Hey,
I like to discover new, really nice red wines that I can share with friends, and educate myself further. I found some real gems in a very affordable price range (less than $50 a bottle) so I'll happily list them here. I've also tasted reds in the hundreds of dollars a bottle and while they are clearly nice, I don't think the difference is justified and the ones I like best and are friend favorites are still in the affordable price bracket.
I'm by no means an expert. I'd love to know your personal favorites!
Here are mine. I won't list obvious ones like Bordeaux in general, that I find boring and not that fantastic unless you put a fortune in them. I'll also only list the ones that don't have much variance; almost regardless of the year of production, I've never been disappointed.
- Burgundy/Cote de Beaune: Volnay ; any Premier Cru, but in particular the "Les Caillerets" domain. This is my absolute all-time go-to red for any occasion. Ironically it's called a feminine wine, as it hammers you less than most. No aftertaste, great presentation and smell, very fruity. Anybody who tried it and didn't know it was blown away. It's not even expensive (the very very best years are like $50 a bottle if you source it locall,y if you import it in the US then probably double that, sadly). It comes from a region that has been cultivated without interruption for 2,000 years. It was a personal favorite of king Louis the XV. Either get a recent year and drink it right away, or get a wine that's 7-8 years old, or get one and wait that many years. Otherwise the wine will close down and will not be great to drink for a few years until it reopens again. I've had that wine as a starter drink as well and it goes down really well with everything. They were a little decimated by hail the last couple of years so there will be less bottles, but it's still very easy to source.
- Burgundy/Givry: Le Petit Marolle - Francois Lumpp Domain. This is from a sub-region of Burgundy that's typically viewed as not as prestigious as the big areas (cotes des nuits, cotes de beaune). In spite of that, it will absolutely blow your mind. It is heavier than the Volnay so probably something you want to serve with meat. This is a guy that makes something like 200 bottles a year, so it may be hard to find or require a preorder.
- South France: Chateau La Liquiere. In particular the Cistus wine. This is also from an area that's not known for producing prestige wines, and it's even in an area of that area that's even less prestigious. And yet, this is another affordable, amazing wine that goes with everything. Very inexpensive. Note that the domain has other wines than Cistus but I didn't find them to my taste.
- South France: Mas de Daumas Gassac. These guys make wine without modern equipment or chemistry - the place used to have monks producing wine in the middle ages. They have limited yield as a result, but their production is fantastic. They blend several types of grapes together so I was dubious about the outcome. Very fruity as well, a bit raspy to the taste, a little strong, still goes with pretty much everything.
- Beaujolais: Cote de Brouilly. A wine that comes on strong, best served with meat and cheese. Interestingly, this type of grape used to be cultivated in my all-time favorite place (Volnay) since the days of Roman occupation, and produced terrible wine, until Louis XV had it transplanted to the Beaujolais area where it thrived.
If you can source those wines I hope you have a really great time drinking them with your friends and lays - and I look forward to hearing your list of favorites!
I like to discover new, really nice red wines that I can share with friends, and educate myself further. I found some real gems in a very affordable price range (less than $50 a bottle) so I'll happily list them here. I've also tasted reds in the hundreds of dollars a bottle and while they are clearly nice, I don't think the difference is justified and the ones I like best and are friend favorites are still in the affordable price bracket.
I'm by no means an expert. I'd love to know your personal favorites!
Here are mine. I won't list obvious ones like Bordeaux in general, that I find boring and not that fantastic unless you put a fortune in them. I'll also only list the ones that don't have much variance; almost regardless of the year of production, I've never been disappointed.
- Burgundy/Cote de Beaune: Volnay ; any Premier Cru, but in particular the "Les Caillerets" domain. This is my absolute all-time go-to red for any occasion. Ironically it's called a feminine wine, as it hammers you less than most. No aftertaste, great presentation and smell, very fruity. Anybody who tried it and didn't know it was blown away. It's not even expensive (the very very best years are like $50 a bottle if you source it locall,y if you import it in the US then probably double that, sadly). It comes from a region that has been cultivated without interruption for 2,000 years. It was a personal favorite of king Louis the XV. Either get a recent year and drink it right away, or get a wine that's 7-8 years old, or get one and wait that many years. Otherwise the wine will close down and will not be great to drink for a few years until it reopens again. I've had that wine as a starter drink as well and it goes down really well with everything. They were a little decimated by hail the last couple of years so there will be less bottles, but it's still very easy to source.
- Burgundy/Givry: Le Petit Marolle - Francois Lumpp Domain. This is from a sub-region of Burgundy that's typically viewed as not as prestigious as the big areas (cotes des nuits, cotes de beaune). In spite of that, it will absolutely blow your mind. It is heavier than the Volnay so probably something you want to serve with meat. This is a guy that makes something like 200 bottles a year, so it may be hard to find or require a preorder.
- South France: Chateau La Liquiere. In particular the Cistus wine. This is also from an area that's not known for producing prestige wines, and it's even in an area of that area that's even less prestigious. And yet, this is another affordable, amazing wine that goes with everything. Very inexpensive. Note that the domain has other wines than Cistus but I didn't find them to my taste.
- South France: Mas de Daumas Gassac. These guys make wine without modern equipment or chemistry - the place used to have monks producing wine in the middle ages. They have limited yield as a result, but their production is fantastic. They blend several types of grapes together so I was dubious about the outcome. Very fruity as well, a bit raspy to the taste, a little strong, still goes with pretty much everything.
- Beaujolais: Cote de Brouilly. A wine that comes on strong, best served with meat and cheese. Interestingly, this type of grape used to be cultivated in my all-time favorite place (Volnay) since the days of Roman occupation, and produced terrible wine, until Louis XV had it transplanted to the Beaujolais area where it thrived.
If you can source those wines I hope you have a really great time drinking them with your friends and lays - and I look forward to hearing your list of favorites!
![[Image: TR_web.jpg]](http://www.georgiawines.com/assets/images/products/pictures/TR_web.jpg)
