The Palm Beach Post

20 Wines for Under $20: The Fall Edition

- By Eric Asimov

I hear it all the time: Where should I look for the best wine values?

The answer is simple: They are all around you.

You have to keep your eyes and ears open, and even so, sometimes they are hard to fifind. But in my research for this latest installmen­t of 20 Under $20, I have reaffiffir­med some key principles for getting the most wine for your money.

Great values come from all over the globe, but the greatest percentage comes from Old World wine regions.

Why? Simply because the diversity of wines available from, say, France or Italy far exceeds the variety made in the United States, where few producers depart from the handful of most popular grapes. That said, fifive of my 20 choices are American, exceeded by only the six from France.

The ratio of quality to price is greatest in the area of $15 to $25 a bottle. Even that price is more than many people want to pay.

For those who wi sh to spend less, many sound bottles are available for less than $15. But I am not searching for sound. I want exciting and distinctiv­e, which often requires more labor-intensive, expensive farming and winemaking.

I am willing to pay a little more because exciting wine is important to me. That’s an individual decision, but the fact remains that your chances of fifinding distinctiv­e bottles grow exponentia­lly in the $15 to $25 range.

F i n d i n g g r e a t w i n e requires fifinding great wine shops.

You will not fifind most of these bottles at the supermarke­t, and even if you have a great wine shop, you still will not fifind all these bottles. But you may fifind a few, and those that you don’t fifind immediatel­y are worth keeping in the back of your mind for when you happen upon them in another vintage or on a restaurant list.

Keep a wide-open mind. Most wines are good values because they do not have the sort of pedigree that almost always raises prices. Many c o me f ro m l i t t l e - k n own regions, made from littleknow­n grapes. Trying them requires a commitment to the unknown.

Fi nd a pro f e s s i o nal t o trust. This is the corollary to fifinding a great wine shop.

If they can’t fifind the exact bottle you are looking for, good wine merchants can often sug ge st something similar. Trust them (and see above on keeping an open mind).

1. Peter Lauer Mosel Saar Riesling Barrel X 2015, $19.99

This is a beautiful, delicate, lightly sweet riesling of the t ype that was classicall­y called kabinett and is now sometimes referred to as feinherb. It’s well balanced, with flflavors of apples, peaches and minerals, from an excellent vintage. I love wines like these in the spring, but who doesn’t need a little springtime in autumn?

2. Domaine Trapet Alsace Pinot Auxerrois Ox 2013, $17.99

Domaine Trapet Père et Fils is an excellent Burgundy estate, and now, by virtue of a marriage, it also has an outpost in Alsace. This lovely white, made with the workhorse auxerrois grape (sometimes known as pinot auxerrois), is chalky, creamy and minerally with a rich texture, but not heavy at all.

3. Louis-Antoine Luyt Chile Itata Valley Pipeño Portezuelo 2014, $18.99, 1 liter

País, as the mission grape is known in Chile, was the fifirst European grape planted in the New World, brought by missionari­es to California in the 16th century. You don’t see much wine made from mission in California, but Louis- Antoine Luyt, a F re n c h man who move d to Chile, makes juicy, tart, delicious reds from old-vine grapes he fifinds in the southern Itata Valley. An added benefifit: This is sold by the liter.

4. António Lopes Ribeiro Dão Casa de Mouraz Encruzado 2013, $18.99

Encruzado is a rare, relatively unknown white grape grown in the Dão region of Portugal, but if this bottle from António Lopes Ribeiro’s Casa de Mouraz is at all representa­tive, it is absolutely worth seeking out. This wine is fresh and flfloral, light and sleek, yet structured with intriguing mineral flflavors.

5. Gutiérrez Colosía Jerez Oloroso Sangre y Trabajader­o NV, $19 .99, 375 milliliter­s

Despite a brief bubble of interest in sherry, it remains a top value and one of the great secrets of wine lovers. Even those who’ve embraced the wonders, though, often stop with fifino and amontillad­o. Oloroso is the great sherry frontier, and this is a wonderful example: savory, steely, deeply mineral, bone dry with a core of caramel. Serve with a dry-aged steak.

6. Roagna Dolcetto d’Alba 2014, $17.99

Nebbiolo is renowned for its complex, long-lasting, soulful Barolos and Barbaresco­s. Barbera is valued for its juicy, zesty reds. Which leaves dolcetto, the also - ran among the three bestknown red grapes in the Piedmont region of Italy. That oversight can often make it a great value. This bottle, from a superb producer, is pure and refreshing­ly bitter, direct, honest and delicious.

7. Domaine Zafeirakis Tyrnavos Malagousia 2015, $15.99

A n e w g e n e r a t i o n o f Gre e k pro ducer s i s nurturing obscure, indigenous grapes like the white malagousia. This bottle, from Christos Zafeirakis in Trynavos in the Thessaly region, is zesty, peachy and balanced, with lingering flflavors that will go well with seafood. Zafeirakis’ red limniona is likewise a great value.

8. Lise & Bertrand Jousset Montlouis sur Loire L’appétillan­t Brut Nature NV, $18.99

Sparkling wines from the L o i re Va l l e y, made wi t h chenin blanc, are often wonderful values. This one, from Montlouis, is lovely: creamy, chalky and deliciousl­y rich. It is also, as the French like to say, digestible, meaning both that it will go down very easily and will go very well with food. May I suggest chicken?

9. Foxglove Paso Robles Zinfandel 2013, $17

Bob and Jim Varner make excellent chardonnay­s and pinot noirs from the Santa Cruz Mount a i ns and t he Central Coast. Foxglove is the Varner winery’s second label, and the 2013 zinfandel offfffffff­fffers an excellent taste of the Varner style: exuberant, yet well focused. This is the sort of zinfandel I love to drink in the fall, fresh and flfloral with plenty of spicy fruit flflavors.

10. Jo Landron Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Le Fief du Breil 2013, $17.99

Muscadet is perenniall­y one of wine’s great values. The region, near the mouth of the Loire River on the Atlantic, offfffffff­fffers fascinatin­g terroirs and excellent producers, yet att rac ts little attention — hence low prices. This lip-smacking wine, from the terrific Jo Landron, is creamy and energetic, full of rocky, earthy, herbal flflavors. The best Muscadets are subtle, and so demand close attention, but they are well worth it.

11. La Marca di San Michele Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Classico Superiore “CapoVolto” 2014, $17.99

Verdicchio is one of many grapes that gave Italian white wine a bad name over the years, but when done right, as with this bottle from La Marca di San Michele, it is delightful. This wine, from organic grapes grown in the eastern province of Ancona, is fresh and lively, with the flflavor of apricots and a mild bitterness reminiscen­t of almonds.

12. Banshee Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2014, $19.99

This is a rare example of a moderately priced California chardonnay with an excellent pedigree. The grapes come from the Sonoma Coast, an amorphous designatio­n that can be meaningles­s, but in this c ase includes grapes from the superb Heintz Vineyard and the Green Valley region. Ross Cobb is a fifine winemaker, and, while this is in the California style of bold fruit framed by toasty oak, it has plenty of acidity and no artififice. Bravo.

13. Domaine Nicolas Gonin Isère- Balmes Dauphinois­es Persan Mondeuse 2013, $19.99

Thank goodness this wine exists. It comes from a little-known region in eastern France and is made from two grapes that have practicall­y disappeare­d, persan and mondeuse. Yet it’s an utter joy: fresh, honest and slightly funky with warm flflavors of red fruits and herbs, and only 10 percent alcohol. Knock it back with sausages and be thankful that what used to be still is.

14. Jean-Paul Brun Terres Dorées Beaujolais l’Ancien Vieilles Vignes 2014, $16.99

Whatever the season, I always crave Beaujolais. It’s a staple because it’s so versatile and delicious. Many producers are doing great work there today, but JeanPaul Brun has been doing it for a long time. This straight Beaujolais, from one of the region’s less acclaimed terroirs, is surprising­ly rich. It’s bright, earthy and joyous, great at any time.

15. Giornata Central Coast Il Campo Red 2014, $19.99

This is a fifield blend of Italian grapes grown in California, including sangio - vese, aglianico, barbera and nebbiolo. It’s bright, balanced, sunny and focused, not complex but refreshing and tremendous­ly satisfying. It comes from the people who make Broadside, a 20 Under $20 favorite for its delicious, budget-priced cabernet sauvignon.

16. Borja Pérez González Ycoden Daute Isora Igniosg Orígenes Listán Negro 2013, $19.99

The Canary Islands are a wonderful source for intriguing budget-priced wines. Thi s one, made from li stán negro grapes grown in Ycoden Daute Isora, the western region of Tenerife, is reminiscen­t of good cabernet franc, pure red fruit leavened by the strong presence of herbal flflavors. It’s deep, long, brisk and lingering.

17. Grochau Cellars Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Commuter Cuvée 2014, $17.99

Grochau Cellars is new to me, but judging from this bottle, it’s an excellent source for that rare treat: budgetpric­ed pinot noir from good terroirs, grown and produced conscienti­ously. Commuter Cuvée shows bright aromas of red and black fruit fruits intermingl­ed with herbs and flflowers. It’s fresh, easygoing and ready to drink.

18. Guímaro Ribeira Sacra Tinto Mencía 2014, $16.99

If you like medium- bodied reds that combine fresh fruit flflavors and a distinctiv­e sense of place, keep in mind Ribeira Sacra and the mencía grape. This immensely satisfying bottle is fresh and earthy, with flflavors of bright red fruit infused with an almost slatelike minerality. It is unoaked and direct, not intended for long aging.

19. Route Stock Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignong Route 29 2013, $ 19.99

Rou t e S t o c k i s a l a b e l o w n e d b y Wi l s o n D a n - iels, a big wine importer. I wouldn’t ordinarily look to it as a source for wines (other than its imports, of course). But this is a very good, straightfo­rward Napa cabernet sauvignon, well shaped and lightly tannic, with flflavors of dark fruits, ear th and herbs that are unexaggera­ted. How often can you fifind that for $20? Bring on the burgers and lamb chops.

20. Château Peybonhomm­e Les Tours Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux Quintessen­ce de Peybonhomm­ey 2012, $19 .99

The little-known regions of Bordeaux, like Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux on the right bank of the Gironde, are often touted as sources of great bargains. I don’t often fifind that to be true, but this is an exception. This wine, made from biodynamic­ally grown merlot mixed with a small percentage of cabernet sauvignon, is mouth- fifilling, lightly tart and, as with all good Bordeaux, absolutely refreshing.

 ?? TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES ?? enty wines for under $20. The territory for great values in wine is $15 to $25. Many wines are cheaper, but few of those are distinctiv­e.
TONY CENICOLA/THE NEW YORK TIMES enty wines for under $20. The territory for great values in wine is $15 to $25. Many wines are cheaper, but few of those are distinctiv­e.
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