Favorite reds under $50?

WINE TALK
1

New to this forum and really just getting into wine… Trying to find a lot of good stuff to try. I’ve been drinking a lot of California Cabs and Pinots so far. Looking for any suggestions though, open to trying new types and areas.

Any help is appreciated!

2

$50 gets you a long way in a lot of places. You’ll get so many suggestions from all the knowledge here you won’t know what to do :slight_smile: I know Oregon pretty well so I’ll suggest that. You better get drinking :slight_smile:

If you like pinot, here are some of my favorite producers of Oregon Pinot:

(Just to name a few)
Brick House
Cristom
Cameron
White Rose
Bethel Heights
Evesham Wood
J Christopher
Vincent
Crowley
Matello

Many if not most of their single vineyard wines are under $50 and outstanding quality.

If you’re still exploring California here are some of my new discoveries:

Briceland
Failla
Copain
Boheme
Paul Mathew
Benovia

3

In California check out

Bedrock and Ridge- terrific wines that range from $20-50. They reward ageing and you’ll get to explore many great wines. Check out their websites. Bedrock you will need to join the mailing list.

If you have a solid local wine store try you trust check out some Cote Du Rhone( southern France red blends) and some base Barbara and Nebillio from Northern Italy. Great food wines.

Cheers and welcome to the board.

+100 on Oregon Pinot

4

Hi Nick - welcome.

There are a lot of threads on this or closely related subjects.

I’m not sure how useful any of the answers will be though, because “reds” is such a huge category. Looking at lists of people’s suggestions is kind of like going into a wine store and looking at the shelves - without some direction or clue, it’s hard to make your way around the place.

If I tell you I like Baudry’s Les Grezeaux and someone else tells you he likes Belle Glos Pinot Noir, they’ll both fall into your category but depending on your taste, one will make you gag.

You might want to give people a clue as to which wines you’ve liked and which you didn’t, and perhaps why. That will help people help you.

Best of luck! [cheers.gif]

5

Try some Washington red wines. They are generally less expensive than equivalent quality from California.

Andrew Will, Cadence, Gramercy, Rotie, Seven Hills, Soos Creek are a few names.

P Hickner

6

If you can find Chappellet Signature under $50 go for it. They’re pretty consistent, but 2012 is readily available and open for drinking now. That was my wine friend’s favorite among several $50 Cabs, and is my go-to Cab at that price point:

If you want to spend less, 2014 Daou and 2013 Rutherford Ranch are great values. They weren’t part of this comparison but would have done well:

Here’s a good thread on more Cali Cabs to try:

7

What Greg said. Even if a wine is fantastic, you may not like it if it’s in a style you don’t prefer.

8

For well under $50, 2014 Enfield ‘Pretty Horses’ Tempranillo is an excellent mid-weight, red fruit profile wine that’s tasty on its own AND is a good companion to food. At $28 from the winery, and $29 from Chambers Street in NYC, it’s easily my red QPR of the year so far.

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Thank you all so far for the suggestions.

Greg - I appreciate the feedback but that is kind of what I’m looking for. I don’t really know what I’ll like and what I won’t as I haven’t tried nearly enough to feel confident in that. My hope is that if people recommend some things I haven’t it narrows down the wine store for me to pick from a list of things people like.

10

Passopisciaro Sicilia Passopisciaro - from the slopes of Mt Etna if you like PN, you’ll love this! Nerello Mascalese is the grape. Palish in color, medium body, silky, elegant, red fruited and complex. Around $35

Thivin Cote Brouilly - Hands down ,my all round, favorite Cru Beaujolais producer. The 2014 on the shelves right now, rocks! Sell for $20-$25

For Cabernet or PN its pretty hard to beat Mt Eden Vineyard’s less costly Domaine Eden btls from nearby Santa Cruz Mt vineyards. Farmed and cellared like the $60 plus estate wines. Sells fro around $35.

11

Where are you located? In addition to suggesting specific wines, it’s likely people can suggest really good stores near you. Then you can go to one place and get a mixed case or two all at once, suggested by someone who knows the inventory and can build on feedback you give. You’ll get great suggestions here (you already have), but you probably won’t be able to find more than a couple in each place, and it can be a pain to order from a bunch of different stores.

12

2005 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904

13

35-50 is a great place to be for zinfandels.

Bedrock
Turley
Carlisle

Im thirsty now all of a sudden.

14

Yes, try Rioja Reservas and Gran Reservas.

Chianti Classico (Felsina maybe)

Chateauneuf or Gigondas from the Southern Rhone

“wines of place” etc, etc, etc

15

-Remember to buy some solid Bordeaux. Even if You don’t really like them now, -You will be a happy drinker in twenty years from now. (Or You can sell them, if not Your thing, and then buy whatever You like).

Best regards, Soren.

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And leave them in the cellar 2 or 3 decades before drinking them. [wink.gif]

Felsina or Fontodi. [thumbs-up.gif]

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+1 on Brandon’s Oregon list, it’s a great start on the region (full disclosure, i make the Matello and Goodfellow wines)

Also:
Northern Rhone try Alain Graillot’s Crozes Hermitage & Faury’s VV St. Joseph.

Loire Valley: Olga Raffault “Les Picasses”, I like each of the Cuvees from Baudry as well.

Beaujolais: Foillard, Clos des Roilette, Thivin, and Chanrion

Have fun

18

Lots of good ideas here. In this range Italy has a vast amount to offer. Perhaps too vast because it can be daunting. But - you can usually trust Italian reds to be good food wines. Chianti, Barbera, and Nebbiolo are good names to look for. Here are some specific ideas from K&L in San Francisco.

2009 Sella Lessona (Nebbiolo grape - similar to a barbaresco)
2013 Elvio Cogno Barbera
2011 Felsina Rancia Riserva Chianti
2011 Vajra Albe (also a Nebbiolo)

These wines will all be young, powerful with a lot going on, and go great with strong foods.

One of the interesting challenges of wine love is starting to experience aged wine. The right wines transform with age and become marvelous in fascinating ways. The hard part is storing the stuff for 10 or 20 years. How are you supposed to know if you will like it? Answer - buy aged wine and try it!! It’s pretty safe from reputable vendors and isn’t any more expensive than buying new vintages in many cases. For example, from K&L they have the 1985 Lanessan and 1995 Meyney (both from Bordeaux). They are not going to be all-time great wines, but they should have something to say about the pleasures of aged Bordeaux.

19

I would buy a case of that 1985 Lanessan instantly, if only I could.
Not every Bordeaux lover likes this hard-to-smooth Lanessan, but the ones that do, gets top QPR here.
-And again, Your palate might not like this Lanessan now, but in ten/twenty years…Who knows.

-Soren.

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I’m located in Atlanta if that helps at all. Thanks again for the help