They all cost $15 or less, and most came in below $10. In a time when wine prices seem to be rising even faster than most other consumer goods, it's reassuring to know that a good single-digit bottle of wine is still a possibility! Chateau Greysac 1995 Cru Bourgeois Médoc ($14.99) Year in and year out, I've valued Ch. Greysac as a decent Bordeaux of unusual value. The excellent 1995 is no exception. Chateau Plagnac 1995 Médoc ($12.99) In these days of inflated Bordeaux prices, it's a rare thing to find a 1995 in the $10-$15 range, and rarer still to find a good one. But this Cru Bourgeois entry from Cordier certainly qualifies as a value. Chateau La Roque 1995 Cupa Numismae Pic Saint Loup Coteaux du Languedoc ($12.99) One of my favorite red wines from Languedoc, I remain amazed that this bottling hasn't been "discovered." Leonildo Pieropan 1996 Soave Classico Superiore ($11.99) For most Americans whose entire experience of Soave is shaped by the mass-market Bolla, this fine Italian wine will come as a revelation. Framingham 1997 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($10.99) Full and intense, fresh and crisp. If you like the Cloudy Bay style, you'll like this one, too. Pine Ridge Winery 1996 Napa Valley "La Petite Vigne TSIFG" ($9.99) A dead ringer for a quality Vouvray from the Loire. I'd declare it one of the best $10 white wines I've tasted this year. Secco-Bertani 1995 Valpolicella-Valpantena ($9.99) Intense flavor, nothing shy or reserved here, but ripe and fruity and excellent with food. Mas de Gourgonnier 1996 Les Baux de Provence ($9.99) Full, peppery fruit flavor, dry and tart; clean and fresh, with good body and structure. Marchesi di Barolo 1996 "Madonna di Como" Dolcetto d'Alba ($8.99) Very good value! Cline 1996 California Zinfandel ($8.99) Lovely mixed-berry scent and flavor, classic Zinfandel. Alvear's Cream Montilla ($8.99) A fine after-dinner wine by any standard, and doubly so at the low-end price. Onix 1997 Priorat ($8.49) Fruity, soft, a good quaff. Fassati 1996 "Selciaia" Rosso di Montepulciano ($7.99) Very fine, and a remarkable value. Louis Jadot 1997 Beaujolais-Villages ($7.99) Sipping it is like eating ripe fruit, and that's what Beaujolais is all about. Laurel Glen 1996 REDS California Red Table Wine ($7.99) This approachable bargain varies from year to year ... and I invariably like it. Leasingham 1996 Clare Valley (Australia) Riesling ($7.99) Fresh and tart citric fruit flavors are clean and lasting, dry or near it. A very good wine indeed, and an extremely good value. Paul Cheneau (Spain) non-vintage Brut Blanc de Blancs ($7.99) Clean, fresh apple and yeast aromas and light fruit flavors, dry and crisp. Chateau Bonnet 1995 Bordeaux ($7.99) Although it's only a simple Bordeaux at a single-digit price, this bottle from the usually reliable André Lurton could probably sneak into a classier group unnoticed. Straccali 1996 Chianti ($6.99) Very dark ruby color. Very pleasant Chianti, more stylish than you'd expect for the low-end price. Domaine des Acacias 1995 Touraine Gamay ($6.49) Simple and fresh, reminiscent of a Beaujolais, but showing more balance and structure. Good quaff, good value. Max Aubert 1995 Domaine de la Prèsidente Cotes-du-Rhone ($5.99) Good quaff and a very good value. Marie-Louise Parisot 1995 Côtes du Rhone ($5.99) Reminiscent of a Beaujolais with its freshness, but it's got a whole lot more attitude. Excellent value in a quaffing red. Viña Alarba 1996 Calatayud ($5.99) There's little complexity here, but it's a good quaff and a good food wine, and an excellent value. Duca Leonardo 1997 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo ($3.99) How much wine can you expect for four bucks? In this case, a surprising mouthful of ripe fruit and food-wine structure.
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Every year around this time, I enjoy reviewing all the notes I've posted during the past 12 months, to pick out a couple of dozen that struck me as the year's best wines of exceptional value or "quality-price ratio," known as "QPR."