Domaine Priou Pinot Noir

François et Jean-François Priou mostly grow Sauvignon Blanc along the River Cher; their Touraine Sauvignon Blanc is a great value. Certain places that didn’t used to be able to ripen certain grapes are finding it easier to show off. While you might not think of the Loire Valley for Pinot Noir, it’s routinely grown there and, if you haven’t had a chance to drink any of the ethereal versions of the grape in this region, now it’s your chance.

Don Ramon Red Blend

The Campo de Borja region of Spain churns out some of the best value wine in the world, and this little beauty is a perfect example!

Dosoris Lane Proprietary Red

Maybe one of the most hyped up wines this year, Dosoris Lane is all about showing what type of crazy quality you can produce for under $15. Think black pepper notes from a little Syrah. The black fruits in the middle suggest a little bit of Cabernet; the red fruits and white pepper hint at Grenache. Put it all together and you have some epic red wine from the sunny south of France, with expansive and bright flavors.

Dry Creek Regatta Meritage

Dutcher Crossing Cabernet 'Cooney Reserve'

This is the flagship wine of Dutcher Crossing. A single-vineyard Cabernet from Alexander Valley, the appellation that gave us Silver Oak and Jordan and Vérité, and arguably the finest Cabernet ground in Sonoma County. This is absolutely crazy Cabernet for the money.

Dutcher Crossing Cabernet 'Proprietor's Reserve'

Dry Creek Valley is Zinfandel country — some of the densest old-vine plantings in California, and the first name most sommeliers reach for in the category. Cabernet's actually the newcomer here, but the same warm days, cool nights, and gravelly iron-rich soil that built Dry Creek's Zinfandel reputation work just as well on this grape.

En Numeros Vermells Carinyena 1945

Don’t get crazy here; we are not offering a wine from the 1945 vintage. This is a wine from a very old Carignan (or more properly, Carinyena) vineyard, planted in 1945. Why is Carinyena the more appropriate name for the grape? Because it’s not a French vine but a Spanish one, and since we’re talking Catalunya, we might as well spell it that way. It’s much like Garnacha ought to be the proper name for the Grenache grape; it too originates in Spain. But Carinyena's finest expression across the globe is here in Priorat; and Silvia Puig, the young but already famed winemaker, has made her reputation on old Carinyena vines.

En Numeros Vermells Classic

When Silvia Puig started this project to draw from some smaller scale vineyards, she gave it a name that essentially means, “in the red”, since she knew she would never make money at it. That’s why she consults with other better known producers in Spain’s Priorat region: she can pay the bills, and focus upon this lovely, handmade wine, comprised of Garnacha Peluda (a rare variety) along with Syrah and Cariñena.

Escorlada

Spanish wine is a bargain, right? It’s been that way for decades, though it’s only been in the last ten or fifteen years that the wider world has dropped some in their gullets and said, wait, this costs how much? Certainly, less than it should. It doesn't take geniuses to notice it, so we’re not making any claims to our own brilliance. In the case of this Garnacha Tintorera, we’re pretty sure we’ve found what may be the best sub $20 wine we have ever tasted. Spain has done it again!

Flor de Rejon

100% Tempranillo, this is from Bodegas Tridente in Castilla y Leon, and they’ve been producing remarkable values for the last couple of decades. This is their top wine, however, so it ain’t going for cheap. Most of the vines were planted in the 19th century, so yields are minimal and the flavors are both complex and concentrated. It spends 20 months in oak barrels, and you needn’t be in a hurry to drink it.

Giuliano Rosati Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Okay, we’ll admit it, Italian wine is confusing. Montepulciano is a town but it's also a grape not grown in that town. When that grape is grown in the Abruzzo region, it’s rich, plush, fun and juicy as hell. And it’s also not respected enough by the Italians to charge you a lot of money. I think they’re confused too.

Grandes Arenes Rouge

Syrah and Grenache is more or less in equal proportions here, and this exhibits what makes Costieres de Nimes an increasingly popular and important sub-region of the Rhone Valley. It benefits from the same Mediterranean sun and breezes, and the same limestone soils, as any other southern Rhone appellation. Maybe best of all, unlike so much Chateauneuf-duPape, this stuff is affordable!