Best Value
Some deals are just too good to pass up. Our Best Value category digests that rarest of breeds: Top-rated products at prices that are incredibly appealing. We include products across the board in this section.
Top Best Value Posts:
Top 10 Bourbons Under $20
Wines of Lula Cellars, 2018 Releases
Jim Beam Distiller’s Cut
Jules Taylor is based in New Zealand’s Marlborough region, where the winemaker produces a series of eponymous, affordable bottlings. She was named New Zealand Winemaker of the Year for 2021. Let’s dig in to this trio of bottlings, all newly released. 2021 Jules Taylor Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough – Sauvignon blanc is Taylor’s specialty, and with…
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Salentein has just released new vintages of its wines grown in the Uco Valley of Mendoza, Argentina. Today we get to try them alongside two wines from the Pyros label, which are also produced by Salentein but are made with Malbec grapes grown in the Pedernal Valley in San Juan. Let’s give them a try.…
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Glendalough is a fascinating Irish distillery that offers a range of products developed with creativity and artistic abandon. Some are fantastic and some miss the mark, but we are always eager to see what they produce next. Today we are trying a new whiskey and gin from the distillery. Glendalough Double Barrel Irish Whiskey –…
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We first reviewed Bluecoat Gin in 2008, two years after it was first released, when American distilled gins were far less common. Today we return to the brand to see how it stands up thirteen years later and also to try two newer gin expressions produced by the Philadelphia based distillery. The distillers of Bluecoat…
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Over the last several years Argentina’s Domaine Bousquet has quietly made headway into the U.S. market, offering everything from high-end table wines to sparkling offerings to box wines from its portfolio. We recently had the opportunity to sit via Zoom with Domaine Bousquet’s agronomist Franco Bastias and owner Anne Bousquet. The seminar tackled everything from…
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A pair of bottlings from the Hahn family of wines, both 2019 chardonnays from the Santa Lucia Highlands region. Here we go. 2019 Hahn SLH Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands – Bold notes of almond and apricot kick this wine off, giving the wine a tone that’s reminiscent of amaretto, its nutty elements muscling over the…
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‘G4,’ the fourth generation of winemakers from the Mondavi family (specifically: consulting winemaker Angelina Mondavi), returns along with head winemaker Randy Herron for another collection of wines meant to be equally approachable and affordable. We were fortunate enough to try three of the five new releases for fall 2021. Let’s try them out. 2020 Flat…
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Latitude Beverage — which markets Hunt & Gather and Wheel Horse Whiskey — is getting into the tequila business. Tequila Zarpado is made in Jalisco at the Cavas de Don Max distillery, which I’m not familiar with but which has been around for decades. This is a low-cost, 100% agave product available exclusively as a…
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Bernier’s Loire Valley-sourced chardonnay continues to break with tradition by putting the varietal on the label instead of the region. In fact, chardonnay is a relatively rare but not unheard-of grape for this region, and Bernier proves that maybe more should be being done with it here. Fresh and unoaked, this wine offers a heavy…
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It’s an overload of new Rodney Strong releases, many representing the brand’s more entry-level offerings. Let’s dig in. 2020 Rodney Strong Rose of Pinot Noir Russian River Valley – Boldly acidic, with notes of peaches and strawberries up top, fading to elements of sour plum and a pinch of Christmas spice. There’s only a minor…
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