Help for Bordeaux Newbie

[darthsidious]

On an impulse, I picked up an bottle of Chateau Bel Air Haut-Medoc 2000. It's my first Bordeaux wine, and I'm not sure if
1) It's ready to drink
2) If I need to let it breathe for a while after opening it.
3) Whether this is a bad wine for me to start on Bordeaux/Cabernet Sauvignon, in which case I'd appreciate cheap (<$25) recommendations.

Thanks in advance

 

[silverpig]

1. Sure. I'm not familiar with that specific one though.
2. Definitely. I've only had a few bordeaux wines but on multiple occasions, and letting it breathe is very important in my experience. There is a drastic change in the wine up through 45 minutes and it still improves after an hour.
3. I went to a nice restaurant here and ordered a bottle of Chateau Peyraud (~$70 at the restaurant) and loved it. Actually the staff was impressed as most people order Californian wines and not many order the classic French wines anymore for some reason. Their wine guy was telling me a bit about it and the bordeaux wines in general and said it was a good one to go with. I've since found it at local stores for ~$28 CAD I believe.

 

[spidey07]

Bordeaux should breathe/decant a good 20 minutes IMHO. I don't know all the houses so don't know if it's a good wine or not.

If you want to get into wine just get pick up a cheap decanteur (sp?) or a cheap set. I've got a nice little "mini" decanters where you serve each of four guests their individual portion and let it rest/decant before serving on the table. pretty cool really.