Chateau des Cedres 2005 Bordeaux

This wine retails for about $9. Had it for $18 on half-price wine night at Carrboro restaurant. It's perhaps worth $9, not $18 (let alone the price on 6 nights a week of $36). Presumably restaurant owners buy such bottles because they assume most people at most know something like "Bordeaux are good wines so I'll get one that's fairly expensive relative to the rest of the wines on the list." A shame because at $9 I'd take the Penfolds Koonunga Cab or Cab/Shiraz any day. Not to mention for $18 you could get a really good Australian red, a Cotes du Rhone or a Spanish grenache, charge $36 and get the standard 100% markup. So the owner here assumes his clientele doesn't know enough about wine to realize what a dumb rip-off this is. Maybe he suspects they do know enough to have heard 2005 is a great vintage and indeed this Chat. des Cedres is probably as good as this chateau can ever get.

The wine was drinkable. I'd give it 82 points. It certainly is at its peak now. No bouquet to speak of but simple light fruit and acid and very light tannins. 80% merlot shows in the cherry strawberry finish. I doubt this wine will be drinkable after 2010. For now though it probably serves the owner's needs by flattering his poorly informed clientele.