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
Miachel-David is a winery in California’s Lodi region, where it produces wine under a half-dozen or so labels, especially the Zinfandels for which the region is so well-known. Incognito is a label with two wines, both oddball blends. We tried both of the wines from the latest vintage, which have seen new labeling and branding.…
Botran Rum, aka Ron Botran or Casa Botran, hails from Guatemala and is distilled by the same outfit that makes the fantastic Ron Zacapa, Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala. Located about a mile and a half above sea level, Botran’s rums are matured in a very cool warehouse compared to most of the industry, where the…
Hogue may be Washington’s best-known winery. We checked out four bottles from the producer, including two from Hogue’s second-label Genesis. Prices are about the same between the two brands. 2008 Genesis Chardonnay Columbia Valley – A fresh, young, and alive Chardonnay. Why is it so fresh? Because it’s completely unoaked, letting the wine highlight a…
Don’t let the rustic label fool you: Wodka is cheap-as-hell vodka. It’s $9 a bottle, that’s how inexpensive it is. And yet Wodka has pedigree. It’s imported from Poland and distilled from rye, which makes it considerably ahead in the game. The stuff is legit. Classically structured, it offers bracing yet pleasant medicinal notes, and…
Three new Gruner Veltliner white wines from our friends in Austria, all very low in alcohol and worthy of attention! 2008 Zantho Gruner Veltliner – A very crisp wine, with apple, lemon, and some peach notes. Very light body, and just 11.5% alcohol by volume, with a simple and light finish. Quite refreshing. Sealed with…
An interesting blend from Sicily, Tenuta Rapitala’s Nuar is 70 percent Nero d’Avola and 30 percent Pinot Noir (aka Pinot Nero). There’s a distinct coffee nose, with wood and smoky hints. The body is moderate but flavorful, with intense blueberry/blackberry character and chocolate notes. Another touch of coffee on the finish. It’s almost criminal that…
Two new non-vintage Proseccos from Valdo — both extremely different in design — arrived today. The brand that dates back to 1926 and was once part of the Bolla family. Now it’s a budget label that exists for your enjoyment. NV Valdo Prosecco Brut – Quite sweet, with a tart edge. A bit grassy in…
Benchmark Old No. 8 (from our friends at Buffalo Trace) has been winning awards right and left of late — and it’s easy to see why. At about $14 a bottle, it offers outstanding quality for a pittance. Benchmark, made with a fair amount of rye, has a deep amber color, and the nose is…
This is Bordeaux? This blend of 80 percent Merlot and 20 percent Cabernet Franc has an intense, New World character that does not feel like Bordeaux at all. Ripe with black currants and thick plum character, the Merlot shines through, and the tannins, in just a few years, have mellowed into a silky and smooth…
I expect (and hope) that most readers of this blog are old enough to remember when Gruner Veltliner was going to be the Next Big Thing in wine. I’d peg that date at about 1998. And then the Next Big Thing really did come along. It turned out to be Pinot Grigio. Oh well. The…