Totally agree, but I wish I could find DDC and Beau-Sejour Becot for less than $50. I have more DDC than any other Bordeaux, but cannot find it for under $60 in the Bay Area.
Nah, this is fantastic. Itâs so hard to sort the wheat from the chaff in the wine world. A thread that distinguishes, âhey this is a banger for $30â vs. âthis is dreck with a thin veneer of marketingâ is exactly what I am looking for as a novice.
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tough to narrow it down, especially with so many regions.
I will say that the very first that came to mind when I saw this thread was Lopez de Heredia.
Some of my favorite regions that Iâd focus on, based on my tastes + a few favorite producers
Loire (Chenin, Cab Franc, Muscadet) - Guiberteau, Huet, Pepiere, Baudry, O Raffault
Bordeaux - Sociando, Lanessan, dâIssan, Mangot
Burgundy - Pierre Guillemot, Pataille, Fevre
Beaujolais - JM Burgaud, Lapiere, Foillard, Bouland, Thivin
German Riesling - Falkenstein, Prum, Donnhoff, Willi Schaefer, Selbach, Richter, Keller
Austrian Riesling + Gruner - Schloss Gobelsburg, Loimer, Veyder Malberg
Rioja - Lopez de Heredia, La Rioja Alta
Ribeira Sacra - Envinate, Guimaro
Chianti - Felsina, Castello di Ama
Champagne - Chartogne Taillet, Moncuit, Laherte, Courtin, Andre Clouet, Bereche, J Lassaigne
Piedmont - GD Vajra, Vietti
Northern Rhone - Graillot, V Paris Geynale
South Africa - Hamilton Russell
Argentina - Bodega Chacra
Oregon - Walter Scott, Cristom
Iâm sure I forgot a bunch of great onesâŠprobably even favorites of mine. Also, some regions deserve more names, but I am out of time to keep brainstorming.
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Lots of good recs in your list. Sadly, I donât think you can find any Pataille wines under $50 any more.
Iâve seen a lot of recs for LRAâs Vina Ardanza, but I would add that the Alberdi is also ageworthy and you can even find it in that magical <$20 price point (Though, I suppose this topic is titled for the $25-50 range)
Yes
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Donât ruin the secret! 
. She is awesome
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An excellent thread - again - what a start to 2025!
Like @LasseK Iâm never entirely sure how US prices compare with ours, but Iâm reasonably optimistic that my suggestions will be in the $25-50 price bracket.
Iâm going to stick to the only two French regions I know well enough, Bordeaux and the Loire. Robert and I share pretty well the same taste so I can happily confirm his entire list, with a few other ideas!
Bordeaux:
For Bordeaux novices, the best way to start is to try Crus Bourgeois or the equivalents on the Right Bank. These are relatively accessible young but can age beautifully, and often age as well, occasionally better, than classed growths costing a lot more (Robertâs Lanessan 82 is a prime example). The styles vary a lot, and you need to try them in order to decide what you like, but a $20 mistake hurts a lot less than a $50 one. My taste is very classical, and if you like higher ABV oaky stuff (which is not a criticism), look elsewhere - for example, Jeff Leveâs site will be a very useful guide. These are all CBs except where stated:
Caronne Sainte Gemme - sadly, it no longer exists, but older vintages are still easy to find.
Chasse-Spleen - not a CB anymore but worth trying, especially the 2016
Citran
Clément-Pichon
Fougas Maldoror - CĂŽtes de Bourg
Du Glana - St.Julien - not a CB but an excellent way to try a St.Julien without paying a CC price
Larose-Trintaudon, or its stablemate Larose-Perganson
Liversan
Poujeaux - like Chasse-S, no longer a CB, also a Moulis, and capable of ageing beautifully
Rollan de By - the 05 tasted over Xmas was better than far too many CCs
Sénéjac
Clos du Jaugueyron - not a CB, and I would stick to the Haut-MĂ©doc, at least to try, because the others are more than the price cap.
Loire whites
Muscadets:
Apart from PĂ©piĂšre, everyoneâs favourite, I would also recommend:
Lieubeau
Bonnet-Huteau
Anjou/SavenniĂšres:
Ogéreau
Plaisance
Pierre MĂ©nard
Vouvray:
Champalou
Loire reds:
Yannick Amirault
Domaine de la Chevalerie
Domaine de la Cotelleraie
Coulaine
Hureau
Frédéric Mabileau
Philippe Alliet
Villeneuve
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I sometimes prefer these more because they are less polished (ie oak, ripeness etc.). Especially for drinking during the 5-10 year window.
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Lots already mentioned but just my two cents
Rioja is a great hunting ground as the stuff is bombproof and often comes with a decent whack of age to start with
Lopez de Heredia for red either the Cubillo (cheapest), Bosconia or Tondonia all fit the bill and come significantly pre-aged. The Gravonia in particular worth noting as an ageworthy white which can be had for 1/3 the price of the Reserva Blanco and 1/12 price of the Gran Reserva Blanco, but a great bottle is legit fantastic
La Rioja Alta - Alberdi, Ardanza and Arana, all decent and will go on forever
Contino - Reserva, donât sleep on this
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I donât drink much Rioja given that American oak thing, which is a shame as I really do like the wines otherwise, but when I do, Lopez de Heredia is my fave. Pretty classic stuff that is exceedingly well priced and matured.
Awesome list, but with you, totally expected! Your contributions on Bordeaux and Loire threads are so top-notch, and often with a more unique angle given your place over the pond.
Love seeing that Larose Trintaudon the list! My wife and I had a large wedding, like 200+ people, and I picked the 1990 Larose Trintaudon for the dinner service. Needed a quality but affordable wine to serve to a large group, and this wine over-performed. This was in 1996. Then we went to Bordeaux and Loire for our honeymoon. Julian, thatâs when I was introduced to 1989 Raffault and Joguet, and my whole chess board changed!
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Isnât it funny how often those things go together?
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Thanks for the kind words! I hope Iâm useful to some people, but Iâm very much your Sancho Panza or Dr.Watson!
Iâm not surprised that Larose-T was the perfect wedding wine, and Iâm glad to hear that it was - it is such a classy little number at a price which has remained practically the same since your wedding year! I think if I had to recommend just one good value Bordeaux, it would in fact be this one. Others like Lanessan reach greater heights, but Larose-T is more accessible young. Considering the large production (1 million bottles) the reliability is excellent, every year. I always buy some (except 2013) and Iâve never had a bad vintage - in fact sometimes they do better in the bad ones.
Dang, the 1990 Larose T has a 91 rating on CT! So I wasnât as dumb as I thought I was way back then!
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Just shows how large the yak population really is!
Itâs one of those wines that nobody rates but which always performs.
Many, many of my personal favorites, and many of the wines with which I actually fill my cellar have already been named. Some that I did not see, though admittedly may have missed, include:
Calabretta VV - like LdH, these are released with significant age, great for those with limited space
I Vigneri Etna
Colombera & Garella
Giulia Negri Piane della Mole Langhe Nebbiolo (and maybe the Barolo Tartufaia on the right sale)
Castellâin Villa Chianti Classico
Le Chiuse Rosso di Montalcino
Jean-Claude Marsanne St. Joseph
Evesham Wood Grive Bleue
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Damn. This thread has made me buy a bunch of young Bordeaux, something I thought I was done with!
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Since we know, you are not budgetary constrained(!!!), I highly recommend that you also look at the 2019 Durfort Vivens. B21 has this for $75, easily the best $100 and under Bordeaux made in 2019, in my humble opinion. I doubled down on this one after trying it, and then later I saw Keith Levenbergâs CellarTracker note, now I need to buy more. If his note alone doesnât cause you to buy, nothing can move you!
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