What's the best $20 dollar bottle you know of?

[Chris_Seiber]

I’m having some friends over for a blind tasting, with a bet on their blind tasting skills. I plan to open a 20 dollar bottle, an 80 dollar bottle, and a 200 dollar bottle. I will be giving them all three, and their goal is to try to guess which is the 20 dollar bottle, which is the 80 dollar bottle, and which is the 200 dollar bottle. We have a bet on this, so the less they get right the better. The $200 dollar bottle (I realize it can be had for less than $200, but I’m including the shipping and auction premium I paid) is going to be a 2011 Ridge Monte Bello, which I have already tried via Coravin’ed earlier this week. For the $80, I’m thinking Caymus, and for the $20 I was thinking something like Mollydooker The Boxer, which I think tastes very similar to the Caymus. Any other recommendations to try to trick these guys?

If you go with Monte Bello, Caymus and Mollydooker, the tasting will be about winemaking style, not value.

My thought exactly.

If you just want civilians to vote for the cheaper bottles, then your strategy makes sense. Better still, put in a $200 Bordeaux, Barolo or Burgundy.

But if you genuinely want to see if they can tell and which they’d like, it makes more sense to stay within a general style. Make the $200 bottle a Schrader or something like that. Or make the lower priced bottles Lanessan and Mount Eden or something.

[K_John_Joseph]

I would go pure sangiovese for this tasting because, as John Morris notes, if you’re going three totally different types of wines and styles, the tasting results will be largely irrelevant. If the idea is to compare quality at price points, go with a $20 chianti, an $80 chianti classico riserve from a top producer, and then a Fontodi Flaccianello

[Joe_Abruzzo]

Hard to find (only @ 1000 cases produced / yr) , but I buy every vintage and consistenly good Cabernet: Mario Perelli Minetti

[Gabe_Berk]

2017 Daou Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles. $20 at Total Wine with a 92 point score from Parker. If they like Caymus this will be 1/5 the cost for relatively the same style wine…

[M_Dildine]

Scherrer OMV and Bedrock Old Vine are in the $20 range.

[Paul_Flynn]

Turley Juvenile.

[John_Glas]

I’ve never had a good $20 cab. With $35 and a sale, I can think of some good ones.

Here is a good Cab Blend that is not good but excellent!

$10.50 on their sale last December and will have another one soon which I will post.

2008 Davenport Cellars Continuity - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (2/18/2020)
Day 1: Decanted some sediment and this wine is awesome. Cherry, plum, menthol, spices, blueberries and perfume. A bit different than the last 2 bottles as this is showing more fruit but is gorgeous. Medium plus finish. 92 points
Day 2: Excellent on day 2. These wines have a ton of aging potential. Blueberries, cherry, spice, earth, menthol, mild oak and vanilla. Beautiful wine. Medium plus finish. The fact this is better on day 2 should indicate another 5 plus years of aging. 93 points
Day 3: The notes on the sludge impacting the wine are confusing. Many wines over 10 years might have a little sludge on the cork which does not impact the quality of the wine. This wine is glorious on day 3. Beautiful example of the top vineyards in Washington coming together. Menthol, bright fruits featuring cherry, blueberries and plums. Spices, floral and mild oak. Balanced and medium plus finish. If you could find a Cabernet Blend in the world for under $15.00 this good then please let me know! 94 points
Recommendation: Buy this when they have their sale in late March/early April. (94 points)

[John_Glas]

Davenport Cellars offers their Continuity at 2/3 off again, it is hard to beat it in the $12 range.

[mattccheung]

Mondavi cab is a safe choice.

[John_Glas]

Yes, the La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi is a good one that can be as low as $15 at Costco…

13 is excellent!

[John_Glas]

Mondavi cab is a safe choice.

Depends on the vintage. Their 50th Anniversary wine was awful.

[Brandon_R]

2017 Daou Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles. $20 at Total Wine with a 92 point score from Parker. If they like Caymus this will be 1/5 the cost for relatively the same style wine…

I went to the BevMo in La Jolla while on vacation (what a deplorable wine selection) and walked out with this, never having tasted it. Here’s my TN: “This was a little too sweet for my tastes. Sweet blackberry juice. Not bad, but just not my cup of tea. 84 points” So…what you say sounds about right!

[dave_kammerer]

+1 on the 2017 Daou. If they like Caymus this is as good for About $21 at Costco.

[tpetty]

I like some “bargain” priced cabs - but not a Daou fan.

[Dave_J]

I’ve never had a good $20 cab. With $35 and a sale, I can think of some good ones.

I’d lover to hear what $35 would get. Thanks!

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

Go all the way with Two Buck Chuck. I set up a blind tasting on a dare of that versus a random $15 cab I also got at trader Joe’s. I left the room, one of my partners poured two glasses, I returned, sniffed the glasses and didn’t even have to taste. It was PAINFULLY obvious.

[Mike_DiSalvo]

I would second (or third) the recommendation to go with a Sangiovese in the under $20 range specifically from the 2017 vintage which are highly approachable right now. Vopaia is wonderful and ready to drink with a couple of hours of airtime. You might want to throw in the 2017 Tenuta Sette Ponti Crognolo Super Tuscan as a ringer which is under $30 and is mostly Sangiovese with a splash of Merlot.

[Victor_Hong]

I offered my ideas, in different threads. But people prefer the newest, freshest wines, at that price threshold.

[Frank_B]

Focus on style first - otherwise it would be difficult to develop a meaningful comparison. I’ve done this previously with Sangiovese (from simple Chianti, to Riservas, to Grand Riservas). It’s also good to do this with Rioja. You could have a great line up with the many bottlings of La Rioja Alta or Lopez Heredia.

[williamwhelan]

LRA Vina Alberdi is pretty hard to beat in this category, for me.