Originally Posted by
Gaucho100K
The fact that there are Argentine wines priced between USD150-250 that will give French and other old-world wines costing USD1000+ some serious competition (and to some palates be better wines) has less to do with a simple 4x factor and more with different conceptions of wine, winemaking style, natural conditions, etc.
^ I live in a region that has some of the worst value for money, i.e., Napa (and portions of) Sonoma county wines. Yes, we produce some that are amongst the world's best, but even my unsophisticated palate would identify almost all of them as new world. This is not a bad thing, it is just different. Last night, I had a lovely Carmenere (Chile) which was US$15 and if it was $45 in a Napa Valley tasting room, people would gobble it up. My overall observation is this: On the low end, you are much more likely to get a pleasant, drinkable wine in the under $5 range in Chile and Argentina than anywhere else. On the high end, so much more goes into it. I cannot say that if I ever have the opportunity to drink $500 or $1000 wines that they will be any better than the 2 most memorable bottles I've ever had, one of which was about $50 (some time ago) and the other, just over $100. Both from California. You'd never mistake them for a Bordeaux.
As another aside, this is a great time to be exploring wine from both the right side of the Andes (the right side, when flying southbound
) and the "other side" (el lado caos). Winemakers are breaking out of their traditional molds, and planting things that grow well, but previously unknown in these parts (at least on "my right side
") such as more rhone varietals, more small/independent bodegas are popping up, and while the results are variable, at a minimum, they are decent, and interesting, and usually affordable. The worst thing that can happen is that the export market will dictate "this is what Argentine Malbec" should taste like, and almost everything the export markets will receive will fit the profile. With limited exception, look at what comes from Australia - how many Shirazes didn't taste like you expected? How many New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs didn't taste just like you expected?
As I ramble on, so much of what you are paying for with a Bordeaux is name, just like any other retail product. Look at how pissy some of the other boards here get when their airline pours them a perfectly nice sparkling wine in the business class from somewhere other than Champagne - they aren't happy if they aren't drinking a vomitous swill from Champagne, when a better sparkler from elsewhere is offered.
Keep it fun, keep it interesting, and keep pouring! ^