Louis Latour Macon Villages Chameroy 2013, 13%. Dan Murphy $19

I love white burgundy.

If I could, I’d drink Puligny Montrachet every day, with Meursault when I was forced to economise. But I can’t, and this isn’t a blog about wine under $200, this is a blog about wine under $20.

That said, this wine looks like it cost much more. It has a lead capsule, a cork, elegant paper label and punt in the base of the bottle, so expectations are high.

If Louis Latour were Mercedes, this would be his A Class; the base model, but with a couple of extras like sat nav and leather. It has badge value and some components that can be found it more expensive models, but there’s no luxury and refinement.

Being white burgundy it’s Chardonnay (ok, there is another grape variety, Aligote but that’s not very nice. There’s also a Sauvignon from St Bris which is quite nice.) There’s no wood (I checked the website, stainless steel vats) so not much to help with character.

The structure’s good, but it lacks the flavor and complexity of its more famous Burgundian brothers – yes they cost a lot more.

I may be imagining butterscotch, my daughter says cake mix. It’s quite fat in the mouth, balance is good and the finish clean. But, but, it’s a bit sad really. The wine is trying, but not quite getting there.

Frontera Merlot, Concha Y Toro, Dan Murphy $9.49 in 6

In 1979 The Police released ‘Message in a Bottle’. It went to Number 1 in the UK. I never bought it, I wasn’t mad keen on the band, preferred The Stranglers.

There’s a message in this bottle; it says don’t drink me.

After the first taste I seriously thought about pouring it down the sink. It has no redeeming qualities. Ok, you can get a whiff of cherries, but that’s it.

This is the first wine I’ve reviewed under $10. Maybe it’s unfair to include it.

I thought it would be easier to write about bad wine than good wine. It’s not.

So, maybe it’s time for a bit of life over 50.

I saw a documentary the other day. It was an episode about the Cold War that went into some detail about the CIA’s involvement in Central and South America.

They didn’t like Chile’s democratically elected president Allende because he was nationalizing copper – in an attempt to deal with extreme poverty. They made sure his number one General was assassinated which led to Pinochet being promoted and then they helped him overthrow and replace Allende, who committed suicide while Pinochet bombed the presidential palace he was in, using British Hawker Hunter jets. Then they killed a lot of people, teachers, journalists, anyone who may have been a fan of Allende. The coup started on September 11, 1973. The first 9.11

In the scheme of things, exporting a bad bottle of wine isn’t a crime.