Is it possible to find high quality red Bordeaux on a menu for $40 to $80 a bottle? What about at the wine store for $20 to $40 a bottle?
Even though your dot.com ship didn't come in, it's possible to find good value, high-quality alternatives to the 61 wine producers that were "classified growths" back in 1855. Ask the waiter, sommelier or wine store sales person for wine recommendations using these ideas as guides:

• Second, please
  Choose wines that can often pass for the more renowned and expensive wines, called "second labels" or "second wines." While these wines were judged not good enough to be allowed into the grand vin, they give you a reasonably-priced way to taste Bordeaux's expensive, top wines and can be almost as good as the real McCoy. A "second wine" almost always includes part of the name of the primary label.
  For example:
       --Carruades de Lafite from Lafite-Rothschild
       - Bahans de Haut Brion from Haut Brion
       - Haut-Bages Averous from Lynch Bages
       - La Reserve de Leoville-Barton from Leoville-Barton
       - Le Fiefs de La Grange from La Grange
       - Le Forts de Latour from Latour
       - Pavilon Rouge de Chateau Margaux from Chateau Margaux
  
  But don't worry if you don't know the names of the top wines, simply ask the sommelier or wait person to recommend a "second wine" to you. These wines are cabernet-based blends.
  
  
• "Wanna be's"
  "Cru Bourgeois" (crew-bore-JWA) are amazing values. The name refers to an official category of almost 500 affordable wines just one rung below the 61 top wines classified back in 1855. They are also cabernet-based blends.
  
  
• Next door neighbors
  Choose wines from areas next to the statusy areas of St Emilion and Pomerol which produce merlot-based blends.
  
  Ask for wines from LaLande de Pomerol which is next door to pricey Pomerol. Or ask for wines from any of the St Emilion satellites that are vineyards surrounding statusy St-Emilion.
  
  However, if you can't remember Pomerol and St Emilion, don't worry, just ask your server or sommelier to ferret out these bargains for you by letting them know you'd like a bottle of Bordeaux "from the next-door neighbors to the famous chateaux."

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