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French wine recommendations (Burgundy and Bordeaux)

post #1 of 23
8/28/09 at 6:27pm
Thread Starter 
Looking for some cheap and widely available options. Thanks.
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post #2 of 23
8/28/09 at 8:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Connemara View Post
Looking for some cheap and widely available options. Thanks.

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post #3 of 23
8/28/09 at 8:14pm
There is no cheap Burgundy.

For Bordeaux, try Mouton Cadet, Greysac, and Larose Trintaudon. Those are stalwarts that show the basic style resonably well.

There are a lot of decent cheap Rhones.
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post #4 of 23
8/28/09 at 8:14pm
Thread Starter 
I am a wine n00blet.
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post #5 of 23
8/28/09 at 8:19pm
Lots of solid and reasonable Guigal.
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post #6 of 23
8/28/09 at 8:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
There is no cheap Burgundy.

For Bordeaux, try Mouton Cadet, Greysac, and Larose Trintaudon. Those are stalwarts that show the basic style resonably well.

There are a lot of decent cheap Rhones.

this pretty much covers exactly what I would have said.


If you want other cheap wines, try Spain and Portugal. Avoid California.
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post #7 of 23
8/28/09 at 8:41pm
Garnachas are fun.
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post #8 of 23
8/29/09 at 12:42am
I think there are 21 appealtions of Bordeaux alone and it is one of the most diverse regions in the world Given that your in Columbus, I am not sure what you have access to, as that can change greatly what might be affordable to you. I think the most accessible and affordable from Bordeaux might be St. Emilion. For that I would recommend St, Emilion Rocher Corbin. Also checkout some Bordeau Superiour might be Cadillac. You should be able to find either hopefully around 15.

Why not start out with some easy drinking wines that are fine to pop now and cheap? beaujoulais, minervois, etc.
I know less about Burgundy wines, but I think the most accessible is Cotes de Nuits.

Check out some of the online seller that specialize in French wines. Zachys.com comes to mind. Cruise around that website and you should be able to figure out which varietals are moderately priced.

If you go south, you should be able to find some Languedoc Rousillon. Maybe try some Luc Pirlet?
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post #9 of 23
8/29/09 at 12:48am
If you want to try a very good, inexpensive Burgundy, I would suggest something from A & P de Villaine. He is the co-owner of Romanee Conti, and he and his wife produce some Burgundies from vineyards without much reputation, but they do it very well, and the wines are excellent. Kermit Lynch imports a bunch, but I don't know if anybody else in the US does. They run around $30 or so a bottle.
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post #10 of 23
8/29/09 at 12:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pscolari View Post
I think the most accessible and affordable from Bordeaux might be St. Emilion.

there are 57 AOC appellations in Bordeaux. Quite a bit. FWIW, I wouldn't guess St. Emillion to be a more accessible and affordable one, for two reasons: lack of quantity (very small part of the region, coupled with extremely low yield), and generally high quality (right bank AOC's of Pomerol and St. Emillion can really push the price for good wines. See Chateau Petrus, Ausone, and Cheval Blanc for further proof). IMO, I wouldn't spend less than $35 on most bottles from the region, though there are some excellent exceptions, especially the second labels of some bigger names. Under $15 is really hard.

Some more affordable Bordeaux appellations: Medoc, Haut Medoc, Graves, Cotes de Castillon, Cotes de Francs, Premieres Cotes de Blaye, Fronsac, and Entre Deux Mers.
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post #11 of 23
8/29/09 at 12:56am
also, for Burgundy, try AOC Santenay. It's in the Cote-d'Or, though just south of the Cote de Beaune, not actually in it. This lack of being in Cote de Beaune pushes the price down, but a well made Santenay can be excellent and a great value.
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post #12 of 23
8/29/09 at 12:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
There is no cheap Burgundy.

For Bordeaux, try Mouton Cadet, Greysac, and Larose Trintaudon. Those are stalwarts that show the basic style resonably well.

There are a lot of decent cheap Rhones.

Not true on the Burgs, you can often find decent Cote Chalonaise or Macons for betw $10-15. You can also usually find Hautes Cotes de Beaune or Nuits in that same price range on sale. Certainly these won't be the best examples of red or white Burgundy, but they will at least hint at what a good Burgundy can offer.

As for Bordeaux, I'd avoid Mouton Cadet and just look for a Bordeaux Superieur or Petite Chateau from a good recent vintage. They should run you between $8-12. 2005 is a very good vintage and, at least in Chicago, the minor Bordeaux have been on sale a lot recently. 04 and 06 are certainly decent vintages as well.
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post #13 of 23
8/29/09 at 3:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iammatt View Post
If you want to try a very good, inexpensive Burgundy, I would suggest something from A & P de Villaine. He is the co-owner of Romanee Conti, and he and his wife produce some Burgundies from vineyards without much reputation, but they do it very well, and the wines are excellent. Kermit Lynch imports a bunch, but I don't know if anybody else in the US does. They run around $30 or so a bottle.

Thanks for that tip. When fall hits, I might order some from K&L. Can't be too careful with hot FedEx vans and shipping wine.
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post #14 of 23
8/30/09 at 2:43am
Costco has good selection picked out by a pretty decent buyer. I'd go there first to limit the number of makers. Or go to BevMo and ask for the most knowledgeable import wine guy in the place. My favorite Bordeaux wines reasonably priced: Chateau de Pez amd Chateaux Meyney. Both are very good for their price point. I also shop according to region. For example, I love wines from the Margaux region because of their bouquet, and I will try wines from that region like Chateau Cantenac Brown (can't spring the dough for Chateau Margaux yikes!). Just FYI, French wines are very year sensitive. The quality can really drop off from year to year depending on the quality of their growing season. Make sure you know your good years from your bad years. Unlike French wines, California wines have a very consistent growing season so their wines are consistently good from year to year (meaning one year isn't horribly bad compared to another). Have fun...
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post #15 of 23
8/30/09 at 11:38am
Chateau Meyney is a solid go-to affordable Bordeaux from St. Estephe, but I remember their 2005 being a disappointment compared to their 2003. Prices have usually been around the $30-35 range.
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