20 Wines for Under $20: The Fall Edition

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/dining/best-wines-under-20-dollars-fall.html

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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 find. But in my research for this latest installment of 20 Under $20, I have reaffirmed some key principles for getting the most wine for your money.

Why? Simply because the diversity of wines available from, say, France or Italy (home to a vast number of ancient, indigenous grapes) far exceeds the variety made in the United States, where few producers depart from the handful of most popular grapes. That said, five of my 20 choices are American, exceeded by only the six from France.

Even that price is more than many people want to pay. For those who wish 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 finding distinctive bottles grow exponentially in the $15 to $25 range.

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

Most wines are good values because they do not have the sort of pedigree that almost always raises prices. Many come from little-known regions, made from little-known grapes. Trying them requires a commitment to the unknown. Exceptions exist, of course, like the bottle of Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon on this list.

You may love some of these wines. Others not so much. Distinctive bottles can often be polarizing. So be prepared not to love everything you try.

This is the corollary to finding a great wine shop. Even great stores won’t have everything. Arcane, complex American laws governing distribution of alcoholic beverages virtually assure that every state will have a very different selection.

But if they can’t find the exact bottle you are looking for, good wine merchants can often suggest something similar. Trust them (and see above on keeping an open mind).

Peter Lauer Mosel Saar Riesling Barrel X 2015, $19.99

This is a beautiful, delicate, lightly sweet riesling of the type that was classically called kabinett and is now sometimes referred to as feinherb. It’s well balanced, with flavors 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? (Vom Boden, Brooklyn, N.Y.)

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. (Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, N.Y.)

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

País, as the mission grape is known in Chile, was the first 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 Frenchman who moved to Chile, makes juicy, tart, delicious reds from old-vine grapes he finds in the southern Itata Valley. An added benefit: This is sold by the liter. (Louis/Dressner Selections, New York)

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 floral, light and sleek, yet structured with intriguing mineral flavors. (Savio Soares Selections, Brooklyn, N.Y.)

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 fino 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. (Coeur Wine Company, New York)

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 best-known 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. (Polaner Selections)

Domaine Zafeirakis Tyrnavos Malagousia 2015, $15.99

A new generation of Greek producers is 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 flavors that will go well with seafood. Zafeirakis’s red limniona is likewise a great value. (Dionysi Grevenitis Selections/Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York)

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

Sparkling wines from the Loire Valley, made with 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? (Fruit of the Vines, Long Island City, N.Y.)

Foxglove Paso Robles Zinfandel 2013, $17

Bob and Jim Varner make excellent chardonnays and pinot noirs from the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Central Coast. Foxglove is the Varner winery’s second label, and the 2013 zinfandel offers 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 floral with plenty of spicy fruit flavors.

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, offers fascinating terroirs and excellent producers, yet attracts little attention — hence low prices. This lip-smacking wine, from the terrific Jo Landron, is creamy and energetic, full of rocky, earthy, herbal flavors. The best Muscadets are subtle, and so demand close attention, but they are well worth it. (Martin Scott Wines, New York)

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 flavor of apricots and a mild bitterness reminiscent of almonds. (Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, Calif.)

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 case includes grapes from the superb Heintz Vineyard and the Green Valley region. Ross Cobb is a fine winemaker, and, while this is in the California style of bold fruit framed by toasty oak, it has plenty of acidity and no artifice. Bravo.

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 flavors 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. (M. F. W. Wine Company/T. Elenteny Imports, New York)

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 Jean-Paul 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. (Louis/Dressner Selections)

Giornata Central Coast Il Campo Red 2014, $19.99

This is a field blend of Italian grapes grown in California, including sangiovese, 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.

Borja Pérez González Ycoden Daute Isora Ignios Orígenes Listán Negro 2013, $19.99

The Canary Islands are a wonderful source for intriguing budget-priced wines. This one, made from listán 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 flavors. It’s deep, long, brisk and lingering. (David Bowler Wine, New York)

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: budget-priced pinot noir from good terroirs, grown and produced conscientiously. Commuter Cuvée shows bright aromas of red and black fruit fruits intermingled with herbs and flowers. It’s fresh, easygoing and ready to drink.

Guímaro Ribeira Sacra Tinto Mencía 2014, $16.99

If you like medium-bodied reds that combine fresh fruit flavors and a distinctive sense of place, keep in mind Ribeira Sacra and the mencía grape. This immensely satisfying bottle is fresh and earthy, with flavors of bright red fruit infused with an almost slatelike minerality. It is unoaked and direct, not intended for long aging. (A José Pastor Selection/Vinos & Gourmet, Richmond, Calif.)

Route Stock Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Route 29 2013, $19.99

Route Stock is a label owned by Wilson Daniels, 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 flavors of dark fruits, earth and herbs that are unexaggerated. How often can you find that for $20? Bring on the burgers and lamb chops.

Château Peybonhomme Les Tours Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux Quintessence de Peybonhomme 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 find 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-filling, lightly tart and, as with all good Bordeaux, absolutely refreshing. (Fruit of the Vines)