March Wine Focus - Wine Values ($20 and under)

I agree with you on Stump Jump.

[David M. Bueker]

The 2012 Texier Cotes du Rhone Brezeme showed up locally this week. Still $20, and as usual bright red fruits and a hint of smoked meat. Very nice, but so young.

The 2012 Texier Cotes du Rhone Brezeme showed up locally this week. Still $20, and as usual bright red fruits and a hint of smoked meat. Very nice, but so young.

The 2011 is $28 in PA but at least we can get it.

[Jenise]

My neighborhood group did a tasting of best wine values in our area on Friday night. I served 14 wines. My personal favorites among the pretastes were the 2012 Cline Cashmere--a really luxurious Grenache-syrah blend for just $14, a $10 French sauv blanc called La Petite Perriere that had more class, depth and complexity than a lot of $20 French SBs, and the latest vintage, I guess it was a '12, of the South African Fairview (the Goats du Roam people) Pinotage that only cost $10. I would re-buy all three. In fact, I just ordered a case of the sauv blanc.

Knapp 2010, Finger Lakes, Cabernet Franc. It weighs in at 12.5 % alcohol and the price is $16.95. The wine gave a big load of red berries on the nose and upfront. There is more fruit along with some green herbs and a touch of oak in the middle. The finish lingers nicely. We matched it with broiled lamb chops, a mini baguette, and salad.

2011 Verget Bourgogne Blanc "Terroirs de Cote d'Or" 12.5% abv. Screwcap. I paid $16.99 each for two bottles. The first one opened in January of this year seemed to have lemon and apple notes. My notes on the second bottle differ somewhat.
Light gold color with transparency. An attractive nose, but subtle, and not well-defined as a particular fruit or flower. Light to medium body. On the palate I picked up hints of lemon cake. I like this. Not an incredible value but quite acceptable as an everyday white Burgundy. I had it one evening with baked chicken and another evening with baked salmon topped with dried tomatoes and pinenuts. The grapes are from Puligny and Meursault. This is only mildly influenced by oak.

[David M. Bueker]

White Burgundy for $17! Nothing wrong with that.

Here is a now and then moment! This WTN was posted about 2 yrs ago

WTN: `06 Quinta de Roriz Prado de Roriz, Douro Portugal.
Recent vintages have been well received by the pundits, winery has a long history and was recently purchased by the Symington family.
Good natural cork, decanted 30 mins, 14% alc, $22 Cdn, L 073209.
T Nacional, T Franca, T Barrosa, T Roriz, T Cao blend.

Color. Big inky dark center, purple rim w. red tinges.

Nose. Initially closed but no funk after a previous bottle in Nov Portugal Wine Festival. No heat, airing brings out blueberry and some currant.

Palate. Initial thoughts were dry, low tannins, very good acidity, not a lot of fruit. Medium to full bodied, livens up with my roast leg of lamb. Blueberry follows thro` on the palate with some dusty earthy tones. Much better wine on day 2, more fruit but not portish. Much more solid with some mocha as I type.

Bottle #3 opened this week and real nice tones. These Douro wines really show their stuff after a couple of years.
Still a good depth of color with a pale cherry rim. No bricking at all. Some initial warmth on the nose but I did chill slightly. Blueberry still shows and a hint of spice.
More sweetness on the entry, medium-bodied, has developed some tobacco tones on the finish and portish hints this time around. Cherry quite dominant with black fruits. Very nice wine, still solid.

Touraine "Fleur de Printemps" 2012 - Domaine de la Rochette, Famille Leclerc - Alc.12.5% - (c.€10), made from Gamay and Pinot Noir.
Recommended by a caviste in Deauville, who on this evidence is a man to trust. Quite light in colour and medium- in body, it showed delightful fruit and combined the exuberance of Gamay with the elegance Pinot into a convincing whole. It went down so easily and quickly that the bottle seemed small. Good. (Price probably lower in places less well heeled than Deauville!)

There are more and more values and original flavours to be found in Touraine outside the well known appellations of Chinon, Bourgueil, Vouvray and Montlouis. I'm especially on the lookout for cuvées made from Côt (AKA Malbec).

2011 di Leonardo TOH! When the ruling came down that this white Friulian varietal could no longer be called Tocai, most producers switched to the name Friulano. But di Leonardo, sticking a tongue out at the judiciary, kept the first syllable of the traditional name and called their wine TOH! It's a delicious example of the signature white from Graves. Dry with a mildly aromatic nose, grapefruit, a bit of grassiness and a full mouth feel. Nothing too subtle here, just a great taste at a great price. 13% alc. $11

[Jenise]

Okay, here's a killer recommendation: 2011 Grand Bateau, a white Bordeaux, at $10. It's a stemmy style (75/25 Sauv blanc to Semillon) and you have to like that to get this wine, but it has very good fruit and a great presence in the glass. A remarkable value.

Beaujolais Vielles Vignes Cuvée Traditinnelle 2007 - Pierre-Marie Chermette - Alc.11.5% - (€9)
Pierre-Marie Chermette is one of my favourite Bojo producers but, when I saw this offer at a local supermarket was a 7 year old, I hesitated and just bought one sample bottle. In fact the wine was a real delight. It had taken on some weight of body, richness of fruit and complexity without losing freshness and it still tasted like a Bojo and not a Côte d'Or unlike some ageing Morgon and MaV (the locals say that Bojo "pinote" with age). Probably lively acidity and this cuvée's greater initial tannic structure than usual contributed to this still exuberant showing. Very good. QPR!

Marietta Cellars Old Vine Lot** is an old favorite of mine costing about 10-12$. I had the Lot 54 last nite and again satisfied with it. The different lots are predominently Zin but some Cab/Merlot/Petite Syrah are used also. This one was on the sweet side, mostly Zin I would guess with 13.5%abv. I started with the Lot #4 so have been a longtime fan. They produce more than one lot # per year and started the series in 1978. I would also agree with a permanent stickie for wines under $20 or $25, whatever the group agrees upon.

I started a bit later, with lot 17. Allegedly they do about two-three lots per year and I've always been able to pick these blind. Every lot has a similar style and mouthfeel and profile. Not so starting with lot #60. Something changed significantly. Bilbo is still stirring the T-bin, so I'm not sure if it was the 2011 rains or a different yeast or what. There are plusses and minuses to the different result and I (personally) don't have an opinion on whether it's better or worse, just different.

Pecchenino - Dogliani - San Luigi 2012

Translucent, deep ruby color. Violets and roses on the nose, with a bit of autumnal, damp-wet leaves. Medium body, nice lift, hits the palate with good freshness and fans out with an almost perfect balance of fruit and just the right amount of ripe, grainy tannin. This wine has a nice, long finish with a good bit of complexity; really good stuff for $13-14! It's drinking beautifully right now, but another 1-2 years in the cellar would be very interesting.

Tim`s Beaujolly sounds pretty good! Guess he was picking up his cider pack when he saw this one .

[Robin Garr]

Here's another excellent white from Jean-Marc Brocard that easily meets our great value under $20 criteria. They had me with an overt appeal to the natural wine AFWE criteria: "15-year-old Chardonnay vines grown on Kimmeridgian limestone, fermented with indigenous yeast," according to the label, which adds, "Mon vin puise arome en terre" ("my wine draws aroma from the earth").

Jean-Marc Brocard 2011 "Kimméridgien" Bourgogne Chardonnay ($16.99)

Transparent straw color. Fresh apple aromas, but there's something more, a pleasantly earthy scent of wool and a distant, subtle hint of mandarin orange. Fresh and tart on the palate, crisp white fruit and a touch of chalky minerality; rational 12.5% alcohol, and a zippy lemon-squirt of palate-cleansing acidity. Simple and fresh but with plenty of flavor interest, it might not stand up to the gravitas of a top white Burgundy, but then, neither does its price tag. U.S. importer: Vanguard Wines LLC, Columbus, Ohio. (March 26, 2014)

FOOD MATCH: White Burgundies traditionally go well with Brie, Camembert and other creamy soft cheeses; lighter seafood and saltwater fish such as scallops or cod; roast chicken or veal, and fresh vegetable dishes. It was fine with a risotto of roasted fennel and onions finished with nappa cabbage.

WHEN TO DRINK: A sturdy modern screw cap keeps the wine fresh, not such a common thing with French wines, but frankly - especially with clear, subtle whites - a good thing. It's not made for long-term aging but would certainly keep, and might gain a little complexity, over five years or so.

VALUE: It's a fine value at my local price, which is right on the national median for this wine according to Wine-Searcher.com.

WEB LINK: The Jean-Marc Brocard website is available in French and English. This link goes to a fact sheet (French only) on the 2012 Kimméridgien.
http://www.boutique-brocard.fr/vins-de- ... dgien.html

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Find vendors and check prices for Jean-Marc Brocard 2011 "Kimméridgien" Bourgogne Chardonnay on Wine-Searcher.com.
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/jean- ... g_site=WLP

The problem with discussions like this is that these wine values will soon experience increased demand and hence higher prices. So stock up quickly!

Many years ago I bought a book called Best Wine Buys under $10 that had to be updated to best wine buys under $15 in short order. One I learned back then that is still a good wine value is Marietta's Old Vine Red. Another is Alexander Valley's Temptation Zin.

[David M. Bueker]

Hi Ken,

We hope we can keep unearthing new values! Still lots of great stuff out there that is under $20. Some still under $15.