Chateau Mazeris Canon Fronsac, 1982

The price tag on this bottle reads "$6.99." That's less than 26 cents for every year of productive life this wine has given.

The color is a medium light ruby with some amber at the rim (although not as much as you might expect from a wine of this age). Aromas are very Merlot: red cherries, aromatic herbs such as bay leaf and basil and some pretty floral tones. I find none of the green vegetal smells that turn me away from most of the cheap Merlots that dominate the market. On the palate, the wine is smooth, cool and elegant--again red cherries, a hint of black tea but no green pepper or veggies. Flavors are intense and not at all tired. This is not a great wine that will blow anyone away but an excellent expression of Merlot (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in a claret mode that was more common in the early 1980s than it is today.