After many years of living here in Europe and developing an appreciation for French wine from so many different regions, Châteauneuf-du-Pape remains something of a mystery to me. We have good wine periodically from all along the Rhone valley to Languedoc-Roussillon, yet can't seem to find any Châteauneuf-du-Pape that I would want to drink twice. Yesterday I went shopping and two bottles caught my eye - a €46 Châteauneuf-du-Pape and a €26 Chambolle-Musigny. I bought the Chambolle-Musigny and when I took my first drink later I actually uttered 'oh my god' to myself. I'm going to guess if I had bought the other I would have thought, 'meh, €46 wasted'.

However, I don't want to give up on it yet - I want to get that one 'aha' bottle, where I finally get the essence of that region.

So, any recommendations for say, €30 or less, or must I up my price point to find something drinkable?