wines for a newbie that they will never grow out of

We often have threads on this board where a newcomer to wine likes a certain style of wine and everyone tells them not to buy too much of it because in five years they won’t like it anymore. And, often this turns out to be true. I thought it might be helpful to more newbies to have a thread where people suggest wines that a newbie can like that even a died in the wool AFWE would be happy drinking. Obviously, palates differ and no wine is fine for all people, but I thought this might be fun and helpful.

When I started thinking about this, one name came to me most distinctly. Ridge. Plenty of fruit for a newbie. Ages wonderfully.

In Bordeaux at a higher end I might say Ducru Beaucaillou. Again, a wine with good fruit that becomes spectacular with age. At a lower end, how about another St. Julien like Gloria (or sticking with Ducru, La Croix de Beaucaillou or Lalande Borie). From another region, how about Domaine de Chevalier?

For Chardonnay, I would start with white Burgundy and go to Bouchard. Leaning a bit to the more experienced guy, maybe Lamy or PYCM.

For Pinot Noir, I go back to Bouchard. I am picking Bouchard for reds and whites because their wines are richer and rounder than are many Burgundies and thus should be relatively easy for newbies. If a newbie wants to smaller domaine, I might pick Rossignol-Trapet.

Then, I would say you have to go to riesling. For Alsace, Albert Mann. For German wines, well, almost anything, but esp. Zilliken and Rheinhold Haart. I leave out JJ Prum because the wines can sometimes taste funky when young.

For Italian wines, and this one is really a prize for value, Produttori del Barbaresco. Great wine for about $30.

A sticky, I recommend Chateau Climens.

How am I doing? What would you recommend?

Not to over-generalize- but I think any wines with a strong track-record that are still made in a more traditional style. (i.e. haven’t changed wine making styles dramatically with the times) Produttori is a great example, Lopez de Heredia from Rioja, Vieux Telegraphe and Beaucastel from CdP, etc.

Great suggestions, Howard.

In Italy, for a beginner, I might suggest a Brunello or Rosso di Montalcino instead of the more tannic Barbaresco. Lisini, Il Poggione or Mastrojanni, perhaps.

In the Northern Rhone, Graillot’s Crozes Hermitage, which is pretty easy to appreciate and at a reasonable price. Or Clape’s Cotes du Rhone and, at a higher price point, Clape’s Renaissance Cornas.

In the Southern Rhone, maybe Coudolet de Beaucastel for drinkability, ageability, value and adaptability to different foods. (I don’t find CdP very good value.)

Climens a bit pricey for newbies to collect no? I would put a newbie onto Ridge and start them collecting the Zin blends and get on the MB collectors waiting list.

Dang it, you beat me to it. Zins/zin blends. Mass appeal, can age a bit, affordable. Ridge Geyserville was my first true wine love.

Good idea, Howard. And it’s hard to see how there could be a better suggestion than Ducru.

I do also, though, add my vote to Domaine de Chevalier, Produttori, Ridge, the Germans.

While on the pricey side, I will also suggest vintage Taittinger and all Krug. As an under-the-radar Napa producer which will imo age nicely, Tierra Roja.

What about some southern hemisphere producers, Oregon?

I bought 2015 futures for $35 a half bottle.

Suggest some. The issue will not be finding wines for the newbie but for the AFWE people, like me. I did mention an Oregon wine - of course, while I own some, I have not tried it yet.

My take is you can’t fast forward the process. Buying wine you may grow out of is part of the education. Like reading Cliff notes instead of the real book. You may get to the higher rated wines quicker, but you may lose the tasting that would lead you to your own palate as you are drinking thru someone else’s. I don’t drink any of my early faves except for stickies and ports.

I think Robert is right. Some things you just have to learn the hard way.

I do agree with some of Howard’s recommendations and I would add Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva. You can drink it young or old. It may appeal to both newcomers and old timers and it won’t break the bank.

I think if you are going to buy a lot wine quickly, make sure it is stored well and stick to producers you can sell if your tastes change down the road. I’ve been fortunate to be able to sell or trade those I overbought early on when my preferences were different.

Climens is brilliant of course, but I’d suggest Coutet or Rieussec as the first gateway drugs for that region Especially given that they are ~ half the price

I have had more than a few experiences where a “newbie” absolutely loved a pour from an aged (~10 years) bottle of Chateau de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. I think the softened tannins, the seductive rose notes on the nose, and the reddish fruit of the 2001 (for example) appeals to Johnny-come-latelies and more experienced drinkers alike. I would never accuse Beaucastel of falling into the AFWE camp, however.

Perhaps the best course of action is to offer a wine rookie a more modestly priced, perhaps fleshier, wine as an introduction to the adventures of wine tasting (ie, La Vieille Ferme or Marietta Old Vine Red). I have been accused of ruining certain drinkers’ enjoyment of bargain wines, resulting in more expensive drinking habits (at my expense).

Otherwise, why not try Billecart-Salmon Rosé Champagne?

Hope this doesn’t hijack the thread, but right now I’m at that fulcrum stage where I’m starting to notice my palate changing, about 3 years into my serious wine obsession. It’s interesting to see what I liked 3 years ago that still blows my skirt up and what falls flat these days. For example I used to love basically any WA Syrah you could throw at me but now I definitely have a very strong stylistic preference within that category.

Perhaps the most obvious example for me was when I was picking up some wine at Fidelitas with some friends last weekend. The weekend that “got me into wine” was a trip out to Red Mountain in 2013 with my now fiancee’s wine-loving parents and their friends. We stopped at Fidelitas and everyone was talking about how much they liked it, but as a newbie it seemed pretty expensive and the tannin was a bit harsh for my taste so I poured a lot of it out. Flash forward a year and we’d joined the wine club and I couldn’t get enough. Fast forward again to last weekend and I was deciding that I while I really liked and appreciated their wine, I definitely had to be in the mood for it since they’re so big. A friend’s partner, who isn’t really into wine at all, was trying the new release of their Ciel du Cheval cab and poured it out after one sip because he thought it was so harsh, while I was thinking to myself “man that’s gonna be really great in a few years, I should get a couple!”. Amazing what a few years and a couple hundred bottles of wine will do.

E: For content, I find that Cru Beaujolais from the Gang of Four has held it’s appeal pretty solidly for me over the years, Foillard’s Cote du Py was just as magical a few weeks ago to me as it was the first time I tried it and decided that a bit of funk is my holy grail.

I didn’t have any suggestions in mind when I answered, which is why I threw the question out there - to be inspired by the answers that came up.

St. Innocent Pinots do tend to age pretty nicely.

I am going to go with a decent grower Champagne… Clouet or Aubry are my faves around $30. Also Beaucastel, Huet, Proddutori are already posted but will generally have a home in my cellar.

World class Zinfandel (as from Ridge, Carlisle, Bedrock, Biale, Turley, Scherrer, Limerick Lane …). I cut my teeth on it and love it decades later.

I was thinking that Cru Beaujolais would be a good newbie recommendation that would still appeal over time. From Oregon PGC and J. Christorpher make flavorful wines that age well and aren’t overdone with oak/extract or funk and also aren’t too lean/shrill.

I’ve presented several tastings for groups of newbs, and the traditional Rioja (usually the current release of Alta 904 gran reserva) is almost always the group favorite.

just what I was going to suggest.

2007 CdP. . . from magnum.