If you’re looking for “best French wines”, a Google search could do you pretty well. Wine searcher is your friend. Also, if you’re looking to invest, check the LivEx numbers as the website is geared towards showing the best investment wines. This question is pretty impossible to answer on a forum like this. Price range, grape variety, region? I’ve had great $10,000 bottles and great $20 bottles.

Not really well known : Villa Minna vineyard 2009 and clos des Calades 2011, domaine de la begude la Brulade 2015

The best French white was Chateau Bizard, Blanc De Charme (served with veal in a cream sauce). The winery is in Grignan-les-Adhémar. Sadly, it's impossible to get in the US.

Do you want to narrow that down somewhat? That list would be rather lengthy, especially if it’s just “heard of.” Do you know how many wines people have heard of?!?!?!?

I may be am weird, but I can’t rank them like that. I can’t say “this Bordeaux was better than that Burgundy,” or things like that. Easch stands on its own. So I’m afriad any list will be rather lengthy. I apologize in advance.

Great French Wines I have TASTED (presented in chronological order by region, and limited to no more than 10 per category):

• Alsace
  • 1945 Trimbach Riesling
  • 1953 Hugel Gewurztraminer
  • 1971 Trimbach Riesling Clos St. Hune
• Bordeaux (red)
  • 1900 Château Margaux
  • 1929 Château Haut-Brion
  • 1929 Château Latour
  • 1929 Château Mouton-Rothschild
  • 1945 Château Lafite Rothschild
  • 1945 Château Latour
  • 1945 Château Mouton Rothschild
  • 1947 Château Cheval Blanc
  • 1947 Pétrus
  • 1949 Pétrus
  • (and that’s just the first half of the 20th century)
• Bordeaux (Sauternes)
  • 1928 Château Climens
  • 1929 Château d'Yquem
  • 1947 Château Gilette Crème de Tête
  • 1949 Château d'Yquem
  • 1953 Château Climens
  • 1953 Château d'Yquem
  • 1959 Château d'Yquem
  • 1959 Château Suduiraut
  • 1962 Château d'Yquem
  • 1971 Château d'Yquem
• Burgundy (red):
  • 1929 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Cont
  • 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche
  • 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti
  • 1947 Comtes Georges de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes
  • 1949 Comtes Georges de Vogüé Bonnes-Marres
  • 1962 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Cont
  • 1966 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune-Grèves Vignes de l’Enfant Jésus
  • 1971 Bouchard Père et Fils Beaune-Grèves Vignes de l’Enfant Jésus
  • 1971 Comtes Georges de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes
  • 1971 Comtes Georges de Vogüé Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoueuses
• Burgundy (white)
  • 1966 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches blanc
  • 1969 Domaine Bonneau de Martray Corton Charlemagne
  • 1969 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches blanc
  • 1969 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne
  • 1971 Domaine Bonneau de Martray Corton Charlemagne
  • 1971 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches blanc
  • 1971 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne
  • 1972 Comtes de Vogüé Musigny Blanc
  • 1982 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault-Charmes
  • 1982 Etienne Sauzet Bienvenues-Batard-Montrachet
• Loire
  • 1959 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon
  • 1996 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Clos du Bourg 1er Trie
  • 1996 Pierre-Jacques Druet Bourgueil Les Fiefs de Louys
  • 1996 Pierre Boulay Chavignol
  • 2005 Thomas-Labaille Sancerre Chavignol Les Monts Damnes Cuvee Buster
  • 2009 Domaine Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance
• Rhône
  • 1953 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf du Pape rouge
  • 1978 J-L Chave Hermitage rouge
  • 1982 Paul Jaboulet Aîne Hermitage La Chappelle
  • 1982 J-L Chave Hermitage blanc
  • 1983 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf du Pape rouge
  • 1990 Domaine Font de Michelle Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Etienne Gonnet
  • 1997 Yves Gangloff Côte-Rotie
  • 1998 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois
  • 1998 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau
  • 1999 Jamet Côte-Rôtie

(OK, I’ll stop now…but as I have always said, I have been very, very lucky….)

Is there a particular region that you would like to focus on?

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.  

I always drink a lot of Loire Cab Franc when in Paris. Readily available and delicious. Catherine and Pierre Breton Bourgueil or Chinon I had in a few places and it’s terrific.

If you can, try to find a white Chateauneuf-de-Pape! I just tried them for the first time while in the region and really enjoyed them. Fresh, well-balanced acidity and good body, they just unfortunately are hard to find as it’s such a small portion of production

Le Baron Rouge is a fantastic wine bar. Lots of locals and regulars, great simple charcuterie, oysters depending on the day, and loads of interesting wines (both local to northern France and from throughout France). The BTG wines are in relatively small pours (maybe 3 oz) and pretty cheap, so you can try a bunch.

If you Raveneau you neau…

Caves de Taillevent is a great wine store with extremely helpful staff, after you spend some time at wine bars and discover a couple regions you enjoy, head there, ask what they’ve got that’s interesting from that region and bring them home and enjoy them!

I don't see Muscadet enough where I live. Even most oyster bars in my area don't carry one. 

Definitely under appreciated and honestly had not thought about it in a while.

How so?

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working through a couple cases of la pepie briords currently! is nice

"Muscadet has a characteristic high-acid, dry, and refreshing texture, often with a subtle "glittery" or zesty quality due to a slight spritz. Aging "sur lie" (on dead yeast cells) develops a richer, creamier, and more complex texture with yeasty and biscuity notes, similar to a lager. Higher-quality Muscadet wines show more pronounced tangy saltiness, flinty minerality, and a smooth, complex mouthfeel."

Best wines would be

1996 Rousseau Chambertin 2002 D’Auvenay Criots-Batard-Montrachet 1959 Chateau Margaux

Value play is any super cheap, high acid, coastal white wine. Vinho Verde is often in that camp. Muscadet. Txakolina. Rias Baixas Albariño used to be, but prices have risen quite a bit over the last 15-20 years.

1971 Egon Muller Auslese
Falkenstein Gisela or one of their 3 Euchariusberg Spatleses (Palm, Meyer Nepal, Onkel Peter)

Best value has to be tokaji

Best: Clos du Val's inaugural `72 cab, which was one of the things they were pouring at their 50th anniversary celebration. That was The Wine that flipped the switch in my head.

Value: Catena's malbec.

Impossible to pick just one best wine tasted, but a freshly disgorged magnum Salon 1945 straight from the producer's cellar is up there. An Yquem 1921 is also among my best ever bottles along with a Latour 1961.

Ask me tomorrow, and I will probably have changed my mind.

Best value?

Sherry, Mosel/Nahe prädikat and Loire Cabernet Franc.

When you say you don't like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, have you ever had white Burgundy or sauv blanc from the Loire? If not, I'd encourage you to try Chablis and Sancerre.

Strassburg should let you have access to some great Alsace. My favorites, is Zind Humbrect, Domaine Ostertage, Albert Boxler, Dorf & Irion and Bott-Gyel.

In general, No.

i used to, and sometimes bring a couple of bottles of funky wines (natural/low intervention wines) from where I go; but rarely from more known producers.

Unless you know a producer or wine style that you absolutely cannot get where you are from.

If in Strasbourg, I'd try to fin the best wine shop and get as old a riesling you can financially get.

For rosé, look for Domaine du Gros Noré. (unless you can get it at home cheaper)

Taste a whole bunch of them. Bring back the ones that you like.

Look for a kick ass bottle (or three) of Alsace Riesling. There should be plenty available in Strasbourg. I know two days isn’t a ton of time, but about 20 minutes south of Strasbourg the little Alsatian villages are adorable and 1000% worth a visit if you can get there. Also LOTS of wine tasting/buying opportunities.

And I also always recommend bringing home vintage champagne from small producers. You’ll get a kick ass deal on a bottle you’d either pay out the nose for in the states, or straight up not be able to get.

After you’ve had DRC you realize it’s very good wine; but at the end of the day, you also realize it’s nothing but a status symbol at this point and there are equally good wines out there at far more affordable price points. Tasting notes on this stuff is cool but it’d rather discover something just as good for 1/100th the price.

Was scrolling...scrolling....scrolling....saw DRC et al and rolled my eyes thinking it's just going to be bottle porn without any tasting notes or real substance to the post...open the post...realize I'm wrong and probably a jerk...

Damn, great sounding evening you had. When you have this much burgundy to choose from, do you ever just want a Malbec or something?

I'm convinced there's like two dozen guys drinking all the Burgundy on Earth, exclusively in giant tastings with one another.

I would've attended mass if they were serving this at communion.

Just casually dropping a pic of a hew hundred thousand dollars worth of wine on a table on a random Thursday...

That’s a very open question. I think the main variation on what you may be recommend is, what price range you are looking at?