Favorite bottles of Red for under $20?

[thegmanifesto]

What are your favorite bottles of Red Wine for under $20?




MPM
The Guide to Getting More Out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

 

[skalogre]

Taurino, Salice Salentino.
KEO Othello (hard to find) - preferably Grand Reserve.
Boutari Naoussa.

 

[Concordia]

Good cru Beaujolais (e.g., Morgon, Julienas, Moulin-a-Vent, et al.). The 03s were good, but you're never far from a good year if you stay with artisanal producers.

Cotes du Rhone is a reliably good deal. In fact, Parallele 45 is consistently one of the best $10 investments you can make in a bottle of red wine. Some of the higher-end Cotes from smaller producers (e.g., Tardieu-Laurent) are good buys, too, and won't generally crack $20.

Occasionally I dip into southern Italian wines. Some interesting experiences, but I can't tell you producers or even regions that were especially good.

You used to get some good minor Northern Rhones for less than $20. Graillot's Crozes or St-Joseph, for example. Those have gone the way of the overvalued dollar.

There will be some good minor Bordeaux for under $20 that can, in good years, give happy drinking. 2005 may be a year to back up the truck on those. Otherwise, some of the Grands Crus in minor years like 1997 can be excellent value. That year got crushed by overpricing as futures and merely good reviews. Talbot may be available for around $20, or Grand-Puy-Lacoste.

 

[mbc]

I rarely buy the same bottle twice, but a couple that come to mind are the Wild Horse Pinot Noir (usually $25 but can be had for less) and Castello di Gabbiano Chianti Classico Riserva.

 

[faustian bargain]

ravenswood rosemount charles shaw

yes! two buck chuck! it's cheaper than water!

 

[Mr. Checks]

I'll second the red Rhones. Usually well under $20

 

[SGladwell]

There are a bunch of good Riojas under $20, though I don't have a bottle in front of me to give you the name from right now.

 

[Fabienne]

I usually stay away from French wine in the US.

I would highly recommend the selection at... yes... Costco. In the 8-20 dollar range, they actually have very good choices, and the same bottles are 4 to 5 dollars more at a regular liquor store. I recently had a cab from the Kunde winery, I think it was a 2002, and it was quite decent. A few times, I have bought, at about $16, a flacon from the St Francis winery (Sonoma). As an every day wine, I have been known to get a cab by Mondavi at $8 or something like that. They also have Rancho Zabacho at under 8 dollars.

 

[Bouji]

M&S Macon Rouge

 

[chrysalid]

can anyone suggest a good budget pinot noir to be had in the uk?

 

[Bouji]

Originally Posted by chrysalid

can anyone suggest a good budget pinot noir to be had in the uk?
M&S Bourgogne Rouge, and slightly more expensive, but still quite cheap, M&S Nuits St. Georges

 

[romafan]

Originally Posted by Concordia

Good cru Beaujolais (e.g., Morgon, Julienas, Moulin-a-Vent, et al.). The 03s were good, but you're never far from a good year if you stay with artisanal producers.

Some incredibly tasty stuff is produced by Pierrre Chermette under several different labels (Domaine Vissoux and a few others)

For Zins, Cline & Ravenswood are good bets.

Find some place with a decent Italian selection and you will do OK sticking DOC designated bottles....

 

[alflauren]

My wine bible is the San Francisco Chronicle's wine competition winners list. I usually just buy their top selections, and I've never had a bad bottle. Plus, their top selections are usually pretty easy to come by.

They organize wines by type and price, so it's easy to pick a wine under a certain amount.

http://www.winejudging.com/medal_win...006/index.html

 

[Tyto]

Originally Posted by romafan

...

For Zins, Cline & Ravenswood are good bets.

...
Seconded. I'd also add Coppola's Diamond Series and Rabbit Ridge. Both can often be found at Trader Joe's or Cost Plus.

 

[faustian bargain]

rabbit ridge - thumbs up.

another cheapie that we like as a daily drinker is the napa ridge pinot