I was just reading through another post and I was interested in the following quote: “At the highest levels, you can almost always find a wine that is almost as good and costs a fraction.
For Petrus you can get a 6 pack of VCC
For Latour, also a 6 pack of Pontet Canet”
This made me wonder what are some other wines that will give a similar experience to a high end wine, but that is a fraction of the price (1/3 or less)?
P.S. I don’t post very often as I don’t feel like I have a lot of knowledge to give, but I have learned a lot from you guys, Thanks!
Guffens Heynen Pouilly Fuisse and Macon wines instead of 1er cru White Burgundy
Rockford Basket Press Shiraz instead of Grange or HoG
Pommard 1er Cru instead of Cote de Nuits 1er Cru!
There are some wines that I’ve bought before, that I couldn’t justify buying now. I do believe that number will continue to grow in the near future.
Rather than looking for a good direct copy, I tend to look in broader terms (the term above ‘scratch the same itch’ is about right). In very rare cases I’ll just ditch the style completely, which in a way we did with no champagnes exciting us as much as Krug, but the price now well above what I can justify paying. If I want sparkling, then I’m more likely to go for a Pinon Petillant Vouvray, which is quite a long distance from a direct copy.
Shout if you know a close copy of Krug for 1/4 of the price, but I suspect that hope is a futile one.
I like VCC and Muscadet both but Muscadet is more of a poor man’s wine than VCC in the 200 per range and up.
Obviously not Petrus range.
Again, I get the point of the thread as a relative comparative value discussion, just gives me a little humor to think of the different ways to categorize poor.
I don’t get this one. Sociando was always a brawny wine with muscles, PL could be smooth as silk (or used to be in the years I drank it). Has one or the other changed so much?
Let’s add some of my own:
Jura reds for Burgundy.
Loire cab francs for, well, all of those high priced Loire cab francs. There’s an ocean out there.
Markus, we all perceive wines a bit differently, but Pichon Lalande often throws an herbaceous green note to me, sometimes bell pepper, and always loads of tobacco (and green tobacco leaf). Yes it is far more elegant and feminine than Sociando, but Sociando throws those notes in spades. Consider Sociando the rough and tumble little brother. Both knocked it out of the park in 2014.
Zardetto Prosecco as a substitute for any other bubbly, at about $11 to $14.
I used to love the Puzelats’ Pineau d’Aunis as a substitute for Burgundy, and Wynns Black Label as a substitute for Bordeaux, but judging from the looks of free Wine-Searcher, neither of them are being imported anymore.
For dessert, there’s Paolo Saracco Moscato d’Asti, which is pretty much in a league of its own.
Year in and year out, Paolo Saracco Moscato d’Asti is probably the best wine on the planet.
Thanks for the suggestion Mike. I might well give it a try.
As for Moscato d’Asti, they get plenty of grief around here for their reds, but La Spinetta do make a lovely pair of Moscato d’Asti wines - for me a fraction better than any others I’ve tried, though I’m still yet to find a bad/poor/disappointing Moscato D’asti. A joyful wine style.