Best Buys $10 And Under

91 pts Wine Spectator
An aperitif-style Champagne, with flavors of creme de cassis, lemon curd and pastry riding a creamy mousse and framed by crisp, well-knit acidity. Drink now through 2020.

"It is composed of 20% of the Chardonnay grape variety, for elegance and delicacy, 40% of Pinot Noir, for roundness and structure and 40% of Pinot Meunier for fruitiness. Pale gold in color, abundance of delicate bubbles. Floral aromas of fruit with subtle predominance of white fruits: pear, apple, almonds and hazelnuts. Fresh opening, smooth, pleasant and balanced." Winemaker notes

If we had our way, fish stores would include a bottle of Muscadet with every dozen oysters sold. But barring new regulatory measures of food and drink, picking up a bottle of Muscadet should be as much of a given as dressing for salad; bread for a sandwich; a steak knife for a steak! That's how perfect and an integral this wine is with briny, East Coast oysters (or any shellfish, truly!). Here, Pepiere's version is bright and briny, with a little lemon meringue and lemon verbena on the nose, and that clear, bracing minerality that keeps you coming back for another sip (and another oyster!). -- PJ

Campari is an alcoholic spirit obtained from the infusion of bitter herbs, aromatic plants and fruit in alcohol and water. Many have tried to guess the number of ingredients: some say there are 20 or 60, but others list the ingredients at 80. To this day, alcohol and water are the only known ingredients of its special and secret recipe. Its vibrant red color, intense aroma and distinctive bitter taste make it extremely versatile, and the perfect base for some of the most famous cocktails around the world.

The 2022 DAOU Cabernet Sauvignon exemplifies Paso Robles. The nose is highly perfumed, showing aromas of black cherry, cassis, plum, desert sage. sandalwood and dusty minerality. Secondary aromas reveal notes of cigar box, leather, bay leaf and black olive. The palate is rich and weighty, offering generous flavors of black raspberry, spicy currant and blueberry compote with impressions of Bing cherry, Boysenberry, fig, and baking spices. Ripe, fine-grained tannins carry into a structured finish with lingering accents of cherry, espresso and vanilla.

Blend: 77.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15.6% Petit Verdot, 6.5% Merlot, 0.4% Cabernet Franc

Barrel Aged: 8 months in 50% new French oak

91 points Wine Advocate
The creamy and lactic 2019 Crianza was produced with pure Tempranillo that achieved good ripeness (14%), keeping freshness, the character of the 2019, a drier vintage than average with some heat but not excess, and the ripeness was perfect and the grapes very healthy. This is generously oaked after 14 months in used French and American oak barrels with rackings every six months. Very approachable.

Sierra Cantabria Crianza is the flagship age-classified Rioja bottling produced by the Eguren family of San Vicente de la Sonsierra. While the family is most well known for their single cru classified bottlings, they produce outstanding ageing classified wines from their estate vineyards in San Vicente. While this category is dominated by blends of purchased fruit sourced from many growers across the entire appellation, the Eguren family are one of the few (if not the only) families in Rioja that produce an estate grown and bottled Crianza from a single village - in this case, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, one of the most respected villages for Tempranillo in Spain.
.
Practicing organic dry farmed viticulture with certain selective biodynamic practices. Vineyards trained as spur-pruned goblet vines as well as high density trellises. Manual work and harvest, with no mechanization whatsoever.

14 months in used French & American oak barrels. Racked every four months. Aging is carried out in subterranean cellars that were carved by the family at the end of the 1990's. Due to the low temperatures and high humidity, the rate of oxidation is reduced allowing the family to work with low levels of SO2.

This Rosé has a lovely balance between the fresh fruit, fine tannins, good minerality, and graceful acidity. It is the visual and taste portrait of Hampton's high summer. Serve chilled, solo or as a complement to almost any food.

Bright shiny light copper in color. The glass is filled with ripe pear, fresh papaya, and rose petal aromas. The mouth-feel is rich and elegant with great structure and wonderful layers. This Rosé has a lovely balance between the fresh fruit, fine tannins, good minerality, and graceful acidity. The wine is very savory and has a long finish with creamy yeast and nice classic chalk notes. It is the perfect summer wine.

40% Merlot, 22% Chardonnay, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Gewürztraminer, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Pinot Meunier, 4% Pinot Blanc, 3% Riesling, 2% Sauvignon Blanc

90pts-James Suckling:
Plenty of fruit and intensity with sliced lemon and apple character. Medium body. Fresh finish. Light bubble. Dry.

Winemaker Notes:
Crystal clear with a hearty white foam and fine perlage. Fresh fragrant aromas and a delicately soft and harmonious taste are the hallmarks of this quintessential aperitif wine.

Eric Asimov of The New York Times:
This cava, the bubbly of Spain, is straightforward and uncomplicated. It’s dry and fresh, with yeasty, apple flavors and a lacy texture. In case anybody confuses it with a far more exalted sparkling wine, the label will set you straight: Jaume Serra Cristalino is not affiliated with, sponsored by, approved by, endorsed by, or in any way connected to Louis Roederer’s Cristal Champagne or Louis Roederer.


Subtle, leesy aromas of apple, spices, flowers and nuts. Dry, racy and perfumed, with intense ginger and apple flavors complicated by nutty and floral nuances. Finishes quite dry and restrained. Unusually subtle, fresh, clean Cava. - IWC

Winemaker Notes:
A refreshing food friendly white wine, Albarino is crisp, elegant and dry and has aromas and flavors of pear, passion fruit, and apple with bright acidity.

Iconic Montalcino producer Castello Banfi leases 42 acres in the Chianti Classico commune of Castellina in Chianti for its Fonte alla Selva label. The estate also has long-term contracts to purchase wines from three to four producers for this Chianti Classico. A selection is made between the lots for the Chianti Classico and the riserva before blending, aging and bottling in Banfi’s cellars in Montalcino. The wine is aged for a total of 12 months, seven to eight in stainless-steel tanks before racking into 6,000- to 9,000-liter oak casks. Banfi has permission to age and bottle its Chianti Classico outside the zone because former winemaker Ezio Rivella grew grapes in Chianti Classico beginning in the early 1980s

95 points Wine Advocate
The subtle and harmonious 2019 Selección Especial reflects a very complete and good vintage. It has to be one of the finest vintages for this wine. 2019 is a powerful vintage with balance and freshness. The grapes ripened thoroughly and developed a full set of aromas and flavors. It's complex and nuanced, with abundant, fine-grained tannins and a long, dry and tasty finish. Selección applies to the vineyards but also the barrels and everything that contributes to this wine; it's not only a selection of lots, which was the case before the 1994 vintage. 274,992 bottles produced. It was bottled between April and June 2022 after 26 months in barrel.

Second Place finisher in our 2023 Wine of the Year blind-tasting!

Second place goes to Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Unica Reserva Rioja 2019! This is a stellar Reserva Rioja from the latest outstanding vintage of the region 2019. Tasting this blind it was apparent that it was Rioja as it demonstrated those classic Rioja notes of dill, savory Tempranillo fruit, and a touch of sweet wood influence. What captivated us about the wine was how seductive the fruit was, ripe without being sweet. We would categorize this as a youthful modern Rioja with enough classic notes to do Rioja proud. This wine is going to make a lot of new friends as it is absolutely irresistible now, but yes it will age a decade easily.

Organic. The Eguren family are the pioneers in the production of parcel specific single cru wines from Rioja in the Burgundy model. Sierra Cantabria Reserva Única is the family’s introduction to their single vineyard range, which is sourced from a spectacular vineyard on the banks of the Ebro River in Labastida. The entire vineyard is vinified as a Reserva, and throughout the aging process, Marcos Eguren carries out a severe barrel selection with only the finest being used for Unica. The wine is produced every vintage, but in varying quantities (1,500-4,000 cases) depending on the quality of the year. Unica represents a premier cru style Rioja single vineyard with fantastic structure, a seamless texture, and a pure red fruit character. Tempranillo (97 %) and Graciano (3 %) from vines older than 30 years.

Second place goes to Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Unica Reserva Rioja 2019! This is a stellar Reserva Rioja from the latest outstanding vintage of the region 2019. Tasting this blind it was apparent that it was Rioja as it demonstrated those classic Rioja notes of dill, savory Tempranillo fruit, and a touch of sweet wood influence. What captivated us about the wine was how seductive the fruit was, ripe without being sweet. We would categorize this as a youthful modern Rioja with enough classic notes to do Rioja proud. This wine is going to make a lot of new friends as it is absolutely irresistible now, but yes it will age a decade easily.

(40% Garnacha, 30% Samso, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah) Camins del Priorat is a delicious entry-level offering from the famed winemaker Alvaro Palacios. It offers full-bodied, rich, deeply concentrated flavors of crisp cherry and ripe berries, with exotic floral and spice accents and a beautiful, seamless texture. A wine that always over delivers for the price, and a great introduction to high-quality Priorat! - Distributor

93 points Wine Enthusiast

Skin contact has given this rich wine its density. It is a full wine, hinting at spice and minerality. The wine's ripeness shows some aging potential. Drink this great wine from 2024.

Organic

90 pts Wine Spectator
Orchard blossom and ground ginger are aromatic accents to the ripe Asian pear, stone and lemon pith flavors of this lithe, light-bodied white. Lingering finish. Drink now through 2022

Organic / Biodynamic

90 points Vinous
The 2022 Mâcon-Verzé is a blend of all the Domaine's parcels in the middle of the slope on chalky soils and went through an eight-month fermentation. This has a crisp nose of lemon rind and crushed stone. It's focused and not complex, but it displays commendable vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with pretty white and yellow fruit and slightly higher acidity that lends more precision and nervosité to the finish.

A fruit bomb and delicious quaff, this red features juicy cherry, raspberry and toasty spice flavors.

#79 on The Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2023!

91 points Wine Spectator
An elegant red, with fine tannins enmeshed with flavors of pureed raspberry and black plum reduction, soft fig, thyme and lavender accents, while a minerally underpinning echoes on the finish. Drink now through 2028.

92 points Wine Advocate
The bread-and-butter wine here is the 2021 Bela, produced with Tempranillo from the village of Villalba de Duero (mentioned on the label), from sandy and clay rich soils on limestone mother rock that delivers powerful but not overripe wines with a short-ish élevage to achieve a fine-boned and fresh wine. The grapes were picked between October 1st and 25th, mostly Tempranillo but some 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot too, and it matured in French oak barrels for nine months. it's ripe without excess, with very integrated oak and a velvety palate with silky tannins. It reminds me of the historical wines from the early 1990s, Valribeño and so on, with some rusticity but very honest and characterful. With time in the glass, it develops a precise note of licorice intermixed with berry fruit and some spices and herbs.

Off-dry, great as an aperitif.

Every year, Billecart-Salmon vinifies base wines from a greater number of parcels than it actually needs for the production of its main cuvees. The tasting committee tastes each of these base wines and selects only the ones that match the standard and the style of Billecart-Salmon. Some of the wines that are not selected are bottled to be part of a second wine from the house, Inspiration 1818.

A bright, straw-yellow colour with intense aromas of fresh fruit. Notes of citrus fruit and aromatic herbs come through with an elegant varietal character. Dry with lively acidity, which enhances its fruit expression, and with length and intensity of flavour. Characteristic Albariño vibrancy.

The Palace of Fefiñanes has been inextricably linked with wine since the 17th century, and it was in the early 20th century that the winery was established as a commercial company. In 1928, the Albariño de Fefiñanes brand and label were created and a truly pioneering project was begun. The unique Albariño grape variety, grown in the Salnés valley, has always taken centre stage in our
wines. We have devoted the utmost care and attention to this variety, ensuring that its special character, extraordinary varietal expression and its uniqueness are perfectly preserved.

A delicate, well-balanced Prosecco, showing a good blend of baked apple, sour lemon and grapefruit, with a lightly creamy mineral texture on the palate. Medium froth, with some body and a pleasant lemon and mineral finish. - WS90

Winemaker Notes:
"Intense ruby red color with violet nuances; intense, characteristic bouquet of the primary grape aromas; fruity component, fullbodied and robust, well-balanced with tannin and oak features"

91 points James Suckling
A tight and slightly chewy Rioja Reserva that delivers well-judged spice and new leather to the red plums and cherries on the nose. Medium to full body with some granular tannins that will soften more in two years. Best after 2024.