I was encouraged in the "favorite wines under < $12" thread to start a new one for great wines in the $14-20 range. Personally, I think that this slightly higher price point opens up some really fine choices that have significant added complexity and age-worthiness compared to the < $12 price point.

I'll start with these:

Clos de los Siete - Argentine Red Blend. Both the 2006 and 2007 vintages are superb, ageworthy wines. I paid $15.99 for each of them. This wine is a blend of Malbec, Merlot, Cab Sauvignon, and Syrah, with Malbec making up about half of the blend. This wine can easily hold it's own compared to your average $40-75 classified growth Bordeaux (most similar to a St. Emilion), or your average $30-50 California Meritage, at a fraction of the cost. It also is better than a good many Argentine wines that cost twice as much.

Punto Final Malbec Reserva 2006. $17.99 This is almost the prototypical Argentine Malbec, both complex and easy to drink, with a combination of fruits, spices, and some leathery notes on the nose, and a long finish. BTW. their regular release Malbec (current vintage 2008) is also one of the best under $12 Malbecs available as well. They select the most concentrated lots and oak age them for their Reserva, while letting the fruit stand on it's own for the regular release.

D'Arenberg: The Laughing Magpie 2007 McLaren Vale. $17.99 at Costco. This is a huge, concentrated Shiraz with a bit of Viognier blended in to give it aromatic complexity. This wine needs 4-5 years of bottle age to shed some of it's tannins, but it is a dense, extracted wine of the sort that one would expect to spend twice as much for. The Aussie version of a great Cote Rotie, but costing much less.

Schild Estate Shiraz 2007 Barossa Valley. Paid $14.95 for this. This is a fruit bomb of a wine, much more approachable for current drinking than the D'Arenberg Magpie. Just an easy to enjoy, but multi-layered wine.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

Numanthia Termes

Tres Picos Garnacha

Is this the same? http://www.winex.com/wine-15920-.aspx

Since you are in San Diego where do you buy yours? Total Wine is my preference.

I only drink wines in the $13 range...

^ A great wine from a great winery.

There are lots of lots of good wines in that range. Rhones (red and white), Austrian, South African, and Portugeuse. Great wines (by my definition) they are not, but they are good. The easiest way to find them is to ask a trusted local wine retailer.

Yes, that's the wine I was referring to. I got mine from San Diego Wine Company on Miramar road.

If you don't shop carefully, you can find many of the wines recommended in the Under $12 thread for $13.

Domaine Salvard Cheverney

Calafate Gran Reserva Malbec
Rutini Coleccion Cabernet Malbec
Calafate Gran Reserva Pinot Noir
Ricominciare Cabernet Franc Malbec

Alex, do you know if any of these are imported into the U.S.? I've not seen any of these wines here. Rutini imports, but it seems that they ship different wines to the U.S. than what they sell in Argentina, and I've never seen this particular wine. And I've never seen any of the others, although it seems that Ricominciare is a new label from yet another member of the Catena family, so I would expect that they will start getting some play here in the near future.

Lots of nice Proseccos in that price range.

Per bottle or case??

No. None of the labels I mention above are exported into the USA. Rutini has, as you say, a different domestic vs. export portfolio.

Ricominciare is indeed a project related to the Catena family, but they have nothing to do with the big Catena organization and will not be sharing anything, certainly not importers. Their production levels are currently very very low so dont expect to see them with massive US distribution for the next 4-5 years at least.

To complete the answer I began above... Universo Austral, the makers of Calafate will eventually move to open a US market, but its just launched here domestically so a broad US presence will be something to look for over the next 1-2 years approx. There is Chilean capital behind this venture so look for importers of Chilean wines to perhaps bring these aboard their portfolios sometime soon.

And a very good deal at $18. Closest I can find is $29 http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDet...roductID=16706

With the dual ForEx markets in Argentina, $20 gets you a lot of wine for your Dollar if you get your Pesos on the informal market.

Some names to consider include...
Ricominciare Malbec Tannat
Rutini Cabernet Malbec
HD Reserva Malbec
Escorihuela Gran Reserva Malbec
Colome Estate Malbec
Flichman Expresiones Blends (3 labels)
Encuentro Malbec by Rutini
Durigutti Reserva Malbec