Great Wines Under $40

Someone once said that anyone can buy a good wine at $300 - $500 a bottle, but to find a good wine for less than $40, now there’s a challenge. Fortunately there are many great wines out there that are in this price range. These wines are made by artisan wine makers who have crafted some of the most delicious wines I have ever tasted. Each of these wines boasts a very reasonable price tag, especially in relation to the quality of wine in the bottle. They all occupy space in my cellar.

As you know I am a traditionalist when it comes to wine, and so it should come as no surprise that the ensuing wines fall into that category. They tantalize the palate with their purity and balance and finish with elegance. Simply put they are delicious, inexpensive and possess soul. The only down side is they may not be that easy to find as most wine shops probably do not carry them. If you subscribe to Wine-Searcher.com, I suggest you avail yourself of this resource if you are interested in purchasing them. You will be glad you did.

Touraine is a Loire Valley appellation around the city of Tours, France. Pineau d'Aunis, also known as Chenin Noir is the red grape variety around Touraine and Anjou. The vineyards of Clos Roche Blanche were planted on the Touraine hills bordering the Cher River by the Roussel family at the end of the 19th century and have remained in the family since. Organically farmed, the grapes are hand-harvested. The must is handled by gravity at all stages. The wine then ages on its lees, is bottled by gravity by hand without filtration to avoid mechanical manipulation that would unsettle it. Instead of using sulfur at bottling, the bottles are blanketed with CO2. The resulting wines are a terrific expression of the grape, the land and the climate, i.e. terroir. I have recently tried two of the wines from this amazing producer and they are destined to occupy space in my cellar for years to come.

2010 Clos Roche Blanche Touraine Pineau D'Aunis Rosé. This is quite simply one of the most delicious Rosé wines I have ever tasted. It possesses a cloudy pink hue and is dry & peppery on the palate, similar to Grenache. The wine is completely round and must be tasted to appreciate, and at $20 a bottle is a fantastic value. Equally impressive is the 2010 Clos Roche Blanche Touraine L'Arpent Rouge. This is a wine filled with terroir. Upon opening you are met with a bouquet that is pure barnyard. After about 20 minutes in the glass the barnyard is replaced by a peppery & earthy bouquet, also reminiscent of Grenache. Delicious, and also only $20 a bottle. Both of these wines are full of soul.

The Jura is a small and relatively obscure wine region in eastern France, between Burgundy and the Swiss border. Its geographical isolation has helped it to remain a rare bastion of traditional winemaking techniques, and today it produces some of the most distinctive wines in the world. Reds from the Jura are often light-bodied, earthy, berried, and reminiscent of the village wines of Burgundy (though here they are made of local grapes like Poulsard and Trousseau) and are best appreciated if served with a slight chill on them. Arbois is a small commune in the Jura and produces some of the best wines of the Jura. Jacques Puffeney is one of the superstars of the Jura (among his colleagues he is known as the “the Pope of Arbois.” His wines are fantastic. The 2006 Jacques Puffeney Arbois Poulsard M, a blend of Pinot Noir, Trousseau & Poulsard, is an elegant, light red wine that is delicious. A perfect accompaniment to pizza, eggplant ptarmigan or spaghetti and meatballs. $24.

Philippe Bornard is another superstar of the Arbois. His 2006 Arbois Pupillin Melon le Rouge Queue is a spectacular white from the area. A blend of Melon and Malbec grapes the wine is stunning. The wine has wonderful complexity and balance and is fresh and pristinely pure on the palate with a hint of viscosity. The wine keeps evolving in the glass during the course of sipping it. Whenever I drink this wine I am reminded of the difference between enjoying and experiencing a wine.

My favorite white wine grape is Chenin Blanc. A grape of high acidity it is used to make spectacular still wines, sparkling wines and well-balanced dessert wines. In the hands of master traditional producers such as Gaston Huet and Francois Pinon these wines will rock your world. The wines hail from the Vouvray district of the Loire Valley in France. They are made to contain a percentage of residual sugar, which means fermentation is stopped before all the sugar is converted to alcohol. The resulting wines rather than being "sweet" have a beautifully integrated sweetness that seduces the palate. One of the beauties of these wines is that they can be enjoyed young (when they are inexpensive) or kept for 50+ years (when their value has increased by 10 to 30 fold) in the cellar. Here are some of my favorites that are drinking well now and will for decades to come.

2009 Francois Pinon Vouvray Silex Noir $22
2009 Francois Pinon Vouvray Cuvée Tradition $22
Francois Pinon NV Touraine Brut Rose $19
2009 Huet Lieu Demi Sec $36

The red wines of Burgundy (Pinot Noir) continue to occupy more and more space in my cellar. They are for me they a wonderful expression of feminine elegance in a glass. Grand & Premier Cru Burgundies command a big price tag. Fortunately there are the Bourgogne and Villages levels of these wines, which are meant to be drunk earlier and are very affordable. They are usually made of the grapes that do not make it into the Grand & Premier Cru bottlings, but are crafted as the higher priced wines are. Here are a few from top producers that are worth trying. One note, do not worry about the year so much in as much if these producers make a wine in any given vintage it will be very good.

2007 Joseph Drouhin Chorey-les Beaune Villages Red $15
2004 Denis Bachelet Bourgogne Rouge $21
2009 Faiveley Ladoix $25
2006 Camille Giroud Marsannay Les Longeroles $30

Occupying even more space in my cellar are the red wines of Piedmonte, Italy. While Barbaresco and Barolo are the superstars of the region, do not over look the Barberas, Dolcettos and Arneis (white) made from top producers. Give these a try.

2007 Flavio Roddolo Dolcetto d’Alba at $17 is one of the best Dolcetto’s I have ever tasted. Pure & earthy with a long silky finish.

2007 Bartolo Mascarello Dolcetto d’Alba. From the master Barolo producer, this is a beautiful wine for under $25.

2004 Ada Nada Barbaresco Elisa, $36, along with Produttori Barbaresco, $35, these wines represent some of the greatest values for Nebiolo you will ever find.

The white wine grape of Piedmont is Arneis. It is most commonly found in the hills of Roero, northwest of Alba. Arneis wines are dry, full bodied, crisp and delightful to drink. Two of the best producers of Arneis are Bruno Giacosa and Ceretto. Ceretto’s Arneis Blange has a slight bit of spritz upon opening, and is very clean and soft on the palate. It is my wife’s favorite wine and has been for many years. $20.

Giacosa’s Rorero Arneis is also very clean and crisp on the palate. The wine has more complexity than the Ceretto and is my favorite Arneis. A bit more expensive at about $30 a bottle.

The following shops carry some, if not all of these wines.
Chambers Street Wines, NYC
New York Wine Warehouse, NYC
Wine Legend, Livingston, NJ
De-Vino Wine Boutique, NYC
ShopRite Liquors, West Caldwell, NJ

Until next time,

Saluté

"Life’s too short to drink bad wine"!