Open Mike: Fave bargain wine of late?

[Jenise]

Or just any good ones you'd reccommend?

Some tasters tend to quietly drink their everyday bargains but only write up TN's on the stunners or wines with more name recognition. I drank a $9.89 Saint Chinian last night worth mentioning that I'll have to go dig out the bottle to report on more fully (name escapes me), but I'm a-thinkin' it might go better in a thread like this than trying to headline one of its own. I'll go get the bottle, in the meantime, feel free to contribute!

Goats Do Roam in Villages Shiraz-Pinotage. I posted a WTN on it. An amazing wine for a good value (in Ontario at least) of $15.95 (Canadian).

[James Roscoe]

2007 CdR at $9.99! Just buy it. don't worry too much about the producer. Just get it. The vintage is awesome in the southern Rhone!

Recently finished a small stash of 2004 Bests Great Western Cab Franc, which was an absolutely lovely wine - a great advert for Cab Franc and the fragrance it can offer.

There have been some bargain prices (of at times quite fancy wines) along the way, but your request seemed more lined up to the above wine.

regards

Ian

Been buying a bunch, drinking a bunch and posting notes (or others have) on a handful...

1998 Josef Leitz Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Auslese; bought at Flickinger (IL) for $15 and opened at a recent housewarming dinner I hosted (and posted notes on), phenomenal wine with bright white fruited, honeyed and developed smoky aromatics, plenty of richness and depth and a great match with Indian food.

2004 Schlossgut Diel Riesling Kabinett, bought at Marty's Newton for $13, delicious with bright green lime and grapefruit flavours, touches of herbs and minerals underneath and bright acidity. Very refreshing, lovely Kabinett.

2004 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Burgberg Riesling Spatlese, bought at Marty's Newton for $20 and opened with Rahsaan, really bright, sweet white fruited flavours with some tropical elements, with time gains definition and a nice minerally character and leftovers the second day were even better, with some tart citrus elements coming out to balance the rich sweet fruit.

2005 Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett; $15 at Table&Vine, not a particularly 'special' discounted price or a steal like the others, just a phenomenally great value and one of my favourite Kabinetts. Bright ripe apple and lime fruits, herbal, floral and slatey elements underneath, delightful wine.

2008 Keller Riesling von der Fels; $33 and a real bargain wine because Keller is a master of all things dry Riesling and this wine apparently had some declassified Abtserde grapes in it, and deserved to have been priced two or three times higher like other top Grosses Gewachs. Shows all the hallmarks of being from one of Keller's best vintages ever (until 09) and aside from being boring and monotonic and not that different from a lot of Austrian Rieslings at half the price, it's a phenomenal bargain.

Another vote for any number of '07 Cotes du Rhones. Particluarly liked the St Cosme Cotes du Rhone (100% Syrah) at $13 and the St Cosme Cotes du Rhone Les Deux Albion at $17, Cros de la Mure Cotes du Rhone at $18, Brusset Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne Les Travers at $17. One I didn't like much was the Brusset Laurent B.

And the Leitz Dragonstone is a great beach wine/summer refresher also for under $20.

Bargain wines at under US$20 for me are Rías Baixas Albariños - great with fresh seafood dishes (as they are regionally paired in Galicia). The '07s of Laxas, Martin Códax and Burgáns are favorites. Tierras Gaudas O Rosal too, but this is an albariño blend and a little over US$20.

One more vote for Leitz Dragonstone plus a vote for the 2008 Martin Codax Albarino..just finished a bottle of it tonight with tilapia..this is a frequent flier in our house and has been for several vintages..Also Foxglove Chard. from Varner in California. I just finished the last of our stash of the 2007..The 2008 is now available but I haven't tasted it as yet.

I agree with James and David about the 2007 CDR's....here's a few I enjoyed lately.
Drew


2007 Domaine du Bois de Saint-Jean CDR
Deeply colored black/purple. Oily in the mouth, concentrated black fruit, blackberry compote, tar, spice and mineral flavors. A little heat on the long finish. A combo of old and new world style. Delicious! 14.5% Alc/vol. $10.50 by the case purchase.

2007 Domaine Paul Autard CDR rouge
80% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre.
Gorgeous cheapy CDR that shows ripe dark fruit and spice with hints of tobacco and earth. Very silky in the mouth with a linguring finish. Good balance and concentration for a $15 wine which I think you can easily find for less $$. 14.5% Alc/vol. The 2007 Cotes du Rhone was aged in stainless steel tanks until bottling in late June 2008.


2007 Delas St. Esprit Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge
The Côtes-du-Rhône Saint Esprit is made from a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignan. Dark fruits and spice with notes of red berry, black pepper and chambord. Nicely done and a good food wine. A different style and not as deeply flavored as the Paul Autard. Good value for $9.99. 13.5% Alc/vol.


2007 Domaine du Givaudan Cotes du Rhone
Dark ruby. Nose of kirsch, blackberry, intense Chambord, earth, chocolate and a little burnt rubber. Wonderful'07 CDR, balanced with a little heat mid palate and a gaggle of fine tannins on the long finish. Elegant and one of the best CDR's I've tasted in a long time.....14% Alc/Vol. $15

[Jenise]

Drew and James, I hear you re the CdR's. We had dinner at a Parisian style bistro in Canada last night, and wine prices up there being what they are we just ordered the 2007 La Vielle Ferme (which I totally embarrassed myself by pronouncing la veil fermay--the waitress didn't even understand at first what I had said). Kills me to pay $45 for a wine like that, but I have to say the wine did not embarrass as my pronounciation had. I could drink that all day--and here in the U.S., it will cost what, $8?

Drew and James, I hear you re the CdR's. We had dinner at a Parisian style bistro in Canada last night, and wine prices up there being what they are we just ordered the 2007 La Vielle Ferme (which I totally embarrassed myself by pronouncing la veil fermay--the waitress didn't even understand at first what I had said). Kills me to pay $45 for a wine like that, but I have to say the wine did not embarrass as my pronounciation had. I could drink that all day--and here in the U.S., it will cost what, $8?

I live with this every day!!

It kills me to find a "great deal" here for $10 or $12, only to have someone inform me that they can get it for about half that in the US.

Or just any good ones you'd reccommend?

Some tasters tend to quietly drink their everyday bargains but only write up TN's on the stunners or wines with more name recognition.

Not me. I post anything and everything I come across, unless it's inconvenient to write down. Can't say I really have an everyday drinker, because there are always new wines-vintages-regions to explore that I seldom buy more than a few bottles of anything. But I'll put in my notes if I find anything that merits special attention as a 'bargain'.

[Jenise]

Another vote for any number of '07 Cotes du Rhones. Particluarly liked the St Cosme Cotes du Rhone (100% Syrah) at $13 and the St Cosme Cotes du Rhone Les Deux Albion at $17, Cros de la Mure Cotes du Rhone at $18, Brusset Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne Les Travers at $17. One I didn't like much was the Brusset Laurent B.

And the Leitz Dragonstone is a great beach wine/summer refresher also for under $20.

Unfamiliar with Leitz Dragonstone. It is what kind of wine?

Another vote for any number of '07 Cotes du Rhones. Particluarly liked the St Cosme Cotes du Rhone (100% Syrah) at $13 and the St Cosme Cotes du Rhone Les Deux Albion at $17, Cros de la Mure Cotes du Rhone at $18, Brusset Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne Les Travers at $17. One I didn't like much was the Brusset Laurent B.

And the Leitz Dragonstone is a great beach wine/summer refresher also for under $20.

Unfamiliar with Leitz Dragonstone. It is what kind of wine?

Jenise, I believe the wine in question is a QBA riesling.


S

[Robin Garr]

Normally I rant against no-sulfite/low-sulfite wines, arguing that they prey on hysteria and tend to rot in the bottle in the absence of the natural preservative. But with a stout Stelvin to keep it tight, Our Daily Red is a surprisingly tasty California table red with a trans-Atlantic accent - and goes for well under 10 bucks!

Our Daily Red 2008 California Table Wine ($8.99)

Labeled "Organic No Sulfites Detected," this blend of Fresno Syrah and Carignan with Mendocino Cabernet Sauvignon is a very dark blackish-purple wine with a garnet edge. Cherry-berry fruit, very ripe and fresh on the nose, a hint of kirsch cherry liqueur and pleasant red-clay earthiness. Ripe, juicy red-fruit flavors are shaped by tart, food-friendly acidity. Clean and surprisingly complex, one heck of a value for an under-$10 red. I might be wary of the no-sulfites claim, sulfites being an effective and natural preservative, but with the sturdy medal screwcap to keep things sanitary, this young wine is showing no signs of oxidation or bacterial activity. (Sept. 3, 2009)

FOOD MATCH: The wine is billed as "vegan friendly," a reassurance to vegetarians and vegans that it was made with no contact with animal materials, including the egg whites often used for natural "fining" (clarification) in wines. Still, as a tart, fruity and earthy red, it's a natural match with carnivorous fare, and made a fine companion with an offbeat summer casserole of fresh tomatoes and onions with Cheddar cheese and a few chunks of Mingua beef jerky, a local artisan product, over Weisenberger Mill Kentucky grits.

WEB LINK: The winery Website carries considerable information about Nevada County Wine Guild and its wines:
http://ourdailyred.com
For a quick summary and tutorial with the winery's take on organics and sulfites, see the links from this page:
http://ourdailyred.com/index.php?option ... &Itemid=48

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE
Look for vendors and compare prices for Our Daily Red on Wine-Searcher.com:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Our%2 ... g_site=WLP

[James Roscoe]

Let me say that David Bueker was the first person I heard trumpet the virtues of the '07 vintage in the southern Rhone. David was spot on as usual!

I volunteered to taste and select wines for an upcoming non-profit gala event. The theme is Moulin Rouge, so the wine has to be French ... oh darn. My friendly local wine shop owner arranged for me to sample some good quality affordable wines about two weeks ago. Here are my quick notes on the wines I found to be most appealing:

White Wines

2007 Francois Lurton Viognier Les Salices ($11, 13% ABV): Good varietal aroma, not overly perfumey; crisp with nice fruit flavors and a bit of citrusy tartness; nice acid; a bit of sharpness on the finish, but not a bad Viognier for the price.

2008 Chateau L’Ermitage Costieres de Nimes Blanc ($10, 13% ABV): This is a blend of Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Viognier from the Rhone region. It has a lovely aroma, juicy fruit flavors, nice body and good acidity. I found this to be a very appealing white wine, and I selected it as our white table wine for the evening.

2007 Oisley & Thesee Touraine Sauvignon Les Gourmets ($8, 12.5% ABV): This is a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire region. It has a slightly green tint and some grassiness in the aroma. This is a lighter bodied wine with a long finish and good acid. It is not as fruity as a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but I found it to be quite enjoyable. Although a good quality wine, it likely will have less mass appeal than the Costieres above.


Red Wines

2007 Castelmaure Col des Vents Corbieres ($10, 13.5% ABV): This is a blend of Carignan, Grenache and Syrah from the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It is dark with rich aroma and flavors; a bit of tannin on the palate. There is a little smoke on the nose with flavors of plum and spice. I found this to be a very appealing red wine, and I selected it as our red table wine for the evening.

2006 Delas Freres Merlot Vin des Pays d’Oc ($10, 13.5% ABV): This is a medium-light bodied wine with moderate tannin. It has good varietal character that is not lost in oak; however, it is likely a bit too light for many red wine lovers. I think Merlot fans will like the QPR of this wine.

2007 Domaine Astruc Mourvedre ($10, 13.5% ABV): Very dark; spicey aroma; good body; finishes with nice acid. Although I liked this wine, I'm not sure how well received this varietal would be by a very large gathering.

2007 Vignerons de Caracteres Syrah-Grenache ($9, 13.5% ABV): This is a 50-50 blend of Syrah and Grenache; medium-lite body; nice color; good fruit flavors; rather short finish and simple.

-- Clark

Let me say that David Bueker was the first person I heard trumpet the virtues of the '07 vintage in the southern Rhone. David was spot on as usual!

James, I have to admit that I don't see where you are coming from, since the wine Robin reports on is a California generic red. I like wines like this, and often they do remind me of CdR wines. I suppose I have to try some '07s.from the CdR. I do think I have seen the wine Robin is reporting locally, so I'll get a bottle soon.

Ok, it took me a long time to get it, but I got it. I suppose I had not read thru the whole thread. Sorry James.

Another vote for any number of '07 Cotes du Rhones. Particluarly liked the St Cosme Cotes du Rhone (100% Syrah) at $13 and the St Cosme Cotes du Rhone Les Deux Albion at $17, Cros de la Mure Cotes du Rhone at $18, Brusset Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne Les Travers at $17. One I didn't like much was the Brusset Laurent B.

And the Leitz Dragonstone is a great beach wine/summer refresher also for under $20.

Unfamiliar with Leitz Dragonstone. It is what kind of wine?

Jenise, I believe the wine in question is a QBA riesling.


S

Yup, Johannes Leitz's entry level Qba from the Rudesheimer Drachenstein vineyard (hence Dragon stone). Usually delicious pop-and-gulp though it'll go a few years, and he makes a trocken version from the same vineyard that he calls "Ein, Zwei, Drei" for those who like dry rieslings.

Helped out at my fave winestore downtown, busy with farmers market in the street outside. Nice, newly-arrived `07 Torrontes from Sur de los Andes. $15 Cdn. All Torrontes on their shelf (7 of them) just fly out.
Aromatic nose, nutmeg, peach. Medium bodied, dryish, so-so acidity. White stone-fruits, good finish.

It was an interesting busy 4 hour session. I hand-sold lots of Portugal, South Africa was not on anyones radar at all? Spain was also selling nicely, the `04 Allende Rioja especially ($30).

Kills me to pay $45 for a wine like that, but I have to say the wine did not embarrass as my pronounciation had. I could drink that all day--and here in the U.S., it will cost what, $8?

That's criminal! Even in the best restaurant that wine wouldn't get much more than $25 for the bottle. Not knowing anything about the economy in Canada I hope the salaries reflect that kind of pricing.

Drew

[David M. Bueker]

Yup, Johannes Leitz's entry level Qba from the Rudesheimer Drachenstein vineyard (hence Dragon stone). Usually delicious pop-and-gulp though it'll go a few years, and he makes a trocken version from the same vineyard that he calls "Ein, Zwei, Drei" for those who like dry rieslings.

Actually the Leitz Ein Zwei Dry comes from a different (and much more highly regarded) site called the Geisenheimer Rothenberg. It's a vineyard that Johannes could bottle as an Erstes Gewachs if he wanted to, and therefore charge $50 or so. Instead we get a $12 dry Riesling from a great site and great vintner.

Actually the Leitz Ein Zwei Dry comes from a different (and much more highly regarded) site called the Geisenheimer Rothenberg. It's a vineyard that Johannes could bottle as an Erstes Gewachs if he wanted to, and therefore charge $50 or so. Instead we get a $12 dry Riesling from a great site and great vintner.

Why?

Are these young vines that he will eventually bottle as Geisenheimer Rothenberg and for a higher price?

[David M. Bueker]

Actually the Leitz Ein Zwei Dry comes from a different (and much more highly regarded) site called the Geisenheimer Rothenberg. It's a vineyard that Johannes could bottle as an Erstes Gewachs if he wanted to, and therefore charge $50 or so. Instead we get a $12 dry Riesling from a great site and great vintner.

Why?

Are these young vines that he will eventually bottle as Geisenheimer Rothenberg and for a higher price?

Not exactly sure, but I know he wants to have his "Dry Draggie", so I suspect it will always be relatively inexpensive.