Building a High-Quality, Diverse, Old-World Inspired Cellar for $25-$50 per bottle

#winning

And I donā€™t even know what that is!

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I am really confused now!

Likewise, I had a chance to buy and didnā€™t.

+1 to the Giulia Negri!

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I have been thinking about this thread, and what I could suggest in the category of right bank Bordeaux, which has had a few estates mentioned, but without much detail. Iā€™ll preface with some context, before my comments

  • My experience over decades is more about drinking a good vintage over time, rather than the rare point in time vertical to compare aging side by side. I am a (bad) fickle consumer, in that I load up in big/fat years, and only nibble when average/lighter years are discounted later.
  • Nowadays, my Bordeaux centric tasting group meets infrequently, perhaps twice a year, so that input into the outlook is much less than when I was younger. But I suppose that is balanced out by reading more, and having more knowledge than I did in my twenties.
  • Right bank Bordeaux wines can keep/age/develop similar to traditional Medocs, but my life observation is that they are harder to consistently find and that itā€™s better to drink them earlier than Medocs anyways. The main issue will be sourcing them, especially if one is fixated on a singular name. I think the best strategy is to just put some faith in a few retailers that have a forte in this, and use them to filter out the dreck. Out west Iā€™ve been using K&L for 30+ years, and when I lived in the east - where there was much more choices - MacArthurs/Bassins was differentiated. Zachys also had access to the JP Mouiex portfolio, which can be harder to find.
  • My suggestions are all in the vein of a genuine enthusiast, not as a panel tasting beauty contest judge, or a wine professional. I enjoy right banks from all the major style camps and oenologue consultancies. Everything below is intended to be in the ā€˜value for dollarā€™ category, even if not objectively cheap anymore.

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St Emilions suggested

lā€™Arrosee - this property is long gone, but if you see older examples, they are pretty good. Even the newer and critically panned ā€˜oakyā€™ years have rounded out well.
Barde Haut - new wave / international, but the wines keep very well, and develop positively. Try them without any preconceptions.
Cote de Baleau - surprisingly delightful, commentary is scant
Corbin Michotte - only a few vintages tasted , and hard to find, but worth a shot
Faugeres - similar to Barde Haut in style/ageability. The fruit is strong here.
La Fleur - hard to find, and I have not seen in some years, but this former JP Mouiex estate might pop up from time to time. Like the above actually.
Grand Corbin Despagne - probably my best suggestion for some one looking for a traditional, ageworthy St Emilion. Family owned since the Napoleonic era, current releases are $40ish.
Grand Mayne - fruity and more modern styled. Keeps well. Might not be under price limit anymore.
Larmande - Iā€™m on the fence about this one. Itā€™s very Clive Coates / AFWEā€¦but it does have some classic properties. Try an older one and see what you think. Pink capsules, like VCC. Ownership changed, so perhaps the next decades wine will evolve differently.
Moulin St Georges - I doubt these fit under the $50 cap anymore, but these were awesome in another era. I went through a delightful case of the 1998 that WBā€™er Dr. Glasser hand carried for me from a DC/MD/VA retailer who would not ship.
Soutard - this a weird one. In a prior era it was difficult to find, both in bottle, or reviews about (since the owners rejected wine writers) but they made a stern long lasting St Emilion, think Randy Dunn. In riper years it could age remarkably well. Other years were sent to auctionā€¦ But hard to find and I think there has been a style change, and the vineyard has been enlarged by acquisition.
La Tour Figeac - might not fit under the $50 cap anymore. It can sometime be found at Garagiste and is a lovely right bank, with Pomerol like attributes.

Names below are notable because Iā€™ve consistently been unlucky cellaring:

Bellefont Belcier, Chauvin (but itā€™s good young), La Couspaude, Ferrand Lartigue (not sure if it still exists), Grand Murailles (which is strange given how I like sister property Cote de Baleau), Laforge, Quinault lā€™Encols, Teyssier, Trottevielle (although 1989 was great)

There are lots of others I could comment on, but whether due to price, or limited vintages tasted, Iā€™ll restrain myself e.g. Corbin gets high praise and many friends/WBā€™s love Bardinetā€™s wine, but Iā€™ve only tried a couple years, mostly long ago.

Iā€™ll append some suggestions in the other AOC later.

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Great list, Arv, very thoughtfully done! I agree with all your comments about the wines and their styles. I gave up on Barde Haut a long time ago but my experiences with FaugĆØres lead me to believe that it would probably age just as well as the latter, which I never would have thought possible a few years ago. The only others which I would add would be Jean Faure, for its high Cabernet Franc content, and in a more lush style, Clos de Lā€™Oratoire and Fonroque.

I recently tried a bottle of the 2019 Jean Faureā€“definitely recommended. I have a taste for Cab Franc, this is towards the civilized yet characterful end of the spectrum. 2019 was a riper year, and it showed it, though it struck me as a wine with concentrated fruit, balanced structure, and good complexity. Good to drink or age.

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Fantastic wines listed here! Not sure if theyā€™ve been mentioned and not sure how much they cost in the US, but off the top of my head Iā€™d add these:

Bubbles:
Loads of Franciacorta (e.g. Ca del Bosco, Villa)

Chablis:
Bessin-Trembley Chablis VV (and up until 2021 the 1er Cru retailed at less than $50 in Switzerland)
Droin (incl. 1er Cru like Vosgros)

Red Burgundy:
Rion Bourgogne Rouge ā€˜Bons BĆ¢tonsā€™.
Tollot-Beaut Chorey les Beaune ā€˜Piece du ChĆ¢pitreā€™. This can vary - not great in very warm vintages (eg. 2018)

Nebbiolo:
Sottimano Langhe Nebbiolo

I could also add some Swiss wines, but I doubt theyā€™re available in the US :wink:

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Iā€™m in Switzerland, happy to hear any recommendations, especially for less than CHF50!

Hi Steve, these producers offer good wines under CHF 50 and all sell their wines online:

  • Wegelin (white: Grau- and Weissburgunder are very fruity / red: ā€˜Bothmarhaldeā€™ and ā€˜Weisstorkelā€™ are good, but so is the basic ā€˜Malanser Blauburgunderā€™. Theyā€™re all Pinot Noir.).
  • Fromm (red: the Pinot Noir ā€˜Selvenenā€™ is my favourite)
  • Schlegel (red: the Pinot Noir ā€˜Pradafantā€™ can be very nice in good vintages)
  • ZĆ¼ndel (red: ā€˜Terrafermaā€™ is nice as is ā€˜Orizzonteā€™ (both Merlot), which is under 50.- if your buy it primeur / white: the Chardonnay ā€˜Velabonaā€™ are interesting, but requires aging)
  • Kopp von der Krone Visini (red - ā€˜Balinā€™ (Merlot) is v nice, but costs 51.-)
  • Histoire Dā€™Enfer (I like the Petite Arvine)
    There are probably many more in the Suisse Romande, but I donā€™t know those very well.

OMG, one more of these wallet draining @Robert.A.Jr threads, but thanks nethertheless :roll_eyes:

Just put in orders for two of the wines mentioned (Baudry/Boulard), cellar full, wife up in arms :wine_glass:

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@Robert.A.Jr @Nathan_V - just ordered some Baudry LCB at 35ā‚¬ including 19% VAT / sales tax and shipping.

Most other wines discussed on here are roughly similar in price between EU/US, give or take. So your deletion based on price being >50$ made me wonder ā€¦ maybe I was just lucky today and some wines have been cheaper here before, others higher.

Like i.e. Vallana Campi Raudii but I guess with @Sarah_Kirschbaum efforts mosts of those go to the US now :nerd_face: j/k

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Thanks Kevin, very helpful. Iā€™m reasonably well acquainted with the Graubunden reds, a friend of mine does some picking at Fromm and gets some good allocations which he sometimes shares so I have a few Chardonnay and Spielmann. I know of the other two but not had either so will have to try. From that region I like the Silar Horler Village Pinot Noir as a daily drinker and Iā€™d also assume it can take some age.

The others are new to me so thanks for that.

From my side I can recommend the Tom Litwan Chalofe, although it is slightly above the top of this range. My favorite whites (not necessarily for aging) are the Erich Meier wines from Uetikon (probably a familiar name) - the reds I also highly thought of, although I always find Zurichsee reds too thin for my taste.

thatā€™s what i came here to comment. there is no more cellar worthy wine in this price point for me.

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Never had Silar Horler, will try to get hold of some asap (after dry Jan.). I really like Litwanā€™s and Meierā€™s wines, too. The latterā€™s Chardonnay is really interesting.