attention to detail and selection is currently at such a high level, each vintage is worthy of interest.

Rather than choose only little known Bordeaux chateaux, I decided that I would rather highlight those Bordeaux wine estates that have always made great quality wines.

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Steven Spurrier
Steven Spurrier
Decanter Magazine, Consultant Editor
Decanter’s consultant editor Steven Spurrier joined the wine trade in London in 1964 and later moved to Paris where he bought a wine shop in 1971, and then opened L’Academie du Vin, France’s first private wine school in 1973. Spurrier staged the historic 1976 blind tasting between wines from California and France, the Judgment of Paris, and in the 1980s he wrote several wine books and created the Christie’s Wine Course with then senior wine director Michael Broadbent, a veteran Decanter columnist. In 1988 Spurrier returned to the UK to focus on writing and consultancy, with his clients including Singapore Airlines. He has won several awards, including Le Personalité de l’Année (oenology) 1988 for services to French wine and the Maestro Award in honour of California wine legend André Tchelistcheff (2011) and is president of the Circle of Wine Writers as well as founding the Wine Society of India. He also produced his own wine, Bride Valley Brut, from his vines in Dorset.