I’m no longer a big buyer of $150+ wines, but I’ve been searching for bottles which show the house/winemaking styles at a entry level price. Let’s list some wines where you can get the best winemakers/producers at a low price due to possibly an unheralded grape/region ect.
For example, I’m not a buyer of Rayas unfortunately, but I do buy Des Tours to get a fix on the style. Who else in the wine world offers the best insight to their style at an entry level price.
Egon Mueller’s Scharzhof is decent, though I think for that price you can easily get better riesling
Clape Vin des Amis
Paris Granit 30
d’Arenberg Footbolt
Coudoulet de Beaucastel
Guigal Cotes du Rhones
Faiveley Mercurey
Chateau Samion is owned and made by Jean-Claude Berrouet who made Petrus for 40+ years. Domaine de Villaine is made by the co-owner and director of Domaine Romanée Conti, Aubert de Villaine.
“Les Rouliers” (Vin de table de France) by Henri Bonneau
“Plan Pegau” by Domaine du Pegau
“La Rosine” (Syrah) by Michel Ogier
Most Bourgognes (Pinot noir) by Burgundy producers …
Domaine des Tours VdP Vaucluse by Emmanuel Reynaud (Rayas).
Myriad Semillon
As much as people complain about how burgundy is expensive and confusing, this is one area where it excels. Plenty of good bourgognes from producers that also make bottles than can cost hundreds. Hudelot noellat, barthod, bachelet (aligote), heck even Leroy’s bourgogne can be quite good for $50.
Lots of great suggestion so far
Gauby Calcinaires (but it’s worth a few extra bucks for mid-level Vv)
Baudry Les Granges
Joly Les Vieux Clos
Charvin CdR
Kabinetts from most German wine producers like Prum, Zilliken, etc. Here you can get even top terroir at a reasonable price.
Ridge Geyserville
Bourgogne Rouge from producers like Hudelot-Noellat or Jouan
Chorey les Beaune from Drouhin.
Bourgogne Blanc from producers like Bernard Moreau.
Macons from Lafon.
Villages level Chablis from Christian Moreau.
At a higher level in white Burgundy, St. Aubins from producers like PYCM, Bernard Moreau or Lamy.
Red Chassagne Montrachet from Ramonet.
Rully from Aubert de Villaine
Barolos from Vajra
Barbaresco from Produttori
This is what I buy, many are great everyday wines, and some are quite fine in their own right:
Coudoulet de Beaucastel
Clape Vin de Amis
Gonon ILes Feray
Baudry Les Granges
La Gravette de Certan
Baudry Les Grezeaux
Prum Kabinetts
Donnhoff Kabinetts
Lauer Kabinetts
Bouland’s base Beaujolais
Thivin CdB
Bedrock Old Vine Zin
Ridge Three Valley Zin
These are all fantastic wineries producing incredible flagship wines.
Auguste Clape Cotes du Rhone?
Clape’s Vin de Amis tends to be about $15 less expensive, and for the price, a much better buy for regular consumption, IMHO. I do like the CDR, but it is priced at St Joe and almost Cornas level.
IGP Principauté d’Orange “à Côté” (Charvin, who produces Châteauneuf)
Vin de France Faurie Cuvée du Papy (who produces Hermitage)
This.
Quivet Sauv Blanc
Rivers-Marie Sonoma Coast PN.
Giacosa arneis
Carlisle Sonoma Zin and Syrah
Beaucastel Coudoulet
Hansel Estate Chard
Le Clos du Caillou Caillou Les Quartz CdR
In the old days, the answer was the Louis Carillon Puligny village wine.
But it looks like the boys - both Francois & Jacques - and their import/distribution channels into the USA, now have the basic Puligny priced at about $65 retail in the USA.
Similarly, the old Bruno Giacosa “White Labels” were often very aggressively priced [and much more amenable to a simple pop-n-pour than were the Red Labels], but it looks like the White labels now have ballooned up into $200 to $250 territory [and that’s on futures - you can probably add another $50 or $75 once the wines actually arrive on these shores].
Personally, my advice [in an era of ubiquitous central bank corruption of fiat currencies] is to turn your back on the trophy labels and instead learn to develop a taste for simple Vins de Table.