2008 Jean-Claude Boisset 'Les Ursulines' Bourgogne Rouge

Boisset Family Estates is the largest wine company in France, they have grown rapidly and done well but quality was often not a priority in this strategy (think Dan Ackroyd Estates and French Rabbit) and the name is invariably sneered at in Burgundy.  A little unhappy about being dissed in their backyard, the family decided to re-invest in the 'father' brand of Jean-Claude Boisset. They took some of the best vineyard parcels in their collection and added Gregory Patriat, a blond, young, energetic and modern winemaker with very traditional ideas on fermentation and bio-dynamism from Domaine Leroy.

I got a mixed case of 2008 recently and wanted to start slow so I picked the '08 Les Ursulines Bourgogne Rouge (Burgundy, France - $19).  My expectations were limited I have to say but on opening I was very pleasantly surprised.  The nose was light but very expressive, all red and black cherries with a little star anise-infused bacon fat.  The palate was high in acid (very 2008) and light in body at 12.5% alcohol.  But it flowed nicely and had some decent red fruit in there and worked much better with food.  All in all for $20 (!!) you won't do much better from the region.