Jose is our resident wine enthusiast and has kindly agreed to try lots of wines and give you his opinions. Jose tells it exactly like it is so good or bad Jose will leave you in no doubt as to what he thinks.

Lots of candid reviews of what Jose ate, drank and watched last week all wines are given a score out of 100.

Jose's Wine Blog 18th February 2010

Domaine Cheval-Blanc Signe Bordeaux Rouge 2007.  I found this at £8.40 . I tried it as I cooked Boeuf bourguignon with left-over burgundy (sacrilege ?). The Cheval-Blanc was very fruity, though weak.But  drank with the food the weakness disappeared and it was then sufficiently robust to cope with and enhance the strong food flavours.  I subsequently tried it with a cheese,mushroom and fine herbes omelette and french fries - it was quite a good light combination. But I cant find any more of it so,although not as good,  it'll have to be the 2008  ( £7.67 currently).

My rating for the 2007  78, and for the 2008  70

Arco del Castillo Gran Reserva 2003. A surprisingly excellent wine from upcoming Yecla  at an incredibly low price ,deep colour, softly-oaky and intense.Loved it and will be getting more in. A steal at  £7. I'd pay much more. My rating for the 2007  82

Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume 2005. M&S wines have been getting better and better and I can now always find something I fancy. This chablis at £12.75 was wonderful, subtle and made me feel quite grown-up ! I'm not a fan of acidity in wines generally but here it was certainly present but didn't interfere with my enjoyment and was welcome.I had it with my version of what I loosely call crab cakes. The combination was outstanding.  My rating 85.          

Chablis 2007 selected by Tesco (Bertrand Cherel, bottled by Union des Viticulteurs de Chablis).As claimed by Tesco's sales blurb this really has a creamy palate of melon and citrus fruits.A good satisfying drink at a very affordable At £12.40. My rating 80

Harrods Premier cru champagne (by M Hostomme et Fils, Chouilly). As my youngest son has just passed another FSA rigorous exam, it was a good excuse to open some bubbly so I opened a bottle of  this Harrods own brand from a case a friend had given

me.Turns out it's a quietly enjoyable smooth champagne, the sort that leads to a second and a third and more glasses.I've had to go online to its price. Their 37.5cl  retails at £14.95 so I guess my 75cl bottle will be about £29.90. I'd say that's very reasonable  for this very satisfying easily quaffable tipple with its hints of citrus , peachy ,nutty taste.We drank on its own, so I'd recommend it as an aperitif.My rating 80    2010