I do not know if you happened to see any of BBC 4’s recent programme Wine. Busy girl that I am, I only saw one episode; the one that featured the hallowed Bordeaux estate, Château Margaux.

For me it made for uneasy viewing. It was fun to watch vineyard workers — who looked as gnarled and windswept as some of the vines — cast doubts on the potential brilliance of the vintage, as the rain kept coming. Meanwhile owner and management enthused optimistically about the potential and sat in meetings discussing the price of the about-to-be-released vintage.

Very squirm-worthy was the moment when director, Paul Pontallier, announced that Margaux was going to do its bit for the victims of the recent earthquakes in China by hosting a fundraising gala in Beijing.

It was a thinly veiled attempt to bring the wines of Margaux to the wealthy Chinese. Watching M. Pontallier being fawned over by Chinese ladies — in the name of charity — was just hideous.

Still, that is business, I suppose, and in these tough times the top Bordeaux estates must do all that they can to ensure their continued success in the international marketplace.

The 2008 vintage (so ominously portrayed in the programme) was not one that looked set to bring much joy to the locals. August was wet and rain continued well into September. That is bad news for grapes; mildew and rot take over and the fruit becomes increasingly dilute.

However, by some extraordinary miracle and with a better end to September and October, the wines that have been made in 2008 are not too shabby at all. There is less wine (no bad thing) and while it can hardly be classed as a great vintage, the wines are broadly solid.

One of the crucial factors in delivering quality wines after such turbulent weather is vigorous grape selection. Any poor, rotten or tarnished fruit has to be thrown away, with only the healthiest grapes making it to the fermentation tanks. Where this job has been done well, there is no shortage of lovely wine.

My overall impression is that the red wines have good fruit, with fresh acidity and not overly drying tannins. In fact, I was impressed by how many really elegant wines I tasted and was pleased to find only a few of the dense, overly-extracted style. Good news.

In fact it is just the sort of vintage that makes me go all weak at the knees about Bordeaux.

I know it is not a classic year, but it is rather refreshing to see the locals a little more humble, and I am pleased that they have had an opportunity to show how good they can be when the conditions are far from ideal.

When I say this, I am not talking about the world-famous first growths but rather the hundreds and hundreds of other estates who are making wine in Bordeaux for substantially less reward. Programmes such as Wine do not do an awful lot for Bordeaux. The famous growths continue to thrive but the image of Bordeaux at the more keenly-priced end of the market is not great.

I would have been more excited about a programme that showed the work and commitment that goes into making a potentially disastrous year into a good one.

It would not have the glamour of swanky gala dinners but it might be more informative.

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