Your favorite red wine under $12/bottle
#436
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#438
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I bought a mixed case of wines at ABC with an average price of under $10. The one we liked best was a 2014 garnacha from Spanish winemaker Borsao. Liked it enough to go back and buy a whole case of nothing but at approximately $8 a bottle.
#441
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Recently I've enjoyed a few bottles of Paxis red blend. It sells for under $10 at Costco and Cost Plus World Market. It has a medium body and a very slightly sweet taste that helps it go well with a variety of food. It reminds me of one of my previous bargain-bottle faves from years ago, the Spanish garnacha Las Rocas that doubled in price after it became popular. Very approachable choice for people who are not wine aficionados.
#442
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Recently I've enjoyed a few bottles of Paxis red blend. It sells for under $10 at Costco and Cost Plus World Market. It has a medium body and a very slightly sweet taste that helps it go well with a variety of food. It reminds me of one of my previous bargain-bottle faves from years ago, the Spanish garnacha Las Rocas that doubled in price after it became popular. Very approachable choice for people who are not wine aficionados.
If you step up a dollar or two, but still well under the limit in this thread, I also enjoy Casa Santos Lima “Colossal” Reserva, another Portuguese red Costco sells for under $10 a bottle. I like it a bit better than Paxis and find it to have a little more complexity and interest. My only real complaint is that the label graphic design is a little tacky.
#445
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Apparently Dave Phinney (The Prisoner) is discontinuing his "Fittings" label. Phinney's wines have become way overpriced, but Fittings is being sold in Ohio now for about $15, which is $10-$13 a bottle less than it was a few months ago. If you're a fan of big, highly-extracted Grenache like I am, go get some. It's excellent.
#446
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Apropos of nothing, I have realized I tend to like best wines that cost $15-25 a bottle. More than $25 becomes very difficult to tell if there's anything special there (aside from old Burgundies). Less than $15 usually just tastes like a fruit bomb. Though cheap Spanish and Portuguese wines are often as good as more expensive non-Spanish/Portuguese ones.
#447
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Apropos of nothing, I have realized I tend to like best wines that cost $15-25 a bottle. More than $25 becomes very difficult to tell if there's anything special there (aside from old Burgundies). Less than $15 usually just tastes like a fruit bomb. Though cheap Spanish and Portuguese wines are often as good as more expensive non-Spanish/Portuguese ones.
#448
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Berry's Reserve Red - get it by the case when they're having a 15-20% off own label sale (a couple of times a year) and it's about 6.50 a bottle (=$9 or so). Bargain!
#449
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I find $12 still to be a relevant threshold. At least here in California there are plenty of selections below $12(ish) per bottle. It's fun to find one that's genuinely good, as opposed to merely drinkable. And $12 is a price level at which I'm happy to take chances. When I buy a $25 bottle I have very different expectations. I need to have tasted it before and found it worth the money, or have read reviews I trust. And I'll be loathe to open a $25 bottle "just because" on a Tuesday night. Whereas at $12 and under it's just part of the grocery bill.