The Loire seems to be a recurring choice in this thread, which is a great choice. Also, Iāve not had Pepiereās, but will be sure to pick up a bottle now. Givry Iād second too, relative to Burgundy anyway, and add Domaine du Cellier aux Moines. Iāll have to look into the other winesāhave not had many sweet wines (yet!). Thanks for everyoneās contribution!
Hard to argue with Loire for the most undervalued region. So much quality and so few truly expensive or unattainable wines. Obviously that is a huge region, but notably each sub-region also qualifies under those criteria. Only Rougeard and maybe some franc de pied bottlings are very expensive or hard to find, or some producers with no/poor US distribution.
German riesling in general as well. You have a few more trophy bottles in that category, particularly GGs, TBAs, and BAs, but the amount of widely available and extremely inexpensive quality bottles is still so high.
Perhaps not the most underrated but Iām increasingly finding Sicily, Etna and Cerasoulo, offer a great deal of value relative to cost.
While I agree Pepiere Clos des Briords is a great bargain at its price, I wonder how many of the people saying that would keep buying it if it were even $30.
Some that come to mind for me:
Kutch Sonoma Coast pinot $39 (now 15 years running at that price). Fruit, complexity, balance, ageworthiness at levels far above that price point.
Scherrer Old Mature Vines. If you buy by the case on futures, I think itās $25 a bottle. Elegant red fruited zin with a track record for improving with age.
Gonna do some rambling . . .
-Iāll agree that the Loire on the whole as a region is undervalued
-Although I am new to the grape, I think Riesling in many cases is undervalued/ underappreciated
-Iāll agree with the Clos des Briords, and also say a solid basic muscadet is undervalued/underappreciated
-Montepulciano dāAbruzzo is pretty good for the $, whether at $10 or less (e.g. Fantini-Farnese ) or at $20+ (e.g. Marina Cvetic)
-Finally, inspired by the specificity of Howardās answer, Iāll give you these two: 2017 Patricia Green Pinot Noir āReserveā , 2017 Chateau Thivin Cote de Brouilly
Underpriced wines are often underpriced because people donāt like the style. Unfortunately this also means the odds are that you may not enjoy the style either, hence they may not be underpriced for you. E.g. I think Port, Sauternes, and Rioja are very underpriced given the quality and ageability of the wines, however I donāt love the style of any of those three hence do not invest.
If you really like a style that is generally unpopular with others then youāre in luck and can fill a cellar inexpensively with the very top producers of those wines.
Iād agree with Eric, and say Portugese wines generally are undervalued; many have genuine distinctiveness and complexity. I donāt know them as well as some, but Mouchao and Redoma come to mind. Commando G in Spain, their entry level, too, is impressive. Iād also throw Sandlands into the mix. Pepiere is certainly not shabby; Iād throw Chidaine in there. Finally, southern Italy, Sicily, is hard to argue with in reds, anything Nerello Mascalese.
I would probably buy Pepiere Clos de Briords up to about $55/bottle. Itās a tremendous wine, regardless of the low price. Even at $55, it would still be my preference over many wines at higher prices.
Honestly, for many years the Dauvissat AOC Chablis could have been in the mix for this topic. Now itās considerably more expensive and I still buy it when I can find itā¦Clos de Briords would be no different to me.
That surprises me. I think itās a nice value, but to me, not worth anywhere near that. I do wonder how many people saying Briords would pay considerably more for it if the price jumped.
For me, especially keeping that in mind, Chateau Musar Rouge deserves mention here. Very few wines can evolve into something so great and cost that little on release. And yes, I would pay significantly more per bottle and buy fewer if I had to. Iāve probably mentioned this in similar threads before, but itās nice to revisit the topic once in a while.