What are your go to cellar defenders? I am at the point where everything I have been purchasing needs age whether it be a few years or 20+. Looking for great QPR on sub $30 bottles.
One comment and one question:
(1) what kind of wines to you like? Without knowing that, it’s hard to recommend value wines for you
(2) these days you can buy lots of mature vintages at retail and auction. Maybe not so much in the below $30 category. But maybe the better plan isn’t to just drink <$30 wine for years and and years until current bottles in storage become mature. Shift some of that buying of better bottles into older vintages. Getting more experience with what wines taste like at different ages will greatly inform your buying/storing plan as you move ahead, too.
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Anything I like under $29 on Winebid. Usually with some age and below retail/issue price.
Right now there are over 1800 wines that fit that price point.
My wine club and Berserker labels that I like to support regularly are mine. I feel like I’m doing my part by drinking them & it feels good to have wine I don’t need to think about. Yes, I could lay them down (and I do) but they’re for enjoyment at any time.
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Appreciate the response and questioning. Here is a link to what is currently in my cellar:
A lot of Rhone, Domestic Blends, some Bordeaux etc.
Always looking to branch out and try new wines though.
I am past the stage of needing to defend the cellar (more likely need some DRINK ME NOW tags), but you could do a lot worse than Lanessan if you like bordeaux. For example, the 15, 18, 19 and 20 are all available for under $20.
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I’m not sure if this is the same thing @M_Meer is saying, but BerserkerDay (next one is late January) is a great time to fill up the cellar with quality, interesting wines made by good folks, including often in the price range OP requested.
You’d do far better there than at retail. Though that’s really if you are open to new world wines, there are relatively few old world ones in BerserkerDay (though BD features many new world wines made for people who like the balance of old world wines).
Which goes back to my question (1) up above – the advice you should get would be very different depending on sparkling/red/white, what regions, styles, etc. you like. If you like old-school Italian wine, I’d recommend Calabretta Etna Rosso. But that wouldn’t be a good recommendation if you mostly like Napa cab. And so forth.
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Someone who enjoys Bordeaux is probably the most in luck as far as selection, accessibility and variety at the <$30 price point. There are so many to choose from, plus many in that category don’t really need age or much to be enjoyable.
And if you live near a Costco, you can load up on them there.
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Don’t forget La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi. It’s my all time qpr champ. Lanessan is very close though.
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BD is a great time to start. I started to buy throughout the year because I found wines that I enjoy. And, they do oftentimes have regular promotions, which helps.
Based on what’s in your cellar, they might not be in your wheelhouse, but one of my go to regions for cellar defenders is Beaujolais. There are a ton of delicious cru Beaujolais under $30. Virtually all of them drink well young and they have the benefit of also lasting 5-10 (or more) years from the vintage. There are a ton of great producers (you can search for numerous threads here), so there are likely good options available regardless of what part of the country you’re in.
The other region I look to, and which is likely a bit more in line with what’s in your cellar, would be Loire Cab Franc (Saumur, Chinon, Bourgeuil, etc.). The best Loire cab francs need time and can age like Bordeaux, but most producers make a variety of cuvees and have some bottlings that are meant to be drunk on the younger side. For producers, I like Olga Raffault, Jean Maurice Raffault, Arnaud Lambert, Domaine de la Chanteleuserie, Bernard Baudry, and there are countless others (again use the search).
Again, both of these regions might not be 100% in line with what you own (but you did ask what we use as cellar defenders), but they’re both regions where it’s easy to find very good wines at fairly reasonable prices.
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Cru Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, German Riesling, Muscadet, and WA BDX varieties and Syrah along with Treveri sparkling wines.
Don’t really dip into Cava and Prosecco as I prefer to pay up and drink Champagne for sparkling ocassions or the aforementioned Treveri.
Domaine de la Pepiere.
The end.
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Beaujolais, German Spatlesen (especially Fritz Haag), and something I find interesting from an email from Envoyer or K&L (both of whom deliver).
Cedric Bouchard, Mugneret Gibourg village wines, some other village burgs like Drouhin, Marc Roy, PYCM Bourgogne blanc, Hudelot Noellat BR and Chambolle AC.
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Raul Perez Bierzo and Albariño. LdH Cubillo. Lanessan. Need to find a sparkling go-to
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Well played.
New world problems.
Vajra Langhe Nebbiolo
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