The winery, owned by Zita and Jean-Jacques Dubois, is located in the Fronsac appellation. It is set high above a vine-terraced hill with views of the Dordogne Valley below. An ancient stone quarry lies behind the family house, built as a hunting lodge by the Duke of Richelieu in the 18th century. We all just stood there, drinking in the scenery along with the excellent wine.

"This is Bordeaux," I kept thinking. And I'm not alone.

Ask Doug Bell about wine from the Fronsac region and you get an almost identical answer.

"It's a great wine," said Bell, the global wine buyer for Whole Foods Market Inc. "I don't want to call it the poor man's Pomerol but, well, it is sort of the poor man's Pomerol."

Pomerol wines are some of the priciest from Bordeaux. Fronsac wines on the other hand tend to run US$40 or less, Bell said.

"In the Bordeaux world, that's a relative bargain," he said.

Fronsac has two wine regions. There's a smaller Canon-Fronsac inside the larger Fronsac appellation. Both make reds, using merlot as the dominant grape variety. More merlot means the "drinkability window" is earlier for these wines, said Tony Foreman, the Baltimore restaurateur behind Bin 604 and other Maryland restaurants.

"It's a solid conservative choice," Foreman said. "It's good. The quality of Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac is getting stronger and stronger, no question."

Canon-Fronsac and Fronsac have long been overshadowed by neighboring Saint-Emilion and Pomerol (Fronsac wines were far more well-known in the 18th and 19th centuries).

The wine council is seeking to turn the region's low profile into an advantage by referring to it as "the secret garden of Bordeaux wine."

FROM FRONSAC, MERLOT DONE RIGHT

2000 Chateau Les Roches de Ferrand Fronsac

This a plummy, spicy nose and flavor notes of plum, black cherry and cedar. Lovely mouth feel, with just the right amount of tannins to launch a long slow finish. Mostly merlot with a splash of cabernet franc blended in. Serve with braised short ribs. US$17

2005 Chateau de La Dauphine Fronsac

Plenty of ripe berry and cherry flavors liberally spiced with black pepper. A lively, balanced wine with undertones of oak, cassia and cedar. The wine is a 90 percent merlot, 10 percent cabernet franc. Serve with roast chicken. US$30

2005 Chateau Moulin Haut-Laroque Fronsac

This purple wine has a subtle, almost elusive smell of violets and damp earth. The taste is peppery with notes of berry and oak. Serve this blend of merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon with grilled steak. US$25

BY THE NUMBERS

2,766: Acres in the Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac appellations

1937: Year the Fronsac appellation was officially created. Canon-Fronsac followed two years later.

153: Winemakers in Canon-Fronsac and Fronsac

78: Percentage of vineyards in the Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac region planted with merlot grapevines. Cabernet franc covers about 13 percent of the vineyards in the two regions; cabernet sauvignon makes up 7 percent.

Source: Conseil des Vins de Fronsac

WHERE IS IT?

Canon-Fronsac and Fronsac are located about 24 miles northeast of the city of Bordeaux. The local wine promotion board, the Conseil des Vins de Fronsac, describes it as "settled just like a butterfly on the bank of the Dordogne River." A bit flowery, I suppose, but it makes for a visually striking way of describing this appellation inside an appellation wine region. Canon-Fronsac is situated in two communes, Fronsac and Saint Michel de Fronsac. The larger Fronsac region spreads over seven communes: Fronsac, Saint Aignan, La Riviere, Saint Michel de Fronsac, Saint Germain la Riviere, Saillans and Galgon.