I have been buying a lot of Pataille. His Bourgogne Rouge, Marsannay, and Aligote. In the range of what you want to spend. For example, I bought a 6-pk of Rouge for $30/btl and two of his higher end Aligotes for $64/$82. His Marsannay goes for $49/$72. Another producer I like is Sylvain Bzikot. I buy his Cote d’Or and Puligny-Montrachet. Also in your price point $30/$70. (Sorry U.S. prices).

Francois Carillon, Joseph Roty, Bachelet Monnot, Pierre Gelin, Lower bottlings of Benjamin Leroux, Dureuil-Janthial, Berthaut-Gerbet, Lower bottlings of Bruno Clair

Henri Prudhon is nice value also

Add François Mikulski to the list

I can highly recommend Jean-Baptiste Ponsot in Rully. His whites are on par with some of the region's best Meursaults and Montrachets but at a much more affordable price level.

Doisy-Daëne is great (albeit at about that price for a half, although you won't want a full bottle probably). It's next door to Yquem and noticeably similar at a fraction of the price.

Chateau Le Puy

Chateau Baret, Chateau Senejac

Villa bel air is a great mid week drop.

Chateau Hyot, Château Peybonhomme- les Tours. Both produce exceptional wines, without the price tag you’d expect.

I don’t think you can go wrong with a Beaujolais from Morgon. It’s exactly the wine I’m bringing to Thanksgiving. But I’ll admit my bias for these wines.

Bojo is a classic Thanksgiving pairing and appeals to most palates.

Try a South African wine, the Merlots, Pinotages, and Cabernet Sauvignons are very good, and South African wine is very good value. Avoid Shiraz as it can be an acquired taste.

Piron makes very technically sound and varietally correct Beaujolais wines, but I personally think they lack the ‘wow factor’ that makes great Beaujolais so compelling.

I’d recommend any of the following producers: Jean Foillard, Pierre-Marie Chermette, Chateau Thivin, Damien Coquelet, Clos de la Roilette, or Jean-Paul Thevenet (to list a just a few).

Others have sorted you with good recommendations. The merlot thing though. The reason he doesn’t want to drink merlot is because of the memories associated with his ex wife. The bottle of Cheval Blanc he drinks at the end of the movie is a merlot. Merlot is fucking great, get into that shit.

Excellent write up on the wines, specifically your description of the 2020 Rully. Love this!!

These have got to be some of the best bang for your buck Burgs on the market.

Great producer. Love seeing the wines on the wine lists. Hope the prices stay the same.

Thanks for the write up and recommendation.

I’m not sure whether I should really thank you because I’m running out of space in my cellar and am now highly tempted to buy even more bottles (and the 2022 en primeurs are arriving soon)

I get the quality but still tough to think of paying $250 for Rully.

I appreciate you posting some more affordable stuff.  While it's cool to see the high end, I'll never be on that price level.  This is definitely within reach.  

None of the producers really ring a bell to me; I usually drink Arnaud Lambert, Sanzay or Roche Neuves - but genuinely, be it Saumur or Chinon.. You can get really far for very little as you yourself experienced. Glory be to Cab Franc.

My wife and I would save so much money on wine if we moved to France …

The unmitigated cruelty to post this with prices we cannot find but especially wines that never make it to the states.

Those Bourgueil wines are probably amazing

Kirkland wines are my daily drinkers. Kirkland Malbec, Kirkland Rioja, Kirkland cote de Rhones villages, Kirkland Sauvignon Blanc. All around $7.

Trader Joe’s has an amazing selection of inexpensive wines. I rarely spend over $15 a bottle there, and always get quality stuff.

Check out Matua Marlborough Pinot Noir if you're into low priced Jadot. Better body for even less money imo.

Weingut Ellermann-Spiegel great value wines from Pfalz. I order them from Germany from site that has many of the best German winzer a lot cheaper than in Denmark if we have them here and also larger range.

My 5 favorite whites in the $8 - $20 range.

• ⁠Bohigas Cava

• ⁠Hugel Gentil

• ⁠E. Guigal’s CDR Blanc

• ⁠Au Bon Climat Chardonnay

• ⁠Broadbent Vinho Verde

My 20 favorite reds in the $6-$20 range.

Reds - Italy:

• ⁠Masciarelli Montepulciano D’Abruzzo

• ⁠Vietti Barbera d’Asti Tre Vigne

• ⁠Vajra Langhe Rosso

• ⁠Bibi Graetz Casamatta Rosso

• ⁠Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva

• ⁠Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva

Reds - France:

• ⁠Jadot Beaujolais Villages

• ⁠Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir

• ⁠Bastide Miraflors

• ⁠E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rouge

Reds - Spain:

• ⁠Cune Crianza

• ⁠Marques de Riscal Rioja Riserva

Reds - Portugal:

• ⁠Niepoort Twisted Douro Tinto

Reds - California:

• ⁠Navarro Pinot Noir

• ⁠Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir

• ⁠Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel

• ⁠Juggernaut Cabernet Sauvignon

• ⁠Benziger Cabernet Sauvignon

Reds - Argentina:

• ⁠Alamos Malbec

• ⁠Catena Malbec

Reds - Uruguay

• ⁠Garzon Tannat

Here are six wines I acquired for less than $15, currently in my cellar, that I would gladly buy again:

Catena Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza High Mountain Vines

Marques de Riscal Rioja Reserva

Bodegas Juan Gil Monastrell Jumilla Silver Label

Rui Roboredo Madeira Beyra Superior

Faustino Rioja I Gran Reserva

Rolland & Gallareta Rioja Tempranillo

I’ll go with my most interesting recent discovery - El Esteco Extremos Torrontes. I’ve not had much in the way of Torrontes, but have been largely impressed by Argentinian wines so gave it a shot. This one was so fragrant and unique - and only 14 dollars. 

Domaine Lafage has some Rhone blends that have great QPR. The Bastide Miraflors is awesome for the price

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - most of them

Also vinho verde and Albariño

Vinho Verde & Muscadet

In my opinion France makes the best wine in the world and its not particularly close. And there are SOOOOOO many styles to try. It'sactually crazy how diverse the wine is there.

Please try wine from the Rhône region of France. My absolutely favorite type

Having worked in a small independent bottle shop and in high end restaurants. I understand that wines are intimidating and people can be snobs (part of the reason I didn't continue with the court).

But the advice the owner of the shop I worked in gave me holds true. "The best wine is the wine you love. Don't be afraid to open fancy bottles, hoarding them for special occasions is nice, but make opening the bottle an occasion to bring your friends and family together. Finally, drink what you want to drink how you enjoy drinking it."

The world is full of amazing wines, France is one step on a long journey of discovery. US and Chile both have incredible wines.

Enjoy your journey and keep having fun with it. Wine was a food stuff of peasants and kings, there is no reason it should be as guarded as a dragon's hoard.

And not that it matters much, but if you're ever on the hunt for killer white wine at a low cost, picpoul is amazing.

All roads lead to Burgundy!

You have discovered a great wine shop!!! Enjoy.

High QPR wines IMO. Pricing wiñl vary by market but these were all under $25 USD in Pennsylvania iirc. If you want to get into the $10-$20 range then i think someone else mentioned the countries to look at (Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Chile).

Pinot Noir

Casas del Bosque Pinot Noir Reserva 2019

Daylight Wine & Spirits Ammunition Pinot Noir 2020

Diora La Petite Grace Pinot Noir 2018

Fossil Point Pinot Noir 2018

Bogle Pinot Noir 2019

Vinum Cellars Pinot Noir 2018

Kings Ridge Pinot Noir 2019

Sparklings

Roger Goulart Cava Gran Reserva Brut 2015

Gruet Blanc de Noirs

Gruet Blanc de Blancs

Collalbrigo Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Brut

Bagueri Brut

Dessert:

Quinta do Vallado Porto LBV 2017

Dow's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2017

Honestly, $35 is much higher than you need to go to find great wine! (Assuming this is US dollars in US market)

Here's my quick take on price & value:

$15 or under: very few great wines, though they are out there. Spanish & Portuguese reds, and Chile & Argentina are my go-tos at this price point.

$15-20: lots of very good wines.

$20-40: The sweet spot for US wine price-to-value! Some might make it even tighter, like $22-30, but given that pricing can vary so much from one state to the next, I'll stick with $20-40. At any rate, at this price per bottle, you should be able to find extremely high quality wines from just about any grape and region. Exceptions might include: Champagne, Napa, or specific sub-appellations where the wines are simply not going to be priced low (grand cru Burgundy, Brunello, etc).

$40 and above: Above this, you really start to see supply & demand exert its influence on the retail price - which means, as I see it, that the value of the wine goes down. For every bottle of $90-100 Barolo that exists, there are one hundred people who want to buy it - and they're all richer than me, lol, so the price is gonna be what it's gonna be.

​

Anyway...I know this maybe is a sideways answer to your question, but I do think it's worth emphasizing that, if you are looking at wines between $20 and $35, they really should all be pretty high quality!

Whether they are a style you personally enjoy, of course, is another thing entirely. And the only way to figure that out is trial and error.

[source: 15 years in the wine industry: production: retail, restaurants, distribution, and education]

Most good Pinot Noir is over $35, but you can find some really good German examples (they’ll be labeled Spatburgunder).

You might also want to try Cru Beaujolais — many fantastic examples (they’ll be labeled things like Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent, or Fleurie) are $20-35. It’s made of Gamay grape, which has a lot of similarities with Pinot Noir, but is a bit simpler and generally less tannic.

If you want to try something much bolder/more tannic but similarly “pretty” on the nose, try some Nebbiolos. Langhe or d’Alba should be within that $20-30 range, and even some Barbarescos can be had under $40 (I recently reviewed a very nice example at $35).

I don’t know that any wines are “healthy” lol but generally speaking, higher quality and lower alcohol & sugar will be healthier than cheap, mass-produced wines with a lot of residual sugar. Cava is a nice entry point into traditional method (same way Champagne is made, but simpler grapes) sparkling wines. You can have decent examples at $10-15 and fantastic ones at $25-35.

This was made for you:

https://redd.it/108dxwo

Just FYI, if you want the alleged health benefits of wine, drink grape juice. Alcohol is really bad for your health. No health researcher would advocate drinking wine for health reasons - although I would imagine that a fair few would say that moderate to low consumption would not be measurably harmful (i.e. staying within government guidelines: in the UK this means no more than 140ml of ethanol per week, no more than 30ml on a single day, no back to back drinking days and several days sober per week. This is probably lower than what you might consider "moderate", if you're like most Brits).

Having said that, I recently had a delicious Rully from Majestic which was less than £20 when I bought it, so if you want tasty reasonably priced red Burgundy (i.e. Pinot Noir), this is a decent shout.

Edit: Pinot Noir is not a "beginner's wine", it's the grape that makes the most sought after, ethereal and beautiful wines in the world, which you could trade a case of for a house in some cases.