My wine rack looks a whole lot more impressive now, thanks to generous friends.

The new star of the show is a 1995 Château Lynch-Bages. Something of a cult claret, the Château is in Bordeaux’s Pauillac appellation.

The same area is also home to three of the five Bordeaux premier cru estates; namely, Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild and Latour. These big names produce seriously expensive wine, whereas I would just classify Lynch-Bages as very expensive.

It would be vulgar to reveal how much my 1995 is worth. It would imply I had Googled the price as soon as I got home and unwrapped it. So let’s just say the value of a bottle will not be affected by the coalition governement’s planned minimum price level for alcohol!

My problem now is when to open it. Shall I save it for next Christmas, lay it down for another decade or throw caution to the wind and drink it now?

I didn’t have the same conundrum with this week’s trio of recommendations which, until recently, were sharing the wine rack with the Lynch-Bages. All three would be great with the Sunday roast. They are more affordable and more widely available examples of the winemaker’s art. I’ve picked two cracking cabernet sauvignons, the dominant grape in the Lynch-Bages blend, and a Bordeaux that you can find in Tesco.

Pascual Toso Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 is from the Mendoza region of Argentina. It’s very approachable, juicy, and full-bodied, with pronounced blackcurrant flavours, chocolate and clove.

Very much to my taste is Paul Mas La Forge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, which hails from the Languedoc. Smooth, rich, balanced and elegant, it suggests cassis and raspberry fruit with notes of mint and vanilla.

But if you insist on a Bordeaux, try Château Fourcas Dumont 2005 Listrac-Médoc. A blend of merlot, cabernet and petit verdot, it is rich, structured and balanced with flavours of spiced plums, dark roasted coffee and vanilla.

Pascual Toso Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, £7.95 at Field and Fawcett 17/20.

Paul Mas Estate La Forge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, £6.49 each when you buy two at Majestic 19/20.

Château Fourcas Dumont 2005 Listrac-Médoc, £13.49 at Tesco 17/20.