In both this column and the restaurant column above you may have noticed a preponderance of reviewed wines that are not from France. This isn't some deep-seated case of Gallophobia of mine, it's a price thing. Much as I'd like to sing the praises of Italian wines, I have to admit that France probably produces the world's finest wines. Over the years I've been lucky enough to taste a lot of these great wines; a D'Yquem '69, a Lafite '45 in a magnum, a '28 Beychevelle and plenty others in the 'magnificent to sublime' category. But like most of the people on this planet I work to a budget. I'll spend up to £20 in a restaurant or up to £10 in an off-license and for this kind of money I want a well-made wine.

Because the name 'France' on a wine bottle has such a long and illustrious history, the truth is that today on the international market, French wines have a built-in premium - they can fetch their asking price, and that price has been on a steady upward trend for thirty years or more. The net effect of this is that it's easier to find a well-made wine in the under £10 bracket if the wine isn't from France. It's not impossible to find good French wines in this bracket, just harder, and the ones that you do find tend to come from the lesser-known areas of France.

The sad truth is that whereas in my formative years a decent Bordeaux - a cru bourgeois, say - was affordable, nowadays a decent claret with a few years of bottle age is going to cost £20 and upwards. For many people that means a good claret remains a very rare experience. However, if you've got £20 to spend and want to see what the fuss is about good French wines, now's your chance. Superquinn are running a French wine sale and some of the deals on offer are remarkable. There are about 70 wines in their sale from all parts of France, but here are six, three Bordeaux and three Burgundy, that represent good value from areas not known for cheap wine.

Bordeaux:

Château Bernadotte, Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois 1996 £17.59 £15.69 sale
Château de Pressac, St. Emilion Grand Cru 1998/99 £16.53 £14.99 sale
Château Croizet-Bages 1997 - Grand Cru Classe, Pauillac £22.81 £17.97 sale

Burgundy:

Montagny 1ère Cru - Charles Vienot 1997 £8.99 £7.59 sale
Savigny Les Beaune 1ère Cru Les Lavières - Charles Vienot 1997 £11.89 £10.99 sale
Chablis - Charles Vienot 2000 £8.99 £7.99 sale

All six of these wines are priced at less than usual for wines of this calibre - a grand cru classe for under £20 makes the point. Any one of these would make an excellent wine of the week, but I've chosen the Saint Emilion.

Wine of the Week

Château de Pressac, St. Emilion Grand Cru 1998 £16.53 £14.99 sale

Beautifully fruity, made with 70% Merlot, it's strong on the nose and has great intensity on the palate. This is a fine example of the elegant wines of the St Emilion.

All wines available Superquinn.