Feasting on a Budget
Six of our favorites to give a lot of taste for not so much money.
November 8, 2023
Why get a run-of-the-mill Merlot or chardonnay when you can have something more vibrant with character for your holiday meal? This week, six of our favorites to give a lot of taste for not so much money.
Red and White Beaujolais That Shine
Jean-Marc Burgaud
2022 Morgon Cote du Py
Jean-Marc Burgaud echoes burgundy in Beaujolais. He makes wines of individuality, intensity, and character. He offers them at better prices than his peers. His estate is based in Morgon, whose wines are the biggest, boldest, and most structured of ten elite Beaujolais crus (towns). There, the Cote du Py vineyard is thought to be the most powerful and expressive. Jean Marc's 2022 Cote du Py is characterful but not as closed as others. It's simply delicious.
24.99, Case 21.50
2021 Beaujolais Lantignie Blanc
Crisp Flinty Dry white Burgundy
The talk in Beaujolais is that Lantignie will rise to the status of a Beaujolais Cru. Burgaud's white Beaujolais-Lantignie shows why. Like white burgundy, it is all chardonnay. Legally, it could be called Macon and is what you could expect from one. It's crisp and crisp and flinty, full of mineral, but not oaked.
- Aroma: earthy full, some spice, nice angularity; Mouth: clean, light firm, pretty, firm acids in the mid mouth, medium length, nicely balanced, pure unoaked chardonnay; Very Good Plus $18.99; Case, $15.99
Savory and full White
2022 Ziereisen Gutedel Heugumber
You might have never heard of the Gutedel grape (it can also be called Chasselas or Fendant). The previous vintage surprised and delighted the many people who bought it. The 2020 might be even better. In the Wine Advocate, Stephen Reinhardt called it:
"one of Ziereisen's most successful and stunning wines. This pure Chasselas fermented to fully dry with Mosel-like 10.5% stated alcohol and just 0.4 grams per liter of residual sugar, and it aged on the lees for 20 months in traditional large oak casks. … The wine opens with a fascinating, pure, intense and elegant, discreetly reductive but also finely saline and smoky bouquet of ripe fruits. On the palate, this is a round, elegant and refined yet amazingly intense, saline and structured, even mineral white with quite a long but highly serving finish, namely for dishes with raw fish. This is a lot of (serious) wine." $26.99, Case 22.99
More Reds
2020 Lanzaga Corriente Rioja
Smooth and Creamy
Telmo Rodriguez of the well known Remelluri estate started a new project in the highlands of Rioja Alevesa called Bodega Lanzaga. He has very select old vineyards in the Lanciego zone of Rioja Alevesa. Telmo considers his 2020 Corriente Rioja "village" wine, a field blend of mostly Tempranillo with some Garnacha, Graciano, and other native varieties.
Bodega Lanzaga wines are organic with spontaneous fermentation, no new oak, and are neither fined nor filtered. They are pure expressions of the hills where they grow. It's Rioja's future based on ancient tradition.
- Deep ruby. Dense and polished. Complex aromas and flavors of dark berries, plums, herbs, and spices. Walnuts in the finish with a creamy texture. Excellent 23.99/bottle, Case: 19.99
2021 Castello La Leccia Chianti Classico
Classic Sangiovese
Castello La Leccia is a historic property dating back to 1077, with our old friend Guido, who learned his craft, making Brunello di Montalcino now the general manager. La Leccia has high-altitude vineyards in Castellina in Chianti. Everything is organic, with ultimate respect for the environment and nature. It is 100% Sangiovese and shows the ideal structure of wines from the best vineyards.
- Amazing balanced structure for a wine of this cost. Classic Sangiovese with cherries and olive flowers. And lingering spice. Can age well for years. Very Good - Excellent $21, Case 17.99
2020 D de Dauzac, Bordeaux
Heady and Rich
Ch Dauzac is a classed growth Margaux estate. Their D de Dauzac comes from the estate and purchased grapes. It has the style of the grand vin, a silky-smooth combination of equal parts Cabernet and Merlot. The 2019 was a favorite everyday wine among our more claret-loving customers. If you give it a bit of air in advance, the more robust 2020 is even better.
- Color: black-red, opaque; Aroma: forward, ripe & heady, intense, and full, young Mouth: rich and thick fine acid on the attack, dense and nutty, fine tannins, very rich, full; Very Good Plus $19.99; Case, $16.99
2021 Mathew Fritz Pinot Noir
Savory Wild Berry
Pinot Noirs from Monterey's Santa Lucia Highlands are prized for their striking character. If Pinot Noir is redolent of cherries and berries, vineyards in Santa Lucia give it a riper, more exotic character, an elusive savory overlay of wild versions of those fruits. We found a bargain from Santa Lucia Highlands in the Matthew Fritz 2021 Pinot Noir. In that drier year, it is more concentrated and richer than any other we have found at near its price.
- Color: medium ruby Aroma: violets and dark cherries. Mouth: elegant, textured, and filled with ripe raspberry and cherry black tea. Good acid, light tannin on the finish Very Good Plus $19.99, Case 16.99
2023 Budget Feast Case
Two each of the wines $230
Or mix any 12 or more at their case prices
Order by phone at 617.367.8605, or reserve here: Click to Order
- Len Rothenberg
Please pass this on to any friends who are wine enthusiasts!
FREE DELIVERY!
downtown on orders more than $75;
in Greater Boston on orders more than $199
