Three great wines for under 10 €

This week I will concentrate on three quality wines that are also very affordable. Since I live in France, the focus will be on French wines as these are the wines that I have the easiest access to but, naturally, there are great wines from most wine-producing countries that can be found for a reasonable price. For example, I have yet to go wrong with any Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, regardless of the producer.

A second caveat is that these wines are very cheap in France, but they may be slightly more expensive in other markets, such as North America, due to higher taxes and import fees. Despite this, they should still be inexpensive there, although they may be more difficult to locate. One way to track them down is to contact the properties directly and ask whether they export their wines to that particular market and if so, where they can be found.

 Rosé

Anyway, the first wine I want to promote is the 2009 L'Héritage des Collines Bandol which comes from the region around the small, eponymous fishing village in the South-East of France between Marseille and Cannes.

There are some superb red wines produced in Bandol, but they are more expensive and are meant to be aged a few years before drinking. Rosés, on the other hand, are cheaper and meant to be drunk young, although the Bandol rosé won't be harmed by several years in a cellar.

The grape varieties that compose this wine are the Mourvèdre, which must make up at least 50% of the volume (Bandol is actually the only wine region in France to be dominated by this cépage), Grenache and Cinsaut. The colour is pale and salmony, but the aroma is vibrant, fruity, and crisp. The wine is harmonious and aromatic, with flavours and perfumes of strawberries and pears, but with the crispness of a green apple. It is anything but bland, perfectly balancing a refreshing acidity without being sour while also being relatively high in alcoholic content – 14%.

This is a perfect summer wine, ideal for accentuating fish and sea food dishes (especially shellfish), North African foods such as couscous or tagines, Thai, Japanese, and other light, Asian cuisines, as well as poultry and cold cuts. As such, it should be served well-chilled. This Bandol wine is easily four stars out of five for me, and a superb value coming in at around 5€ per bottle.

Red

For those looking for a cheap but excellent red wine to match with their everyday dinners, one wine that I enthusiastically recommend is the 2006 Château Baudare Cuvée Prestige. This wine is a Fronton, and comes from the South-West of France, around Toulouse. The grapes used are Négrette, a variety unique and indigenous to the region, though originally from Cyprus, and Cabernet sauvignon, in roughly even proportions. The average age of the vines the grapes come from is 35 years.

This wine is very well balanced and velvety smooth. The nose is fruity and quite complex but also rather subtle. Oh, and it tastes good, too. It’s a perfect companion to most meat dishes and should be served at 18-19°C. The winemakers recommend that it be consumed five years after the harvest, which means that between now and the end of 2012 is the ideal time to drink this vintage. They also recommend that the wine be opened and decanted up to five hours before being served but, frankly, I don’t think it has the tannins to require this. Overall, this is an excellent wine at a fantastic value that I would rate four stars out of five.

In France, you can find Château Baudare Cuvée Prestige 2006 for around 5 € in the grocery store, but I would be willing to pay three times that given the quality. The 2006 Château Baudare Fronton Tradition is also very good, so in the absence of the former, this wine would be a fine alternative. I have also tried the 2007 vintage of the Tradition but found it to be disappointingly mediocre.

More info on Château Baudare wines can be found on their website, http://www.chateaubaudare.com/index.php.

Dessert

The final entry for this week is a dessert wine, the 2009 Château Haut Marsalet Monbazillac. Similar in principle to Sauternes, this wine depends on the noble rot Botrytis to set on the grapes late in the growing season and to dehydrate the berries; concentrating their sugars, leaving behind a syrupy jam. Geographically, Monbazillac is not too far from Sauternes either, less than 100km North-East, by Bergerac.

The grape varieties are Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc, just like in Sauternes, but the proportion of Muscadelle is usually much higher than in the better known appellation. Most other traits are similar, but whereas the better Sauternes are light yellow in their youth, turning amber when they age, most Monbazillacs start off golden yellow and also darken over time.

True to its golden colour, the Haut Marsalet Monbazillac tastes of honey, as well as fruits such as apricots. The aroma is quite complex, both fruity and flowery, even a bit nutty, with hints of almonds, and the aforementioned honey. It is very well balanced, being at once very sweet and nicely acidic. Being a dessert wine, it is perfect for serving at dessert, either alone, or paired with a fruit-based pastry such as tarte tatin that is not sweeter than the wine. It also marries well to high-fat starters such as foie gras and stronger cheeses such as roquefort, gorgonzola, or any other blue cheese.

The 2009 is an exceptional vintage which will only get better with time. In the right conditions (low humidity, temperature, and minimal light), this wine can be stored for decades because of its high acidity and sugar content. However, it can also be enjoyed right away, served chilled with excellent results. I give this one 4 to 4.5 stars.

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Wines reviewed:

2009 L'Héritage des Collines Bandol ♣♣♣♣

2006 Château Baudare Cuvée Prestige ♣♣♣♣

2009 Château Haut Marsalet Monbazillac ♣♣♣♣+