I’ve found myself gravitating more and more towards red wines that are light to medium bodied, elegant in style, and high on the complexity scale. Seems like Burgundy is the go-to for most people looking for this sort of wine, but my experience has been hit or miss, mostly miss. I still buy it occasionally, but more often than not, I come away feeling like the price just wasn’t worth it. Not bad wine, just outrageously priced for inconsistent quality. I don’t have the patience, tolerance, or the coin to keep sinking money into the red Burgundy minefield.
So I’m looking for alternatives. Some wines that I’ve had recently that epitomize what I’m looking for include some lighter styles of Grenache (Comando G and Tribute to Grace), Sonoma Coast Pinots (Littorai), bright Sangiovese (Stella di Campalto and Montevertine), and the occasional nebbiolo with 10+ yrs on it.
I’d of course love to hear any recommendations you could share, but I’d particularly welcome specific recommendations if you have them. Many times, I’ve heard “look in Oregon”. Well, there’s lots of wine coming out of Oregon, and while they’ve been ok, I have yet to have an OR Pinot nearly as good as the examples I listed above. (I tend to like their Chards better, but that’s another topic altogether). Same with German Pinots, Austrian reds, and Etna- I’ve had good, but not great.
Anyway, I know this is nebulous question, that can go lots of different directions, but I’m curious what you all have.
Corsica and Valle d’Aosta might also be worth trying. Grosjean is usually well-distributed as far as VdA is concerned, as can be Thomain, Les Crêtes, and Donnas. You can look to Kermit as a jumping off point for Corsica.
I just tasted through a number of Lucien Crochet Sancerre Rouges and was blown away. Especially the cooler vintages and the more mature bottlings were very elegant, stylish and gastronomic.
I’d actually go the other way - there’s lots of very good Barbaresco made these days, but I’d try younger wines. 2011 and 2015 are both drinking well now, as are some 2016s. Barbaresco is more approachable, has fewer “big names” to drive up the price (so will let you try farther and wider) and can provide similar pleasure. I personally don’t find super old Barolo to provide a similar experience to Burgundy, and also find the hit rate quite poor, which drives up the cost.
Another counterintuitive region I suggest that’s almost passe now is right bank Bordeaux with age. It’s not “cheap”, but compared to the escalating price of Burgundy, it’s kind of seeming like it
I would also ask how much pyrazines you like in your reds - if you like some green, then there’s quite a bit of lovely cab franc being made in the Loire. Alfert is your man for some wonderful reccomendations. (I’ll stick to my 3 bottles of Roches Neuves Memoires a year ).
German Pinot: Wasenhaus, Josef Walter, Julia Bertram (Bertram-Baltes), Enderle & Moll (stick to warm vintages like 2015 & 2018), Gunther Steinmetz.
The three red Jura grapes: Labet, Marnes Blanches, Les Dolomies, Tissot. This can be a mousy minefield though, so i mentioned some names i have not had issues with so far.
Prieuré Saint-Christophe’s mondeuse from Savoie.
All the Envinate wines.
Ca’ di Mat’s garnacha from Gredos.
La Porte Saint Jean’s Saumur-Champigny wines.
Claus Preisinger’s Pinot Noir.
The new vintages under Giachino is not really hard to get? I have bought them in every vintage since 2016 for around 35-40 euro, and i am not on any allocation list. But maybe it is more difficult to find in the US?
I’ve found myself gravitating more and more towards red wines that are light to medium bodied, elegant in style, and high on the complexity scale.
And, excluding Burgundy, as requested:
Adi Badenhorst Ramnasgras Cinsault
Adi Badenhorst Raaigras Grenache
Niepoort Poeirinho
Ar.pe.pe Sassella Stella Retica (and even the basic Rosso in some vintages)
Jean Foillard Côte du Py and Fleurie
Savage Wines Follow the Line
Château Rayas La Pialade
Domaine du Coulet Brise Cailloux (young)
Bodega Maranones Vinos de Madrid 30,000 Maraviedes
De Martino Pinot Noir Single Vineyard Legado
Marcel Lapierre Morgon
Birichino Grenache Old Vines Besson Vineyard
Domaine du Collier La Ripaille (with some age on it)
Clos Signadore Patrimonio A Mandria di Signadore
Envinate Albahra
And many many more that match your general guidelines…
But then again, I think you shouldn’t exclude Burgundy from that list considering that at the price point of many of these wines there are some good Burgundy bottles as well.
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